Yankee Troller

May 20 & 21 The fishing on the West end has been tough the past few weeks. We are used to huge catches of Kings this time of year, but with the cold Winter and Spring we’ve had coupled with all the East winds the King bite just hasn’t materialized. I’d also want to mention that the Kings we are catching are so chuck full of bait by the time we are fishing in the morning they have their bellies filled with smelt and alewives. We left the dock Friday morning around 6:30am with our crew and headed down to the famous Niagara Bar. The only problem we faced was the dense fog that met us at the pier heads. That now makes two weekends where we learned how important radar on a boat can be. We stopped short because we weren’t interested in hitting another boat, or floating debris coming down from the Niagara River. The first few hours were slow. We finally got into a decent Coho bite on the surface and the corner rigger fires. I knew it had to be a Salmon, and then the line started peeling out. Within a few minutes a nice mid teens King Salmon was flopping around on the deck. We finished the day with a decent box of fish, but only one of those was a King. The King took a Dreamweaver SS Daves Salmon Slapper, and the Cohos were taking Challenger Puerto Rican’s. When we got back to the dock Friday afternoon we quickly learned the bite was tough, and very few King bites were had. We were also very surprised to learn that inside the King we caught was 19 Smelt. Saturday morning came, and the game plan was to go back down to the Niagara bar and grab some Cohos and hope for a king bite or two. When we got down there the Coho bite was much tougher than the day before. It seemed like they were off the body bait bite, and orange spoons were the ticket. A Dreamweaver SS Orange Slurpee and a Honeybee were our top togs of the morning. By later afternoon we noticed quite a few boats heading offshore, which we thought was interesting. So, our curiosity got the best of us and we pointed the boat NE and trolled out to see what the big deal was. Well, we found out quickly why everyone was running out there. Warmer water, and a lot of fish turned a slow day into a great day. We didn’t have to compete with the bait out there, like we did on the inside, and the mature Salmon were on the feed. Our riggers from 60’ to the surface were taking fish as were our short cores run off our otter boats. Everything we took came on spoons, but no one spoon stood alone as the top dog of the afternoon. The mix of fish out there was amazing. 9 miles offshore and there were Brown Trout, Lake Trout, Rainbows, and of course Kings. May 22 - Fun with some Family Our charter canceled on us earlier in the week, so we had an opening in our schedule. I really wanted to get my cousins kids out on the boat to take them fishing, so that’s exactly what we did. After experiencing the fast and furious bite offshore the day before we were filled with a ton of energy to get back out there to lay the smack down on some Kings. We left the dock at 6:30 and off we went. We got out there and it didn’t take long to get rods firing. Our riggers from 30-60’ down and our short cores were taking shots regularly. The Dreamweaver SS Midnight Special was our best spoon of the morning. We couldn’t find another color that was as consistent all morning, and we went through a ton of them. On the short cores it was the Dreamweaver SS Orange Slurpee and the same Honeybee from the day before. The mix of fish was still out there, and all classes of fish were caught. The big kings were a little too big for the kids, but they fought them like champs, and were amazed at how big the fish were. It was a great morning, and it was sad to see it end so soon.

Thanks guys! It was fun!

The sealine is a great choice. You don't know how they were cared for when you got them since they weren't new, so you really cant blame the reel. They have been a staple on the Great Lakes for many years.

Love it!

Sweet! Glad we can make it this year.

Nope [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

Great job! BT's in the prop wash huh? Very cool!

We had 8 of them, and they were made very well. We ran them in a track system. I think you saw ours for sale over the Winter on here. We switched over to the new Cannon rod holders. They are also built very good. I wouldn't hesitate to buy either rod holder. Both will last you a very long time.

Def get that. Also, Windfinder when set up right can be a great app. I have weather stations set up from Port Weller to Oswego to watch winds coming down the Lake. Port Wellar, Olcott, Durand Beach, Oswego Harbor in that order. You will get addicted to Angry Birds as does everybody. Pandora is a great music app for free. Sportsmobile for following just about any league. words with friends is a fun game if your into scrabble.

Thanks Hank.....Results were posted yesterday afternoon.

May 12 - We started out Thursday morning right out the front door where we ended up Sunday evening, but Mother Nature’s harsh East winds on Wednesday really iced the Lake. When we left on Sunday we had surface temps in the low 50’s. Thursday morning we had 40 degrees on top. So, we shot down to the red can where we had reports of some water that had better temps and a few fish roaming in it. When we got there it didn’t take long to get on the fish. There were all the cohos you could ask for, and we even saw a heck of a screen filled with Kings. However, not one King bite would materialize for us. Our baits of the day were a Challenger Puerto Rican, bite off from the original Puerto Rican Bomber, and our Brad’s Thin Fish. These were fished from the surface or on 2-3 color cores. We ended the day with a nice box of Coho’s and a plan to get to the bar early the next morning. May 13 - Friday morning the guys were at the boat by 5:30 and we were off. Right down to the bar we went, and it wasn’t long for our first King bite to happen. Just like last weekend our corner rigger pulling a Dreamweaver SS Glow Froggy starts singing! A short battle later and we have a nice 14lb Chinook flopping in our cooler. We thought we were off to a great start, but even the Coho bite became tough. The same two baits pulled Coho’s, but we also had a firetiger Matzco body bait that was pulling it’s own share of the bites.We would end the day with one Chinook and a few Coho’s in the box and some happy campers as they have realized the Coho meat is where it’s at! May 14 - Wilson Harbor Invitational - Well, Mother Nature through us a curve ball mid week that really put a damper on the fishing. We practiced for two days straight and could only turn up one King Salmon from the iced waters given to us by the East winds on Wednesday. However, we thought with the warming temps of Thursday and Friday we might be able to pluck a few fish from the bar by Saturday morning. The fish were there. It was just a matter of getting them to take our offerings. By the end of the day we realized we weren’t the only ones who had a tough day. We would rid ourselves of the skunk by taking a few Coho and an Atlantic, but no Kings would hit the deck of the Yankee Troller on this day. Once the weigh in was finished we realized that we were not the only soul in this boat. Over half the field came in with a goose egg, and 3 out of 71 teams could scrounge up the 6 fish needed to contend for the $20,000 first place prize. My team and I would like to send a huge congrats to Kevin Jerge at the Wilson Boat Yard for this amazing tournament. Everything went off with out an issue, and the eats at the banquet were very tasty. If you weren’t a part of this event in 2011 you will want to be part of it in 2012!

PM sent back

Never used. Just the antenna and about 3' of coax cable. We ran the scotty antenna instead. $25 pick up in Rochester or Wilson, or buyer pays shipping. [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

3 - 124's and 1 - 107. 3 are gold and one if the 124's is copper. Brand new in the package. $25 for all four. Pick up in Rochester or Wilson, or buyer pays shipping. [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

Great fish Scott! Hope it's headed to the wall!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats to my buddy Matt Y. Embarrassing for Lake O! Lol [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

Launch at Wilson and head West or you can shoot right out of the Niagara River and be on top of it in a mile or two. There are a few places on RT18 near Wilson to stay, or you can stay in Youngstown. There is a launch right at Fort Niagara if you choose to go out of the river.

Nice fish!

The little Niagara's in the marina had one heck of a meal between your boat and mine.

250lb Power pro....the release will slide right down and the boards will pull better.

Can't beat that! My brother and I started off on Lady O when we were 5 and 6. Now we are ADDICTED! Love to see kids fishing with huge smiles when holding a fish.

Oh, and my bros GF is off limits.....She's not a fan of bear skin chest hair either.....

I guess it's more of a crankbait. You can get them here: http://www.gloutdoors.com/crankbaits.aspx It was just as bad! Amazingly, they were here one day and virtually gone the next! Thanks Ray! I know how much you guys were pulling for him. A lot of people were. No doubt it helped, and the family thanks all of you. He had a blast, and got to catch a few fish. He will see more time on the water in the near future. He will be fishing the invitational with us.

BPS, Cabelas, and Storm all make them too. However, they call them different names.

May 7th - We left the dock at 6:30am and headed out to see what Lake O had to offer up. Fishing reports were spotty. A few kings being taken, but word on the street was that it would be a Coho/Laker bite, and indeed that’s what it was. Although, we set up for Brown Trout first thing, but we quickly pulled off that virtually non-existent bite and headed deeper. The weather was much better after a little rain cell came through, but the gnats became unbearable, and made fishing not seem so fun. Gnats crawling in your ear and up your nose all while swarming your head just took the fun of being out there away. We spent at least an hour cleaning the boat when we got back to the dock, but even as we left the marina Sunday evening reminisce of them were still found on the boat. As we got out deeper the Coho gear went out and we started to pick at the Coho’s. We fished from 100-200’, and at times the screen was unreal. Flat lines with Brad’s Thin Fish seemed to be our hottest bait. But we also took a few off the 5 color cores with Dreamweaver SS Coyote’s. Our riggers and divers were basically dead with the exception of one Lake Trout. We ended the day with a nice box of fish. Sorry for the lack of pictures for this trip, but other than fighting a fish no one wanted to be outside getting swarmed by the gnats. May 8th - Morning Trip - The ‘Ol mans first ride on the new ride! - Uncle Eric picked up my father Sunday morning and brought him down for his maiden voyage on the YT3. Our ladies spent the night with us on the boat, so at 8am we left the dock for what would turn out to be a great morning. We headed a touch West, and decided to set up in shallow and work out deep looking for a few Kings. Our spread consisted of 3 riggers all with sliding cheaters, 2 wire divers, and some short cores fished off our Otter Boats. It didn’t take long and we had our first rigger shot. We had a pair of Dreamweaver Glow Froggy’s down 50’ when we started to hear a reel scream. The ‘Ol man was tied into his first King in quite some time! We would end up boating 5 Kings and a few Coho by 11:30, and we had to head in to pick up our afternoon trip. The Brad’s Thin Fin’s were the ticket again on the surface for those Coho’s, but the Kings would all come from one rigger pulling those Glow Froggy’s. May 8th - Afternoon - We left the dock a little after 1pm. We knew there were some fish out there, but we also realized it was the middle of the day with bright sun shining down on us. Oh, and the Lake was flat as glass too. We would watch the surface temperature get as warm as 56 degrees at one point, but low 50’s were the norm on the surface for most of the day. Below us it was 44-46 degree’s depending on how deep we got. We set up with some Coho gear, and during the middle of the day that saved our butt by giving us some action. The Coho’s were all over that same Brad’s Thin Fin that has been so hot for us. Our guys even had us fillet up one of those Cohos to experience some Lake Ontario Sushi. I may need to keep some Wasabi and Soy Sauce on the boat during future outings. Our box was filling up with Cohos, and at 5pm we decided to pull off them and look for a few Kings. We didn’t leave the Coho bite for long and we were hooked into our first King. Northern King Sea Sick Waddler fished on our 60’ rigger would go on to take 2 of the Kings, and That Dreamweaver Glow Froggy down 50’ would take the third. It was getting late and we needed to clean some fish, so out came the fillet knife. Cleaning fish must attract other fish, because every time we start rods fire. The first rod to go while cleaning fish was that Dreamweaver Glow Froggy. He was a little King, and we put him back to grow up. Right at the end the 300’ Copper would take off pulling a Dreamweaver Spin Doctor/A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist fly. As that fish neared the back of the boat I could tell it wasn’t the color of a King. When it got to the net I could see it was a HUGE Atlantic Salmon. Great end to a good trip!