vicarious

http://cayugafisher.net/pages/resdex.php Hermit has a ton of great info on jigging for lakers in the Finger Lakes. Also offers jig heads for sale... http://deepwater.cayugafisher.net/index.php

Beautiful fish! Nice job...

Awesome fish... must have been a great fight!

Ha... way to rub it in!!! I'm one of the lucky people who really likes my job, but I'd MUCH rather be on the water! Good luck... can't wait to see the report...

Visited my parents in Romulus for a brief vacation this week and got out to fish an hour or two each day. A few trips with my father and uncle, and a couple solo... Concentrated on Sampson and had a great (by our standards) few days. Caught a lot of really nice fish and had two doubles while fishing solo this morning. The first of which produced 5.10 and 7.15 lb lakers... two of the biggest fish I've ever been able to boat on Seneca! We couldn't buy a spoon bite this week, so we focused on spin drs and flys... seneca special/reel hooked up fly and mtn dew/lap dance fly produced consistently down 75 over 90-100 on riggers and wire. Until I found this site, trolling consisted of suttons a foot of the bottom at 1 mph... Given what you guys share on a daily basis, we've been able to learn a ton and improve our fishing!!! Like Ray K says... "always learning!" I'm back in NJ, so I'll be looking for everyone's reports over the next few weeks until I can get out again!

My father and I picked up my Uncle Mike (Miss November) on his dock at 6:10 and headed for the north end. We had lines in the water by 6:40 and had a dink laker hit a bfuller 'king of sting' 62 down at 7:00. About 30 minutes later, we had a 4lb laker take a seneca special with green fly on a rigger parked at 68. Took another hit on the same combo about 30 minutes later with nobody home. At 8:30, we took a 5lb laker on our new wire setup on a mtn dew glow spinny and green fly. It was my father's first time catching a fish on wire and I think he's hooked! Things quieted after that with another miss on the seneca special and a 2lb laker on the same combo. Worked 60-90 feet early and tried to push out later, but the wind came up and we couldn't keep the lines clean with all the weeds 90 and out. Fleas are getting pretty bad with a lot on the wire and on the 30lb big game.

Great report and beautiful fish!

Thanks for the advice guys! I'll be back up over the fourth of July, so I'm anxious to get back out on the water and try some new things. [ Post made via iPhone ]

Thanks... when I'm back up for the 4th of July, I'll try the duo lock instead of a snap swivel.

Fished Seneca around Sampson on Friday and Saturday... Friday, fish were scattered. We went 2 for 4 with hits coming on a seneca special f/f out 200, peanut down 90, sutton down 90 and a small rapala down the chute. Sunday was tough with the south wind, but we went 2 for 2 with a small LL and a 3 lb laker. We fished in the 70-100 ft range and marked a TON of bait and fish. We changed spoons, changed colors, change speeds, changed our underwear, but couldn't get anything to fire except a DW Dirty White Boy which took both hits. As I was putting the line back out, I realized that this spoon was the only one that we had tied directly to the split ring, all others were connected with a snap swivel to the split ring. Does it make a difference??? Do you guys tie directly to the spoon, the split ring or use a snap swivel to make changing spoons easy? Thanks!

Bob Estes, an official scorer from Boone and Crockett, officially dry-scored the buck after its 60 day drying period. It qualified for Boone & Crockett liftetime as a non-typical with 210-6 Gross and 201-4 Net. Here is a pic of the mount...

My uncle, Mike, wrote up the story for another website, so I'm posting it here for anyone that's interested.... Enjoy and Happy Holidays! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I first saw what I am pretty sure was this beautiful buck during the 2010 archery season. It was in a meadow, with three other bucks about 200 yards from my tree stand. I was hunting on a small farm about 4 miles north of Geneva, NY. I had never seen such a big antler spread on a deer while hunting, and I never saw four bucks together while hunting. My lifelong hunting partner and nephew, Brad, and I have hunted this farm for well over a decade and have taken deer there in the archery, shotgun, and black powder seasons over the years. About four years ago, Brad saw a "monster" buck from his stand on the farm long before legal shooting hours. The last few years my oldest daughter, Marla, has been hunting deer with us, and this year, my daughter, Mia, also joined us for some hunts. We hunted the 2010 shotgun and black powder seasons without seeing a deer on that farm. The memory of that buck stayed with me until the 2011 archery season. I was very careful not to over hunt the farm and to be totally scent free. I only saw a couple deer during the 2011 archery season on that farm, with the best being a 7-point. That was pretty discouraging. I have had some success with mock scrapes over the years. For the 2011 whitetail seasons, I increased the number of scrapes that I either made or enhanced, adding a pre-orbital gland scent on their respective licking branches. Brad, the girls, and I hunted three days during the 2011 shotgun season without seeing a deer. We were getting very frustrated with no shot opportunities and also hearing lots of shooting on neighboring farms. However, I noticed a big increase in scrape use and new rubs during the first week of the shotgun season. On Saturday, November 26, Brad, Marla and I were planning to try the farm again. That morning, Marla chose to sleep in, so Brad and I got up early and were in the woods well before first light. I chose to use the tree stand in a pine grove that Marla usually sits in for that morning. I was disappointed that she didn't join us, and frustrated at not getting a shot at any deer on the farm for over a year. Friday evening Brad had noticed my frustration and said, "You have to be in the woods to shoot 'em". Saturday, the 26th of November, was a warmer than normal morning, with legal shooting to begin around 7:00 am. I was looking to my right at about 7:30 when I sensed that something was moving to my left. As I slowly turned, I saw that a buck had come from the meadow to the west and was traveling down a tractor lane towards one of the scrapes that was about 50 yards east of that stand. I did not know how big of a buck it was, only that it was a "good one". I stood up when he went behind a couple of trees to adjust my sling and position myself for a good shot. He stepped out behind a bush at about 55 yards and the first shot from my Browning hit him hard in the middle of his chest. He shuddered and tried to run, but couldn't get far as my next two shots left him dead about 30 yards from the stand. When he dropped is when I first noticed how big his antlers were. That's when I knew it was "him" - the huge buck I had seen only once over a full year ago in that meadow. His head was unable to touch the ground because of the size of his rack. Brad came over after climbing down from his stand and we both counted and recounted his 18 points including two almost identical drop tines. We were shocked at how big his antlers were! I wish Marla was in that stand that morning, she is a good shot and may have had the thrill of having him in her cross hairs. I feel very fortunate that that beautiful animal came close enough for me to have the opportunity to harvest him. Mr. Robert Estes, an official scorer for the Boone and Crockett Club, and the New York State Big Buck Club, green scored this "buck of a lifetime" on December 8. It had a Non-Typical green score of 194-4 net and 203-2 gross. The main beams were 26", with an inside spread of 20-2". Several people said it was an older deer, and that it probably had a larger body weight and antlers a year or two ago. It weighed 158 pounds dressed at the deer processors. I am anxious to see it mounted. Hopefully I can get my wife to agree to put it over the fireplace. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nick, we were there Thanksgiving morning until about 10... we must have just missed your little adventure. I'll be back next November and hopefully you can push a giant to me... keep up the good work!!!

Thanks, definitely better, more appropriate responses!! On one hand, I can understand that people have questions and want to know specifics. Especially since neither my uncle nor I started the thread on that forum. The pics were copied from this site and posted there without permission, without context by someone else who obviously meant well and wanted to share the news, but didn't have any knowledge of the harvest. However, to suggest that something was wrong with the deer or that my uncle did something inappropriate is a disservice to both! It was a beautiful, healthy animal and my uncle is a true NY outdoorsman through and through... bow, shotgun, muzzle loader, scents, mock scrapes, etc. Like I originally wrote, the only reason I posted here is because I've read the Finger Lakes fishing forum daily for the past 2/3 years. I grew up on Seneca, but rarely get to fish and therefore don't have anything to contribute, so this was my 'attempt' to give back! For those interested, more details/pics will be released about the hunter and the harvest, but my uncle is coordinating that. Once I have the details, I'll post them here. Thanks again to all for the feedback and congratulations! My uncle is still on cloud 9! @cdgn troller - Brett, check your gmail account...

Thanks guys... I've passed on all of your comments. We won't know his official score for a few months, but a local guide gave him a rough, green score of 170+ typical, 190+ non-typical. Without a doubt, a beautiful animal and a buck of a lifetime! Good luck to all of you in search of his siblings... I'm sure there are more like him out there!!!

As requested, a couple more pics and one correction... My Uncle lives in Seneca County, he shot the buck in Ontario County. 16-18 points depending on the official definition of a 'point' with a 22" inside spread....

I live in NJ and normally live vicariously through all of your fishing stories and pics. So, today, I'm happy to be able to return the favor with a quick story and a pic that I hope you all will appreciate. My uncle and I were hunting a small Seneca county farm this morning and at 7:20, this buck came to within 40 yards of my uncle.

Brett, No need to apologize about the salmon... I had a great time and learned a TON! You and Bob were great, and I really appreciate your time and the fact that you were willing to share your knowledge with me! Awesome morning on the water with some beautiful lakers in the boat. Brad