Finders Keepers

Was out on Port Bay at the south end with my dad and one of my friends looking for pike. My friend hooked into a real good one on our shallowest tip-up over about 2.5 ft of water - had run out all of the line on the reel and the tip-up was slammed against the side of the ice by the time we got to it! After a good 20 minutes or so of give and take, it finally came under the hole and we quickly realized it wasn't going to fit through the 8" hole! Chopped it bigger with the spud and after another 15 minutes or so he hauled an 18 lb salmonid onto the ice! I still don't know what kind of species it was: real bright pink on the sides (like a pink salmon), but not a steelhead (stout with a BIG girth and large tail) or a brownie (no spots). I've got a pic somewhere that I should throw on here to see if anyone knows what it was. Anyway, that's the oddest thing I've had come through the ice...

I'm looking to get out this weekend for some perch action and was wondering if anyone was having any luck yet out on Sodus or Port Bay?

Hey Allan - I'm a teacher at heart, so if I can help you put more fish on the deck, that's ok with me!! I don't know if I'll be able to get out again this year or not - I was hoping to get out tomorrow, but a couple things came up and it sounds like it might be a bit choppy out there (my dad's not one for anything over 2 footers). Good luck if you get out, and try running super slow if nothing's biting at the normal speeds. I'll send you a PM with my contact info so we can hook up next year!

Hey Allan - We currently have a blue/white 21' Glastron cuddy cabin, but with any luck we will upgrade to a 26' Bayliner Ciera Classic (similar to the 2452 model) this coming winter (a model my dad has his eyes set on). As far as marking fish out deeper, do you have dual frequency mode on your FF? Often we will mark the fish on one Frequency and not on the other. I'm not sure of the technicallity of why that happens, but it occurs often and therefore I always run in dual mode if I am out in 100 fow or deeper. Inside 100 fow I use a dual screen with a bottom zoom to pick up on any fish hugging the bottom. This year the fishing was definitely challenging! I had more fish break off this year than in the past 5 years combined! :roll: By the way - if you're going to be around next year, I am always looking for someone to go out with, either on my boat or theirs. Let me know if you want to hook up and share tactics!!

After reading the reports of those who did manage to hook into the kings this past weekend, it looks as though a REALLY SLOW troll was the ticket. We tried speeds from 1.9 to 3.1, but it seems 1.5 to 1.7 was what they wanted. I haven't heard of running dodgers that slow, but I guess if that is what they want... :roll: Just something to keep in mind the next time we're out and nothing's moving...

Hey Allan - Yeah, we saw you out there. Did you guys get anything in close? On both Sun and Mon we had some BIG marks on the screen between 50-60 ft down around that 70 fow mark, but just coulnd't turn them on, especially on Mon. I think we got spoiled the past few years with not having to go out very far to hook into the kings. I remember back in the late 90's when the "pack" was well out beyond the horizon and we would run out to 300+ fow before even setting up. I even remember several times making out to the shipping channels and seeing the huge bouys out there (something like 700 or 800 fow - I don't remember, but a lot further than we've been the past 5 years)! This year my gut instinct has been telling me to head out that way, but high gas prices and those marks within the inside waters kept me from heading real deep. If we hadn't started hooking up with fish on Sun we probably would have ventured out there. Oh well, I just hope next year is more like last year's primo king fishing!!

Hey Hank - yeah sorry I didn't post (got real busy with school starting tomorrow). Got on the water at 6am and set up in 40 fow right in front. Trolled out to see what we could find on the screen - not much. An occational fish around the 70 ft mark, but nothing like Sunday. Worked the inside waters for a couple hours, but just washed lures and couldn't get the few fish we saw to go on anything, so we headed outward...past 100...past 200...hit 250 fow and the 55 ft rigger fired pulling a RRRed dodger/carnation fly. This fish was jumping and splashing something fierce and I thought we had a derby steely on! However, once in the net we could see the curved beak of a beautiful 13 lb coho. Released that one to grow into the next world record fish in a few years and worked the 220 - 260 fow range for a bit, but the screen was blank and the rods weren't moving, so we headed out again past 300...past 400...got to 440 fow and the 200 ft wire fired. Landed a nice 7 lb steely that was released to fight another day. That one hit the white echip/white fly from Sunday. From there we made it all the way out to 550 fow and back to 220 fow before we called it a day at 11:15 with no other hits and ended 2 for 2. I don't know if the school will be running the adult ed classes again this year or not, but if they are I will try to do a salmon/trout fishing class and post it here. I'll keep you posted... I'd also be more than happy to come out on anyone's boat and teach/show them what I know. The more we all learn from each other the better off we all will be at landing the big ones.

Thanks Hank! Let's see if I can do a repeat today (with more fish boated hopefully) or if it was mere luck yesterday! If you're out today give me a shout and I'll let you know what we're doing!

Got on the water at 6am and set-up in 40 fow in front of Port Bay. Before I could set the 4th rod, one of the wire rods took off. Fought the fish for a couple minutes then it shook free - felt like a decent brown. Wire was out 150 ft on a 2.5 pulling a white echip/white fly. We were marking fish in the 40 - 75 ft range so we continued to work those waters, sliding slightly east of Port Bay. About 20 minutes after the first hit the 45 ft rigger fired followed by the same wire rig again and we were doubled up! Again the fish shook free on the wire and I landed a real nice 6 lb rainbow. That hit a mupped glow frog. Set back up and headed back through those waypoints - on the way through the 55 ft rigger fired. After a short fight we landed a 16 lb king. This one came on a mupped NBK. Then the screen went blank and the rods stopped moving. So we went into search mode and found nothing in close any more, moved out to the 100 foot area, nothing. So I decided to use an old strategy: head out until we get something or start marking stuff! So we headed out past 200...past 300...and at 350 fow the 200 ft wire started S*C*R*E*A*M*I*N*G!! 300 ft initial run then major head shakes, another 200 foot run and more head shakes, then gone! :evil: Realed in all 700 ft of cable to find that my lucky fly was bit clean off, like you took a razor blade to the leader! Major bummer - that was probably the 38 pounder I've been hunting down the past 2 weeks! That was the same white on white rig that got bit earlier in the day. Put on another white fly and continued to work the area between 330 and 410 fow somewhere between Port Bay and the Silos with a steady pick. We marked occational fish and hooked up when we did mark one - no bait to be found anywhere today. We called it a day at 3pm and were 3 for 9 at that point landing a skippy king. Other hits came on white glow spin doc/white fly, green echip/green fly, and green gator spoon. We had a decent number of hits, but just couldn't keep them hooked today. White on white was definately the rig of the day! We'll be out tomorrow at dark o'clock working the same waters to finish out the LOC. Good luck to everyone on the last day!!

Gill-T: That's an interesting point, the idea of the low waters and temps affecting their spawns the past few years. I hadn't thought of that, but it makes sense. Let's hope this year gets them on a rebound!

Headed east to Oswego early this morning and set-up just west of the college in 50 fow. The lake began to get ugly as large swells began swinging in from the W/NW and we wondered if we were going to be stuck in Oswego. Luckily it layed down as the day went on! We marked quite a few fish and some bait between 50 and 65 fow as we set up, 45 ft down to the bottom. Before I could get the 4th rod set, our 50 ft rigger fired pulling a chartruese echip/crusher glow fly - landed a dark 15 lb king. At that time we were over 65 fow. A little later we had a good rip on the wire as I was letting it out, but that one somehow broke the clip on the snubber and took everything behind the dipsy! :x It amazes me sometimes what these fish can do!! A couple hours later we picked up a 6 lb brownie over 160 fow on the same rigger set-up down 68 ft. That was it for us: 2 for 3. We were around quite a few other boats and only saw one other fish caught all morning, so it seemed to be slow for everyone. We called it a morning at 11:00 as we had a long trip back against the swells, although they had layed down to nothing by the time we got back to Port Bay. If anyone told me that they were in front of the Oswego River at the end of August and marked virtually no fish, I would have a hard time believing them - But that was the case today. Where are the kings???? :roll: Tomorrow looks to be a down day with the blow coming in, but we'll be back out on tues and wed if the curent forecast holds. I think we'll save some gas and work the area between Sodus and Fair haven...

On the water at 6am and set-up in 75 fow infront of East Bay. Marked quite a bit of bait and some fish, but only managed a dink king (down 68/75 on white echip/white fly) for the first two hours and we decided to head to deeper waters. Picked up a skip king on the wire out 320 ft over 135 fow on the same white echip/white fly. went back through the waypoint and the same wire fired again with a decent king, but it shook free after a couple minutes. Turned around and went back through our waypoint and the same wire fired yet again, this time with a major king that hit H*A*R*D!! Huge head shakes and a couple good rips, then gone! :evil: Broke the swivel on the echip and stole my hot fly! We stayed in the area for awhile passing through the waypoint a couple more times, but it seemed to have dried up, so we went into search mode. A few hours later we had a double over 235 fow on the 320 ft wire with the same white echip/new white fly and 50 ft rigger free slider with a majenta shad, and landed another skip king and 4 lb steelhead. That was it for us. We finished 4 for 6 with the big ones getting away. Figures, the day we only land small fish would be the day of the Fair Haven Challenge!! :? But that's fishing for ya! From what was weighed in at the FHC, it looked like Oswego was the most productive for large kings. If the weather holds, we'll be heading there tomorrow...

Thanks guys, I knew it had to be on here somewhere! :roll:

Ok, I'm surprised that no one posted this already, so here it is: What is everyone's guess for the $20K fish? And to take it up a notch, what will the smallest king be on the board (20th place)? I'm gonna guess, the winning king will be 38.2 lbs and the smallest will be 29.8 lbs. With quite afew mentions of 30+ lb'ers already over the past week or so, I'm thinking this year the board will have some hefty fish on there. Today I saw real nice king at the docks on Sodus Point that was pushing 28.5 lbs on the scale after being in the cooler for who knows how long - I bet it was pushing 30+ when first boated. They weren't in the derby... Good luck to everyone who gets out over the next two weeks!!

Anyone interested in fishing the LOC with me Friday (and possibly more days) out of Port Bay? I can provide all the gear, all I ask is to split the cost of gas. I can fish a half day or all day. Looks to be a good day on the big pond - I hate to miss nice days during the LOC!!

Hi Hank - It felt a little chilly in the AM, but then warmed up quickly. Now I am wishing we had gotten out earlier! I also failed to mention that the screen looked very good all morning with suspeded pods of bait and many fish marked all between 50-80 ft down over 120 to 160 fow. I love fishing those conditions when the fish aren't 100+ ft down, especially since we have manual riggers! I think I counted 7 other boats in sight while we were out, but no one in our general vicinity.

Thanks guys! Info on the Fair Haven Challenge was posted earlier, but I believe it is on August 23rd, and tickets are currently being sold at Screwy Louie's.

Got on the water late today due to a late night last night, but had lines in the water at 7:30 am. Started in 80 fow slightly west of Port Bay and were out to 100 fow water by the time I had all the lines set with the 15kt south wind. Started to work our way out and the 82 ft rigger fires over 140 fow. The fish quickly surfaced then headed for Canada ripping line! Just then the 300' wire starts rippin' line and were doubled up on screamers! Netted mine solo first, a 21 lb beauty king: Then I netted the one my dad fought, a 15 lb king (plus a 2 lb lamprey): What a great way to start the day! Both fish swam away to fight another day, the lamprey didn't make it. Rigger fish came on a white echip/white fly 15' behind the ball down 82/140 fow, the wire fish came on a dalmation spin doc/hammer fly 300' back on a 2.5 setting, sfc speed was 2.7 kts. By that time we were out over 170 fow so we worked our way back in to 100 fow without a release. So we headed back out and the 72' rigger fired over 130 fow. Landed a nice 8 lb king that devoured the fly, so we had to keep that one (tasted great off the grill tonight!). That one came on a NBK echip/TG fly, down 72/130 fow, back 15' from the ball, sfc speed 2.5 kts. We narrowed our range to 120 to 150 fow but only managed one release with nobody home and one more king before we called it quits at 11 am. It nailed a green echip/green fly out 260' on the wire on a 2.5 setting, sfc speed was 2.5, and ran out over 400 ft of wire! That reel was smokin'!! 25 minutes later we landed this beautiful 28 lb king: This one also swam away to fight another day. A great day on the water and some nice fish brought to the net! It definitely seemed like a dodger/fly day, as I ran cheaters and sliders without a touch. Not sure when we'll be back out - good luck to all those who get out! We're looking forward to the Fair Haven Challenge!

Set-up at 6:30 in 80 fow in front of East Bay and worked out and west from there. when we reached 130 fow the 300' wire started singin' and dancin'. Landed a nice 14 lb king that hit a Stinger purple thunder mag spoon. It was slow from then on for us, but we managed to boat 2 beautiful steelhead (6 and 8 lbs), both on a NK blue dolphin mag cheated 10 ft up on the 75 ft rigger. Saw some decent marks on the screen around 75 ft down scattered here and there between 130 and 240 fow and bait near the bottom in 80 to 120 fow. Good luck to everyone fishing the derby, today was my last day for the summer LOC - I'm heading out west to chase down tornadoes over the next two weeks!

Got on the water a little later today at 7am and headed east to where we caught them yesterday: east of Port Bay 130 - 220 fow. Today it was a different story for us - fished until 12:00 and went 2 for 2: both 6 lb steelies. One came on a Purple thunder on the 120 ft rigger, the other came on the wire 330 ft out on a #2 setting pulling a Dalmation spin doc/hammer fly combo. We couldn't get anything else to fire: tried different speeds, riggers set 80 to 135 ft down, wires out 180 to 400 ft, tried green, white, purple, chartruese, silver and aqua colored blades/flies and spoons to no avail. Saw a couple other boats hooked up, but those were small fish (under 10 lbs I estimated). I guess a pair of steelhead are better than a skunkaroo though! We didn't mark hardly anything, so without a probe and down speed, that made things difficult to start, so I used what worked yesterday. It's funny how the fishing can change over the course of a day - but that's why it's called "fishing". Anyone in the Sodus to Fair Haven area have any better luck today?? I would love to know what they wanted since tomorrow looks to be a carbon copy of today!! I am wondering if we should head west tomorrow... :roll:

Got set-up at 6:30am in 50 fow and worked east towards Fair Haven today. Worked the 100 - 200 fow range most of the day with 180 being best. Ended the day at 12:30 and went 9 for 12. 6 kings (1, 5, 5, 6, 8, 16 lbs) and 3 steelies (5, 6, 8 lbs). Riggers took hits 90 to 110 ft down and accounted for all but two of the hits. The wires that got bit were out 300 - 315 ft on a #2 setting. Lures included Maganta Chad, NBK Mag, NBK echip with green hammer fly, white echip with green glow fly, green echip with green crinkle fly, and white pearl dodger with ultra violet fly. We'll be out tomorrow...same place....same time...

We ended up not making it out (dad sprung a migrane). :x So, hopefully we can get out on Friday/Sat/Sun this weekend before I head out west to chase down tornadoes for a couple weeks! There are some decent fish being caught in the area - it sure would be nice to get out and try to find some of them!!

Sounds good and good luck! We've been having trouble with our radio - we can send but can't receive. You can try us though on chnnel 12, 18, or 68, our handle is Finders Keepers. We'll be out this morning looking to top Billy V's 25 lb'er he got yesterday. I think we will work east for a change and try his waters.

We fish out of Port Bay and usually work west. The last few weekends they have been coming all throughout the water column: we've taken fish on the riggers 30 ft down all the way to 140 ft of cable out, Wires from 85 out to 320 ft out all on a #2 setting, and we've taken a few off the surface with spoons and a few split shots. We haven't had any banner days yet, but then again we're only running 4 rods and with the fish so scattered we're happy to put some slime in the boat, namely 2 to 5 fish for us per trip. May get out tomorrow (Sunday) weather depending otherwise we won't be out until next weekend.

We've been out the last few weekends and the kings are starting to show up in numbers. Last weekend they were in 75 - 135 fow 75 to 130 ft down. Both spoons and board/flies have been doing them, depends on the day. Billy V has been doing quite well lately off of Fair Haven. Good luck!