Fishtails

Thanks All, and thank you for the opinions. I'm glad I reached out and I think we have a better trophy because of it. I will change the pose to the new # 2 (bottom left on last pic) - I like it !

Great , the wife is right again. Just what I needed! Angling Addict is my new best buddy Due to his descriptive insight, I moved the fish so it's a combination of the two mounts. Level fish with the mount behind the front fin. Here they are side by side.

It's split between the boys & girls. My wife and daughter say #2 while my son and I prefer #1 Paul, as scary as this may be, i actually get what you are saying. I even popped open a Blue Moon at your suggestion I originally posed it as #2 because it seems to be the natural "trophy" position. Then, the voices in my head started messing with me and once I tried #1 I really liked it a lot. I think it's mostly that I placed the fish on a rock bed and it just appeals to me in that position just a tad bit more. I originally designed these to be trophies with the thought that they would be a little more art than trophy - something the wife won't mind having out on display. I don't know about you, but my trophies are in my office. No way are they gonna be allowed in the family room I don't see why a trophy has to look like a stereotypical "trophy". But - maybe it does because that's what it IS Maybe it just takes someone to question it in order to expand the boundaries. I do like both , so that's why I am turning it over to LOU. We cant decide - so you guys decide for us I did three already in pose #1, and they are being awarded to the top three winners at The A-Tom-Mik Challenge. The trophies will be going to 3 tournaments on Lake Ontario and 2 on Lake Michigan (30 total), so I have a lot more to do - thus the question.

Hey Everyone, I would like some input if you will. We are divided 50/50 in the Keyser house on this subject, so LOU will be the tie breaker. As I assemble the trophies for this season, I am trying to decide how to position the fish. I like both - and will use both as a way to change it up for different events. I'd just like to know if the majority is heavy in favor of one or the other ?? EDIT :The winner is the trophy to the left. Thanks for the help! Btw, #1 is the new paint scheme the trophies will be coming in for this season. Thanks for your input Position # 1 Position # 2

Gamma is great and I have never used Seaguar and been disapointed in it . Both are the obvious top two choices in flouro leader fishing line. I started using Hi-Seas a couple years ago which nobody seems to ever mention probably because They are owned by AFW and their target audience is saltwater and the bass community. I don"t know how others feel about it but like the previous mentioned lines it has performed very well for me. I won"t put it in the Gamma class, but it doesn"t cost as much either, yet has never failed us since we started using it. Just another option to consider for the price consous fishermen. http://www.afwhiseas.com/Fluorocarbon-Clear-50-Yard-Bracelet-s/2179.htm

Thanks men, much much appreciated !! Besides the trophies already promised to the Sodus Pro Am and now The Atommic challange, I would be willing to donate a few more to tournaments for this season. I dont have many left, so contact me for details. I woulld probably prefer to see them go to the west end of the lake, to spread them out. Cheers all!!

For copper, it's ATOMMIC all the way. I have heard this rumor. Interestingly enough, I worked with New Jersey Strand and Cable a lot last year as they entertained getting into the fishing industry sector. They specialize in small Dia. wire, including copper and stainless. They tested Blood Run 45 lb copper and found it to be .037 in. dia, same as everyone's #45 lb copper. The main difference I was told was it's soft tinned copper with 1/2" lay where as most brands are hard copper with a 3/8 lay. Those are the differences, it's pretty simple. It would be nice to see copper specs on packaging. Soft copper may not kink as easily as hard copper, but it also stretches under a load where hard copper will not, and individual strands will break a lot more often with soft copper. I like the durability of the hard copper and ATOMMIC is a local company who sells nothing but top quality products. That's enough for me

Thanks Guys!! It's risky devoting so much effort into doing something so different, so believe me, positive feedback really is appreciated Thank you Chris. Can you believe I still don't know the answer to that question yet ? You know how when you do something for the first time, it takes soooo much longer. I'm still on first times in some phases. Last year we carved the original salmon out of wood because I couldn't find any smaller salmon in the market place I liked. Then we made a mold of it. Then I had to figure out how to paint it with very limited time before the tournament, because I never painted a fish. This year I came up with a new base, but putting the picture frame slot in the base at the angle I wanted proved to be more of a challenge than I had anticipated. I had to make jig for the slot and the column holes, and that took time, but now it's pretty quick to do. Then I made the base that the fish sits on and molded it - and (hopefully) lastly I came up with a new paint schedule for the fish. I think I'm done with molds, jigs and firsts and I can just follow the steps and make them from here out. As long as I do 10 or 20 at a time, hopefully it shouldn't be to bad and I'll finally know how long one actually takes to complete One thing I do know is that each one takes about 28 ounces of fiberglass between the base and the fish.

Thanks Vince , I appreciate that. Tell your team their trophies are ready to ship as soon as the nameplates arrive. The should be here any day. The are getting this years base with the picture frame but not the columned base section (that's for 2014). For their wait, I had your team photo from last year printed and I'll include it in the frame. I'm doing the same for the Sure Strike team.

Hope you guys like them. I though it would be fun to sow just a little of what goes into making these buggers. It's a load of work, but it's fun. For the two teams that ordered 6 extras at Sodus last year, thanks for your patience in waiting until I did this years trophies. I really need to do these in large numbers because of all the steps involved. They should ship late this week -) This years trophy has a built in acrylic frame. I came up with this idea with the thought that the tournament committee can use the frame to promote sponsors or just put their logo in the frame, and the winners can put their team picture in it for a personal touch. Here's an example. Below is the new trophy with a picture of last years Sodus Pro Am pro division 1st place winner Team Sure Strike. Cheers all !!

With The new trophy base design complete, I started on the fish this past week. Here they are after casting out of fiberglass, sanding and detailing: Then it's into paint for primer and a clear coat Next step is airbrushing, hand painting and 6 coats of lacquer. Once dry and assembled n the base, we have a finished trophy

I've been at work on the new tournament trophies for about a month now. Last years went over very well at The Sodus Pro Am, so we decided to do it once more. This year I wanted to put some design time in a new base. Something unique and cool that hasn't been done before. Here's what I came up with:

I can answer this for you from experience. Yes, a father & son only team is allowed and two persons is all you need with the 6 rod limit. One thing to consider. I fished not only Sodus, but other tournaments as well last year as a father & son only team. I hope to do it again this season and in the future, but last year the weather absolutely kicked the snot out of me and made any chance of being competitive nearly impossible for father / son only team. I have auto pilot, but in 8 foot waves it doesn't do much and really limits your options. For example: Day one in Sodus I tried to force it and fish browns but I couldn't stay on the water and speed I needed with the wind & waves, and ended the day in last place with 1 fish Day two was even worse conditions, but I accepted the weather and pounded myself out to 600 and trolled in with the waves and fished steelhead. We caught 8 (three shorts we had to release) including the second biggest king of the event and moved all the way up to 5th. What I'm trying to say is that I have had the best times I've ever had fishing with kids in tournaments. In 2012 we took a first place with a father & kid team. That tournament had decent weather conditions though. Even last year, day one in Sodus was a low point, but that made day two feel much better than actually was by what we both knew we had overcome. The weather took us out of being competitive in multiple events last year, but you learn to accept it and the time bonding with the kid is priceless. One other thing I might mention to fathers looking to get into tourneys with their kid. Don't trust them to keep an eye on the gps!! No matter what they may know, kids are kids and it bites you in the ass at the most inopportune times, lol On day two in Sodus we would pound (and I mean pound in 8 foot waves) our way out to 600 and troll into 100-150 fow. We repeated this about 5 times. Since we were fishing Steel, we had 3 that were short and had to toss back. That left us at 5 so we fished till the last minute going for #6. I let Justin, who is now 14 and passed his boaters safety course, drive the boat. When I pull lines to run in, I find we are not out front like I thought, but 15 miles west of port with 4 foot seas and a half hour to get back. 30 mph in 4's in a 24 footer isn't fun When there is just the two of you in tough conditions, the father just has to many duties so you tend to delegate. I messed up on that one though. We made it to port in time, but I'm not sure my boat will ever forgive me. All's well that ends well though. Hope to see you and some other father & son teams at Sodus this year!!

I have a question that arises because I will be spending the summer in Henderson Harbor, which is in Jefferson County. To my knowledge, the 3 triple crown events in the past have not included Jefferson County, not sure why? I want to be clear on the rules so I can plan accordingly. If memory serves me correct, the rules state something like you must depart and return from only ports in (Oswego & Cayuga) counties? Is that correct does that mean Henderson is not an accepted port to depart from in the am? I understand reasons for county/ port limitations, I just want to be clear on all my options and I think Henderson area is the only port to speak of on lake O in Jefferson, and guys run over from Mexico and Oswego to fish Henderson all the time. A whole bunch of us ran over to Henderson from Mexico & Oswego to fish the A-Tom-Mik Challenge last summer...I was one of them., but we departed from Oswego County. It is what it is, I'm just looking to open up the subject for clarification so I can determine if I can reasonably fish these 3 events or not? Thanks!

Geez, I was gonna take this year off from tournament fishing, but if you're gonna offer up a special deal just for my team, it would be rather rude of me to not participate Seriously though, keep this up and maybe I'll run the boat over from Henderson for the week after all ?

I like it, good job men !

I'm sure Rolmops didn't mean it the way it came out, but like Casey says, Tom Burke, Andy Bliss, Rob Ripka, Casey Prisko and anyone else who has fished on Cold Steel have always been first class guys at every tournament I've been to. Tom Burke again proved that at Sodus by taking a moment to say some very nice things while accepting their award, plus Andy sent me a pm thanking me for the work on the trophies. While I may not be apart of their "pack", they have always treated me with respect and decency....that goes for the whole crew ! In all honesty, Cold Steel supports almost every tournament on lake Ontario, while the Horsin Around crew only does a couple out of Mexico, So Cold Steel should be commended for their support, not condemned for their success. In another related story, Horsin Around wanted to file a protest against me and my son a few weeks back in the Oswego Pro Am because I got my rules messed up and made a mistake. Once I learned of the mistake, I immediately honored my wrong doing and accepted a zero, noting a protest would be a ridiculous waste of time seeing I admitted to the mistake instantly when asked and also went to The Horsin Around boat to make sure they knew I harbored no ill feelings towards them for pointing out my mistake. Who was it that called me, and said to me he knew that I probably just got mixed up and would admit my mistake if given the chance....Tom Burke of Cold Steel. I was embarrassed about my mistake, but Tom was nice as could be. Tom made me feel comfortable stating that many teams, including his, have made mistakes resulting in a d'q. If ya fish enough tourneys, you're gonna get mixed up with the rules at some point. We laughed about it and moved on....first class all the way! Just an observation from an outsider Now let's all go fishin !! Justin and I will see you all at the Atommic invitational in a week....can't wait!!