Sk8man

The algae problem (and sewage as well) has been a problem for many years. It is a highly eutrophic lake way too many nutrients. I've fished Honeoye since the 70's and I've only caught a couple Crappie that size.....wonder if they just wanted to keep it the same size as the bass limit? I could see 10 inches as there are some in that range and that is all I'd be keeping anyway.

I think it more general than that. There are a lot of factors that have changed the dynamic including technology being used such as Panoptics and live units and the ability to clean out whole schools. For some time now there have been folks renting in summer enmasse at Honeoye for example and filling coolers because they were allowed 25 per person including kids etc.Doesn't take long to deplete populations and then year round fishing pressure maybe it is time to re-evaluate what is happening out there rather than some folks complaining about fishing not being what it used to be. . something needs to be done. I've also seen folks keeping panfish that were the size of fish in a home aquarium. The absence of inclusion of perch in the regs is mystifying.

Dipsy divers are one effective element of the trolling toolbox when run correctly. From your main post it looks as though you are fishing the Finger Lakes rather than Lake O in particular. Dipsies allow you to get down deep with your presentations and create a bit of a commotion down there with their erratic movement which is imparted to the lure following them (e.g.fly or spoon) and you can get them a good distance from the boat, and they can be adjusted to the changing water conditions (e.g. location of the thermocline in summer) Downriggers may be more accurately adjusted but the downrigger weight itself or the particular one used can also be a question mark (e.g. does it perhaps attract or scare away fish?) and with the large diameter wire on them and resultant "singing" do they attract or deter fish?. I don't think anyone actually knows the answer. They are very different presentations and one may excel over the other on a given day or time so they both have their place in the toolbox. Trolling for trout and landlocks on the Finger Lakes shares a lot of similarity ofequipment and techniques with Lake Ontario but there are some differences as well. The larger paddles often used with meat rigs may be less effective on the Fingers, the super sized magnum spoons generally aren't as readily effective while the smaller paddles and small to medium sized spoons seem to take more hits. You mention using 80 lb braid with divers. You really don't need anything that heavy with them on the Fingers (or Lake O for that matter) as it will create more "blow back" and make it more difficult to place your presentation where you want it and if the waterfleas are really thick it doesn't present any advantage in keeping them off. 40-50 lb (max) works fine and cuts through the water better than the larger diameter stuff. In the way of other advice or suggestions: consider running Seth Green rigs on the Fingers in the late Spring to late Fall You can cover the entire thermocline effectively. If fishing lakers run cowbells with Gambler rigs, grease traps, Spin-N-Glows or peanuts behind them from wire dipsy rigs (with or without the dipsy diver) or from downriggers short behind the weight and close to bottom

Intriguing questions.

Sometimes it pays to rethink the original problem. Some years ago I trailered my Whaler with a Ford Explorer V-8. It was capable of pulling the boat and I thought set up just right as far as the trailer etc. At about 60 mph or more I could feel the front wheels lifting and the boat swaying behind despite having a full 60 gals. of fuel (to keep from sloshing around). I thought it might be the tongue weight distribution etc. and had things adjusted (PIA). It still did it the same. The trailer has a very wide wheel base and was controlling the vehicle which had a narrower wheelbase. I bought a used Expedition V-8 and have never had that problem since and am now on my second Expedition. Moral of the story: I would never have given up the boat as I love it and wanted to keep it no matter what so I reformulated the solution. Not cheap but necessary in that case. Something to think about....maybe a used pickup if you like the boat itself? Three footers plus will knock around about anyone in all but the largest boats and then you have a very different solution.

Yeah Mr. Fussy