ManOverboard

Assuming you have your heart set on two boats I would agree with bulletbob... Something in the 15 foot range, fiberglass hull (heavier so less drift) and an outboard engine - 30 to 50 HP should be just fine. That being said, have you considered one boat that can take care of all your needs? I had two boats up until recently - an 18' bowrider for family stuff and a 14' aluminum for fishing. Just sold both and bought a 17.5 foot center console with a 90HP outboard. So far it has served me well for family missions (tubing, wakeboarding etc) and is great to fish from. The one small downside to the center console in these parts is your limited ability to get out of the wind while underway. Just for perspectives sake here is a used 2007 19' Maycraft for sale on Craig's List. Not my boat nor do I know the seller. http://fingerlakes.craigslist.org/boa/4010900064.html Just something to consider.

semperfi, If you haven't done so already, try different water depths. Starting at say 100 FOW cruise across lake to opposite shoreline. If you mark suspended fish make a note of the depth and then start working that contour up/down the lake. It's not the best but you can get an idea of lake contour from here: http://www.keukalakeassoc.org/where_maps/keuka_lake_depth.php Also as guff mentioned above, often they will be laying on bottom undetected by your fish finder. You will see them streaking up the water column on the screen as your jig gets closer to the bottom. When the two lines nearly intersect reel like crazy. It's like cat and mouse...

On the jigging side of things you may want to have a look here for what works: http://deepwater.cayugafisher.net/index.php He makes these locally I believe - over near Ithaca... Could be a win win situation for two small local businesses. I have been meaning to order some myself but keep forgetting. If you manage to get some sort of deal going to sell his jigs I will stop by your store and buy 2 dozen of the shad jigging spoons and 1 dozen of the minnow jig heads (1.5 oz).

Got out for about 3 hours this morning and ended up going 5 for 6. Best two were 7lbs and 5lbs. Lots of boats out on the S end with the tournament going on. Hardly marked a fish down S and the few I saw wouldn't budge. Talked to two guys trolling and neither had caught anything. I guess the big wind event from yesterday has moved the fish around a bit.

Just for the heck of it was wondering how many LT have been brought to your boat this year while jigging? Hmmm... Good question as I haven't really kept any sort of running count. I would guess somewhere around 75. Per trip average certainly has gone up since getting all the info on this site and switching from the metal speed jigs to the tube setup. I didn't really get started until late April/early May and certainly lost a pile of them on the speed jig/assist hook setup. There was a stretch there where I lost one for every one I boated.

semperfi, I fish Keuka on a regular basis now - probably 40 or so trips per year. I do nothing but jig so I cannot help you out with trolling etc. - sorry. Assuming you have a decent fishfinder that has real time sonar capabilities I would encourage you to bring along a rod or two and give it a try. I simply use a 6'8" med/fast action bass rod paired up with a conventional style casting reel. I think braided line is a necessity and then finish off with about 10' of florocarbon leader. As far as jigs go you can read about what is commonly used here viewtopic.php?f=6&t=33678 or you could order the jigs here http://deepwater.cayugafisher.net/index.php My personal preference would be the Shad Jigging Spoon stuffed into a white tube with a #2 treble attached to the backside via a split ring. I primarily fish the South end of the lake which would be a bit of a run for you but I'm sure the methods will work near Branchport. As I slowly motor along I'm keeping my eyes glued to the FF looking for structure, bait or actual fish marks. Structure on the lake is pretty minimal (it's more like a big bowl) so mainly I am looking for drop offs - generally you can fin these around points. Bait balls will be obvious and most of your lake trout marks will be 50 feet or deeper. Anything more shallow than 50' is likely a smallmouth bass. Once I have located fish I drop straight down and keep an eye on the jig (via the FF) as it falls. Ofter times you will see fish come up from below chasing after the jig. Wait till the jig and fish nearly intersect on FF and start reeling - fast. All that being said, I will be on the lake Labor Day weekend. If you have any interest in getting out on the water to give jigging a try feel free to send me a PM. Best of luck!

I couldn't agree more guff. I just spent two weeks trying to teach my two nephews (8 & 13) a few things and they both wound up boating the biggest fish they have ever tied into. They have since returned back to the city but a day hasn't gone by when they haven't asked me when were are going again.

Fished from 7-10 and ended up going 8 for 10. 120 FOW seemed the most productive with most fish suspended between 60 and 80 feet with a few coming up off the bottom to chase. Fish seemed to have returned to South end and almost every point was holding them - Willow, Rye, Two Mile. Also marked good numbers at the old wash out. Marked LOTS of bait - thick enough to give you a false bottom reading. It's been a while since I've marked bait like that. Forgot the camera so no pics sorry.

Do you have a picture of your rig sounds very interesting. I'll see if I can snap an actual pic but this should give you an idea:

guff and gonefishing71 were the one's that told me about this set up: 1oz trolling sinker with a treble on one end (via split ring). Slide sinker into soft plastic tube bait and tie to leader. Could also use a single hook in place of the treble to cut back on fish damage if you plan on catch/release. So far I have had no issues with the treble though.

Took my two nephews (8 & 13) out for a quick morning trip. Got a late start due to them wanting to sleep in. Fished over 120 FOW on E side 2-3 miles from HPort and marked bait but not a lot of fish. Dropped to bottom in/around the bait and got them to come up off the bottom but most would not chase far. Oldest caught and released one LT about 17" and the youngest nephew managed one just shy of 22". He had to bring it home for dinner since this was his first truly unassisted catch. Thought for sure his rod and reel were going overboard!

Awesome fish!!! That blasted wind has made jigging a struggle lately.

Have my nephews in town from the city for a week so I decided to take them out on a jigging trip. Fished from about 6:15 to 8:00am and the oldest (far right in pic) went 3 for 3 with the biggest being 22" and about 4 lbs. The younger (far left in pic) went 1 for 2. We fished the East side 3-4 miles up from Hammondsport in 120 FOW. Most fish we marked/caught were suspended in about 80 FOW.

Off subject some but where did you launch? My family has a cottage on the East side about 3 miles up from Hammondsport so that is my launch. Lately my trips have been N from there up to Gold Seal area and on up to the Bluff. There is also one small no-name point close to the cottage that seems to hold fish more often than not. The old timers would tell you there is an underwater spring that empties into the lake there but who knows for sure. Earlier in the year I had decent luck from 2 mile point on the W side on down to Hammonsport but the fish seem to have vacated that area now - at least in my experience. Thanks again!

Hit Keuka from 6:30 to 8:30 Sat AM and tried the setup mentioned earlier by guff and gonefishing71. 1oz trolling sinker with a treble on one end (via split ring). Slide sinker into soft plastic tube bait and tie to main line. Ended up going 6 for 6 with the biggest being about 22". Fished over 120 FOW - fish were suspended in about 80 FOW with a few coming up off the bottom. I think I will stick to this new tube setup vs. the metal speed jigs I had been using. Definitely less lost fish. So far the treble hasn't presented a problem with tearing the fish up - 5 of the 6 were released and were in fine condition. Thanks again for the tips!