Capt Vince Pierleoni

They are not perfect, nor are the people that shape them. Some retooling needs to take place, and the "comm" thing straightened out, but like Jerry said how many events do we have left during this "hey day" of Lake Ontario? We always have fun and most importantly LEARN, at each event. Jerry--Congrats on a great Eastern run and Sodus Tourny, but you are dead wrong about the trophies, plaques, mementos. In the past when there wasn't enough to go around, my clients have taken it upon themselves to order more. My client at Sodus on Sunday said to me, "this means more to me than the money", as he gazed at etched glass 2nd place plaque. This gentleman is uber successful and has fished all over the world. The memento will help him relive the memories in his home state of NH, and generate interest in future events and trips to Lake Ontario while it is displayed on his office desk. Basement clutter? I don't think so. While I was paying for gas at Krenzers before the trip home, I saw in the case near the register next to the marina awards, a 2nd place Pro Am trophy. Tim earned that one fishing with Billy V. Guess what? Today, Tim fields his own team. He has the fever. I recently learned the original Challenge Cup was retired. When I shared this with an O-town Captain, he was distraught. He stated that he dreamed of one day hoisting it and having his name on it. Tim-- Thanks again for the ride to the weigh in. We boated into town, and that would have been a tough lug down the sidewalk. You guys are right on about Salmon deserving their due in the tourny world, and you are probably inspiring more young sharpshooters to get involved despite boat size. Great job last weekend. Whatever shakes out with these events, we hope there are some viable ones down East because we love to visit.

I concur, most of our fish were within 4 miles of Oswego. Fast? Funny! Dave Turner and wife Veronica are a dedicated pair. Yes big changes are needed, but we decided not to take our toys and go home just yet. Many of us are hoping it gets turned around, visiting O town and Sodus has become a yearly high point for our team members--most of which are very casual anglers.

Hmmm, let me see, 1)Salmon 2)No comm 3) observers 4) Buffet. Should be the Tourny of the year on the Southshore.

I am assuming this is an inexpensive transom mount transducer. On the Niagara in the winter, these succumb to the ice often. I have successfully repaired these with 5 minute 2 part epoxy. Put it in position, tape it tight with masking tape. Whatever doesn't peel off will dissolve.

Freedom wasn't, and isn't free. God bless America.

Thank you Paul C. and Carl B. Well put and accurate. You guys saved me finger cramps, LOL. The only thing I would add is cold water fish and their unique oils are one of the few foods proven to REVERSE heart disease, one our nations largest killers.

You did good job, Paul. I would only add, that the distribution of baitfish in the Spring, is directly related to the type of winter we have. How the bulk of the baitfish distribute has a huge affect on how the Salmon concentrate.

Get ready for some doozies all over the lake after this blow. Trust it. What matters is that you can repeat it at that depth. often the current will be vastly different at different depths, all that matters is are you getting bit.

No problem, Lundy. It has to be daunting starting out in this era. The good news is, our fishing is some of the best in the world here on Lake Ontario. My experience thus far with the new UV stuff is it is better in high sun.

It's a fine approach, just limit it to spoons. If you run an attractor on that shallow core, it will eventually wrap endlessly in one of the others before you get used to running it. Also, it's better to select your method of attack based on where the fish are in the water column. There will be days where that will just be in the way.

As much as I hate the fraud of ethanol, I don't think its the fuel as much as what the fuel might have done damage-wise. It may have damaged your carb, eaten away at the inside of your fuel lines, or started "cleansing" the ancient crud inside your fuel tank. Any and all of these is caused by ethanol in fuel. Change your inline fuel filters. If your plugs continue to foul, then rebuild the carb and make sure your fuel line is sound.

We have had an opportunity to try the Blood Run "backer" and flourocarbon leader material. They both passed with flying colors. The backer is large diameter mono, so it will not be ideal where space and capacity are limited. For short to medium cores and coppers it is great. Hi viz yellow, it handles abuse from inlines and big board clips. Make sure to lube when drawing up knots, like all hard finish lines. The flouro leader material is going to save me some tackle. Today, we had one of those hopeless wrapped Spin Doctors wrapped above the flasher and into the swivels. Not only did we land the 27lber, we could have reused that leader. Tough stuff, again make sure you wet it when drawing up. The UV series Spin Doctors from DW, and UV series Atommik flies seem to have their time and place. We are looking forward to further experimenting with these. It took me a while to try the Erie Dearie cut herring bait strips because they were of poor quality last season. It seems they have made a total turnaround. Durable and draws bites when they want the stuff. Now a question, has anyone tried one of those "flea strippers"? Does it work?

They don't miss the mark very often, and I have had extensive talks with them regarding diver rods. I agree with you, I prefer the standard guides.

Dead on, F & S. The southshore would be a ghost town without the Kings.

The desired number would be 75 or so, but considering there was 30 in the Pro last year 40 is a realistic goal. There is $10,000 on top of entry fees to pay out. If there was 45 or 50 boats, the payouts would be above what is posted. Only the coordinators know how many are in so far, but 90% of the entries come in the last few days.

Thanks for posting, Brian. We enjoy our visit every year.

Very good question, Spike. Everything is unfolding as if it's 3 weeks early all along the south shore. I'm thinking your Salmon will stay, with wind affecting the concentrations and feeding patterns day to day. Down west here, we often have early staging and runs tempered by low, warm water. Up east, hydro flows can trigger early runs and by the look of some of the male Kings they will be ready in late August.

They are well aware of the the guide rings popping out and that is being addressed. As for loose real seats, that is an ongoing problem on all production rods but has not been a real problem with the Okumas. If its within warranty they will replace them. Check out the newer Classic Pro rods. I am very pleased with these and will be adding more.

Yes Tom, I am on the Okuma Pro-staff.

Yes the Classic pro rods are an amazing value and performer, but several models of the Blue Diamond have a large following. That is the exact reason why they are being upgraded.

I just learned yesterday that this popular rod series has not been discontinued for good, just being updated and improved. I have received pm's questioning why they were unavailable. They will be available again even better for 2013.

Tim, we have never really met, and I too do not know who you have helped or possibly wronged along the way. I will say this however, I appreciate how your team conducts itself at events and your professional manner. I am all for whatever and whoever elevates the tourny scene for Salmon and Lake Ontario. You must be doing something right to have naysayers.

Kudos for putting this together. I volunteered at the one on Lake Erie out of Buffalo harbor last Wed and it was very rewarding. Great bunch of guys, one of my vets had never fished before and his first fish was a 16" Smallie--he ended up catching a 20" Bass. The "Wounded Warriors" organization did a great job. Thanks for putting smiles on these guys faces in Sodus.