muskiedreams

Ed Cragg was posting to facebook during the course of the tournament. So it might be under his name or under Reel Rippin' Charters.

Just got home late last night. Thanks to everyone for participating. Thanks to Capt. Ed Cragg for being the only judge boat, posting everything on facebook and photographing the event highlights. Thanks to Brent and his wife for providing the meat for the cookout. It was a great time as usual. I believe there were 43 participants and 11 fish entered. There may have been a couple other small fish not reported. The number of fish was a little low but there were a good number of respectable size fish with about 5 fish 40" to 43".

Jim and I did some fishing on Sunday morning. Team Lacko cooked a great walleye lunch then we napped and cleaned up in the afternoon. We went back out around 6pm and found out that team Lacko just got a short window of action with three fish just before we came out. We fished till dark wit no action and then packed it in.

Can't wait til the 10th Tournament next year.

I would say weigh it in the net and then subtract the weight of the net (weigh it after release). That should get you a close measurement. Knowing that you have an accurate scale also helps. With a digital scale, you have to make sure it zero's properly when you turn it on (turn it on with the hook hanging straight and freely). I think some digital scales just don't give consistent readings. A good mechanical scale might be better.

It is kind of in the middle of nowhere. I don't know what hotels are nearby. The closest towns that would have hotels are Hammondsport, Watkins Glenn and Pen Yan. There might be something an the east side of Keula Lake (maybe a B&B) but you also need parking for boat. You also might be able to find a rental on the lake but you might have to do the weekend minimum.

From where you are, I am guessing it would take 1.5 to 2 hours to get there. I am not sure what the best route to take would be. The launch is where Fleet Rd. crosses the canal that connects Waneta and Lamoka lakes. See this map.

ImageUploadedByLake Ontario United1443454471.854113.jpg

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

That"s what I started on when I was a kid.

So when an adult takes a kid fishing are they considered a pusher?

Can be more addicting than any drug!!

I didn't notice it until Jim mentioned it and I looked at the photo. Wish I had gotten a closer look in person. If I zoom and adjust brightness and contrast, it just looks like there is a V shape chopped out and it looks like it happened a long time ago.

Here is one photo. there is a chunk missing from it's tail. The only way I have been able to post photos is to add to media on this forum. I know there must be a better way to post photos. Can someone explain to me how?

Fished the east Niagara River with Toothy yesterday from 9:30 am til dark. My first time on the river this year. Water temp. was 68 and went down to 67 later. I got a nice 44" tiger about 10:30 am. Was coming up to 13' from 20' near the southern most marina on Grand Island pulling a niagara walleye junior perchbait. No more action the rest of the day. Arms are sore from fighting weeds which were a big factor. Will post pics later.

Sorry you can't make it Mike.

Brent, sending contact info in PM.

Nice shirt too Mike!! Coming to the meeting tonight? We just got hats  

The more the merrier.

Do you have all the right release tools and a big rubber coated net?

With this tournament, you have to keep the fish in the net at boatside until a judge boat comes to verify your catch. You will be given a flag to use to signal the judge boat but you can also contact by VHF radio or possibly cell phone.

This is technically not a Muskies Inc Chapter 69 tournament. it is run by the three guys listed above. Winners are determined by length. First place being the longest fish and so on.

NY Muskies Inc.Chapter 69 will have a tournament on Sat., Oct. 24th in which the winners will be determined by a points system. 4 points for a 30" fish and 1 point for each additional inch. Highest points wins 1st place and soon. There will probably be a separate $5 to enter big fish prize where big fish takes all.

Both tournaments are catch and release so all fish must be successfully released to count. No exceptions.

 There's some big healthy fish in there, obviously no eating, however I have seen reports that walleye tagged there have been pulled out of Oneida...

The distance is reasonable so it is not surprising. I imaging they could also go to many other locations through the canals but they would have to be very adventurous.

The 9th annual Mark Troy Memorial Musky Tournament will be held Saturday October 3rd on Waneta Lake. It is put on by Jim Reynolds, Bob Saucke and Captain Ed Cragg in memory of Jim's friend and fishing partner, Mark Treau, who passed away in 2006 with cancer. Bob is recovering from an operation on his knee due to an accident at work so he won't be operating a judge boat this year.

This is a catch and release tournament. Judge boats are used to verify your catch. Tournament hours will be 7 am til 3:30 pm. Morning fog could delay the start. Registration will be at the boat launch between 6 and 7 am. The entry fee is $25 per angler and this is a cash tournament with prizes for first, second and third place. I do not have all the rules but I believe they will be the same as last year and will be provided to participants before the start of the tournament. After 4PM will be the awards, then a cookout, raffle table, 50/50 raffle and group picture. Bring your own drinks. I believe it will be at the cottage on Swarthout point as usual.

If you have any questions, you can call Jim at 585-670-0422 or post them here.

Contact Jim if you want to stay at the cottage. I believe there is still room.

Very nice  

It sure would be nice to know why the tigers just aren't being caught as much in Conesus as in Otisco. Is it the size of the lake? Is it survival rate and could it be because there are pike there too? Or is it just that there is a lot of food for them in the open waters? If it is poor survival, it sure would be nice if a solution could be found. I wonder if the DEC has analyzed the program there to try and identify any reasons and/or come up with some possible solutions. Maybe stocking them at a larger size would help. Or changing stocking dates or locations. I am under the impression that the DEC just does not have enough data to make a determination on survival rate.

Maybe it could be a good college research project. Does anyone know if there is a fisheries studies program at SUNY Geneseo? If so maybe they would be interested in working on a project there. They already have lake access at Long Point. Maybe they could even help try a pen raising project there. If extra help is needed, I think some Chapter 69 members and local anglers would be willing to help.

I think a lot of it depends on available manpower (laziness could also be a factor as well). As far as I know they will gladly accept volunteers. I think a lot of it comes back to how they are reared in the hatchery...there is an abundance of research indicating that pellet-fed tank reared fish have a much less survival rate than fish raised on minnows and in ponds. But since pellets are cheap and tigers will take to them NYS hatcheries will always go the cheaper route and raise as many as they can, throw as many as they can into a body of water and see what sticks. If you do it long enough you there is obviously some success (i.e. Conesus and Otisco) but there are far better ways they could be managing hybrid muskie fisheries.

Mike, Do you know of any method that was done and studied to have more positive and/or economic results or any projects that are currently being researched. I was wondering if putting them in pens for a couple weeks in the body of water and trapping and feeding them native baitfish could be a viable practice. Then float release them with boats. Maybe pens could be constructed in natural weed beds to help them acclimate to hiding in the weeds and hunting their food in the weeds. And then when it is time to release them, just remove the pen.

I am all for upping the size limit on tigers across the state. It would be great to increase the odds of boating an actual trophy sized fish so close to home. I think I will be purchasing a family membership from musky Inc today. Does everyone feel that is the best way a local non pro fisherman can do his part to support the local musky fisheries? Or are there better ways to spend my money and efforts to help make things happen?

Becoming a member of the chapter is a good start. Becoming an active chapter member is ultimately the best way to support local musky fisheries. The larger the support for musky fisheries via organized groups such as Muskies Inc., the better. Active membership is priceless. It is all about creating group support for musky fisheries throughout the state. You can equate it with the crowd being the extra player on the field in a football game but the voice has to be more tempered. We need to work with the state and other groups in a supportive way and within the established mechanisms. We are still a young Chapter. Members are needed to organize and contribute in a wide variety of roles in order to become established as a respected organization in the state.

Cute little guys and gals. Too bad they wont have much of a chance to grow up. It would be nice if they would accept your offer to help. It might be in violation of some state regulation for them to accept your help but it seems like a waste to toss them in like that. Just very expensive fish food.

Please let us know how you do. I have talked to friends about checking it out for some time now. Just haven't got around to it.

Any Sportsmen's Club that is part of any County Federation of Sportsmen's Club's, that has a delegate can put together Legislation for Size Limit Change for Tiger Muskies.Would probably be easier if we went after 40"Size Limit accross the State of NY,since Pure Bred Muskies are already at 40" for Inland Waters,I do not see us loosing this if we go through with Legislation sent from Federation to NY Conservation Council and on to NY Assembly as a Bill!I will start by writing a Resolution,have all Sportsmen Club's in Erie County & Chautauqua County vote on sending it to the NY Conservation Council. Then get supporting letters from Muskies Inc Chapter 69 and the Niagara Musky Association.We also have some friends in the NY State Assembly that we can get to sponsor the Bill when it gets to the Assembly.This is how the 3 Rod Rule was done and also helped with the Earlier Inland Musky Season change.

I agree Larry. Raising tiger minimum size to 40" should be very doable. In waters that hold both purebreds and tigers, they are already at the same length as purebreds. Chautauqua is 40", Great lakes is 54", rivers in southern tier are 40". There might be some concern from the DEC about having the tiger min. size different than pike on waters that have both like Conesus, but it is much easier to tell the difference between pike and tiger as opposed to musky and tiger musky.

It would be nice if pike could be raised to at least 25" (currently it is 18") and the creel limit lowered but there might a lot of opposition there. If it is eventually raised in increments to 36", it might create some nice pike fishing opportunities and take some of the pressure off muskies. It should at least be done in some waters (maybe at first to see the potential of restoring them to trophy status).

I think I have heard that there are a lot of walleye there too. The problem is you don't want to eat them out of that lake. At one time, I believe it was considered the most polluted freshwater lake in the country. They are still working on removing all the pollutants from the bottom of the lake. I believe they they sill don't allow swimming in the lake. But I have heard that the fishing is good there for various species. You just don't want to eat them.

This is an area where we would need members who live in various counties to become members of the respective Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs. I believe only a county resident can become a member. We can't do it in all counties because the cost of the memberships would add up. Also the MI 69  Chapter Board would have to approve each one. The key counties would be ones that have musky waters. I am not sure if all counties have a federation. There are two counties that border Waneta Lake but I do not know if either one has a federation. It would be nice if we could gain some political influence there to help control the lake association's practices on the lake. From what I understand though, they have a state legislator or two behind them so it may be an uphill battle there.

Even in the Boat US article, there is no definitive conclusion. I don't use one. I have a roller trailer and the nearest trailer cross member is at least 1.5 feet forward of the transom. My motor is 1990 Mercury 75 hp. I just tilt it all the way up. In that position, the balance of the motor weight is leaning toward the front of the boat slightly. So most of the weight is exerted vertically on the transom.

As mentioned in the Boat US article, road vibrations can be transferred through a transom saver from the trailer to the motor which can in turn exert stress on the transom. It will depend on how rigid the trailer is and how tight the boat is held to the trailer. It will also depend on how much shock is absorbed by the trailer suspension and tires. The more the trailer flexes, the more energy will be transferred through the transom saver and the motor to the transom.

Of course, when trailering, no matter what the setup is, it is always best to slow down for RR tracks and bumpy roads. Trailer suspension just doesn't smooth out the bumps like your vehicle suspension does. Also I found out the hard way that if you have only one roller supporting the front of the boat, you have to strap down the bow to keep from damaging the hull as the boat bounces on the roller. This might be a good idea for any setup.

I wonder if old age could have had something to do with it's death.