GAMBLER

Congrats on the trophy brown. Great way to start the season.

Thanks Bill. Dave is trying to promote the salmon more because he thinks he can draw more people to the derby. He also told me there was a push from a COUPLE west end charter captains. Look at his videos on his site and you can figure out who the bug is in his ear. I wish I still had his email from last year. It might be in my posts from last year in the tourney section. Another excuse was the lake trout fishermen are a small group of participants. IMO, they were guaranteed participants.

Dave Chilson was sick of paying the same people over and over again is one of the reasons he stated in his email to me last year. Laker natural reproduction is not that great in the lake. The laker population is getting a 300,000 fish per year boost according to the DEC at the state of the lake meeting. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Who in this thread proclaimed themselves to be "pro"?

Looks like the Rochester Basin is going to be the hot spot this spring. The Niagara will be ice cold while the Genesee is dumping nice warm water into the Rochester basin of the lake. We will see. Only time will tell.

Obama supporter? No way Rick. I love fishing the LOC and think Chilson is making a big mistake. People do not do well with change. Look at the pro ams. Big changes caused them to almost fold. If it was not for different people taking over and starting over, they would be gone. I think it could be a path the LOC is taking. It is a simple fact that the numbers of derby entries is not going to grow. With the costs to fish now a days. People are cutting back. By taking lake trout fishing away from certain fishermen, takes them right out of the entire derby. Not a good way to grow the derby.

Interesting Misdemeanor. I thought you were the type to stand up and fight for what you are passionate about. Too many people just lay down and let things get plucked away.

So why are there so many charters that place browns in the spring derby from the east end? Oh that's right they must be accidentally caught salmon fishing out of the east end of the lake in 20 fow. Come in rick. You don't care about the changes because they don't affect you in a negative manner. You as a salmon fishermen benefit from doubled prize money in the spring and fall.

The LOC is a Trout AND Salmon derby not just a salmon derby. If all the trout divisions were taken out of the spring derby the Spring LOC would not be much of a derby at all. All the guys that fish from rochester east would not enter because the chances of finding good numbers of salmon are very slim. For a couple decades the ESLO and LOC were built on trout AND salmon. Now we crap on the trout that have held the fishery together through the ups and downs of the salmon population. Yes the salmon are the main attraction but the trout are still sought after by a portion of the people that fish Lake Ontario.

Not true Rick. The Middle and east end of the lake survives on trout fishing until the kings show up. If what you are saying was true, there would be no charters on the middle/ east end until July/August. There are clients that come only for the trout. When I worked for Sam Datillo, he had clients from Massachusetts, Maine and Pennsylvania that came just for browns and lakers. One group of guys came for the fall derby just to laker fish. Chilson changed the derby because the same people were winning money in the laker division and the opinions of a couple narrow minded salmon fishermen. It is his right to change what ever he wants but last time I checked, I still have a right to my opinion.

Every open slot in the salmon division goes right to Dave Chilsons pocket. In the past spring derbies, the steelhead division would not fill and he pocketed the money. Since he doubled the money in the salmon division, Dave is going to pocket a nice chunk of change if the salmon don't show up until after the derby. If it is a guaranteed pay out, the money should still be payed out. The Orleans county derby splits the money up in the division if all the places are not filled.

Come on Matt, you know of Dave took the brown trout division out you would be making a stink.

Send Dave Chilson an email letting him know how you feel.

The push is to promote the king fishery. Why not promote ALL of the world class species we have in Lake Ontario? The trout fishery holds the fishery together when the salmon fishing is tough or non existent.

That laker was in 2012 before Dave Chilson changed the format. No steelhead in the spring derby this year. He took the money and doubled the prizes in the salmon division. The way it is going, he is going to pocket a lot of money when the salmon division does not fill up.

There is a floating barrier across the mouth of the Niagara that holds back the ice on Lake Erie. Google it and do some reading it is interesting. There is also a camera at the mouth that shows it.