Followed The Waves

I bought a few from this guy but only tried them once:  Jay Fair Trolling Flies

I might play around with them again this spring but I just seem to go with spoons and maybe a Gambler Rig/Death Trap when I'm trolling.

Good luck!

Awesome report! 

It won't be long now!  Thanks for the encouraging report. 

Thanks for the report---I'm counting the days!  Sounds like you didn't mark any bait?

Yeah, pretty much what Copperliner said, especially on the 2D sonar.  I have 2 Humminbird Helix 5 FF's.  One is the fancier version---down imaging, mapping, chirp, whatever…  I'm not very impressed with it despite working through every possible setting.  It's up in my flybridge and I watch it mostly for the mapping feature.  For vertical jigging off the back of the boat, I have a plain Jane 2D sonar Helix 5.  I think I paid 185 bucks for it or so and it works great for watching my jig and the Lakers snubbing it.  In the photo below, you can see my jig descending diagonally through the cloud of bait and a Laker or 2 coming up to give it a sniff and then head back down to the bottom to sit in the mud and wait for Nick to come by. 

Just got my derby application in the mail yesterday.  Think spring!

Very nice and very exciting---good luck with everything!

Very nice! 

OMG!

Outstanding!  Looks like you got it.  

Seneca is rockin!

I bought some the week before the Derby and this past weekend with no issues, but maybe that doesn't help. 

Quickie report from the Derby…
Fished Saturday from 5:15 AM until 6:15 PM and managed one nice laker and a small salmon.  I started out jigging for a while but couldn't get anything going.  Boat traffic didn't look too bad so I set out 3 rods and trolled to the north end in that mess.  The north end looked pretty busy and a lot of guys were fishing pretty close to shore so I went out in the deep water and jigged up this 7.44 pounder in 138 feet of water.  I made the leaderboard for an hour or two and then the 8 pounders came in and I got bumped off.  It was a nice, healthy, pretty fish with just one old lamprey scar.
I didn't get out until 11 AM on Sunday due to the wind but I caught a sub-legal salmon and a rainbow trolling.  Wind was blowing again Monday morning so I packed up and headed south.
Great weekend though---the conditions were challenging and any day on the water is a great day and it's always fun to BS with the guys back at the marina.  I met Lily Friday night as he was carving up his winner. 
Follow the waves!

Nice fish and good dudes!  Had a a nice chat with them in the marina.  Good luck to everyone tomorrow and be careful if it’s foggy out there!

Getting into the park is free but they do charge a launch fee at the launch.  I'm not sure how much it is---probably 8 or 10 bucks.  You can give them a ring at 315-651-4949.  Good luck!

I can't remember if it was the Saturday morning or Sunday morning crew, but I could hear those guys hooting and hollering from a mile away.  

Here is a link to a local guide who fishes a lot on Cayuga who may be able to help:  Finger Lakes Angling Zone  He fishes a lot out of Long Point.

WOW.  I hope they've been feasting on lamprey eels. 

Very nice!  Do you recall the water temp?  I had 40 degrees on the surface on Seneca tonight in 75 FOW.

Thanks for the encouragement and great report!  I don't know where you fish but I'm hoping to get the boat opened up on Seneca this weekend, wind permitting… 

Can't wait to give them a try but I won't be launching until the 15th; with good weather I may get out a week earlier.  They just got here this morning.  I've never used planers before but they look like a good way to get things out away from the boat.  As long as I have a guest (or wife!) on board, I want to run two planers, two dipsies, and two leadcore lines out the back.  That's my plan, anyway… 

Thanks Z!  Cabela's only had the left planer board from Offshore Tackle so I ended up going with Church Tackle TX-22's.  I ordered two and I can run them on either the starboard or portside.  I had $136 in Cabela's points that I had to rip through, so I was trying to purchase from Cabela's.  And of course I ordered a few spoons and a couple flashers and…

Bump 

I'm getting excited about getting on the water again---it won't be long!  I'm planning on hitting the Fishing Tackle & Outdoor Show at Clute Park Sunday morning.  I've never trolled with planer boards and I've been watching a few YouTube videos.  One guy did a review of Cabela's brand Advanced Anglers Planer Boards and he seemed happy with them but he was just getting started.  Anyone have any experience with these things?  At $23.99, they are nearly half the price of Offshore Tackle but if they are crap I'd rather buy the best and cry once---Cabela's price for Offshore Tackle is $39.99.  Thanks for any help!

I started trolling last year and bought several of these at Cabela's for $69.95 but I see they are at least temporarily unavailable.  No line or leader included.  One mistake I made was trying to put lead core on a smaller reel.  I ended up having to re-spool the lead core onto a larger reel.  Dumb beginner mistakes and hopefully I won't make them twice…