MB, very good advice so far. I'd also like to add, when trolling north/south if you mark fish at a certain depth and are not getting hits, set your riggers about 5' above the marks and try trolling east/west. It sounds like your uncle is doing the right stuff & just needs a little fine tuning on his presentations. Like has been said, read the fishing reports section and try to adjust your technique accordingly. Don't hesitate to ask questions when you have a specific question. You're coming into prime time for hook-ups right now so get out there and "get 'er done.
PS: I'm from the Utica area also so if you'd like to stop over sometime I can show you some of the set ups I use. Just shoot me a PM.