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Fishtails

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  1. Fishtails
    It's awesome how much Lake O has changed in just the past several days. As little as a week ago I wasn't feeling very optimistic, but now it all looks very encouraging for an ice out. While the overall Ice cover surpassed last year, the big difference is that it's over 30% thinner ice than 2014. We had a very cold March last year also, and this March is predicted to be much warmer. It won't be long at all boys !!! Mexico bay is still thick, but damn the lake is opening up fast. Looks like I got caught napping and Lady O will be ready before I am.
  2. Fishtails
    I totally agree that Bobby' does a GREAT paint job at FLT. I totally appriciate his artistic skills and creativity.
  3. Fishtails
    I know what you are saying, it bugs us all but after spending a month in The Keys fishing and going through an average of 5-6 boxes of chum per trip at $6.00 per box just to pull the fish to the boat, I figure that having the paint fail on a $6.00 spoon that catches a few fish is not as big a deal as we sometimes make it. I am more annoyed at spoons that don't catch fish, as I have quite a collection of them. Lol
  4. Fishtails
    That is certainly a possibility John, I honestly don't know exactly what will happen? There are real world forces at play in this situation that are beyond my furniture restorer mentality. I would think the deeper you run a Zboard the added downward pressure would help stabilize it above what could be expected at shallower depths, but in reality it may not work that way at all ? That's why I restore furniture lol I did use it, so I was able to make real time observations. I ran it 40 to 60 foot deep and used a scotty pinch pad release above it. It actually appeared to work great and track strait at high speeds with fairly minimal blow back. I am not suggesting they would replace weights in our fishery. Not even close. I am more curious if they will work better than what I now use at depths of 150 - 200 feet, which is water I tend fish a lot. I am also curious how they track at such depths. What I do know is that they are not a gimmick. They work as suggested. What I don't know are the effects of running at slower speeds and as John points out - currents, etc. Only one way to find out ! I thought maybe someone else has tried one on Lake O. I will use in the spring and let you all know.
  5. Fishtails
    So true ! Excellent point you make Joe !
  6. Fishtails
    Has anyone tried one ? I purchased the 350 to use in the Florida Keys, as I was down there with my boat all of January but I only used it one day. Traditional weights don't perform so well down there due to the super high trolling speeds. My limited observation was that they might work exceptionally well on a center deep deep rigger in place of a 20 lb weight but I just don't know how they pull at slower trolling speeds yet ? They do seem to track very strait, much more so than a trolling weight. I purchased the 350 specifically because it says it's designed to work at all trolling speeds. They definitely would work nice if you want to troll a fast paced spoon program to cover water, as that is their intended design. I am a little concerned that mixing it with weights on other riggers could create a mess with the two getting crossed so my plan is to run it all by itself in the trial run, and cautiously go from there. I found it interesting and the only negative observation I made in my limited use was that while it appeared to track very nice, once it was brought to the surface and lost the compression created by the water and speed it darted a lot to the left and the right very erratically. Mind you, that was at a 7-8 mph trolling speed. Interested in any input if anyone has actually used one. Seeing I have a Zwing 350, I will give it some water time this spring and report back. http://zwingdownrigger.com/
  7. Fishtails
    Yeah, because running an umbrella rig or a daisy chain for that matter is what woody is talking about. No comparison to what was being asked and to be honest if it worked as well as an umbrella rig does for stripped bass I'd do it in a heartbeat! Used by a competent fisherman correctly, good quality umbrella rigs such as a 49'er won't tangle. Just not sure what your point was Les ???
  8. Fishtails
    A tip I learned from Mike (Rocketman) when he fished with us a few springs ago is when using MC Rockets, using a clear Rhys Davies baithead Mike prefers to straiten the bend out of the baithead and that way only the Rocket is used to create the roll. We then keep a rod handy with the sole purpose of tuning the Rocket. When tuning an MC Rocket, do so WITHOUT the flasher so the flasher isn't influencing the roll. When you are satisfied with the roll, attach it to the flasher and deploy. MC Rockets do catch fish, but my one peeve is that when a Rocket takes a hit and miss it's out of commission until you bring it to the boat and re tune the roll. Nothing is perfect, right? For that reason I don't usually run them on long coppers. Personally, I prefer real meat on my long coppers. Also, if you didn't see the hit and miss, you are fishing a rig that won't catch a fish until it's re tuned and that can be an issue tournament fishing when you may only have 6 rods in the water. A Rocket is an awesome rig on your deep rigger ! All that being said, they catch fish and many times the biggest fish of the trip. Another thing I'll do with meat to change it up a little is I tie up my flies with a clear west coast style anchovy bait head between the fly and hooks. Then I can add a trimmed strip of meat to my fly easy with no fuss. I find this works great once kings begin staging later in the season and their sniffer is in high sensory mode. Earlier in the season or on younger kings I haven't seen a big advantage of adding meat to the fly. Here's a pic of my homemade meat fly rig.
  9. Fishtails
    I am a believer that the real inciter to the meat presentation is what we refer to as the death roll. I think sometimes we may get too caught up in the scent and color aspect. Get that death roll right and you will catch fish on rubber, herring, salmon bellies, whatever you have. IMO, it's all about imitating the death roll of an injured fish. I'm not suggesting the other stuff doesn't matter, but without the correct roll you won't have much success. I use both meat and MC Rockets. Both work great. If rockets out fish your real meat than most likely it's because you were able to generate the roll the fish wanted that day with the Rocket.
  10. Fishtails
    Lake Erie and Ontario have more Ice than at this time last year with a lot more on the way. I guess we'll have to hope for a warm and sunny spring. http://www.mlive.com/weather/index.ssf/2015/02/great_lakes_ice_cover_view_fro.html
  11. Fishtails
    Thanks men, hopefully I can do it again in the future when life and our business settles down a little. I do enjoy creating them very much. I had planned to get a head start on the fish over the winter but I went and took a month vacation instead so here I am in Feb. and work is backed up 3 months so I know I need to bow out. Hey Rick, my kids are growing up so Justin won't be a youth anymore. He turns 16 this year. He will fish with me in a couple I hope, but that phase of life may be in my past because of girls, cars, and fun stuff without dad. Time will tell I guess, but I am looking forward to seeing everyone this spring
  12. Fishtails
    I figured this may be the best place to bring this up, so that the word gets to those who may want/need to know. As some of ya know, I have supplied custom salmon trophies to a few select tournies the past couple years including The Sodus Pro Am, A-Tom-Mik Challenge and The Oak Orchard Open. The trophies are a HUGE commitment as they take so much time to make. For this reason, I have decided I am NOT going to produce any trophies for the 2015 season. I just won't have the time to give this season so I wanted to be sure those who need to know have plenty of time to line up another trophy source. I am sorry I can't produce any this season, especially to Sodus which is how it got started in the first place and will also be my home port this season, I just have too many other interests that require my time. I'll be fishing a few more tournaments this season again, so I look forward to seeing you all at the lake
  13. Fishtails
    Congrats !!!
  14. Fishtails
    If one tries to find a negative spin to put on a tournament format, there is always one to be found. IMO, tournaments are probably not suited for such individuals. This type of response Ladybluegill only serves to be argumentative ? Yes, culling is allowed so in reality one team of 10 fishermen on a 30 plus foot boat could technically catch 30 fish and weigh their largest 3, but really? No team would ever do that. It would be ridiculous on so many levels. Even if it were to happen, that still doesn't mean they were on the same class of fish as let's say the guy who fished stealthy with just a few rods slow and deep and fished all morning for three big matures. If winning means that much to you that this is the type of scenario you think about, than it's quite possible that you miss what tournament fishing is really all about.
  15. Fishtails
  16. Fishtails
    IMO, One of the biggest problems is that we all get so touchy over every little thing. My reason for posting this amusing cartoon is to highlight that. It didn't take long I have been here since the start. I love my LOU, but I don't always feel the same about all the posters and that is really what the cartoon is about. Inevitably, someone reads to much into something and BOOM, it's popcorn time ! LOU rocks and we all know that
  17. Fishtails
  18. Fishtails
    Dang, I haven't been on here much this year and it sounds like I'm missing some good stuff !! Oh wait - that's why I'm not on here much these days Play nice boyz
  19. Fishtails
    And that's on a good day Jason! My son Justin will quickly let you know that most days it's all him. I don't even know why I get out of bed? I guess someone has to make the sandwiches and put gas in the boat. Good times Ray. I've been the butt of a few jokes over the years I guess what we are saying Fbodine is that if you don't take yourself and where you place too seriously, you can have an amazingly ​fun time and sometimes we surprise ourselves and win a few bucks back. Try not to let who else is in it and what their credentials may be effect your decision to fish a tournament. I have fished a good deal of tourneys over the past 6 years or so and I still fall on my a$$ more than not but I'm starting to understand that it's okay as long as I had fun. I'll finish towards the bottom sometimes because fish are stupid, but every once in awhile I'm gonna finish at or near the top also because fish are stupid
  20. Fishtails
    Holy ****, that's pretty funny Dave. You just ruined the whole banana inspector thing for me now and somehow made it dirty. That wasn't nice For most of you who don't know what we are talking about, you're better off for it. Hey Big Bill 3, this would be great for you to attend and another suggestion I'd make if you don't mind me doing so is consider being an observer at one of the many lake wide tournaments. Observing for a tournament is the #1 way to learn and learn fast !!
  21. Fishtails
    You would never slip them by me Jimmy. I'm an official Banana inspector - I have a badge and tee shirt that says so
  22. Fishtails
    True that Paul. Jimmy, I have fished with Paul and he's a very knowledgeable captain that I look up to ( he's taller than me) and I consider a good friend. You will learn a lot from him. I have not had the pleasure of fishing with Greg, but hopefully some day. It will be a fun and informative class !!
  23. Fishtails
    What Glen said Seriously, anyone can put a good three fish box together on any given day out of any size boat. Don't worry about what others are driving, wearing, saying or doing. You gotta be in it to win it, but maybe more importantly you gotta be in it to experience it and it can be a very fun experience. Every year it seems like this topic comes up. The open division is for all anglers of all abilities. I have fished the open division once , the amateur division many times and the pro division a good deal of times. I'm just a weekend warrior with average knowledge and skill. It all depends on the situation. To say a charter captain has an advantage in the open division just because he or she is a captain just isn't so. They don't teach you how to fish when you get your captains license. Time on the water matters more and plenty of rec guys fish as much as some charter captains. Besides, the payout in the open is not very good. They throw a lot of product into the open purse and not that much cash because the entry fee is lower and any sponsor cash always goes to the pro division. The one time I fished the open I was lucky enough to win 1st place with a kids team and I think we got like less than a $1000 cash. I think we got like another $1000 in product ? I don't really remember because I know I spent more than I won and it was never about the money anyway. That kind of money wouldn't cover the gas bill on a 36ft boat so it's not something I'd put much thought into.
  24. Fishtails
    I have not decided yet Jim, I have a lot planned this winter already.
  25. Fishtails
    Excellent group of instructors! Should be entertaining as well as informative .
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