Gator

Great start, keep it up! A buddy of mine's kid landed a 300 lb tuna at age nine, I got no doubt your kid will be reeling in kings by five.

I stand corrected. I had no idea that jacks were being used. Thanks, Rick.

Sunday was insane. We still couldn't see crap when we got off the lake at ten AM. Here's a picture of a visitor from years ago jigging lakers on the Bar.

I recall looking at a bunch of data on naturalization last year and finding that the size of saltwater species introduced to freshwater generally declines as they adapt, through epigenetics or whatever transgenerational influence holds sway over growth rates. They also tend toward earlier reproductive maturity. I don't think this is limited to kings. And I don't think that there's anything fisheries managers can do to mitigate the process, even if they wanted, although I'd be the last one to say that data doesn't matter lol. Information is power, but sometimes the outcome is just in God's hands. So long as the fish are healthy and drags are screaming, I'm going to enjoy what we have.

Yankee's WHI post really sticks the landing. And H2B nailed it with "we are in the new normal". As much as I love a big, ripping king, I actually prefer teenagers, particularly when you measure hits in dozens - IMHO kids can better handle them and my arthritic hands don't feel like they've been worked over by Cousin Louie afterwards.

We fished essentially that same water from 6-10 and ended up going 1-6. Same program, just different results. Good to see somebody getting it done.

I'm interested in what you mean by "publicized to the public". There's no way that the group can put up flyers all over town or advertise in the D&C. Their target audience is small. They have an email list that you can get on to receive notifications. They use Facebook (which I despise) and LOU (which I love). This seems right to me. Folks with interest can easily get dates and times to put on their calendar. I guess I don't understand what you're asking them to do. If you have ideas, it'd be great to post specifics. And I bet that the organizers would be pleased to consider them. IMHO, solutions are always appreciated. Meliora!

Agree completely that kings send browns to the back of the line after stealing their lunch money. However, I wasn't aware that the king bite was so good out of Oswego, which is a traditional hotspot for BT. I did know that Matt and Brian both found numbers but no size...with the exception of one, of course lol. A 5 degree drop in temperature the day after stocking in 2020 would certainly be enough to decimate that year class. As for cormorants - isn't it more the norm than not these days? While I don't fish browns much, any decline in hallmarks of a healthy fishery gives me pause.

I'll open up my case and start this show. What's up with the browns or lack thereof during the LOC this year? I was shocked looking at the final leaderboard. Only four fish weighed in (congrats to Jeff W on a helluva fish), one of them barely eligible at ten pounds even, and none of them coming from Oswego - which is usually a gimme. I can think of a bunch of potential reasons, but I want to hear what others think.

If it's any consolation, conditions changed dramatically late last week - all those 30 fish days went up in smoke over the weekend, and I know that many struggled on Sunday to put a few fish on. That having been said, the learning curve is less steep if you spend some time on a boat that gets it done. Reach out to members here, offer to trade a trip, take a charter with one of the pros. Find a buddy boat and share intel, match speed...don't try to do it all yourself. That's why we have a community. Good luck!

So long as it doesn't smell like laker...

I will take it Brian. I was looking to replace one of my older lead core reels anyway. We can hook up tomorrow.

I spitballed the 60K figure based on the cost of pensions divided by the number of retirees. It could be more or less, but I do know that there was only a single pensioner taking home >$300K (and he'd worked forever) and only 7 folks taking home more than $200K. Nobody is getting rich, for sure. Since I'm not in the public sector, in truth I know jack about how it works. I see Brian chimed in; I wonder if maybe our resident officers might?

Based on the pension numbers that I saw reported for NYS policemen, the average works out to ~$60K a year. That's average - so there must be a significant portion who make less than that. IMHO it would be tight living on a pension of that size, particularly if it's taxed and you have a family with kids getting toward college age. And I don't know how it adjusts for inflation...if you retire at 42, you hopefully have lots of living left. No wonder so many cops retire to second careers. All in all, and doubly-so given the current climate, I bet they earn every penny of that pension.

Why does somebody always have to go there? Sigh. I was talking to a young recruit this morning who seemed to know a bit about the subject, and my impression was that the 25 year retirement pension in effect now, as has been true for years, has retirement income pegged to the final three years of service, so there's good incentive to stay on.. Nevertheless, Gov. Hochul has continuously opposed a reduction to 20 years, which would make ecos equitable with other law enforcement, and the optics of this aren't great. It sounds like the cost to the state would be minimal, if 8 million dollars is minimal lol. But in the words of the person I was talking to, "I'm in at 22, out at 47, and I'm doing what I love". You have to respect that.

Any chance there's some way to corroborate? I can't find anything supportive online, and while I obviously appreciate what you're saying, it's tough to go in guns-a-blazing without solid premise. Thanks!

I use Pline on my spinning rods for crappie and walleye, but agree that the higher tensile strength material doesn't seem to perform as effectively as Seaguar.

Yup, that's a good 'un. Not that I'm an expert, but my top pike(s) have been 17 lb, and that looks bigger to me. Scotty had something on upstream a few days ago that ripped him a new one but didn't fight like a silver. I wonder if it could have been a similar or even the same fish.

You had to go there. Not untrue though.

As a hard core scientist, I can tell you that God did a great job when he planned this whole existence thing out lol. It all makes sense, if you ask the right questions. Crazy cool.

There's a lot of pooh-poohing about this, but I think it's cool as $hit. I mean, just the history of eclipses and the mythology surrounding them is enough for me to want to see one. IMHO, it compares favorably to looking at a bunch of rocks in Mexico that some Mayans once used as a temple or sitting on your couch Sunday afternoon watching some guy try to knock a small white ball into a hole (both of which I've done and enjoyed lol). And the whole four minute thing makes it better. You don't have to waste a day driving somewhere, dealing with bad food and dudes hawking selfie sticks, you just need to go outside and look up. IMHO, the value you place on experience isn't inherent, it's subjective and reflects what it means to you. Even if you don't personally care much, there are folks who are just out of their minds about this eclipse. And good for them! Heck, most folks don't see the value in freezing your a$$ off to catch a three pound brown in March...

The big difference here is that you only need to look up to see the eclipse. I'm skeptical that it's going to be as bad as they say. But what do I know? I'm a Yankee, but I'm not from Connecticut and I've never been in King Author's court.

And maybe don't take a picture of the eclipse with your phone. I'm told that you should use a solar filter or risk damage. This is secondhand intel.