LongLine

Did the crimps give or the wire? The stock leaders are only 80 Lb test. With the boat going up & down over waves, that weight actually pulls a lot more than 15 Lbs worth when it changes direction. Eventually the wire will fatigue. I run a modified ball that weighs about 12 Lbs & replace leader every two years or when I see some wear. Tom B. (LongLine)

Joe - Yes I have that unit. Only time I've had that message is when the plug came loose. Used to happen after boat did some pounding at higher speeds. (fixed by wrapping a little electrical tap around cord & tying off on side of bracket.) Knock on wood, haven't had any problems. Does it happen in one mode more than others? i.e auto fishing, cruising, trolling? Tom B. (LongLine)

Glenn, My oops. I'm wrong. That's a proposed reg for upcoming yr. Mentioned at State of Lake meeting because guys were cleaning northerns up north on the ice & leaving carcasses on the ice. Current regs - Skin has to be left on species not listed: http://www.dec.ny.gov/regs/4026.html Tom B. (LongLine)

If the steelie saw your Buffy suit, he probably thought a bear had him...and I'm not gonna ask how you wet the floor.... Tom B. (LongLine)

WTG Mark. Tom B. (LongLine)

No more wooden nickels? That'll make tree huggers happy. Tom B. (LongLine)

SF - I haven't fished the area for quite a while, but there are a lot of posts from there. Just have to catch up on the reading. (Should be near the beginning of the run, depending on the weather.) As for carcasses, no you cannot fillet the fish on the water anymore. You can gut it but no more than that. Tom B. (LongLine)

Tree top - no it’s not the easiest thing to do. Have a good grip on that area just ahead of the tail & keep away from its mouth & gills. Keep him headed in the direction the boat is going. It may take a minute or so. Grey Fox – Their odds at survival are much better than if they’re thrown in the cooler. But realistically, I believe they survive, they’re hardier than we think. Some people say they don’t survive, but then they never show pictures of carcasses to support it. Also fish have been known to come up from 39 F into that warm water just for lunch. Jekyll – I also release lampreys. For every one I catch, I release 3 (pieces) Ray - I think he was more refering to the 1-3 Lb'rs. Chowder – I generally troll between 15-17 miles when I can get out & over the years, I’ve seen very few floating game fish out there. Tom B. (LongLine)

In other words: you backed over it?? Tom B. (LongLine)

Nice. I know that spot well. Tom B. (LongLine)

I'm 100% C&R. Every fish I've caught this year has swum away, and a couple took some real work to revive. However, I don't begrudge anyone for keeping their legal limit. (Go over that limit and it'll be a different story...) Tom B. (LongLine)

YM Good questions to ponder. Not to say we don't have probems, but IMHO - Pen projects are a great thing. I don't believe Ontario is following the same path as Mich & Huron. Big-O is a different ecosystem. Fisheries managed by a different crew that saw what was happening in Huron & cut back stocking when they saw problems out west. Big-O is more in preyfish-predator balance than ever before. Constant vigilance is key - On DEC & all fishermen's part. (If you see something out of the ordinary - report it!) Effect of mussles is not good anywhere. (Quagga more so than Zebras). The good news as I see it: Alewive population did take an upswing in last 2 yrs. Alewives are eating the red shrimp & fleas. Bass & others are eating gobies. Ontario fish are still bigger than Mich. Kings seem bigger than last year. Some Naturals are being caught. Lakers being caught are "huge". More Atlantics being caught. Freighters are now being inspected & regulated more. Tom B. (LongLine)

TJ - As well as past posts here under the tackle section, check out http://www.olcottfishing.com & http://www.attheoak.com. The oak site has a good lure section/link if you scroll way down to the bottom. Other than the oak & here for names, you can look up the lure manufacturer ie (Dreamweaver, Stinger, Northern King, Atommik, Howie, etc) & check the names out. Tom B. (LongLine)

Nice job. Tom B. (LongLine)

WTG Mick (Another one for the "nutzoid" club wall of fame.) Tom B. (LongLine)

The Sub-T must have coated cable. Signal comes up the cable. I run the Sub-T, some guys run the others & love them. Tom B. (LongLine)

WTG Chris. Nice fish. Welcome to the "nutzoid" club. (soloists) Tom B. (LongLine)

Hans - AD clips? Tom B. (LongLine)

ds - welcome to the site. Caught my first big salmon off a jetty. Piers would be a good place to start. Summerville side more so than Chalotte side on the Genny. Obviously spinning is your game so I suggest some Lil Cleos, which are well known among the "spoon-chuckers." Try them in the glow & big. Light line & stealth always helps. Also do your fishing early, real early. Like plan on having at least 50 casts in before the sun comes up. Also heavy rains are known to start some fish coming in early in the shore season. Good Luck & let us know how you make out. Tom B. (LongLine) p.s. don't forget a long handle net for pier fishing.

They randomly chose areas to survey. Limit's 50 on them Ray "Anglure Sirvaye" Tom B. (LongLine)

WTG Xing. I know the feeling about missing fishing with Dad. Mine showed me how to put a worm on a hook. Tom B. (LongLine)

I am under the impression that everything stocked is clipped. The trailer did go to Canadian hatcheries for a few days & clipped their fish. However I don't think the Canadian Atlantics were adipose clipped, but am not sure. Stan - That's why NYS bought this trailer with automatic clipping aparatus. To many man hours to clip a couple million fish. Very impressive rig. It individually photographs & rejects any unclipped fish which then get manual clipping. The problem with research projects is that whenever one question is answered then 3 or 4 more questions pop up. The trailer clippings purpose is to help determine the degree of Nat Repo. IE how much of it is happening. DEC knows that it's happening on the SR & Credit Rivs, but doesn't know what percentage the naturals make up in the returns to the SR every year. This should be a fairly quick way for them to find out. (but it'll have to be watched for a few years as it could be up one yr & down the next) I'm hoping it's happening on other rivers & creeks but there is no proof. The tagging is basically to find out about Laker returns to the Niagara River area. As to closing any area, I don't see how this project, by itself could possibly yield that result. I agree with a dislike for the snaggers, draggers & other morons on the spawning beds but for now we have to depend upon C.O.s and sportsmen with phones that report violators. Tom B. (LongLine)

Welcome Matt. Nice rig. Tom B. (LongLine)

Dre - 1, 5, 8, 68 & 72 are fairly popular off I-Bay. Tom B. (LongLine)

There has been some evidence of nat repro for about 7 years now. Both at the S.River and to a lesser extent at the Credit River in Canada. Other rivers & streams are "in theory" too warm or lack flow. The Canadians have said they thought up to 40% were naturals for some years. They've identified something like 6 different gene pools for the fish they've studied. Naturals at the SR have had their ups & downs just like the stocked fish survival rates. It's very difficult to tell a Natural vs a stocked fish. Requires study of the fishes "inerds". That said. The purpose of the automatic clipping/tagging trailer is to allow the DEC to get a good handle on Nat Repro for all the species. As said all stockers for the last year & 1/2 have been clipped. If you catch a fish less than 18"long and it has an Adipose fin (The fin on it's back near the tail) then it's a natural. Unfortunately, the AD clip/clipless will not tell us where the fish was naturally produced. Salmon over 12" long are very capable of swiming the length of Big-O with no problem. I've caught 4 unclipped shakers this year so I have a somewhat positive outlook for the waters of Big-O this year. Tom B. (LongLine)