Finders Keepers

With over $35k in secured sponsorships already, next year's event is really shaping up nicely!! Talks are still ongoing with several large sponsors, so all details will be released later this year, but here are some of the changes/additions for next season's event: 1) We will be adding up to 10 new weigh-in stations across the state. These will be added to the map once secured over the next couple months. 2) Each station will be outfitted with 10 or more sponsored items (valued at $15-$90 including ice combos, shanty lights, chairs, jig kits, etc.) to be given away to the first 10 or more anglers that register during our early bird registration period (Sept. 1 through Sept. 31). So an angler could sign up for $25 and receive a $90 straight line combo! These items will be on display at each location starting in August. 3) Each station will be outfitted with a shanty/shelter to act as a local contest for the fish that are weighed in at that location. This will be up to the station to decide what will win it (i.e. overall largest fish, random draw from fish entered, etc.). These will be on display starting in November. 4) New Catch & Release options will be available for the Trout and Pike divisions (online entry only), and will draw from a separate pool of money. We will continue to work on next season's event - stay tuned for updates and if you haven't already, give the event a "like" on Facebook to get the latest news and announcements!

Well done Scott & crew! Congrats and great report!!

The Finders Keepers Sportfishing Team will be at the Henrietta Field & Stream tomorrow, May 7th from 9am-3pm with our tournament boat running seminars and answering questions. It's an open style format, so feel free to stop by and ask away! With the boat on-site, we can show anglers first-hand how to rig, run, and operate most gear/methods for targeting trout and salmon, as well as many other trolling applications. If you have ever wanted to learn how to: -Run cheaters or sliders -Run multiple wire rods on the same side of the boat -Set-up a downrigger -Run planer boards or inline boards -See the difference between fixed and track rod holders -Storage solutions for your gear Or anything else! We'll also have some of the latest gear from Okuma, Plano, Frabill, Atommik, Aqua-Vu, and many more!! We'll also have free product catalogs available if you'd like to check out the full line of gear from our sponsoring companies!

Was on a buddy's boat who is just starting out - no probe or riggers for us, just a couple wire rods running deep and the rest top lines. We had 40-42 on the surface, so I would guess a little colder in the upper 30's...

Just curious, how deep were the lakers coming, near bottom or suspended? We were off Irondequoit in 90-110 fow and they were hitting around 50 ft down for us. Didn't mark any kings, but we didn't venture any deeper than 120 fow...

That's good news! How much water were you over?

Well done! I have never fished the bay, but have seen many boats doing it. Good to know for future reference! Were you using bright colored T-sticks?

Yes I believe it was. An upgrade from a row boat for him, so he was stoked to see how he could use it to fish on Lake O! He's got some gear to invest in if he wants to continue to pursue kings as his rod holders (plastic Bass Pro units) will not take the strength of a king's hit and he doesn't have riggers yet. But for browns and lakers we did ok! A little jimmy-rigging but we made it work... No problem! We're more than happy to offer info to help get anglers more fish in the net and to be more successful on the water! As I told my buddy Jake, every boat runs different and while something may be banner on one boat, it may not work as well on another - we've all seen days where we'll be running the exact same thing side by side with another boat right down to the size of the clips and one boat will smoke 'em while the other in the same area struggles. So we always show anglers what works for us and encourage them to tweak it as necessary for their boat. We'll be at the Field & Stream in Henrietta this coming Sat from 9-3 with our tourney boat if anyone wants to pick our brains for ideas, see how to run anything (wire set-ups, copper, planer boards or inlines, etc.) or operate different gear (how to rig and set a downrigger, difference in clips, stackers and sliders, etc.) - with the boat on-site we can show anglers first-hand how it all works and different ways of rigging! We're also happy to just talk fishing too!

The wire dipsies will run deeper/shallower based on your speed, water currents, water density, and what you are running behind them (spoon vs. FF). However, we generally run 2.4-2.7 down speed pulling FF's and will see a 3:1 ratio for a 1-setting (300 ft of wire out will get the dipsy down 100') and 5:1 ratio for a 3-setting (500 ft of wire out will get the dipsy down 100'). Again, that varies based on the above so minor adjustments are needed. Thanks Bosun Cowboy, I like the looks of that stickbait!

Yes, there quite a few bait schools hugging bottom 35-110 fow earlier in the morning when we first ventured out and they disappeared as the morning wore on.

The gin clear water today didn't help with the browns - I was hoping some of the colored water yesterday would stick around... Which Bay Rats produced for you? We had an assortment out but only the UV/black Bay Rat (not sure of the name) enticed them. We did see a few fish make rings at the surface early and saw one porpoise through our prop wash, but couldn't get them to go...

Hit the water at 5am this morning on my buddy's boat for his first time with his new ride on Lake O to see about rigging it up (he normally fishes for walleye). We started targeting browns in shallow (10-20 fow) and worked our way east running 3 inlines and 3 long lines off the back with an assortment of spoons and sticks. Water temp was 42 degrees and very clear. We had two short hits on a larger Bay Rat black/UV stick but didn't hook up. We then swung out deeper to look for lakers and any kings/steelies that might be in the area and switched the three long lines over to two wires and a mono slider diver pulling spin docs/flies and echips/flies, and two of the inlines over to a short copper and 5-color core with spoons. Didn't take long before the 150' wire (1-setting) pulling the UV Wonderbread Spin Doc/shredded Atommik hammer fly got whacked! Switched over the 250' (3-setting) wire to same rig and then it was GAME ON! Ended up boating 10 lakers 8-18 lbs. No kings, but a beautiful morning on the lake!! All lakers came on the wires over 90-110 fow running 2.8-3.0 sfc speed. Saw a few others hook up and land lakers as well in the same area.

It is not out yet, the one we have is Shark's first prototype that was sent to us to show to anglers at this past weekend's event at Cabela's to get some initial reactions to the flasher. It's still lacking the clips.

Could be, we're not the inventor just showing the prototype. I hope it isn't a conflict because these boards look sweet! Time will tell I guess...

It's actually much different - facets on the surface vs. no facets, the board itself has a curved surface vs. flat, the two fins on the back are offset from one another vs. the same... You'll see the differences once they become available! If there is a conflict of patent, I'm sure it will be addressed, but I don't see it...

Agreed! Beautiful weekend to splash down!! Spoke with several anglers hitting the water in the morning and swinging over later in the day. Good luck to all those getting out!! Let's see some pics!!

It was asked on another forum what size the Thrasher is - it is 11". Also, for anyone coming to the event this weekend, if you bring in and donate an old reel you can get 20% off a new one with their reel trade-in program! Lots of other specials going on too, check it out at: http://www.cabelas.com/custserv/custserv.jsp?pageName=RetailStoreFlyers&postalCode=14225&storeId=58&WT.tsrc=EML&WT.mc_id=email-rt&eid=25756168&cmp=EP20160415&seg=EPP3RT10&cnt=12131&ctb=MAINFEAT1

Stop on out to the Cheektowaga Cabela's store this Sat from 9-5pm to get a first look at the new "Thrasher" flasher from Shark. Very cool, new design with the facet technology built in! We'll also have the new 2016 Atommik Flies, the new Okuma White Diamond rods, the latest underwater camera technology from Aqua-Vu, Power Catch nets from Frabill, storage solutions from Plano, and much more!! We'll be running seminars all day in an open style format so that if there is something you would like to see firsthand: how to set and rig a downrigger, how to run planer boards, what is the difference between a fixed cheater and a slider and how to rig them up, etc. we can show you on the spot with our tournament boat which will be set up at the store!