muskiedreams

Great story and pics. And congratulations.

Do you write professionally?

The 8th annual Mark Troy Memorial Musky Tournament will be held Saturday October 4th 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.

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. We are working on arranging the cottage on Swarthout point.

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

I have fished this tourney every year since the first one and it has always been a great time even though I have yet to enter a fish.

Daniel,

I highly recomend joining the Niagara Musky Association. Here is a link to the website http://niagaramuskyassociation.ning.com/.

I live in Rochester but have been a member for many years. The club is cellibrating it's 20th year anniversity.  Orriginally founded by a group of musky fisherman who wanterd to promote conservation and "catch and release". There are a lot of knowledgeable musky anglers who are always willing to help new anglers who are conservation minded. You have probably met some of them if you fish those waters. There is a monthly meeting at the Edridge Club in Tonawanda on the first Tueseday of every month at 7PM.

Wet The Net, Is the prop on your kicker below the hull when it is running?

I have a 15hp 4 stroke Evinrude on my 18' Grumman (aluminum boat with 75hp main motor and 3 batteries in the back) and at that speed I am less than half throttle. I think it will go about 10 mph at full throttle.

It seems like a 9.9 should be sufficient. If the prop is running low enough, maybe going to a higher pitch prop would help.

That fish is a very healthy looking specimen. If it was ever caught before, it must have been handled gently. The fins look perfect. Only one small scar behind the head. Was the other side just as clean?

The Navionics App I have on my iPhone was around $15.00.  I would imagine that is the one you would use on a tablet as well.  for an additional $3.99 a year you can get the enhanced maps which is awesome.

Tim,

Does it include Lake Erie, Niagara River, St Lawrence, Finger Lakes Chautauqua Lake and other inland waters? Is the $15 also a yearly fee?

The app I have on my Laptop I got in April. It just has basic charts but it has L. Erie, L. Ontario, St Lawrence R., Lake St. Clair, parts of L. Michigan, L.Superior and L. Huron. It also has all inland waters in the NE US from Maine to Kentuky and west to Illinois, some in northern Wisconsin and a few in sourthern Ontario Canada above Toronto.

Thanks to everyone for the info.

KING ME, Are these just for Lake Ontario or does it include all the great lakes an inland lakes?

Are the prices the same for the smart phone apps?

Is the platinum + price for PCs or is it for a chip for a GPS plotter? And does it include any other waters?

Is there a big difference between nav+ and platinum+? And can you discribe the difference?

Sorry if I asked too many questions.

Thanks Darryl.

May your drags be always screaming this fall

I talked to Jim (Mr. Toothy lures) and he recommended Troll Devil (which is a longer version of the daredevil), Lucky Strike Canoe Spoon and Papa Doc by Doctor Spoons. He also mentioned several spoons that are no longer made: Ivanhoe and Swim Zag If you can find them used. He said the Canoe Spoon can be trolled up to 3 mph but the others are best at 2 mph or less.

None of them go very deep on their own so using an inline or snap weight will get them down. WIre line will get them deeper than braid and lead core may be worth trying. Just like any lure, you have to find the right  conbination of speed weight and line for for the aplication.

For colors his top choices are black and white or yellow with orange diamonds.  Back color of silver.

I have seen him have success with spoons when nothing else seems to be producing.

Exactly.  He deservs to be prosecuted and they should not let him hunt or fish again.

I just got an email from Navionics saying that Windows tablet and PC users can get Navionics Boating but it says you have to have Windows 8.1 or higher. Here is the Press Release.

It looks like the basic charts are free and you have to purchase the app to get the Navionics+ All Inclusive which includes Nautical Charts, Sonar Charts and Community Edit for a year. It doesn't give a price. And it doesn't say anything about additional charges for various charts.

Now I have the basic charts on my Windows 7 Laptop which I got for free earlier this year. It was offered through Boat US for members. So I'm wondering why it says you need 8.1 or higher. It would be nice if I could get the sonar charts but maybe I need 8.1 for that.

It also says that if you have GPS on your laptop or tablet or if you have an external GPS you can track your course. And if you have it downloaded on a PC you don't need an internet connection to view them. It's all in your PC.

From what I have heard, the MNR in Ontario is more serious about enforcing the sportfishing and hunting regulations than the NYS DEC is. I guess the problem is with the burden of proof. They need indisputable proof to prosecute. If this incedent happened in NYS, I wonder if they would have to investigate and charge the perp because of the proof of the video.

If you are digging bottom while trolling or jigging bottom where everything is crusted with zebra mussels, the flouro will be damaged by the zebra mussels. This may cause you to leave a lure in the mouth of a musky. It can kill the fish and you will be out an expensive lure. Not to mention not catching the fish. That will not happen with a solid steel leader. If you do decide to use floro, you must check for abrasions often and replace the leader when it occours. Some say that musky teeth can bite off floro and I think it is very possible. They will not use it under any circumstances. The brand of floro you use can also make a difference (I beleive Seaguar is considered to be the best). I mostly use steel but under extremely clear water conditions (especially shallow and bright conditions) I might consider using floro with great care. But I do catch fish with steel in clear water conditions. Muskies are gennerally not as warry as trout.

ohiobones,

I found it and viewed it before you added it to your post. There are some idiots out there that you just cannot educate. Maybe he has brain damage from eating too many perch. Hopefully he will be procecuted and will learn that he will have to pay the consequences for his actions.

Just a warning about the video and comments on YouTube. There is some language that some might find offensive or inapproptiate.

I came across this and thought everyone would get a kick out of it.

A mink steals a buuhead from a fisherman's bucket on Webster Pier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQcqflC1dZE

Anchoring from the stern is dangerous, especially with a small boat in heavy waves or current. The anchor should have been on the bow.

Lively1,

First of all, excuse me if I am teling you some details that you are already aware of.

If you have a separate starting battery and deep cycle battery for bowmount and or downriggers, it might be best to connect the fishfinder to the deep cycle battery.

What is happening is the voltage "at" the fishfinder is dropping below the threshold required to run it. There are several possible things that can be causing the problem. It can also be a combination of causes.

1) Weak battery. If it is not at full charge, or not able to hold a full charge due to age and/or internal fault, when you start the motor it will draw the voltage lower while starting.

2) Too many things running off the same battery while the motor is not running and/or the motor charging system may not have enough charging power to bring the battery to full charge during the time it is running.

3) If charging system of motor is not charging the battery when it is running.

4) Drop in voltage between the battery and the fish finder. This can be caused by poor (or corroded) connections between the battery and the fish finder. It can be fuse connections, battery connections, crimp connections of wires to terminals, switches and/or connectors. Inadequate wire size, possibly in combinations with length of wire and what other accessories are connected to the same wire.

I would check it out in the following order.

1) Make sure the battery is fully charged and the water level in all of the cells is full. If not, top off with distilled water. Then check the condition of all the cells with a hydrometer. They are inexpensive at an auto parts store. Moderate to poor indication on any of the cells indicates the battery should be replaced.

2) Measure the voltage on the battery with everything off and engine not running (it should be about12.5 to 13 volts). Then measure it with the motor running. It should be a volt or two higher, which will indicate that the motor charging system is working.

3) If no problems are found from 1 and 2 above, check and clean all connections between battery and fishfinder. Make sure all connections are tight. Clean metal surfaces with scotch brite pad, emery cloth, or sand paper. This includes fuse contacts. Shiny metal is clean. You can use contact cleaner or WD 40 for connectors you cannot manually clean. Any connectors that are questionable, should be replaced. When installing new connectors to wires, make sure the wire is not oxidized or dull looking.

Hope I was helpful. Good luck!!

Brent, Nice fish for Waneta. I see it has the left ventral fin clipped. Are you participating in the angler diary study? If not you can call 585-226-5343 to get on board.

Nice one Adam!!!

I know a couple guys that went further up recently for a week. They did casting, jigging and draging tubes. They got a 55 on a Bondy, a 49, a few others in the 40s and a 35.

Nice Chad !!! That looks like a contender for the IGFA C&R record.

I wouldn't donate the lure.   It looks like it has produced a lot of action in the past.

Probably the St John River and tributaries. There is a musky derby (kill to enter) in Fort Kent every year. It is going on this weekend. Here are some links.

http://www.fortkent-muskie.com/index.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBQoAs4gvRM&feature=related

I think there has been a few here and there over the years. It might be a good question to ask on the trout and salmon forum.

If you have to make an adjustment, it looks like you might be able to move the boat forward an inch or two so the back of the rear roller is even with the back of the transom. You will have to move the winch stand forward to do it. If you need more tongue weight after that (as measured like in the You Tube video with full tank of gas and all equipment) it might be better and easier to move the axle and not the rollers. You have to make sure the scale is well supported as if it is on a floor to make sure you get a good measurement.

When jacking up the rig, it will help to have it connected to the tow vehicle to help stabilize it for safety.