muskiedreams

Went to Conesus for ring of fire, a little fishing and recreation. After a long wait at the launch, we were lucky to get one of the last spots to park the trailer. The only fishing action was a low to mid 30s pike that jumped and shook a firetiger bucktail in the northwest corner in about 12 fow. I only fished about 1.5 hr. Ring of fire and fireworks were awesome as usual.

Actually Chad, it has not been rescheduled and will not be rescheduled. We were just considering July 11th as the only possible date to reschedule it for. We discussed it and Brad and Jim would not be available on that date, so we would have needed to find at least one other person to help put on the tournament. We also thought that there might not be enough participation with such a short notice of rescheduling and because of... The Three Rivers Chapter of Muskies Inc. will be holding a tournament the following weekend, on July 18th and 19th.

The changes are more of a clarification than anything else and are stating what can be interpreted from the rules before the clarification. It is an individual tournament. Therefore all fish that an individual logs as a fish he/she caught, must me in fact caught by that person. In other words that person was the only person who handled the rod and fought the fish. Maybe a certain amount of leeway could be allowed for a youth or someone who is physically challenged. Like removing rod from rod holder for someone who cannot do it. We have to rely on the honesty and integrity of all entrants to a certain extent. If someone saw something that was (pardon the pun) fishy we hope they will bring it to out attention. The person(s) you are fishing with are both your partner(s) and your opponent(s). The decisions you make on how and where you fish throughout the day will affect everyone on the boat. It is between those on the boat to decide the rod arrangement. I usually have my rods and my fishing partner has his rods. We each decide what lures we will use and how much line we let out on our own rods. We work together to a certain extent to try to develop a pattern that works. If a fish bites the lure on my rod, it is my fish to fight. If my partner catches all the fish that day, so be it. I still look at a fish caught by the boat as a victory for both of us. This is the way I fish in tournaments or recreationally. In a tournament, if one of us were to win a cash prize, we would split it and/or put it toward the trip expenses. The winner would get the glory. It is up to you and those you are fishing with to decide if you have designated rods or rotate. We cannot dictate that. We just ask that you be honest. I can see the logic behind making it a team event. That would have to require a set number of anglers per boat. I do understand that with the individual format, it would be advisable that you all have designated rods. Of course if you are casting, that is the case. The clarification here is to make sure it is understood that handing off a rod to stack fish for one angler on the boat is considered to be contrary to the rules and doing so can be considered grounds for disqualification and possibly being prohibited from participating in future tournaments. There is not a huge amount of money at stake in these tournaments like there is in many professional bass tournaments so hopefully everyone will stay honest. Word usually gets out about those who are not. Also we have the big fish pool that anyone can win by catching one fish. There are pros and cons to using the points system as opposed to awarding prizes based on 1st, 2nd and 3rd largest fish. We have discussed going to length only in the future.

After careful consideration we have decided to postpone the tournament due to safety concerns based on the weather forecast. The forecast is calling for heavy rain and strong S and SE winds with the potential for thunderstorms as well. There is a potential for high waves based on the current wind forecast. We are considering a rescheduling it for July 11th. I hope to have an answer within a few days. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause anyone.

We have amended the rules for the tournament to provide clarification. The amendments are stated at the top of the rules and highlighted in bold type in the body of the rules. This is just a clarification and not a change in rules. Click on the link below for details. http://www.nymusky.com//wp-content/uploads/New-York-Muskies-Inc-Open-Tx-Rules-2015-6-22-FINAL-v1.pdf Also Jim Reynolds has injured a knee at work and will not be able to attend and run the tournament. I will be taking his place to help Brad run the tournament. At this point I will not be participating. I would consider bringing my boat if there is someone interested in participating with me and sharing expenses. Keep in mind that my boat has only 2 rodholders, but I do have a kicker and a bowmount. My two deep cycle batteries are on their 6th season so they will be somewhat limited. I would also be interested if someone has an opening on their boat. PM me, email me or call if interested. Good luck to everyone in the tournament!!!

One thing I know from a talk that Region 8 Biologist Brad Hammers gave Chapter 69 last year on the diary study for Waneta Lake is that fin clip information is important to them. He said that if they have the length and which fin is clipped, they can tell the year class of the fish. They clip a different fin each year in a rotating pattern. From that, and with data accumulated for the year as well as other years, they can get an idea of how each year class is doing. I would think that the more diary participants there are, the better the overall data will be. Brad also said that knowing the number of fish without fin clips will also give them an idea of how much natural reproduction there is. There are a couple things I wonder about. One is that I have heard that there is not 100% fin clips with every stocking. The other is that muskies will sometimes grow back a fin that is clipped. I don't know if there is any truth to these statements. I am thinking that maybe there was a time that they didn't all get clipped but maybe they now have the procedures under control so that they can make sure all get clipped. If that is the case, Maybe they no longer want to stock unclipped fish in the lake so they can make a more accurate assessment of any natural reproduction. I know that the DEC and the US Dept. of Fish and Wildlife have been working at enhancing the Great Lakes musky habitat in order to try and bolster the already naturally occurring reproduction. I have heard that there has been a lot of work being done to identify the ideal spawning, nursery and rearing habitat. I also believe the DEC is leaning toward trying to enhance natural reproduction in some inland waters through better habitat management. I would like to find out if that is their thinking. If so, maybe we will be able to help support the studies and habitat enhancements that will be needed to work toward that goal. Larry, I have read that they have been supplying muskies to Vermont to stock in a couple tribs of Lake Champlain. I am not sure if it is fingerlings or fry.

I wonder if they are considered to be inferior, like the runts of the batch. If that is the case, it might be undesirable for them to be stocked in a body of water like Waneta, that is used for brood stock (occasionally) and also has some natural reproduction.

I wonder if we could talk them into adding them to what they stock at Waneta or putting them in Lamoka.

Wireless operation would require a transmitter and a receiver that operate on a specific frequency. There is always a possibility of radio interference. The FCC specifically regulates wireless communication devices (including transmission encoding) to eliminate the possibility of interference with (or from) other applications. Interference could cause loss of throttle control which could lead to a collision. That is why I said a kill switch function is important. You would probably be violating FCC regulations if you used equipment designated for use with RC modelling for this purpose. If there was a mishap, all liability would be on you. Also there is not as much safety engineered into RC modelling equipment as there would be in something like this that requires more safety consideration. If you rig up your own system, it would be much safer to use wired controls. Even then, it might be prudent to have a kill function at the control in case of failure. Possible fire or explosion hazard can be caused by any switch or relay contacts that are not sealed as well as some DC motors which have commutators that produce electrical sparks. All of these types of components must be sealed to prevent any sparks that may cause ignition of any fumes that may be present.

There would be marine safety issues such as fire, explosion and throttle control. Rigging a cable throttle would have less safety concerns. Even with that you have to consider safety. Such as, you should not have a remote throttle without a kill switch function. With a servo control, all electrical components need to be explosion proof (sealed so they cannot produces any spark that could ignite fuel fumes).

Planer boards are allowed but you must adhere to all NYS regs including # of rods per angler. Another concern with them might be oblivious pleasure boaters. Girth measurement is not required or used for judgement. Only length. Time of day fish is netted can be important in a tiebreaker. Jaw spreader can be useful sometimes (especially with small, Multi-trebble lures that are inhaled deep) but some should be modified by installing plastic caps over tips to prevent damage to the fish.

The tournament will be on Sat. June 27th. Go to 2015 Chautauqua Lake Musky Tournament for details.

Rich, if that happens, 1) the battery is weak or of insufficient rating for the starter 2) the starter is drawing too much current for some reason 3) the wiring to the fish finder is inadequate Or a combination of the above.

You most likely have a poor connection somewhere between the battery and the Garmin. You can try just wiggling every connection (both 12 volt and ground) from the battery to the Garmin one at a time and then see if it turns on. If it does, wiggle the same connection again to see if it causes it to shut down. The voltage may read fine until you try to turn the unit on. Once you turn it on and there is a current draw, a poor connection can cause a substantial voltage drop which will cause the unit to shut down again. If that happens, replace, repair or clean corrosion at that connection. keep in mind that copper wire that does not have a shiny copper look is corroded and will need to be cleaned with sandpaper or scotch brite pad before making a connection to it. All connections must be tight and clean of corrosion. You can use sand paper or a scotch brite pad to clean corrosion. If a connection is loose, you might be able to tighten it up by squeezing connector with pliers to give a tighter fit. Sometimes connectors that are crimped to wires can be just a little loose (almost not noticeable). Keep in mind that there can be more than one poor connection so if you find a problem, go through the same procedure and check every connection again. Another thing you can do is just inspect and clean and/or replace/repair every connection between the Garmin and the battery. If it is at all questionable, replace, clean and/or repair it. Sometimes a connection can look ok but if it is a little loose or there is a slight amount of corrosion, that could be a problem. In a boat there can be multiple connections causing the same problem and this is not uncommon because of the environment. It is not a matter of if you will have these kinds of problems. It is a matter of when. You can be proactive and check for these kinds of problems periodically. It can be a real problem if your boat's running lights fail to operate and you don't find out until you need them. A voltmeter might help you to isolate or verify a poor connection but it will not necessarily show a drop in voltage unless current is being drawn by the Garmin at the time of measurement. Every electrical connection is a potential point of failure. There are methods that are used to help seal and protect connections from the harsh environment which can help greatly.