Sluggo / NY

Personally.. I hate crowds.. so I gave up fishing for walleye there! Depending on the water height and color.. the river (at night) is your best bet. Just follow the procession of boats as they troll the short distance to the first bridge.. turn around.. and troll back. We've also done well (at night) trolling tight against the breakwalls. It also gets crowded there, and unless they've changed the rules, the driftboats aren't reguired to have running lights.. which adds to the excitement! That place is proof that fishing IS a full contact sport! Good Luck! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris) ps.. Like Mike said.. the F-18 Rapala is the standard up there.

Hi Bob... Meet me out in Barcelona in July and I'll be happy to show you my technique! As for my local waters.. it's strictly a fall/winter spot for me. I put the "little" boat away in March and rarely get it back out till November. Still a bit early for eastern Erie.. but won't be too long! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

While I agree that the smaller walleyes are definitly the best "eaters", there are ways to make even the big ones very palletable. We keep some late summer eyes from the eastern basin of Erie.. where you have no choice but to keep 8 pounders or better.. that's all you catch. A couple of things I've learned make a huge difference in the taste of these brutes. The first thing I do is bleed the fish out by slicing the section between the gills.. then I throw it in the livewell for 15-20 minutes.. then into the ice cooler. This not only enhances the taste, but makes cleaning much less messy! After filleting the fish.. I "zipper" the fillets. This removes the dark strip and "nubs" from the ribs. To do this.. I lay the fillet skin side up.. then I make a cut a few inches long at the tail section on each side of the dark line. Then.. placing my hand over the cut and holding down on the top of the fillet.. I basically "tear" the bottom half of the fillet away from the center strip. I then move my hand up above the dark strip.. grab the end of it and pull it upwards to the head end of the fillet.. like pulling up a zipper! I end up with 4 fillets that have no blood or dark meat! I may have made this sound difficult, but it's really not. With practice.. it only adds probably 15 seconds to the process. Oh.. and don't forget the cheeks! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Mike.. Nice job! I was just above you for the weekend (Mud Bay) for a wedding, but managed to get about 12 hours of trolling in between Sat. and Sun.. I had to use my brother-in-law's 25' Pursuit since I didn't drag my boat along. Great boat, but lousy for trolling. I did finally pick up one 9 pound walleye. I love the area and wish I had time to learn it better! I know many of the locals do very well up there, but they're almost as bad as the Seneca perch guys at sharing info! Not that I blame them It hasn't started on the east end of Erie yet, so we may hit Ontario again in a couple of weeks. Good Luck in the tourney! Sluggo (Chris)

Took a ride up this past Friday to finally get the boat wet.. got her good and wet! Everything worked great except our lures. Picked up four decent eyes trolling the south shore in 20-25 feet of water.. all on worm harnesses. Better than nothing, but not great for eight hours of trolling! We got there just as the front moved in and were told that they just shut down... sound familiar? Anyway.. good to get out on the water at last. Next trip will probably be to the big pond! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Mike.. sorry to hear that the trip wasn't more fruitful. You still planning on fishing the tourney up there? I know there are big walleyes there.. saw them at the MWC weigh in.. but can't really help you with that area as I haven't fished it. I think we're finally going to get the big boat wet this Friday! Probably Oneida. My buddy Fred is going to start hitting eastern Erie this weekend, so I'll pass on the reports. Couple of good tourneys out there you may want to consider as well! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

The only "public" launches I know of towards the east end are South Shore (between Bridgeport and Lakeport) and Godfrey Point. These are both state launches and are free. I use South Shore.. it's not bad unless there's a strong north wind. Just don't hug the island on you're way out.. and stay trimmed up for the first few hundred feet! It's easy to drive by the road to it, but there is a brown DEC sign on the south side of the road that blends in well with the foilage. If you're going there this weekend.. get there early! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Wow.. Nice fish! Too bad it was a week too soon! That beast would look nice on the wall. You beat my best (this year's 13#2oz) by a bunch. The state record is 16#7oz. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

I'm tempted to head north with the big boat, but I'll probably give "my" river at least one shot first. Historically, I haven't done well on the Susky after the spawn.. but she treated me so well this past fall and winter, I've just gotta at least give her a try. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Nice job Mike... The "big" boat's coming out of storage tomorrow and I'm planning on hitting Oswego very soon. Leave us a few! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Thanks for the tips! I've got a bunch of flys already tied (thanks Maniac). I had forgotten about the flea problem and braids.. although I have encountered them on Cayuga. Now.. how much wire can you get on a 27lc.. and how much is enough? I've looked at and fondled the Tekotas, but with 40+ rigs mounted in my garage.. it's hard to justify the need for more if I can get by. Thanks again, Sluggo (Chris)

OK.. I'm really going to give this trout and salmon fishing a shot this year! Planning to start with the early browns. Now.. I'm heavily armed for big water walleye trolling.. and I'm sure the Daiwa SG17's and 27's will work fine for browns, but are they enough for summer and fall kings? Every reel has 300 yards of 30# Powerpro braid and they're mostly mounted on 8 or 9' med/hvy rods for pulling dipsy's and boards. I'm hoping this stuff will be adequate.. but if I need to go shopping.. so be it! I do have some bigger Bass Pro Gold Cup's that are spooled with leadcore, but I'm not crazy about them. Just don't have much faith in the drag systems on them. Anyway.. this is the start of probably many questions. Thanks.. and Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Well.. finished up the fall/winter Susky fishing with three fruitful days on the river. Although high and stained, the river was still giving up limits of walleye.. as it has all fall/winter when you could get on it! Most of the past three days fish were nice, eater sized males.. in the 16 - 18 inch range, but I ended the season with a fat 26 inch female that went about seven pounds! It seemed like a fitting end to what was probably the best fall fishing I've yet to experience down there.. not only because of my personal best 13#2oz. walleye, but the numbers of quality fish were unreal! Oh well.. time to tuck the little boat away and think about dragging out the big one. This year for sure.. as I always swear.. we're going to hit the Big O for salmon instead of just pounding those Erie eyes! Eric.. I've got those flys all tied and I think I'm ready! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Might as well throw in a vote for Walker's! I've been running the same "Chrome Electrics" for almost 15 years without a single problem and they still look new. They're probably the most compact of any of them, so they fit well on a smaller boat. They don't have any fancy features.. just "up or down", but that's never been a problem for me. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Ken.. I've been running the Raymarine Sportpilot Plus on a 19' Lund for 3 years and have no complaints. We mainly troll slow for walleye .. between 1 and 2 mph and it controls fine.. unless you try heading into a heavy wind. I think they've discontinued the Sportpilot series, but I know you can still get them. Just do a "search".. you can probably find some good prices on them if they are discontinued. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

We make the drive up to go "perch searchin'" a few times each spring (while walleye is closed). We've done decent at the south end, but our best catches have been at the north end. We normally launch out of Roy's on the west side (about five miles south of Geneva... just below Glass Factory Bay). We generally hit the two bays just south of the marina.. targeting the 15 to 25' depths. If that doesn't work out.. we shoot straight across to the east side and try the shallower weed shelves. We don't always find them, but we have a pretty good batting average. I like to slow drift with a fathead tipped 1/16 or 1/32oz. bucktail. Once we find them.. we anchor and try to stay on them. As previously mentioned.. the perch guys are a pretty tight lipped bunch unfortunately. It's a long haul for us.. especially if the bites been off. I'll post my results if and when we get up there. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Ken.. I'm fishing out of the "old" 1800 Fisherman. The new one that they just re-introduced appears to be a bit smaller and shallower. The hull on the 1850 Tyee (or 1950) is deeper. As for riggers.. I only have two, but the Baron we're looking at has four.. all mounted on the gunnels. I'd assume that just telescoping the booms on the front ones out to the sides and running the rear ones out the back would work fine, as long as you make wide turns. Our ride is amazing for an 18' boat. We don't beat ourselves or the boat, but have fished all day in 3 to 4's on Erie and made it back dry in honest 6 footers! I've ridden in the 2150 Baron and the ride is unreal! I've never been in the Tyee, but the 1950 got to be great as well. We were at the boat show Sat. also. Lots of nice stuff there..huh? Good Luck with your choice.. Sluggo (Chris)

I'll try to ignore the riveted vs. welded comment.. been a Lund guy for years and honestly don't remember having to bail that often As for the two models you're comparing.. they're both awesome fishing machines and either will handle four downrigger easily. The 2150 Baron is monsterous! I'd swear that you could put my 1800 Fisherman in the back of it! We're actually looking at a late-model Baron right now as a Lake Erie/Ontario trolling machine. In my opinion.. you'll be happy with either choice. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Mike.. I'm jealous! But hopefully not for long. I'll swing by after work today, but I'm sure that the river opened back up. If fact, it's supposed to crest at 10' tomorrow so it should be perfect by mid-week. Boat's going back on the charger tonight! Wife leaves for Florida on Weds.. and I've got Thurs. and Fri. off! Life is GOOD! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

I almost got talked into going.. glad I didn't! I took my wife there a few years back and as I recall.. she got a new "Ginzu" knife and some other "stuff". I'll be there in three weeks for the boat show though! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Well..looks like Saturday was my last trip out on the river for a while. Drove by yesterday morning and it was wall to wall ice at Murphy's! I did brave it Sat. and it was tough! The temp never reached freezing and I forgot to throw in any mono outfits. Braided line and sub-freezing temps don't go well together! Plus.. the wind was causing havoc. I did manage a limit though in the three hours I lasted down there. My fingers were white and had no feeling by the time I quite! Was it worth it? You betcha! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Actually.. my best luck has been trolling NW along a ridge that runs from the tip of Grenadier towards Charity. It's about 40 feet deep and drops off on both sides. Don't overlook our river! I've been doing real well down there. I even fished the high, muddy water this past Sunday and did well! Check back a ways for "Personal best walleye" and you'll see a post (and picture) of what "our" local river can produce! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Welcome aboard! I'm from just down the road.. in Endwell.. and a walleye nut! I fish for salmon once in a great while, so they haven't kicked me out of here yet I can't help you with the river, but I'd sure love to tap you for info on the Mud Bay area! My brother in law retired and built a house on Dablon Point, so I've been hitting the area for the past few years, although our main target is the eastern basin of Erie. We've had moderate success trolling from Grenadier towards Charity and towards Point Penninsula. The walleyes we get are huge.. but we don't get the numbers we get on Erie! I know that some of the guys run out and troll near the islands, but we haven't tried that yet. Any info you want to part with would sure be appreciated! Again.. welcome.. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Guy.. No problem.. just shoot me a PM. There's plenty of room out there! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Gambler.. Here's a link to a picture of that musky. If it doesn't work.. I think I have a picture of it I can put up.. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris) http://www.ny-outdoors.com/Gallery/disp ... =11&pos=59