Paul Czarnecki

I believe Bob Songin posted the results in the fishing report on Attheoak.com. I'm not sure of the actual number of entries but, from the payouts I heard about, there was at least 20. About on par from what we had last year. Also, several boats that always enter were fishing the east end of the lake in the Oswego and Sodus ProAms or the number of entries would have been higher. The number of entries for the August tournies will increase as the number of transient boats show up thereby increasing payout figures and allowing more places to be paid. Good look to everyone as we enter another derby season. Paul Free Spirit

Bad bananas don't kill people. Really ticked off captain's do! Averaging 20 bites a day. Spend $1000 in entering a tournament only to find out my INDEPENDENT, IMPARTIAL observer supplied by the INDEPENDENT AND IMPARTIAL LOTSA organization secretly snuck bananas on to my boat. I had two bites and caught one fish! Nope....bananas don't kill people---Captains do after they discover bananas on their boat! I'm really glad my crew attended their anger management classes that day!

Wise guys are ok.....as long as they are wise guys who know who the CHIEF wise guy is.... . The clock is ticking, the entry is in and I'm still hopeful to find a competent team...... I'm headed up there now to do some cleaning, drying and repairing to get ready for my trips on Monday and Wednesday and (HOPEFULLY) a trip east to Oswego on Thursday! See ya there Jerry (hopefully....) Paul

Team Free Spirit is looking for someone to fill one/possibly two spots in the Oswego ProAm. You will need to get along well with others and may be asked to do a variety of tasks---always within your realm of expertise though....LOL. Beer drinking is allowed but drugs and drunkenness will NOT be tolerated. Costs are split evenly among the crew. The Free Spirit is a 10M (33ft.) Trojan with a 13 foot beam and I have 26 years experience on Lake O. Since I will be on the boat from now till I'm supposed to leave for Oswego do not post here. Call my cell phone instead---716-390-0085. Paul Czarnecki Free Spirit

Reading your other post Jim, it looks like you've learned your lession about the bananas so.......if you would like to fish a ProAm with a Pro team I am willing to give you another shot. I am looking for another guy to fill a spot for the Oswego ProAm. If you would be willing to submit to a cooler/bag search and possibly a body cavity search I might be willing to allow you on my boat again...LOL.. Give me a call on my cell phone ASAP for all the details/cost etc. 716-390-0085 Paul

You must "enter and exit" from your designated port Bob. If you want you can certainly launch your boat every morning prior to the start but it must be from the same port each morning. This applies to the Pro and Am Divisions ONLY. If you are fishing the Open Division you can launch anywhere you like, fish anywhere you like and fish as early as you like. In the Open Division your only rule is that you be in the Weigh in line no later than noon. Good luck! Paul

Not sure where you're located but I do about a dozen "On the water" seminars every year out of Wilson and Oak Orchard. I will also be doing some before the ProAm in Oswego next week and in Sodus the week after if you also want to do a little ProAm prefishing. I have nearly 30 years of salmon fishing experience and am always glad to share. Give me a call at 716-390-0085 or drop me a PM and we will set something up for you. Capt. Paul Czarnecki Free Spirit

You can find the contact info for all of the Tournament Directors on the ProAm Website: www.lakeontarioproam.net Simply contact Director Bill Hilts and volunteer your services.

LOL...thanks Carl. We would never be able to serve on the same committee. ONE of us would have to be wrong and its NEVER me so it would have to be you---we would never get anything done...LOL

Thanks for clarifying it Craig and sorry for the mix up at Precheck. Although the rules for "Captain's discretion" are listed in only the Pro section that rule applies to the Ams as well. Ams have never been excluded from that provision. Keep in mind the "1/2 inch buffer" for steelhead and atlantics is designed to protect the teams from disqualification and a hefty DEC fine. If you make 18 1/2, 21 1/2 and 25 1/2 your minimums for salmon, steelhead and altantics there is no way you will be DQ'd or fined. Paul

Twenty years ago when it was just Niagara things were very simple and easy to manage. Throw in Oswego, then Sodus and then Orleans and you have a very complex system that really requires a FULL TIME position to manage properly. Each host port has its own County that it must consult. Each Port and County has its own interests that must be taken into consideration. The finances for each tournament are handled separately because each "host" wants a piece of the pie and credit for bringing the tournament in. County officials frequently use the economic impact of these tournaments as political platforms. There really IS a lot more going on behind the scenes than most people realize. Outcast your comment about volunteering is lame. Not picking on you personally but not wanting to get involved for fear of disention (sic) is a cop out! If you are passionate about something and want it to succeed you volunteer! Simple as that. Fear of criticism or reprisal or conflict is just an excuse for laziness. Sorry, but that's the bitter truth. And Nick.....I live in PA too. I have served on the Niagara Committee for 14 years, the Orleans Committee for 5 years and the overall Series Rules Committee for 10 years. Living in PA is not an excuse for not being involved. We have conference call meetings every month! I hope I've cleared up some misconceptions and misinformation that have been circulating. If you have any other questions or would like to volunteer to help (ahem... ) please feel free to let myself, Bob Cinelli, Bill Hilts, Gene Christopher, Dave Turner or Chris Kenyon know. Paul PS.....sorry Outcast we were posting at the same time. The 100% payout has been publicized virtually from the start. Its is NO secret that the ProAms are run by NON PROFIT entities and, as such, cannot make a profit. Posting statements like "100% payback" is really not correct either......the ProAms are usually somewhere around 300-400% payback depending on sponsor support. You're right....NO other tournament or derby on the lake can make that statement. Thanks for the suggestion---perhaps we need to publicize it even more.

I can assure you, Nick, that the "ProAm Person" who told you that was wrong. NO money has ever been diverted from the Am Division to pay the Pro Division----EVER! If anything, it has been the Pro Division that has helped subsidize the Am Division with product when the Am Division entries are low---as in Orleans and Sodus. The Am Division is paid back EXACTLY what is taken in from entries. If the entries are low so is the cash payback. There is nothing anyone can do about that. Fortunately, in the past several years, the Pro Divisions in all four tournaments have been very strong and so some product was available to bolster the sagging Am payouts. I believe the Am Divisions in both Niagara and Orleans this year recieved over 400% payback! I'm afraid that's all I can tell you Nick. If you don't like the payouts for the Am Divisions recruit more people to enter so the payouts will increase or move up to the Pro Division.

That's not what I was saying at all Nick. I'm trying to keep from embarrassing anyone here so I'm not going to divulge the gory details.....sorry. Suffice it to say that Tournament Series policies regarding payouts were not followed INITIALLY in Orleans and Sodus last year. The announced payouts were wrong and simply could not happen. Unfortunately, the erroneous information was leaked to the participants before it could be corrected. When it was corrected back to what it should have been in the first place the conspiracy theorists came out of the woodwork. I agree with you that the payout figures "should" be available the day after registration closes. However, remember that we are dealing with volunteers here that have other jobs to do and sometimes ProAm stuff has to take a back seat to having dinner with dignitaries, writing articles and columns, hosting TV shows or dealing with irate wives....LOL. Volunteers do what they can when they can. If YOU would like to volunteer to help please feel free to give Dave Turner or Chris Kenyon a call----I'm sure they could use the help. Serving on one of the ProAm Commitees might also give you a better perspective on just how things are run.

I paint a lot of spoons as part of my ProStaff position with Dreamweaver. I use lacquer paints out of my airbrush and then clear coat with Rustoleum Clear. A hair dryer helps seal everything. However, I am painting spoons only to test particular color patterns. I'm not really interested in longevity because once I come up with a hot pattern I send it to DW to be painted using their resources and possibly put in the lineup. If I were to paint my own spoons for longevity I would use automotive paints as they are made to go on metal. Its a lot of fun to catch fish on a spoon pattern that you created--the same as tying your own flies for trout fishing! Good luck and have fun! Paul

So much for volunteering to help......

Misinformation hurts these events more than anything one person could ever actually do. What happened in Sodus was the exact same thing that happened in Orleans last year. The payout figures for each tournament are set by the Tournament Directors using a strict set of guidelines that take into account sponsor monies, entry fees and local sponsorships. Of course, local sponsorships vary from tournament to tournament. Payout figures are often not available prior to the event simply because sponsor money is still coming in. In Sodus and Orleans last year a "local official" decided, on his own, to alter the payout numbers after they had already been set by the Tournament Series. He printed a sheet to show "his" payout was the same as the bigger Niagara and Oswego Tournaments. However, because Orleans and Sodus are smaller tournaments (with less entries) they CANNOT have the same payouts as the bigger tournaments. It was caught by some of the veterans and the payout was changed back to what it should have been. Generally speaking, the payout policy for each tournament is to pay back ALL of the entry fees and ALL of the sponsor monies and sponsor product and as far down as possible. A MINIMUM of 25% of the field must be paid. The same policy is in effect for the Friday events as well. Of course, when you only have 9 Am teams competing it is hard to pay back 10 places with $1000 each.....right? Here is the actual AM Payout for Niagara: 1st AM - $2500 cash, 1-dozen NK lures $55, 1- Dreamweaver certificate $100, 3 pairs Maui Jim sun glasses $480, 1- Great Lakes Angler subscription $22, 1 – A-Tom-Mik pack $50, 1 – Great Lakes Tackle certificate $50, 1- N.Y. Outdoor News subscriptions $45, 1- Stinger Stingrays certificate $1000, 1- 4C’s Marina certificate $50, 1- Tri State Taxidermy certificate $250, 5 – Blue Lizard Sunscreen (3 0z. tubes) $50. TOTAL $4652.00 2nd AM - $1750 cash, 1-dozen NK lures $55, 1- Dreamweaver certificate $100, 1 N.Y. Outdoor News subscription $45, 1- Great Lakes Angler subscription $22, 1 – A-Tom-Mik pack $50, 1 – Great Lakes Tackle certificate $50, 1- 4C’s Marina certificate $50, 2 – Fish 307 rod certificates $220, 10 – Blue Lizard Sunscreen samples $20, 1 – Cisco certificate $125, 1 – MOOR unit $450. TOTAL $2,937.00 3rd AM - $1500 cash, 1-dozen NK lures $55, 1- Dreamweaver certificate $100, 1 N.Y. Outdoor News subscription $45, 1- Great Lakes Angler subscription $22, 1 – A-Tom-Mik pack $50, 1 – Great Lakes Tackle certificate $50, 2 – Fish 307 rod certificates $220, 10 – Blue Lizard Sunscreen samples $20, 1 – Raider Spoon pack $250. Total $2312.00 4th AM - $1250 cash, 1-dozen NK lures $55, 1- Dreamweaver certificate $100, 1 N.Y. Outdoor News subscription $45, 1- Great Lakes Angler subscription $22, 1 – A-Tom-Mik pack $50, 1 – Great Lakes Tackle certificate $50, 2 – Fish 307 rod certificates $220, 1 – New York Outdoorsmen Central membership $35. Total $1827.00 5th AM - $1000 cash, 1-dozen NK lures $55, 2- Dreamweaver certificate $200, 1 N.Y. Outdoor News subscription $45, 1- Great Lakes Angler subscription $22, 1 – Great Lakes Tackle certificate $50, 2 – Fish 307 rod certificates $220, 1 – New York Outdoorsmen Central membership $35. Total $1627.00 6th AM - $750 cash, 1-dozen NK lures $55, 2- Dreamweaver certificate $200, 1 N.Y. Outdoor News subscription $45, 1- Great Lakes Angler subscription $22, 1 – Fish 307 rod certificate $110, 1 – New York Outdoorsmen Central membership $35, 1 – Lake Ontario Outdoors gift pack (3 t-shirts and 2 – subscriptions) $75. Total $1292.00 7th AM – $550 cash, 1-dozen NK lures $55, 2- Dreamweaver certificate $200, 1- Great Lakes Angler subscription $22, 1 – Fish 307 rod certificate $110, 1 – Lake Ontario Outdoors gift pack (3 t-shirts and 2 – subscriptions) $75. Total $1012.00 Big Steelhead - $100 cash, 1-dozen NK lures $55, 1 – Fish 307 rod certificate $110. Total $265 TOTAL PAYOUT AM - $15,924 And here is the actual payout for the Orleans Friday event: 38 teams at $100 per boat ($3800): BIG FISH - 1st $350, 2nd $175, 3rd $100 BEST 3 (25% of the field): 1st - $1000 6th - $220 2nd - $400 7th - $180 3rd - $350 8th - $150 4th - $300 9th - $150 5th - $250 10th - $100 Hope this clears things up for you. Paul

Its not as simple as that Carl. The LOC is a private entity that is run FOR profit. Dave Chilson can afford to pay someone to update the site by the hour and he can also do it himself. The ProAms are run by the counties using volunteers who have a multitiude of other jobs to do and only do ProAm stuff when they have the time. The Proam website is run by a volunteer in Oswego who also has about thirty other jobs to do---in addition to preparing for the Oswego ProAm in three weeks. If YOU would like to volunteer to help with the website or with any other ProAm related job I'm sure your literary skills and computer proficiency would be very welcome. Please give Gene Christopher or me a call. We can certainly use the help! If you really want instant final standings and are that concerned about actual scores take careful notes as the weigh ins are concluding. Otherwise....be patient.

Believe me, Howie, I don't KNOW what happened. I couldn't have caught a cold yesterday. I will say this, however, that the teams that caught fish in that water deserved them. Ice cold water and ugly, chopping waves from the East---it was like trying to fish in a washing machine. The only thing I will add is that while I was running back in from my worst day of fishing EVER I looked over at my LOTSA supplied observer just in time to see him open his lunch box and pull out a bunch of BANANAS!!! He "claimed" to have no knowledge of the banana curse but then proceeded to inform us of his other nicknames...."Black Cloud", "Jonah", etc. He even had the unmitigated GALL to tell us that he is not even allowed in certain law enforcement districts any more because when he volunteers there the murder, rape and robbery rates explode to unprecedented levels. I wonder why....???????? Personally, I think my entry fee should be refunded by LOTSA....LOL. At the very least I now have the subject matter for my next LOTSA seminar. Sorry Jim......I had to blame someone and I sure as hell wasn't taking the blame for THAT!

I've also been tying the leader to just a loop formed with the haywire twist. Instead of adding the Spro swivel simply make a very small loop and then do your haywire twist. Tie your leader to the loop with your favorite knot and you're good to go. Slips through the guides much easier too. Paul

Carl, check with Michelle at Captain's Cove. She has compiled a list of observers over the past three years and I believe she is doing it again this year.

It seems deadlines are catching up to a lot of us lately. To accomodate the HUGE number of last minute/late entries for the Orleans ProAm it has been decided to EXTEND the deadline until next Friday. Actually, its a bit longer than that... Orleans ProAm Director Gene Christopher will be in Olcott for the Niagara Pro Am and will be accepting entries all weekend. Just a FYI...if you plan on entering at the Niagara tournament for Orleans the following weekend please try to pay in cash. Checks will not clear the bank in time for the Orleans tournament. See ya there! Paul

YEP....same registration locations as last year.

The Friday Prefish events are being held before all the ProAms. Oswego and Sodus did theirs last year as well. Each tournament is responsible for putting the event together so you might see different names attached but they are all basically the same. $100 CASH ONLY. You can register up until 7 AM the day of but must be in line to weigh by 3:00 PM. You bring ONLY your best 3 fish to the weigh in. That's it. Have fun! Paul

150# Power Pro with a Big Jon mast system (but you don't need that). I ran them in the Wilson Scotty Tournament in steady 3-5's and never had a problem. In fact, I had one actually flip completely out of the water, end over end, and keep right on going with no issues whatsoever. Go to the Great Lakes Tackle shop site to the left of this post. Pete carries them as well as the line and also can offer suggestions for running them with nothing more than the butt section of an old diver rod and an old reel.

I like mine. I have them pulling 10 color cores and 450 coppers with no problem.