Mainefisher

On 3/4/2023 at 8:37 PM, Donkey81 said:

If you want the solid information of what is taking place during that time of year because it can change every day. Everyone at Sonnys in port Ontario is amazing. They will be 100% honest with you on everything. I see people posting about watching dirty goose on here. The man has only been on the lake a little over 6 plus years as a charter. Get advice from people who have been around for a very long time. You will not be fishing in shallow water. Like another gentleman said, normally that time of year is well over 30 plus feet of water. Last year we were in 50 to 70 from the high rocks to the observation tower. Downriggers, dipsy rods and core rods. Usually at that depth we are running all spoon programs. Depending on the size of the bait this year, that will tell you what size spoons to run. Yes there can be a mix of spring kings that could show up so be prepared. We usually run 15 pound mono on riggers with a 15 pound floro lead. Depending on depth usually that time of year, 5 color to 10 color core rods. Last year stingray size spoons produced very well. But depends on the bait size. A fish hawk is a must. The water current changes so dramatically on the lake that running a top speed can change in the same direction. But if you have any serious questions or need answers when you get here. Sonnys in port Ontario is the place to go

Thanks for the information! Really looking forward to this trip. The experience will be a lot different then what we’re used to. We really appreciate all the information given this far. I’ll be sure to report back on how we do!

On 2/24/2023 at 3:44 PM, Yankee Troller said:

Keep an eye on my YouTube channel. I have some videos that will be dropping in the next few weeks regarding set-ups for small boat and big boat Spring BT fishing. Link is below.

 Thanks! I’ll be sure to keep an eye out. Love seeing your posts on Facebook as well.

3 hours ago, HB2 said:

For a lot of depth finders , they make a paddle type speed / temp probe add on  . They don't cost a whole lot that will help you out quite a bit . 

It's not down speed temp but it's not bad and will help  . 

 

 

My sonars have surface speed and temp. It’s looking like a fish hawk is going to be ordered in the near future. More I read and listen to sounds like a necessity to have.

1 hour ago, FishingFool34 said:

By end of May fish will likely be out a little deeper. Not sure what your definition of skinny water is but I'd say you'd be looking at 30-60 fow for browns that time of year. There may even be some Kings around by then too. I'd make sure you have some kind of divers with you (Dipsy, Slide or Chinook), 5-10 color leadcores and your salmon gear just in case.

ok great, that’s pretty much what I was hoping for. Offshore a bit more and being able to troll for them similarly to what we do in Maine. By skinny water I was thinking 10 feet or less. But being new to fishing the area and not being familiar with the hazards being a little further offshore seems to be a good thing to me. 

Help everyone, new member here. My wife and I have a planned trip to trailer our 20ft boat from Maine to Pulaski over an extra long memorial weekend and fish for browns. We’ve got downriggers, leadcore, pretty much everything but a fish hawk. Just looking for some general info on tackle (lures, line, etc) I should buy and what I should expect to run into out there that time of year. I assume everything is going to be early this year and my hope is the browns will still be in skinny water given how early things seem to be. I’ve charted boats in July for kings but it’s always been a dream of mine to bring my boat to New York and give it a whirl. Thanks for any help you have to offer!

The ball tracks exactly the way it should if I attach a Scotty or offshore release to the tail of the cannonball. If I attach a blacks or chamberlain release to my cable then a snubber under that then to

my weight it won’t track at all. If I ditch my snubber it does the exact same thing. The only way the ball tracks right is if I attach a Scotty or offshore style release to the tail of weight. I can’t imagine going heavier for the type of fishing I do. I’m currently at 10lbs. The lakes in Maine don’t have the current the Great Lakes have. Fish style weights and torpedos track fine no matter what. It’s only the cannonball style that track like garbage. I’ve tried 2 different cannonball style weights and get the same results.

Thanks everyone! Just ordered 2 scotty releases 👍

Hey everyone, new guy from Maine here. I’ve gone to Lake Ontario on some charters and what a fishery you guys have compared to what I’m used to! I’m hoping I can gain some knowledge here that’ll help me better my fishing on the lakes in Maine. Now I’ve searched all over the web and cannot find anything on the problem I am currently having with my downrigger setup. I run two cannon mag 5s with cannon terminators, then chamberlain releases, to an Amish outfitters 6” snubber then  my downrigger ball.  The problem I’m having is when I’m trolling hardware 2-3mph my downrigger cannon ball style will zig zag threw the water causing a ridiculous bounce in my rod tip this is only when running inline chamberlain style releases. If I run an offshore style release connected directly to the cannonball the ball will track nice and straight and give me no problems. Also if I run a fish style weight the weight will track straight as well no matter what style release I use or my speed. I really don’t prefer one style weight over the other, other then the cannonball weight is easier to come by in Maine. I’ve tried the cannon ball style weights with and without snubbers, with different terminators, and with my riggers at different angles and depths and they still zig zag. When parked in my garage and the weight hanging freely they hang perfect straight. It’s more of an annoyance thing then anything and it’s driving me crazy I can’t seem to get it straightened out. Thanks for your help!