LongLine

Stan, They obviously don't want anyone to participate if they didn't have parents. i.e no rocks, fruits or vegetables. Tom B. (LongLine)

Sailboats own the water, at least that's the first lesson of the first day of rag boat school. Unless you brother is the local judge, I'd recomend you avoid them all togther. Chances are the judge or "water cops" & someone in his "Club" are golf buddies. It really doesn't matter who's right & who's wrong, straightening out or settling one incident is really not worth the hassle. I think there's some pictures of my favorite sailboats a few pages back there someplace. Tom B. (LongLine)

I believe the navigation laws also state that the boat being overtaken has the right of way. However I also believe the weekend fisherman will always be considered in the "wrong" when it comes to meeting up with sailboats, even if he's been anchored there all night. I'd venture guess that flag rule generally aplies to commercial trawlers not sport trollers. Nav rules have some pretty archaic definitions for being "engaged in fishing." Tom B. (LongLine)

From 1 rec to another. Charter/water class is a good suggestion. However my rec answers, in very general terms, would be: 1 speed – 2.2 to 2.5 is generally a good starting place. The majority of lures have good action there. Be sure to throw in some zig-zags in your trolling path. Sometimes just some big gentle arcs. If a fish hits the outside one then speed up. Make notes of the down speed of particular lures when they do produce. 2 Surf Temp – Spring: fish the warmest you can find. Early Summer: go for the cool water or on the edge of it. Learn to visually find temperature changes from wave action. 3 Thermal break (thermocline). As you troll lower your probe, watch for a healthy change in vertical temp. (note thermocline won’t set up for at least another 6-8 weeks) Thermocline will change 6-10 degrees in 10-12 ft. Thermal Bar – watch your surface probe for horizontal changes as you troll away from shore. Scum lines form at thermal bars. Fish both sides of them, through them etc. Go at least 150 yds either side. Thermocline: Generally in or above it, although some awful big fish occasionally come from below it. It’s often better to fish at or slightly above the level where the fish are. This way you’re sure the fish at least saw your lure. It’s very easy to troll under the fish on Big-O. 4 If nothing is working: remember what was going on when you caught the last fish. (speed, direction, lead, wind, currents, atmospheric conditions) Keep a logbook or work on your memory. If I’ve seen the fish, I generally change direction, then leads, then lures all the while monitoring temp changes. (speed changes comes from zig-zag course) 5. Starting depth: Tough one. Where did you fish last weekend? What did the reports say last weekend? Often, when I leave port, I may cruise around a little watching for underwater activity or flocks of birds. Occasionally you’ll spot a pack of boats working a certain depth. I strongly suggest you stay away from the pack but fish a little shallower say a mile away & then work your way deeper. If you find thermal structure inside the 200 ft mark - work it over. Hope that helps. Good luck. Tom B. (LongLine)

All you will find in the DEC regulations/policies is a paraphrasing of the 2-line law. It is actually in the Environmental Conservation Law of NYS – often abbreviated “ECLâ€. This same law creates the NYSDEC & gives it authority to monitor & set policies/regulations. Here is the exact law (copied & pasted) as it stands today. : Section 11-0103 12.b. 12. a. "Fishing" means the taking, killing, netting, capturing or withdrawal of fish from the waters of the state by any means, including every attempt to take and every act of assistance to any other person in taking or attempting to take fish. b. "Angling" means taking fish by hook and line. It includes bait and fly fishing, casting, trolling and also includes the use of landing nets in completing the catch of fish taken by hook and line. To constitute "angling" the taking must be in accordance with the following requirements: (1) the operator must be present and in immediate attendance when lines are in the water; (2) one person may operate not more than two lines, with or without rod; (3) each line shall have not more than five lures or baits, or a combination of both, and in addition each line shall have not exceeding fifteen single hooks, or seven double hooks, or five triple hooks, or any combination of such hooks, provided the total number of hook points thereof does not exceed fifteen. Angling does not include snatching or hooking or the use of tip-ups. http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menug ... QUERY=LAWS THE NYSDEC in and of itself cannot change this law; however they can recommend/pressure the state legislature to change it. Also sportsmen groups could pressure their legislators to change it. It will however require a legislative vote to change it. Every couple years the DEC asks for regulation change suggestions from sportsmen. I can assure you that just about everyone in the DEC has heard of the desire for a change. I have been told it will be on the next agenda. Tom B. (LongLine)

Stan - They stocked Lake Sturgeon - "Acipenser fulvescens," in the Genny. The ones Tim described. The Zoo says they had been present in the Great Lakes for over 10,000 years before they got wiped out. Tom B. (LongLine)

Hank - Seems to be. idled nicely. Blew a little smoke but not like before. May take a couple times for the oil mix to thin out. Didn't pull the cowl off. Will tomorrow. Found some water in the battery box which may be why she went dead. (don't have the foggiest notion how that got there. Was in basement all winter) Put the battery on charger after I picked it up from you then tested it nightly with hygrometer. Floated in the green every night. Charging at 14.4-15.9 per fishfinder. Wondering if the fuse holder has/had something to do with that. Tom B. (LongLine)

River launch at 5:30. Main fuse holder to dash melted ½ way out the channel, so have no idea what surface temps were. (Kind of embarrassing to lose your lights right in front of the CG station) Headed to Russell & west. West wind, very slight chop (less than a ft) Good cloud cover. Great feeling to be back on the water. Picked up two little browns over roughly 20 FOW. Both on R&R melons, off riggers down 5 ft. Both quite feisty. This one had an interesting wound on its flank & looked like someone recently snagged it. The Lake Guardian pulled into Rochester today. (EPA research vessel) Out noon. Got to meet Yankee Troller at the launch, after all these years. Great to finally meet ya Rick. Tom B. (LongLine)

hmmm...80 hits & no replies. Seriously tho - Haven't been out. Hopefully Saturday at "0hdark30". Tom B. (LongLine)

DEC did "secretly" stock some in the Genny a few years ago. Seneca Zoo has a partnership in it. They appear to be doing well. Couple years ago, when DEC was checking Bass population off Webster, they netted one that was near 36" long. They are a protected specie. I.E. don't fish for them nor keep one. The GLFC has it in their objectives to restore the sturgeon population to lake Ontario as well as rehabilitate approximately 10 of their former breeding grounds. Tom B. (LongLine)

Great looking ride. Good Luck. Tom B. (LongLine)

Choo-choo - Everyone's trying to figure out where the big ones are. Alewives do go deep in the winter as they follow the broken up thermocline. (Non-spawning Kings follow them) They spawn in the shallows, at night, generally in April. They are very temperature sensitive in that they cannot take sudden changes in temperature. They are not very good swimers as far as fish go so drastic upwellings generally do a number on them. They are rarely ever found in water colder than 37F. After spawning they go where the food is. In the last couple/few years after spawning they have been going out further in the lake. Interestingly, this has been blamed on the mussels & not on temperature. More interesting is the emergence of the red shrimp. Alewives have been known to eat a lot of these, hence some say they may be the only good invassive to hit Big-O. Red shrimp are a shallow water beastie & only time will tell if they cause the alewife to not go as far out in the lake. The bigger fish follow their prey. Alewives are a favorite of the salmon. Not so much of the Laker or Brown, although they will eat them. Lakers love the colder water prey - sculpins, ciscos etc. Browns eat almost anything when they're in the mood i.e perch, gobies, etc. (Gobies, interestingly enough have been found to go out to over 400 FOW in the winter.) Browns like the bottom of the lake but generally are not as far out as the salmon, when most people are able to fish the big water. Kind of long winded, but the best advice I can give you is if you find a pod of preyfish, stay on it. (and let me know where it is) Good luck. Tom B. (LongLine)

Sorry for your loss. I know it hurts for a while. Tom B. (LongLine)

Make sure you tie a flag on the end of it. Never know that a$$hle may be a trooper that's having a bad day. Tom B. (LongLine)

I'd use the cable counter & set a few feet above it, then verify it with the graph. You're asking for trouble putting them at the same depth. (tangles) Tom B. (LongLine)

Probably means 30 or 40 Gobies did their job. Guess it's better to have him bounce off the hull than land in your boat or fly over & "leave a calling card." Tom B. (LongLine)

They generally don't update it if there is not much of a change or if someone is on vacation. When they do update it, it's generally done around 11:00 PM. More up to date info can be found at: http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/glc ... pe=N&hr=00 Tom B. (LongLine)

Ray - You laying down on the job again? Tom B. (LongLine)

You have to be a devoted fisherman to understand the answers: (comments by the un-initiated) Where did you catch it: Answer: Skinny water Comment: What the heck is skinny water? There’s no such thing as FAT water. Maybe he means if you weigh under 100 lbs, you’re skinny so he must have been less that 100 FOW. well that narrows it down quite a bit…Big-O averages 250 ft deep so he must have been within 4 miles of shore… What speed?: Answer: Medium Comment: That really helps. Somewhere between being anchored & planned off…If he had said slow it probably would have meant closer to being anchored... How deep?: Answer: Off the bottom Comment: Well that certainly eliminates in the dirt below the bottom… Lure type?: Answer: Spoons Comment: At least he eliminated some lures (plugs, flies & jigs)… Color?: Answer: Bright Comment: Silver? Gold? White? Yellow? Glow? Maybe it was glossy orange? Water temp?: Answer: Cold Comment: No$hit, the water is cold. It’s wet too… Depth fish are at: Answer: Scattered from top to bottom Comment: At least we know they weren’t below the bottom or in the air… Rigger: Answer: Two Cannons Comment: You caught two fish off the riggers or you have two of them mounted on your boat? or you shot two of them? Planners: Answer: 1 In-Line & 1 board Comment: Same as rigger comment, but were they in the bilge or we’re you using them as a step to reach the riggers? Line: Answer: Sinking Comment: Well we’re not whipping flies in the stream. Of course they all sink…. Weather: Answer: Partially sunny Comment: If partially sunny then it must be partially something else, right?...right? Winds?: Answer: Variable Comment: I don’t know which direction they’re from either….That’s why I asked you Currents: Answer: Mixed Comment: heh, heh, heh…ok Tackle tied: Answer: Loop Comment: Looped knot or you just looped it a couple times then tied a knot? (I’m getting loopy trying to understand the answers) Set back: Answer: Long Comment: Someplace between a good long jump (24 ft) & ½ mile huh?… Water surface: Answer: Slight chop Comment: OK I give up...what’s the difference between a slight chop & a roaring ripple? Tom B. (LongLine)

Go with stainless. Just don't over-torque them. My '84 aluminum ride has not had any problems with any of the ss screws/bolts I've used. Shop around for the best deals on ss...they can get expensive. Try industrial supply houses -not boating stores. Tom B. (LongLine)

I'd bet fuel & would do the easy things first. First I'd squirt some gas in a glass jar & look at it. Then I'd take fuel pump apart. Then I'd be tempted to take carbs and give them a good cleaning. You may want to ask Hank (L&M) or on the iboats.com forum. Tom B. (LongLine)

Sounds like a worthwhile project. Historically only Laker Trout attacks have been monitored. Last couple years data has definitely been shakey. We all know the Brown population has suffered but that data has been considered "antecdotal". Tom B. (LongLine)

I knew there was a reason for this toivo icon Glad he's home. Tom B. (LongLine)

Chow - Suspended solids/materials/plankton stain the water and are moved/positioned by currents. Darker areas adsorb light thus warm up and achieve warmer temperature. If you look at the modis pictures you'll see various degrees of staining with the heaviest near river/creek inflows. Dark Brown, light brown, dark green, light green, blue-gray and blue/clear. Browns are mud, greens are algea, blue is freek-N cold. Sustained winds will move it around as they locally alter the general ccw current of Big-O along the S shore. Tom B. (LongLine)

It's logical that some may go that way if you figure that young fish swim down stream following the current. There is quite a CCW current that end of the lake & up thru the St Lawrence. Our Kings are desendents of the west coast fish which are know to swim 1000's of miles in their lifetimes. On the other hand, the depths of Big-O are colder than the St. Lawrence. I'd imagine the big thing keeping them in Big-O is the food supply. (something about "don't leave food to find food") Tom B. (LongLine)