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I first would like to say thanks for all of your post, some very good information. I have been reading a lot of post and learning a lot. I currently own a 2010 Ranger 1850 reata. My first question is will this boat handle decent on Lake Ontario. I currently fish lake erie and as long as I watch the weather, I do alright. It will handle 3-4 on erie all day. Do 3-4 on Lake Ontario feel the same as Erie or is it a different wave action.

My next question is, I am planning on comming up the first week of May for a few days possibly going out of Olcott or is there other area to look at. If I am using 2 rod and I do not have downriggers. What is the best 2 rod setup. I have read a lot about wire, copper ect... Do I need that for the spring or can I get away with 30 lbs braid pulling dipsey's which is what I do in the summer on Lake Erie. Without spending a lot of money, what are some lures that produce well in the springs, spoons, flies, plugs, cut heads ect..

Also is there anyone on here that is either retired or has a flexible schedule that would like to go out fishing sometime. I don't always get weekends off but I do get days off in the middle of the week. With that kind of schedule its hard to find people to go out and fish with.

Thanks again for your time

Nick

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Bazookajoe is right on. Boat ride the same either lake, and tackle will work. Braid with fluoro leader.

There are launch areas at Wilson and Fort Niagara as well. Any of the three are good in spring, but that time of year it's best closer to the Niagara River. Canadian waters are productive as well, if you have the license (don't forget to report by phone to Canadian customs 1-888-226-7277). The Red Can area should produce for you, all the way to Olcott and beyond. Follow the Instant Reports on this site to get current information for the time you will be here. You'll get a decent picture from those posting there. Watch it for a while, not just before you arrive.

The spring LOC Derby will be then, so expect a lot of boats and not too much concrete information.

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Last year we were running nothing but shallow diver stickbaits on 70'-120' leads. They produced a lot of fish. I would recomend picking up a couple of inline boards 1 right and 1 left to get the lures away from the boat. In the spring up until the water temp comes up you won't need dipsys unless you are planning on running them on a 4 setting to get them away from the boat.

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I've had a lot of success with stickbaits for browns, but that occurs earlier than May 1st. Rapallas in 9&13- floating and jointed. Smithwick Rattlin Rogues are very good also. Best colors for me have had some orange in them. Firetiger patterns, brown trout, rainbow trout, basic black or gold all produce.

Planer boards work well for presenting them in shallow waters near shore, especially when there is a mudline (run lures through the outer edge and close to it). You have inline planers and they will work as well. I like to run the boat in about 10 FOW and have the lures towards shore. 50 ft. drop-backs or more. With braided lines, add a 10 lb. flouro leader of at least 10 ft. to the lure. I use snaps to connect to the lure for easy changing, but make sure they have a rounded end-not pointed. I prefer to use a swivel to connect the braid to the fluoro to help with line twist. A snap swivel at the lure doesn't seem to work as well.

The lures should run close to the bottom and those i mentioned run 3-7 ft. deep. When I don't touch bottom at all, I'll add split shot to the leader to get them where they need to be. I want to see weeds on the lures occasionally, or a rare hangup, to know I'm fishing them properly.

This tactic begins in March and usually is done by May. You don't have to start at dawn. Let the sun warm the shoreline waters a little and target areas where water enters the lake. Browns are the target, but cohos can be had this way also. The kings are out deeper.

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  • 3 months later...

I have run a ranger 1860 out of olcott the last two summers. I found lake Ontario much easier to run than lake Erie in the bigger waves. I believe it is the longer wave length, a function of depth. If I wasnt going out neither were the charters.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We caught some rainbows and steelies in the mix of browns up close to shore.  Like mentioned above the kings are a little deeper in the spring usually 20'-40' depending on surface temp. We pounded the browns and steelies in Early March and April close to shore ~10 FOW. The kings were just a little deeper in about ~20 FOW. We were making large swings trolling shallow then deep then shallow then deep and picking up fish all over.

 

This was out of Sodus but it goes the same for just about anywhere on the south shore that time of year.

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The first charter I ever went on was out of Sandy Creek (Hamlin) on April 6th a few years ago.  We didn't go deeper than 20 feet at any point but pulled in a bit of everything: one atlantic, one smallmouth and a mix of browns, steelhead, lakers, cohoe and smaller kings, boating 40 plus in six hours.

 

Sometimes, they're just there.  I will say that our captain warned us not to take that kind of day for granted - we haven't seen one that good since. 

Edited by Mortigan
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The first charter I ever went on was out of Sandy Creek (Hamlin) on April 6th a few years ago.  We didn't go deeper than 20 feet at any point but pulled in a bit of everything: one atlantic, one smallmouth and a mix of browns, steelhead, lakers, cohoe and smaller kings, boating 40 plus in six hours.

 

Sometimes, they're just there.  I will say that our captain warned us not to take that kind of day for granted - we haven't seen one that good since. 

That sounds a lot like our first voyage trolling for trout and salmon. Haven't had that good of fishing since.

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