Ric66

Thanks, Les. I guess we weren't any different when we were their age and "knew" everything. I have to cherish these moments too. Before I know it, he'll be off to college. Wait, do I hear Harry Chapin's Cats in a Cradle?

I'm definitely not running one down the chute anymore. I'm still gonna run 6 rods though so I can get an idea of what they're hitting. Rather have to untangle a few lines than not catch fish! This fish just kept going from one side to the other.

I have 16.6 Smokercraft and I do the same. Check and double check the wind. Great idea "1foote or less" tshirts:)

Thinking we got off the original topic which was Garry finding a way to keep the paddle wheel from spinning while trailering. I too, used rubber bands that I would forget to take off before launching. Fishhawk mentions to do this to keep gears from getting damaged. Great idea! Thanks, Garry

Yep. That core definitely got in the way. And what you wrote makes a lot of sense. I do like running downriggers when fish are way deep so I can use my temp/speed probe, and its easier netting a line from a downrigger. I had one of my dipseys on a longer leader as an "experiment" and while it did get hit, it was a pain to net the fish. May look into slide divers.

Thanks, Nymph. Now I know why guys spend so much on autopilots!

Took off work early and picked my son up from school getting him out early too, which he hated. Yeah, right! This is only my second year trolling Ontario so I was not brimming with confidence. My plan was to set up in 150ft and put out 6 rods with various delivery systems. Had two dipsy divers, one with clean spoon and one with flasher/fly set out at 200 and 250 on 2 setting. Two riggers, one with clean spoon and one with flasher/fly set at 110 and 130. One 7 color lead core down the middle and one rod with a torpedo, 3 colors of lead core with spoon and a church planner board. First hour had nothing. Not marking much either. Surfaces was low 60s and had to go down to the 100s to get mid 40s on the probe. Trolled west with the wind for about an hour without any action. Then, finally rigger with clean spoon (evil alewife) goes off, get the fish back to stern of boat and he throws the hook. Few expletives later, and the other rigger goes off and this time line breaks. I am ditching pinch pad releases and only using Blacks from now on. Lost too many fish to pinch pads. Right after that dipsy rod goes off and we get him to the back of the boat and he starts to tangle with the lead core rod. Able to net him so at least not going home empty handed. Not sure now whether to keep trolling with wind or go back through where we got all the hits. Decided to turn around with sun at our back. Trolled for another hour or so and I had replaced the rigger that had the flasher/fly with a spoon-Dream weaver lemon ice and that one goes off. Hand the rod to my son who says he thinks this is a big one. Starts to peel off line and goes from side to side, fearing he is going to tangle with other lines. Son gives the rod to me and I try to maneuver to clear other lines. Give the rod back to my son who brings him close to the stern then salmon runs and wraps around one of the dipsy rods. Have my son back up and able to net him. Whoops and hollers follow. Meanwhile the boat is running in a slow circle ending up tangling some of the other rods. Blood all over the boat to my son's great delight. No matter. Great day on the water. Perfect weather. And one of these days I'm going to get my son to smile for a photo! You would never know if from the photo but he had a great time.

I usually fish out of Deans then depending on the wind I'll follow it. Good fishing both north and south of Deans. Not sure if the salmon will be up that far because the water has been chilli but I have caught nice salmon north of deans this time of year. Good luck!

Thanks, Katy!

Thanks, Les. My father got me fishing when I was 2. It's hard these days to keep kids interested in a sport when it calls for patience in an era of immediate gratification. My son's friend's father now wants to go out with me so maybe he and his son can enjoy fishing together too.

Took my son (right) and his friend Adam (left) fishing on Friday hoping to get Adam into a large fish as he's only been out fishing once in his lifetime. Launched out of Deans. What started out promising with a number of marks on the fishfinder, though the fish seemed to be very deep, couldn't get anything to hit. Set up 5 rods- 2 riggers, 2 dipsy divers, and one planner board with mix of spoons and flasher/flies set from surface down to about 80ft. Fished in 200-250 foot range mostly and couldn't get a rod to move. With time running out, snacks running low, and it being very HOT with little wind, the kids still did not complain though I know it was getting to them. I decided to go towards shallower water and set one of the riggers down to 135 foot. Just when we decided to call it a day (hard for me because I've never been skunked on Cayuga) that rigger released. Gave the rod to Adam who started cranking on the reel but that laker didn't want to move. Finally got him to the surface and my son Ryan did a great job of netting the fish (he has more fun netting the fish then catching them). Anyway, it was a great way to end the day and these two kids never complained despite the heat and no electronics! Hats off to them! The fish hit a blue aqua spin doctor and fly. And a great thank you to a very nice gentleman at the launch(think his name was Tom) for taking that picture and sending it to us.

Has a four stroke engine, good shape. Seems like a reasonable price to me given that I paid over 20 grand for a brand new boat.

Thanks, guys!

Cayuga-Saturday Took my wife's friend's husband out with me on Saturday. Launched out of Dean's and set up going south. 2 dipsy rods with flasher/fly set at 200 and 175 on 2 setting. 3 rigger rods set from 50 to 80. Dipsy at 200 goes off, give rod to Jin (orange shirt), coach him on how to reel him in. Lose fish, bad coach. Same rod goes off again and I just keep reeling in, not giving any slack and able to land the salmon. I've been losing a number of fish on the dipsy/flasher rig this year. Have been trying to coax them in and I think it's been giving the fish too much slack with the extra drag of the flasher. Set the other dipsy rod at 200 and it goes off. Nice rainbow reeled in by Jin. We're learning. Then caught a dink salmon. Dispy rods go dead but rigger rod goes off. I figure with 12lb test I don't need to be too careful. Wrong again. Breaks my line at back of boat. Didn't get a look at it but must have been a salmon or rainbow. Getting rough now the more south we go. Started to take in lines to head up north but got into a nice tangle with one of the dipsy rods and a rigger. But as I'm trying to reel in both rods, rigger rod seems like something's on it. Nice laker. Didn't feel like untangling the mess in the rough water so decided to end the day after a couple productive hours of fishing. Will have my wife's Korean church friends over this weekend for a nice grilled fish dinner.

Thanks, Ed. Like I said to Les, you and other guys on this site have helped me be a better fisherman. In turn, I hope my son will be part of the next generation to take up the sport.

Thanks for the suggestion Dave! Here is a pic of the LT Sorry its sideways

Thanks Guys. Fishing IS a great way to bond with our children. And probably a way a lot of us got started in fishing learning from our dads. I'm going to try and post a pic of the lake trout. My son will get a kick out of seeing a fish he caught being posted here.

My 9 year old son never liked fishing but very recently he's shown an interest. Brought him out for his first full day's of fishing although we were only out for about 2-3 hours, but for a kid, that's a full day! Launched out of Dean's and the wind was worse than I expected but started to let a wire rod with a dipsey and Spin Doctor and fly out. Got it to about 80 on the counter when something hit it, gave the rod to my son but by then he got off. Anyway, a good start. Felt a little pressure to catch fish to make sure my son stays interested. Set up that rod again and sent a second rod with same set up- 3 minutes later that rod fires and he brings in his first salmon, little over 18 inches but gave him a good fight. Set up both rods again and sent probe with temp on a downrigger. 55 degrees down about 45 feet which seemed shallow to me but I guess with the north wind it was bringing up cooler water closer to surface. Didn't get anything more until we decided to leave around 8pm and again one of the wire rods has a fish- another 18inch salmon, and the other wire rod has a fish on it which I thought was small because it lacked any fight to it, but as I reeled felt some weight to it, gave the rod to my son and we brought in a nice laker, I'm guessing about 6-7 pounds. My son was very happy and I was relieved that it turned into a successful trip. Now I have to convince my wife to let me clean the fish in our new house's kitchen . Thanks to all the people on this site who share as I've read many posts which helped me know a little about what to do. If it wasn't for this site I would not know how to fish with wire and dipseys, and that was the only rods that produced today. Wanted to get some pics of my son with the fish but he fell asleep on the car ride home. Anyway, sweet dreams.

atlantic= slightly forked tail, caudal area just above tail is slimmer than on brown, jaw does not pass eye as it does on brown. That's how I differentiate between the two. But it can be tricky