LongLine

very nice. Tom B. (LongLine)

3 pounds? No can do. Can do 1/2 tru 5 oz regular bank & flat banks; 3- 5 oz torpedoes; 1/2 thru 2 oz Keels; and 1 - 4 oz pyramids, Also do some pinch-ons. Tom B. (LongLine)

The guy with the camp for sale on Chippeway has some interesting water level pix for 2012, 13, 17 & this weekend ("Chippeway Bay seasonal camp for sale") Tom B. (LongLine)

Keel Sinker lot consisting of 2 pc 2 oz, 2 pc 1 1/2 oz, 2 pc 1 oz and 2 pc 5/8 oz. $12.50 per lot. PM for ship charge. Paypal only . 2 lots avail. US only Bank sinker lot. 75 pcs: 15 each size - 1/2oz, 3/4 oz, 7/8 oz, 1 oz, 1 1/2 oz. $15.00 per lot PM for ship charge. Paypal only . 2 lots avail. US only. Yes, I made them myself. Can also make Flats, Torpedos, & Pyramids if interested. Tom B. (LongLine)

Pla-sea boat

At 5 pm the water gage at Olcott was down about 10" and at Cape Vincent up about the same.

Revised this morning: Up to 35's ! Wow!

Tom B. (LongLine)

Remember December 4, 2006? Wait - There's more: Apologies to anyone I missed That's a long membership list! (ReelJerks & KingMe are they only two longer) Tom B. (LongLine)

Happy Turkey to all, Tom B. (LongLine)

Tom B. (LongLine)

Prey-fish data collection is an interesting topic and there are two schools of thought. 1st is the fixed transect which means they trawl in the same areas year after year. 2nd is the random trawl which means today's trawl could be many many miles away and in a different direction & in a different depth than tomorrow's. Both methods pool a lot of data. Fixed transect assumes the prey-fish will be at certain location/depths at certain times of the year and that it is equally likely that they are present and in the same quantity/condition here as they are 1/4, 1/2 or a mile east or west away. These trawls are only a few minutes long. The random trawl method doesn't make those assumptions but unfortunately requires much more time, fuel, effort and money to accomplish. In all practicality, as a fisherman with a sonar unit, let's say your fishing E-W at a certain depth and trolling at 2 mph. When you see a pod of bait, it only lasts 5-10 seconds on your screen. Then it's gone. From my experience, very often you don't see another for a good 15-20 minutes. (sometimes longer) The 2nd pod could be 1/2 mile away from the first. It may be bigger or it may be smaller than the previous. (Sometimes I go back to the exact same GPS coordinates and can't find them again.) The fixed transect assumes an equal distribution of prey-fish about the lake. My experience takes issue with that assumption. Alewives are a tight school type fish. The ball up in pods. These pods vary in size and in location. That location can change from weekend to weekend. Look at the data over the years. A few years back tremendous numbers of alewives were reported off a single trawl yet in other trawls the nets came up empty. Isn't that proof that the prey-fish are not randomly distributed across the lake? My intuition tells me that if on the 4th, 9th, 6th & 14th trawls of the year, they had shifted their longitude to the right by a few degrees instead of the left, the years results might have been different. Don't get me wrong, USGS does a tremendous job out there for which I'm grateful, however there's a lot to be said for the word of the guys that troll with an eye on their fish-finder for 20-25 miles every day.

It was noted well over 5 years ago that the salmon were spawning earlier in their life cycle and that the number of fish surviving to 4 yrs old was diminishing and that 5 yr old's were basically non-existent. (That was discussed in a state-of-the-lake meeting and annual report yrs ago) The Genny was a good reproduction site, however that was 120 yrs ago or better. Deforestation upriver has caused the bottom of the Genny to be silt, not gravel anymore. It's also caused the river to be too darn warm most of the year. There has been some natural repro observed in a couple of south shore tribs but it has not been significant. Lack of spawning grounds has been a driver in the stocking program from the beginning. Pen rearing has been a big help with that. Don't look for any kings from out west. Ain't going to happen. The King stock in Seattle is really hurting. They are very protected and have very short seasons. The limit on salmon is two per person and you have to report that you caught them. (I was just out there; on a charter and talked to a couple of captains) The Sound is divided into zones and when the fisheries people see where the big schools are, they close that zone for Kings pretty fast. As for the message - That was tongue in cheek. There have been two posts from the Rochester area in the last 5 weeks, yet quite a few boats out there on Saturday. .

Was a great trip. I imagine they could be a real pain. But never seeing one pop up like that before was somewhat of a shock. Saw a couple just outside the ladder at the shipping canal. Probably why the salmon were scooting all over the surface at the ladder.

(ok, so it looks like I'm the only one who didn't get the message about the genny so here goes) After a 1 month hiatus (just didn't get out) Launched solo at the river at 5:30. 2nd trailer there. Cloudy horizon with a decent SSE chop. Headed out and to the left again. Stopped at 65 FOW for a look-see and was on top of a huge pod of bait so decided to put in there and work out a little. Winds appeared to be moving the water temps around quite a bit. Water current sites showing some very fast currents lately. Probe said surface was 76F. I had 47F down 56 so put one rigger there and the other at 46 stacked at 36. Ended up 3 Kings for 3. A shaker and these two: 12 & 22. Dark one was a real "porker." Blk & Slvr Spooks again. Short leads, trolling fast. Not a flea in sight. A great morning to be out on the water. Got quite warm around 9:30 so pulled them in. Figured I'd beat the go-boat crowd & the rag boats which were just starting to come out. Probably 10 trailers there. I went on a charter last weekend out in Seattle. (report in picture section) We don't realize just how tremendous this fishery in Lake Ontario is and how good a job the NYSDEC and USGS are doing with Lady O. Luck to all, there are bigger ones out there. Tom B. (LongLine)

Last weekend,(8/25) I was out in Seattle visiting my son & daughter-in-law. Brian & I took a charter out on the Sound. Unfortunately, they closed the King season in that zone, the week before, so the only large Kings I saw were in the fish ladder and waiting their turn to get into it: These beasts all in the 20-25 Lb class: They are very protective of the Kings out there. I did manage to land 3 kings though. Each about 3/4 the size of our typical shaker. Brian did get a nice Coho though, which we were fishing for. 8 Lbs. which my daughter-in-law did a fantastic job of cooking: Fishing with small flashers and squids with a 1/4" strip of herring. We had to pay homage to the "Troll" (after all, that's how we fish, isn't it? - "Trolling") (I probably should have left a sacrifice rather that just bowing.) I used to think our concrete boats were big. You could have put 4 or 5 of them on this thing: Glad to see he was heading out of port. (hopefully not returning empties) It was kind of funny seeing a seal (sea lion) surface about 100 ft behind us as we were fishing. Unfortunately, he wouldn't smile and didn't want his picture taken. A few porpoises but no Orcas though. Guide said they were just spotted up towards Vancouver. Talk about HUGE marinas - wow! Must have been a bazillion $ worth of boats there. Every boat in the Genny would have probably filled 4 docks there. All in all, a great trip with great hosts. Glad to be back where the grass is green. (Even though the stuff needing cutting...yuck! in 95 deg heat) Hope to do it again. 9/1 Genny report in the other section. Tom B. (LongLine)

Thanx Chad. I was very surprised with not one flea out there.

p.s. not one flea.

Today....Launched solo at 5:30. Ramp "tire trap" paved in. Hope it lasts. River heavy stained brown from recent rains. Surface probe not working but well over 70F. Watch out for logs, there are some hull busters out there. Visitor in port today. (EPA boat - Lake Explorer) Headed out & to the left. Put in at 90 and worked out. Any day you can see this is a great day! Wind from the south and water very warm. I had 58F with 100 ft of cable down. Lots of suspended bait 60/65 over 110 to 125. Ran Mupped spooks down 75, fast with short leads and was pleasantly surprised with this double just North of the 20 line: 21 & 11. Took a while to revive them but they made it. Talk about a cluster...! Off at 10. Luck to all, Tom B. (LongLine)

Finally launched at the normal time. Southerly breeze. River surface temp 65F. Watch the rut on that 2nd ramp. Also keep an eye out for those hull busting logs just off the mouth. Couple of big ones out there! Headed out and put in at 90 again. Turned around for this sight: Worked out to 145. Bait on the bottom at 110, suspended around 130. Headed west as the pack was forming straight out. 3 knock offs but landed 1/2 of a double. King about 28". down 50 off a purple spook. Not sure how fast as I have to re-string the probe, but moving right along. oh well... off at 10. Only 6 trailers at the ramp. Luck to all, Tom B. (LongLine)