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EyesOfTheIronMan

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Everything posted by EyesOfTheIronMan

  1. Please be careful posting locations of your successes. I've had some spots that have been dear to my heart for decades ruined since the Internet forums began...that said, good luck all
  2. John i agree. When i started out going for the walleyes up there 30 something years ago, it was a bunch of mostly old timers sharing info and fishing together through the night. We all shared info and that was the fun of it. Unfortunately with electronic media these days and a large population of younger fishernman that lack the ethics everyone had back then, its a dangerous proposition to let a lot of these spots go public knowledge. My kids will have all my skills and secrets passed to them but im a bit leery of the mindset of a lot of people with boats and fishing gear in this day and age. That said, i have privately helped some people in the right direction if my gut tells me they are true sportsman.
  3. Even us seasoned veterans cannot escape the "hit and miss".....here one day gone the next.
  4. Reeleyz, there is something almost magical about finding 'eyes in a new spot. Nice job. And I also appreciate not blowing up a spot with info.
  5. Let's also remember how many Muskies are currently swimming around the lake sporting this fishes DNA from all those years of spawning. That fish spawned A LOT of fish with good solid hereditary traits like herself ( I'm assuming it's a female).
  6. Nice 'eyes! I eat some of the " smaller" ones from the East end area of the Lake and if it makes ya feel any better, from what I've researched mercury is not one of the pollutants in them. Which is good because mercury collects in the meat of the fish. The one's listed in the consumption advisories collect mostly (or only) in the fat of the fish. So nice lean fillets should theoretically remove a majority of them. Can you or anyone else on here recommend a good taxidermist in the Syracuse area? I'm kicking around the idea of getting a mount done as well.
  7. Trolled and jigged Cape Vincent last night till midnight...nothing. LOTS of bait balls on the sonar everywhere from 50 to 120 feet.
  8. Interesting. Upriver the alewives come in by the millions about now. On a calm night the entire river is boiling with them from 120 fow over the shipping channel all the way into shore. The eyes start to show up about that time. That's kinda why I've asked some questions in past posts about how you guys target the eyes at other times of the year. I'm almost certain the population I target is following those alewives in from the lake and eventually back out. I don't think there is a significant resident population year round in the upper River although the river structure and current is ideal. If they are there year round I've yet to locate them. Observations based on many years of hardcore SLR addiction
  9. It doesn't get much better than that! You guys are skilled to the highest degree. I posed a question in one of the other threads asking about alewife activity. Being the addict I am, I'll start heading up there from Syracuse soon around 1 or 2 am, hit the eyes until 8 or so, then drive back home to work. Do it quite often. Knowing if the alewives are around thick will help me maximize that time, at least for my first trip. After that I'll know. Funny thing is, they never have alewives in their stomachs when I know they must be gorging on them.Similar in Otisco.
  10. Nice eye! I'm wondering if the alewives are spawning/swirling on surface at night yet and if so how long have they been in? Cape Vincent area. Do you guys down river farther get the massive runs of alewives around now or don't they go that far from the Lake?
  11. Thanks for that story! I have pretty much the same childhood story about a carp (although definitel NOT white meat!). I never wanted to kill a drum just for an experiment and throw it in the trash if it wasn't any good. Although these days I would just bury it in the garden and convert it into plump tomatoes and whatnot .
  12. Catch some monster drum jigging for eyes in Cape Vincent area as well late summer. Super fighters. Always wondered if they were good to eat as they seem to be voracious predators and their saltwater cousins are delicious. Are their fillets boneless like other gamefish or do they have some sort of weird bone structure?
  13. I vacuum seal them. Use the roll of vacuum seal bag material and make it quite a bit longer than you need. Then, when you get more cheeks, cut off the sealed end, add cheeks, and reseal, again and again....
  14. Nice Kevin....once again!
  15. Don't underestimate the ships either. Every so often they'll throw a wake that you don't want to take broadside. And you can't see those monster waves coming at night.
  16. Very nice job on those SLR eyes people! I fish the Cape Vincent area and am still trying to pattern them before the late July-September time. I'm not even sure they are there now or if they migrate down from the lake as the old timers I learned from years ago used to tell me they did. Can't catch them if they're not there but the sonar lately has been telling me they might be there now. But getting up there from Syracuse at walleye-thirty to figure it all out is a challenge for sure. And yes, these fish are addicting beyond description.
  17. Lakeside- I'm at work now but when I get a chance later I'll give you some info that will put you on fish in that area.
  18. Got up to the river later than I planned, around 4:30 this AM. Didn't pick up any eyes. Trolled to cover more area. Marked a lot of bait balls mostly in the bottom half of 30 to 50 feet. Large marks with almost all the bait schools. As soon as the sun came up I hammered the northerns. Lost count at 18. They were spitting up big perch. Water was 53 at 4:30 and 59 when I left at 1:30. Flat calm and sunny. Beautiful day !
  19. Thanks guys. Funny, I have Otisco a half hour drive from me and Oneida 15 minutes but I can't stay away from the SLR.
  20. Great reports on SLR eyes! I'm heading up there later tonight to search for them myself. 30 years fishing this area of the river (not far from Lake O). I know where they are from late summer through fall. But Ive never gone after them at night this time of year near my summer spots. The Canadian side bay that usually produces in the spring is a minefield of boulders in 2 feet of water and I will not attempt going in alone at night. I'm wondering if the pattern you guys who have done well recently is at all similar to late July through October as far as depths, baits...I'm going to see if I can pattern them later tonight but any help would be great as there's only so many hours before daylight and I'm making the haul from Syracuse. I dont need specifics, I will know what you're talking about. I will post pics tomorrow if I have any!
  21. Went out last week a ways upriver I think from where you are. Hammered the northerns, all big, healthy, solid fish that hit and fought like freight trains. Kept a couple for the table, let all the rest swim away to spawn more northerns in a few months Continued trolling for eyes after dark till about 10. Lost one nice one at the net and fought and lost 2 other heavy fish before I saw what they were, assumed they were eyes by the way they hit and fought, but in that river, who knows. I do know I've never caught a northern after dark in 30 years fishing up there, big drum fight a lot harder and different than that, and the weight of the fish excludes even the biggest bass. Water temp was 53 most everywhere, same as it was 2 weeks before that. Air temp 48. Water crystal clear. Nice moderate (5-10) NE wind which as I found out is definitely not the kiss of death.
  22. Thanks Kevin for the advice. Like I said, I'm extremely proficient at fishing that area from probably thousands of hours of fine tuning over 30 years. Definitely not wanting an easy answer (I know there isn't one), but at some point I think it's legitimate to ask someone who's much more of an expert than I to hopefully assist my efforts. You (and a few others on here) have really put in the hours and dialed in on it. I wish you continued success! I will probably get up there one last time (I said that 2 times ago) next week. Any thoughts on that? This is getting to be the latest in the season I've ever targeted the eyes up there and I don't have much experience with the October pattern. I'm guessing they will still be in those similar areas, deep ledges w/current, as the water isn't really cold yet, and maybe they stay there even then. Either way, if I pick any up I'll throw the pics up here. I know I saw a post awhile back on how to do it. Thanks again to you and others who have shared their experience with me. Enjoy the hunting and good luck on Quinte next month!
  23. Hi everyone, All the info and pictures you guys have shared on here is appreciated beyond words. I've been fishing the Lake O end of the SLR since I was 7 (41 now) and have dialed in on the eyes well, but only in August and a bit in May. I have not been able to dial in on how to get into them once that bite slows/stops. I know they have to be right in that area still, as I'll get one here, one there trolling for northerns, usually deep Husky Jerks, Reef Runners, etc. along the steep drops. I mark large fish with bait pods deep, 35-90 feet in the same area and my thought is they are eyes. Dropoffs from 16 to 70 fow like a cliff, weedlines at the top of the drop, bait pods with large fish on the sonar near bottom, very near spawning grounds, and very near where I was just doing well on the eyes a month ago. I put in lots of time, even heading up from Syracuse at 2 am, fishing till 8 or so, and heading back to Syr. to work. Sometimes I'll put in 14 hours when I can swing it, trolling, jigging, medium, deep, very deep, fast, slow, etc. I've tried my version of what I'm imagining is the obviously successful bottom bouncer trolling technique and still not a single eye after the August deep jigging bite tapers off, except the occasional odd one trolling for pike in the same area. I know the area like the back of my hand and have no issues trolling and navigating that area in the pitch dark. If any of you that have found success with these SLR eyes consistently could offer any insight I may be overlooking, it would be hugely appreciated. If not, I'll figure it out eventually and continue to enjoy the pics and posts that keep coming. Very nice fish, all of you, and a huge accomplishment for sure!
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