Prof T

Fast morning..on the water by 5:15..done at 5:55...pair of 20's, a 23 and a throw back...all in my slot..sunrise photo after picking up at 6:15...fish cleaned and wife's flowers watered by 7.

NICE! Stayed home last night but gave it a try this morning at 5. Lost one, but did get a 26 and a 14. Both outside of my new self imposed slot so came home empty. No regrets.

Hit it last night with a buddy. Kept 5 (18-23), tossed three, lost 3. Perfect night w/ low temps, light breeze, no bugs, no weeds. Only fished bottom bouncers.

Congrats! Great fish

Kevin, Slow for sure. I marked very few fish in my normal spots. Might do some exploring next time out. Gene

Didn't get on the water till about 9:30 tonight. Current was really slow at that point. Think it was because the wind turned to the north after that front went through. Although it made controlling the boat pretty easy, I couldn't get a hit. Finally got a small keeper around 10:30. I then preceeded to lose the next 3 I had on. Checked my hooks on the favorite thunderstick and they were bent out just enough to be a problem. Did finish out my limit over the next hour. The fish I cleaned were just gorged with 2 inch gobies. The current also seemed to stabilize when I started hitting fish ( or vice versa). Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

Livin' the dream!

I imagine those fish were happy to get out of the river,safely away from the pirates. Nice ca5ch!

Kevin, Did the early morning a couple of days ago...took me two days to recover. Nice catch..and great sunrise pic. Gene

Matt, What a fish and great account of the catch. A true fish of a lifetime and what I consider pretty unfair focus by the Post Standard. You meticulously describe your trolling pattern, location and details of the catch here for everyone to share and they choose to discredit it? I have some skin mounts on the walls, some as old as 40 years old, and I still take great pleasure in remembering the details of each catch when I look at them or tell new friends about them. I, like most guys here, would have no issue with you for keeping this trophy, but you chose to release the fish because it was the right choice for YOU! That should have been their focus. Gene (By they way, Dad's favorite beer was supposedly made from Hemlock Lake water. Guess now I know why)

Yesterday decided to burn up a few crawlers and picked up a 25". Wind was tough all day, but I'm trying to figure out a daytime pattern for some upcoming company. Nice to get a decent fish on a spinner for a change. Decided to muster at 3:15 AM today, on the water by 4. Wind was non existent, no weeds on the water. Went to my best spot and it took three passes before I got my first hit. Next two came quickly, limit by 5:30. With the pressure off, I stayed out till 7 exploring new water for another day. Ended up 5 for 5, keeping a 19,20 and 24. All on bottom bouncers.

Wingman, I think the fish are along that entire section of river and everyone has their favorite runs. It's a matter of targeting a specific area, learning the contour and maintaining good boat control so that your lures are right on target, too high and you're out of the action and too much line and you're dragging bottom and fouled. No different than anywhere else. I definitely think the after dark bite is superior to the daytime fishing. I see guys doing it during the day but I don't see nets in the water very often. Not saying guys don't get them, it just hasn't worked as well for me. Final point is that stretch really concentrates boat traffic on the weekends. Be sure to have functioning lights if you're out at night and be aware of what's going on around you and you'll be fine. Prof T

Resting up for that full moon in a few days Kevin?

Usually don't fish till Mondays to let the weeds settle down from the weekend pleasure boaters. Got friends lined up for a fish fry then so decided to hit it Sunday instead. Boated my best limit of the season. Lots of bait showing up, surface temps rising to the higher 60's. Still the same program trolling 32 FOW, bottom bouncers, 1.3- 1.5 MPH. 28" , 27" , 24". (My cutting board is 30). Did go out last Thurs and added 2 19" to the season's total. That night I was tight to shore untangling something. As a fellow angler was heading home, two nice couple from the same area I am that I've met on the water, made it a point come in and stop to be sure I was OK. No shortage of considerate people on the water here. I fish alone most of the time and trolling among drifting boats can work or can be a nightmare. We all seem to alternate giving ground and get along quite well.

Sent a PM

Reeleyz, Worked in Rome for 34 years and put a boat in Oneida Lake for the first time in 81. Many phenomenal memories there. Just starting a new chapter here. Prof T

Got a chance to share a trip last night with Kevin Legg. Enjoyed getting to meet the guy who was so willing to share a lifetime's knowledge with a stranger new to the area. He's a class act and a real gentleman! We went 5 for 6 in my boat. Best around 25". 1.2 to 1.5 SOG most of the time, 32 FOW, Olive glow thunderstick again. THANKS AGAIN KEVIN!

Still pulling bottom bouncers in 30-35 ft. Marking fish suspended too, but long lines pick up a lot of trash and where I am there is a lot of shallow water pleasure boat traffic and that sure produces lots of ripped up weeds from the weekend. Last night finally got my first 30 incher here. Took a long time to get her out of the net, no camera handy, and released. Brought home a limit 27, 22 and 21. Definitely best night yet!

Sweet! Suspended or bottom? Starting to see a lot more fish off of the bottom even though I haven't been setting up for them yet.

Picked up a couple of 19's last night. Surprisingly there didn't seem to be the drifting moss there was in the earlier part of the week. Nice quiet evening. Now on to the weekend!

Is this a problem that comes and goes or can I expect it to just get worse as the water warms?

Out last evening and got this 25 1/2 incher right off the bat. Thought I was in for my best night yet....never got another hit. Trying a new run and now the moss is coming into play. As I run unknown depths and I run over shallower water, things drag, pick up crap fast and foul.

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