greenhornet73

Thanks Gill T, I have not tried the deep six divers and will check them out. I mainly stick to areas where I have caught walleyes before and know will hold fish but Otisco is a different kind of beast. I will say I am not at all impressed with the quality of Rapala TDD's. I own 6 of them and only 1 of them performs the way it is supposed to and has caught fish. The rattles don't work or the paint has bubbled on all the others. At $12 per lure you would expect a better quality lure out of Rapala. I have written them twice and even sent 2 back to them and the reply was they could not replace them without the original receipt. Who saves lure receipts on the way out to the lake?? BTW - I see you are from Amherst and am a fan. I went to school there at Daemen College many years ago and have lots of good memories.

Thanks Justin, yeah my speed as I paddle fluctuates back and forth so I stay within a range rather than counting on one steady speed. I have been running worm harnesses the past 2 trips and have had more action, just not the quality you get from running plugs. Last night I hit a couple pods of suspended fish over deep water and stopped to jig and got into some nice smallmouths. The debris in the water made for tough trolling especially inside the 30' breaklines. If you see any consistent patterns I would love to hear what you are doing to at least give me some direction, even if I can't mimic your presentation.

Romansmoke, I have researched those torpedo divers and they seem nice because you can run them pretty much straight down beneath the boat to keep an eye on the screen depth without much drag but they are pricey. I ran 4oz of lead last year for salmon in a similar way but couldn't adjust the swim direction like you can with a torpedo.

Thanks Justin, I felt like that was the case since it is so hit or miss for me on Otisco. On the days I get a fish I usually end up with at least a few but most days I'm just getting a workout on the water without a sniff. Got a tank of a smallie Saturday morning, a short 17" 'eye and one dropped and that was the best morning I've had out there in 5 trips. I usually only have a short window to fish from 5 am until about 10 or 11 at best maybe once every couple of weeks. No pattern finding that way, haha.

Good to know. I didn't know dipsy's could get down that deep, I have only run jet divers that get to 30' and dragging 2 was a tough pull. Maybe running one dipsy will be a little easier. If I get a calm day this fall I may have to try running deep again for staging salmon.

Thanks for the reply. I assume you must have had a rod holder centered somewhere in the kayak to keep from spinning around in circles? I have run dipsy's and they definitely created a lot of drag and wore my arms out quick but I had one off each side to balance the resistance. I ended up running 4oz of lead instead ahead of the spoon to get it down last fall in 120' off the "wall" and actually hooked up. Did you ever get walleyes off the dipsy? We used them with Muskie Joe up north for muskies and caught 2 nice walleyes but I haven't had any luck with them down here on the finger lakes or ontario.

Trolling advice I have been trolling for a few years out of my kayak and have had some successful days but many more failures to get hits. I always try changing up speeds and slow S curves but not getting results. I finally have 2 line counter reels instead of just 1 so I can be more sure of my lure distance behind the boat. I am usually running deep diving cranks or dixie spinners and want to hear what you guys are doing if only running 2 rods. Run both at same distance or stagger them maybe 20' apart? It's been a tough season out there for me and know I am doing something wrong if I am not even getting smallmouths to hit. I would love to hear any tips you guys would like to share. Thanks

nice job, congrats! I was supposed to be out there this weekend at camp but all my kids have a stomach bug so we are staying put in Syracuse.

Any good gator's landed today? I couldn't make it out today and will have to settle for a morning walleye troll tomorrow

Nice bird! Haven't heard a gobbler in my area yet this season and am only calling in hens, same this morning. Did he respond to a gobble or hen call? I kept my gobbler call home thinking they would get spooked this late in the season

glad to hear the gobies aren't showing up much yet, last fall they were everywhere and couldn't keep them off my jigs along with the shad getting snagged on every retrieve. I like catching bigger eyes out of my other spots but I hope the gobies don't change the taste of the Oneida eyes.

I'm jealous, nice catch of sea bass and tautog, both are great eating and fun to catch on lighter tackle if you aren't fishing around a wreck or other snags. I'm heading out there in the fall for stripers and false albacore, hopefully the timing is right for both and the seals don't chase them out like previous years. Did you go out alone or on a charter? I haven't been able to find a charter to take the kids out yet that doesn't cost hundreds of dollars for a 3 or 4 hour trip.

I caught a nice one out of the estuary with a jointed rapala last week but it was the only hookup of the morning besides two other missed hits. I didn't think to jig using 30 lb braid and an 8' leader. 30 years ago that was a great technique. Gotta love social media and the educational material that people videotape and share....

Yep, I heard they have started collecting eggs on weekdays only 9:30-12. I know I got my share already =)