Sk8man

Just a thought but if your riggers are not brand new....check the power cables very closely and look for cracks or breaks in the insulation (ultraviolet and weathering cracks it over time). I was having a problem getting hits and when I examined the power cables I noticed that they were cracked. I installed new ones and have had much better results on the riggers afterward.....not sure if that was it but it may have been.

Thanks. I guess never having sold anything on here...it wasn't real intuitive :>)

I don't think there will be too many folks out tomorrow anywhere from the looks of this weather:>) I've been getting my ice fishing stuff ready...and hopefully this will be a "walleye winter"....I have also been getting my Lake trout derby stuff together for next year so I'm kinda taking an "optimistic" approach to fishing during these winter doldrums. I look longingly at my boat every time I go near the garage :>) Good luck if you do get out tomorrow.

P.S. If we are going to allow the carrying of firearms in the schools it should be done only by a police officer or safety officer properly trained in their use and thoroughly "screened" before assuming that position. We do not need to have our children terrified or "feeling threatened" by knowing their teachers are carrying guns....they have (and need to have) a very different supportive role from that of the policeman or safety officer stationed there.

Three things: 1) We need to change the way we view, treat, and intervene with mental illnesses in this country. It is essential to identify vulnerable people, offer families the ability to quickly admit or directly access intervention services for violently behaving relatives. Currently, people have to commit CRIMES before that intervention can take place (e.g. by having them arrested and then assessed etc.) 2) There is no place in our civilian society where there is a demonstrable need for assault weapons, high capacity magazines (over 10 rounds) - and anyone that needs that many rounds for any reason has no business with a gun of any type if their marksmanship is that poor. 3) There needs to be a stance taken by our society, by the legislators at the Federal level (so that all states have to comply in a standard way) and the supreme Court to develop clear guidelines for hollywood and the developers of violent video games such that graphic depiction of violent acts toward authority figures and others is not premitted by law. I understand the ramifications as far as First Ammendment rights, but the safety and welfare of our children and citizenry should trump an individuals (or business or organizations) right to so called "free speech". We need to "short-circuit" the connection between depictions of violence and the carrying out of random violent acts by dysfunctional people in our society. This will not totally stop these acts but it may limit them and alllow more opportunity/time for intervention by law enforcement and other professionals. I am saying this after spending over thirty years as mental health professional and after having formerly been in the military (Viet Nam era) and trained (as an expert) in the use of assault weapons (and many other related weapons). This is not the stance of an "anti-gun nut" but rather a common sense view that something needs to be done and NOW.

It would be cool if the Region 7 and 8 folks could meet with us all as a group someplace and really discuss things and we could get their take "in person" because I know they sometimes have personal views that are better communicated in that format :>)

What the heck does "bump" mean here?

Michael, I enjoyed the pictures and video. You guys have some great equipment there....and it looks like gret fishing too :>) Best of luck with the fishing and Merry Christmas! Les

ifishy......you won't need your trolling motor according to the weather report....just hook a sail to your rig :>)

It would be nice if the DEC folks could actually meet with us and we could discuss our concerns as a group somewhere and see whether we could do anything to help this situation (and them). I also have some concerns about the brown trout population (or what might be left of it) on Canandaigua.

Some really good opinions being expressed here and it is great to have this forum to focus on these issues. Although I mainly fish the lakes nowadays I have fished the tribs of the Finger lakes since I was barely old enough to walk (60 years plus). I too remember the "good old days" when numerous rainbows were turning over and "flashing" in the streams and hoping to get ahold of a big one on a flyrod or ultralight. There is nothing like a big rainbow loose on the end of your line in a cramped stream. Unfortunately, the limited numbers of spawners these days is a complex situation. As mentioned already there has been severe degradation of fish habitat in both the streams and the lakes over time. I have observed firsthand in the past many anglers tramping through the streams and spawning beds on opening day (especially derbies) without any consideration (or perhaps in some cases awareness) of the damage created. Water levels over the past years have been very unstable and in many cases unsuitable for effective spawning (low and high conditions at critical periods in the spawning and life cycle). The water quality itself in many streams has been questionable at best in some of the important tributaries. A major concern is also the folks that have absolutely no regard for the environment, the DEC laws, the fish, or the fishermen and they "lift" or net spawning gravid fish whenever they have the opportunity. It is always an unknown factor in terms of the actual extent of this problem as it often occurs in darkness. I know my next comment will irritate the trib fishermen but I wonder if a potential help might be to have a total ban for a set period of time (e.g. 3 years) on the major tribs (e.g. Catherines, Keuka Outlet, Naples Creek etc.) of Seneca and Canandaigua and have the fishery biologists assess whether there is any improvement in the numbers of spawning rainbows. Of course I know this will impact the Annual Derbies on those streams and related revenues in those towns but it may be worth it in the long run....I know...it will never happen....at least the one rainbow caught in the lake won't be an actively spawning fish.

P.S. I forgot to add that one positive offshoot of the reduction in the alewives is that the perch population should improve noticibly as the alewives often decimate the perch spawn/eggs.

I suggested it a while back on here and also made the suggestion to the DEC. After listening to my fellow fishermen I am content to let the one rainbow rule stand. I still have my concerns from a catch and release standpoint but if there is truly a problem with the proliferation of the rainbow population in Seneca as suggested I heartily endorse the limit.....lets go awhile and see if things improve. My sense of it is that it isn't fishing pressure that is at the crux of the problem it is the Zebras, Quaggas and Spiney Fleas taking out the phytoplankton base and it is and will be affecting all species (albeit it differentially) as time goes on (the rainbow smelt are essentially history and alwives are close behind). My prediction is that lakers and Browns will fare better than other trout as it goes along because they have a more varied diet, and this goes for the pike and bass as well.

I have to admit that I'm only PARTIALLY jealous Matt....I can get along without those Plattsburg winters :>) Good luck going after those little green son of a guns :>)

My hunch is that inthe Finger lakes region it will be mid to late January (if at all) and then probably only the shallower lakes (e.g. Honeoye) but.....I have all my gear ready if I'm wrong! :>)

A couple things - The channel at the north end of Canandaigua Lake is at the moment only barely 2 ft. in some places. I had to perch on the bow of my buddy's 19 ft Penn Yan today with the lower unit tilted all the way up to safely make it to the lake and back. Secondly, is the fact that the DEC is checking folks out at the launch ramp (which is a good thing). The small aluminum boat ahead of us returning tonight was ticketed (as they should have been) for only having one life jacket (not sure whether anyone was wearing it) for two people. The water temperature was 44 degrees today. If that boat had ever capsized at least one of those dudes would have been "history".

We are kind of a desperate bunch aren't we?

I forgot to add that yes it has been and is a US Naval testing/research barge.

Very interestying stuff. I can vouch for the fact that nuclear weapons weapons were stored at the Depot. I guarded many of them first hand at Ramstein Germany from 1964-1967 when they were transported there by Army personnel from the Depot. I was a USAF Air Policeman then and used to do everything from escorting the C-124's and C-130's that contained the nuclear bombs to maintaining the gate of the storage area where they were kept at Ramstein. I have visually seen at close hand those weapons (even inside them) and once one of the techs showed me the complex fusing system that allowed them to go off nuclear (they would go off conventionally if everything wasn't set up right). The Army guys used to keep me up on what was happening in my hometown (Geneva) etc. I used to laugh back then at newspaper accounts from the Geneva Times newspaper that my mom would send me indicating that the rumors of nuclear weapons at the Depot were false :>) It was also rumored at that time (the 60's) that the Army had stored huge barrels of chemicals and RADIOACTIVE material in caverns under the lake..... hope it is untrue or inaccurate in light of your comments....pretty scary... At present the salt caverns are according to accounts I've read being used to store natural gas or propane in massive quantities. This isn't a great situation either....

Yes I too remember the stories of the big lakers out near the barge that divers had seen and we marked plenty of them down over 300 ft suspended though in exactly 500 ft of water. That is the depth that the barge is anchored at. Once while pulling seth green rigs out there we were approached by a tender from the barge (17ft Montauk Boston whaler) and he commanded us to shut off our little 4 horse kicker saying that they were doing acoustic (sonar type) testing and that it was picking us up. I said how far away would we have to be not to interfere and he said at the extreme north end of the lake. We were out from Dresden so I was pretty shocked and amazed ( a good 16 miles). We complied and about a half hour later he signaled us we could continue on. That was about 1980 and the technplogy then was sure primitive compared to the present day but you can imagine what they are into nowadays. When my sone was about 7 or 8 I was running three rigs with 12 leaders each (aloowed back then) and we snagged up two rigs on the cables of the barge. My son tried to grab one of the rigs and it nearly pulled him overboard. The 80 pound wire didn't have much give but finally snapped. I figured we got off easy losing 20 Suttons and bead chains cable etc....anyway you brought back some Seneca memories AC :>)

2 colors on Daiwa 47Hs with 20 lb. Big Game mono for backing (very strong, resilient, tough exterior for abrasion resistence) and a short 5 ft. 10-17 lb test flurocarbon leader with solid ring ball bearing swivel at the end. I run them off downriggers as SWR in late Spring and Summer and by themselves in the early Spring and Fall.

Hey Ray lookin at that first pic ....did you have any trouble reeling him in and netting him? :>)

Dave, Over the years when I have fished the lakers on Seneca at the north end in the shallows (March and April especially) a good number of the large lakers (8 pounds up) have had small perch and sunfish as well as shiners in their stomach contents. They are "oportunists" in every sense of the word :>)