Tigerhunter

I totally agree that sharp hooks are important. I have lost many fish, including straightening a hook, bite off(s), and fish just coming loose. I fixed straightening hooks by paying attention to my drag, the bite off by switching from fluoro to steel and if I am vigilant with sharpening hooks, I expect to see an improvement with losing fish there as well.

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I totally agree that sharp hooks are important. I have lost many fish, including straightening a hook, bite off(s), and fish just coming loose. I fixed straightening hooks by paying attention to my drag, the bite off by switching from fluoro to steel and if I am vigilant with sharpening hooks, I expect to see an improvement with losing fish there as well.

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Good point, Steve. I do recall that being mentioned either in the video or the forum I came across it. I'll see if I can find the link, it's a good method for larger hooks (5/0+) if done correctly.

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Sharp hooks are crucial at times, especially when you may only get one shot at a fish that day, you don't want a dull hook to be the reason you go home skunked. I like to sharpen hooks whether they are ones that come on a bait or new replacement hooks. When you get up above 5/0, it's tough to find hooks that are sharp enough out of the box.

I saw a video of how to sharpen hooks with a dremel tool, really neat and works well when you are at home to do mass hook sharpening. A lot of people carry files with them to sharpen their hooks after any "event" whether it be bumping structure (timber, rocks, etc.), snags, or contact with a fish.

I am too lazy to sharpen on the water but maybe I should at least being a file with me.... or invest in a battery powered dremel.

With that said, I'm not sure that I can say that I 100% lost a fish due to a dull hook. I do know that I am certain I do not want to miss a fish of a lifetime because of something silly that I can prevent in our 6 month off season!

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Thanks for sharing! Four points in the article are interesting to me, that there was a MI chapter previously, a $5,000 prize, a new boat for a prize, and the fact that there was a "kept" division.

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Homemade lures- it's a whole new thrill catching on something you made in your basement!

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Haha- my shoulder still hurts from casting it two weeks ago!

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If I could get 6-8" bait I may actually ice fish more than once a season....lol.

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The second half of this thread is a great example of why we need more bodies of water stocked with pures across the state. It will give many anglers an opportunity to fish for these beasts who may not have the means to travel hours to Chautauqua, Waneta, or the rivers while at the same time taking off some of the increased pressure.

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How did everyone do today? Looked like a nice day to be on the water....

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Jay- I too was surprised that the average age for a 30" tiger at Otisco was 5 years, I had always thought it was less.

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Good job Andy (and your wife)!

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I stayed at Otisco a few weekends ago with my wife and daughter to do some fishing and apple picking. I only got out for fishing an hour or two here and there and of course I could only seem to catch a fish when my daughter was napping or before she was awake in the morning. Finally, the last day we were there I hooked a fish with my daughter in the boat and was able to slide it right into the net. Not a monster, measuring around 30" but I was sure glad to have finally landed a tiger with her. Since I was alone I wasn't able to get a good picture but the memory will do!

As I was releasing the fish I noticed something on it's back, a tag. I picked it back up out of the water and put it in my net (in the water), I had never heard of the tigers being tagged so I decided to check it out. After scraping the algae off the tag, I was able to quickly read the info on the tag, recorded the number, and safely released the fish. Later that week I called the info into the DEC, the gentleman that handles Otisco was not in but they took my email and said they would get back to me about the information of the fish. I "googled" Otisco tagged tigers and came up with one relevant hit. In the 2014 Angler Study it had mentioned capturing and tagging 5 tigers. I had thought to myself "that would be really something if I had caught 1 out of 5 tigers that were tagged 2 years ago..." but figured maybe there were other years a bunch were tagged.

I was half expecting not to hear anything back but I received an email within a week. The biologist that responded to my email confirmed that there are only 5 tigers in Otisco that have tags and that I should go buy a lottery ticket.....haha! The biologist told me my fish was 23.8 inches long, weighed 2.5 pounds and was aged at 3 years old on 9/24/2014 when it was tagged. So, it had grown 6.2†and would now be 5 years old, that’s about average as a 30†tiger is usually around 5 years old on Otisco.  

Keep an eye out for tags in your tigers, there are a few lurking out there (well at least 1 is for sure). Here is the excerpt from the 2014 Angler Diary:

During the 2014 FCS twelve tigers were caught with lengths ranging from 7.5 inches (recently stocked) to 35.3 inches (Appendix 2). Five of the tigers were tagged before being released with grey colored Floy tags (looks like a piece of spaghetti), placed in front of the dorsal fin. If you catch a tagged tiger please do NOT remove the tag if releasing the fish. Please write down the tag number and fish length in your diary before releasing the fish. If the fish is kept, please remove the tag and tape it in your diary on the appropriate page next to the length.

We did have a man half overboard and later on we had one fully overboard...

My buddy had a fish hit at the boat and immediately go airborne ripping the rod out of his hand. He dove in, grabbed the rod, handed it to my other buddy, I helped him back into the boat, he took the rod back and swung the fish into the net... what I would give to have had a go-pro on that day!!!

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Here's two out of three we got (I say we because I was a superb net man and lifeguard).

Steve- if you lost your fish in the south end early then we heard you and felt your pain!

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We had a great time as always and will have some memories we will never forget. Even though I only caught fish on Friday my partners made up for it with tying in the  "most fish per boat" category.

Thank you to all who worked hard to make this happen!

I'm glad you were able to find another location on such short notice. This week at work is going to be the longest ever!

I don't know about you guys but I am getting pumped about the upcoming Mark Troy Memorial Tournament on Saturday, October 1st. This is always one of my favorite trips that I make each year and I haven't fished a lot this year.

I know there are a few people new to the site who may not be familiar with the tournament. It is a great opportunity to meet fellow LOU members as well as Muskies Inc. members. The atmosphere makes it seem more like a friendly outing than a competition and every year I have participated, Captain Ed Cragg delivered chili to us on the water!

After the tournament there is a great cookout, awards and a nice raffle table. This is a great time to chat with others about the madness we call muskie fishing and a great opportunity to share knowledge. If you have never fished Waneta Lake before and are reluctant to fish against others who have, it is a small enough lake that I have no doubt somebody fishing it for the first time has a great chance at getting into some fish.

Steve- can you post the details for this year, I assume they are the same as last year but don't want to give out the wrong information by mistake...

I hope to see you all out there.

Trevor

That sounds like a great idea.... I'll keep an eye out for some good raffle items.

That's awesome Chad- congrats!

That's great that you got some action, it can be a tough place to fish up there.

I find 5/0's to fit the majority of baits I run. The next time I order hooks I will get an assortment.

I've been using wolverine triple split rings and don't really care for them. They are very wide and can sometimes be next to impossible to get on a bait or hook of certain sizes. I have also stretched one out trying to get it off, I don't think it would ever fail on a fish but I also don't want to find out....

"Meathunters!" sure reads like it's supposed to be an epithet, though I'm not offended personally.  I like eating pike.  I'm not ashamed to admit it, and I keep one every couple of years so your stocks are safe from me. 

 

I must have missed that when I was looking for those articles, either way I completely agree that these discussions need to stay civil, otherwise it gets shut down and nobody gets anything out of it, more than likely making things worse.

I don't want to get in the middle of this but I do want to throw one thing out there.

I understand tiger muskies are typically used as a management tool. However, I am under the impression that Otisco has been managed (mostly) as a trophy fishery ever since they increased the minimum size limit. I can't see the size limit being raised for management reasons but I could be wrong plus wouldn't they raise it statewide? A couple DEC quotes from articles from a simple google search...

"The rationale, state Department of Environmental officials said, was that the new regulation would improve the status of tigers in the lake, hopefully turning the small Finger Lake into a destination waterway for tiger muskie anglers."

"Our primary goal in stocking tigers is to create an opportunity for anglers to catch very large fish in waters that otherwise would not provide this possibility,†Lemon said. “The popularity of muskie/tiger muskie fishing has never been higher and the only way to grow large fish is by giving them a chance to grow larger.â€

Also, I don't think Zach specifically called anyone names...

Having meetings in CNY was something that some of us were working on earlier this year. I hate to say it but I dropped the ball on that, I changed jobs this summer and had a bunch of other stuff come up. I'm hoping in a month or so things will calm down and I'll have a chance to get back at it. Welcome and I hope to see you out there sometime! Trevor