cinnamon fish

Les, I really like the part about the 12 lb test withstanding kings up to 32 lbs. Must've been a 35 pounder that broke me off, lol. I love fishing light line, and in the summer, light leaders in combination with SeaFlee or something similar.

Any season for me in my 18' but only when there's light wind out of the south.

Incredible fish, congrats!!

Anybody have a pic of the results from today?

This one just pays out the top 3 heaviest fish, no categories.

Thank you Bobby, the Margeits and everyone involved who make this tournament the best run tournament on Cayuga Lake each year. All the effort that goes into organizing it so well is hugely appreciated! I was thrilled and surprised I managed a 3rd place finish with a 29 lb box, especially given the weights from previous years. Conditions were tough out there with the weed mats and fleas out of control. Congrats to the winners and big thanks to the sponsors too. Also a great hang with folks at the weigh in.

Agree... except the dead bait is still in the water, rotten and caught in floating weedmats everywhere.

Thanks for the review. I have been using the regular Sunline Supernatural mono line for several years and I love it. It does have less stretch than most mono lines. I'm bummed to hear their new No Flea line wasn't very effective. But also not that surprised I guess because the fleas are so relentless right now. I bought a spool of 30 and 40 and waiting for it to arrive in the mail. I'll probably try the 40 first and see if maybe it's a little better than the 30. But yeah, they both have pretty low diameter for the strength. That's another reason I like their line. I've been using the Blood Run 30lb flea line and it's pretty good but I don't like how slick it is and have had knots pull out a few times. But there aren't many options these days. I'll report back after I try the Sunline 40 lb No Flea.

I'm anxious to hear your review of the Sunline "no flea" line... were you running the 30 or 40 lb? I purchased a spool of each this morning. Fleas are real bad on Ontario right now so that was a hardcore test you put the line through. Appreciate any comments on the line, thanks in advance.

If anyone has Quick-Strike flutter spoons in good condition they might want to sell, I'm looking for more. Thank you

Reel Rage Watermelon spoon caught me a 15+ pound rainbow on Canandaigua... Highly recommend folks buy some!

Impressive! How old would you guys guess the 15.15 rainbow was?

One of the guys in the derby committee told me, not yet official, but approximately 259 entries this year.

Love hearing about these monster/record fish!

The derby has Ric Cleveland/Flint Creek do their mounts.

Yeah, that's truly nuts!

Harvey, the derby committee told me they were planning to contact the DEC about finding the age of the fish via a certain bone in the fish, similar to the rings on a tree. That's what they did 2 years ago when the 29 lb laker was caught. But I guess they have to time it with the taxidermist doing his thing. So, might be awhile.

Very cool to know, thanks so much for sharing!

Thank you, Les! I'm still in shock that I caught it. Probably will be for awhile. Means a lot to me you guys saying such nice things. I've learned a lot on this site, and from fellow fisherman in the area, and my dad, thank you guys!

Thanks so much for sharing this knowledge and article! Sk8man tells me he knows of an 18 pound rainbow also caught in Naples Creek when he was in high school. But if I really caught the largest rainbow from the lake, not creek, that would be amazing to know. And hearing multiple times Canandaigua is known for the largest rainbows in the finger lakes, I wonder if the fish I caught could be the largest rainbow from any finger lake? Doesn't matter too much, but sure would be cool to know. I think the derby committee may be looking into it as well. And they might have the DEC investigate the age of the fish too.

Sk8man wrote to me privately and I responded and this is most of what the weekend looked like for me... Saturday morning I drove the boat all the way up to the north end and had 2 big fish break off early. Not sure what they were. After that I slowly trolled my way down the lake and caught 11 lakers to 6 pounds, 4 rainbows to 4 pounds and 1 big yellow perch but nothing worth weighing. Sunday morning I decided to stay on the south end for a bit and that rainbow was the first bite I had about 6:30am approximately 1 mile north of the Woodville launch on the west side. 45 feet of water approximately 20 ft. down... on one of my little 3 way swivel rigs. 8 lb mono mainline to a very small 3 way swivel, bottom eye to a 5 ft light line with a 3 oz weight and side eye to a 6 ft 10 lb fluoro leader to a reel rage watermelon spoon. Similar to a Seth Green rig, but only 1 spoon and very small swivels and lighter weight to stay higher in the water column. Hard long run right away, dumped 3/4 of my spinning reel then jumped 4 ft out of water off in the distance. Knew it was big but too far away to tell how big. After that, steady pressure, a few shorter runs and inched him closer over about 15 min while he stayed near the surface. He went deeper near the boat but thank god he was tired by then and I got him up and netted him. Barely fit in my net, 36.75 inches. Also, lucky it was early morning before the wind picked up. What a thrill! I have to thank guys like Les and others on here who have shared so much valuable information that I've absorbed. I've been fishing my whole life but grew up mostly fishing saltwater with my father and I only became addicted to fishing the finger lakes in the past 8 years or so. I feel so overwhelmed and thankful that I found this fish of a lifetime. I just love the mysteries of what lurks in these amazing waters!

Well said guys! I love the event and challenge. Even a modest Rainbow brought me $1500 one year and I think it's up to $2k now. Love to find one of those big landlocks. Good luck to all fishing!

Bear said he only had one small salmon come into the weigh in. Lots of rainbows and some browns.

So great!