Fishtails

Most likely a cloud, even though it's not shaded In gray. Someone run out and look for us, would ya? Lap dance, eh? I have that fly....maybe I will get it wet this weekend. You are right on target with BW customer service. Top notch! That Gary fella ain"t the sharpest tool In the shed but he ties on helluva good fly and Karen is razor sharp 24/7 Just messing Gary....you know I love you guys

One of my hotter high sun set ups this year has been a UV paddle. I also have found some really hot UV spoons from Warrior to be great in high sun as well, so I would not disagree with your insight one bit.

Crumcake, I fished the open for the first time at Sodus, after several years of fishing the Am and a year of fishing the pro. I chose the open because my crew was two thirteen year old boys and I had no other adult on the boat to help out. I was pretty overwhelmed so as it was, but to fish the Pro and have the responsibility of an observer plus the added pressure of knowing we had $700 In entry instead of $270 would have subtracted from the fun. The only reason I say this is that I have fished them all...tightlines, King of the lake, Wilson Invitational, etc, etc. I do not have a captians lic, nor does anyone I fish with I live In southern PA and have almost no network of friends/boats that we communicate with on the water. We are just weekend rec fishermen that enjoy fishing tournaments. I only started fishing lake Ontario about 8 years ago, yet had me and my kid crew entered the pro In Sodus we would have won the overall trophy box division with a 266 score. So to your question, what makes a pro team a pro team......entering the pro division....that is it. The most important thing is to have fun and not over pressure yourself. Lots of the Pros are captians, but that should not intimidate anyone from fishing Pro. Sometimes their bigger boat will help them, sometimes it won't. Sometimes having all that time on the water helps...but a lot of times it actually hurts them. Sounds stupid, I know, but it's true. Take Sodus as an example. Most teams that have been fishing Sodus have been pounding fish, and falling into a routine. During the Pro Am, lots of guys fished where the fish have been most of the year. We came In with no local knowledge or network of friends and we just fished and searched until we found them, and we were all by ourselves. In the past, fishing the Pro division for most of us would just be throwing money away. Now, with the new format, you can always just go for the trophy box, and that is only 5 biggest fish. In my opinion, there is no special criteria to be a pro team, just enter, put together a smart plan, don't out think yourself and have fun. Winning money is just a bonus. There are always going to be great teams like Cold Steel with large networks of friends out on the lake and big sponsors backing them, and those teams will win plenty of times....but not always. I mean no disrespect to Cold Steel... They are good guys and great fishermen who have earned every trophy and first place finish they've received. It just is what it is. I have found most pro teams are really friendly and will welcome all newcomers with a smile and a handshake. Do well and I can almost guarantee the first person that will be standing there to congratulate you and shake your hand will be ThrillSeeker Vince himself Try the Pro division out and have a good time with it! Hope to see some of you at The Little Salmon River Challange! Justin and I will be fishing with Jon of Jon's little salmon bait & tackle....good luck to all!

Sounds like you might have your dispey release set a little to tight. I use 40 lb mono. Why would you need 30 for a dipsey leader when the fly you use is 50 ? For spoons off a dispey, 40 works fine for salmon. You can downsize and increase the hits you might get, but at the risk of loosing tackle if you get a brute. For most lake O salmon, 30 will do, but the occasional monster you will encounter every once In a great while will test your equipment to the max and expose the weakest link.

Agree with many of the answers above. 10:30 until 1:30 or 2:00 this year has been almost as good as the morning bite....better if you are looking for big fish. On a typical day in the am when lake conditions are good, everything is feeding. Many of the smaller fish will get their fill and not need to feed for awhile. The bigger mature fish will be ready to feed again by late morning, and go on the feed. The big difference is not as many smaller fish are feeding by late morning, so there is less competition and that frees up your lures until you pull them buy a big guy looking for lunch.

Awesome pics

I was Lucky Enuff to have my 13yr old Justin and his best friend Jordan join me to fish the open division in the Sodus Pro Am. It would just be the three of us, which required an awful lot of work on my end, but I will forever cherish the memories we made and good times we had. I put the RV and the boat at Fairhaven Beach State Park, figuring the boys would have a great time camping and hanging at the beach while not fishing. Thursday was a blow off day, so that worked out kinda good and they just cut loose and did what 13yr olds do while I prepared for our weekend assult on the fish. Friday... I let the boys sleep in, and we headed out from Fairhaven around 10am. I knew we had very limited search time, so I headed NW deeper and set up in 350 fow about half way between Fairhaven and Sodus. We trolled NNW and zig zagged our way west. This is the second tournament I fished with the boys this year. We fished the Atommik Challenge about a month prior and I learned a lot from that experience on how I needed to make adjustments having an all Kid team. I wanted to keep it simple, so we ran 3 wires and two riggers until the lake settled down. Then I added a copper rod to our spread. We had a slow pick once I realized the fish had a preference for blue flies, and we ended the day with 7 fish, but only two mature bites. Once the day was done, I noticed on my plotter most of the bites were in the 620 to 630 range, so I had my starting point on Saturday. My best set up was the 79 rigger with a Blue Halo pro troll and a Big Weenie Brand Blue Weenie fly. Next best was a Show Time Spinnie with a Big Weenie Broke Back Jack fly. Saturday.... 4 am wake up call and to my surprise both boys jumped up out of bed and were ready to go! The three of us launched out of Fairhaven and made the 12 mile run NW to our eastern most waypoints in 630 fow and set up. I started out with 3 wire dipsey's, two riggers and a 600 copper. My setup was all Flasher Fly because I wanted to stay away from the steelhead the best I could. We needed three big fish and with juniors on the rods steelies can cause chaos, not to mention eat up valuable time. I had everything spread out, with the copper being my deepest rig. I can't really say where I parked everything because I move my rigs all over until I find active fish. We trolled a NW and SW line for about an hour without a touch and then WHAM, a rigger gets slammed and Justin lands a 20 lb king to start the day. No sooner we get it out of the net and back up to speed, our 600 copper starts screaming! It ripped out a lot of backer so we all three took turns working the fish to the boat. Whoever wasn't on the rod, would help move rods and prepare to net the fish. About 20 minutes later, we scooped up our biggest King of Saturday at 23+ lbs and we were all very happy That king ate a Blue Weenie fly on a Blue Halo spinney. With kids on the boat and no other adult to help out, I slowed down to about 1 to 1.3 while they fought big fish. It helps the kids handle the fish, plus it kills the action on the other lures so we don't double up. Not what I would normally do during a tournament, but I find the kids can't control the big kings and two on often results in zero making it to the boat when you are fishing out of a boat with an 8 ft beam. Jordan was in charge of the Copper, so he lets the 600 back out, sets the drag and puts it in the rod holder. They boys wanted one more big one, so they decided to pay the fish gods and flipped a quater in the water. No sooner the quater hits the water, the 600 copper starts smoking line and the kids were like...holy crap & OMG....did you see that dad? Justin grabbed it and held on until the fish was done being pissed off, then he worked it in and a little while later a 22lb king hits the deck and we have met our goal of a 60+ lb box Good thing, cause we would go on to land three more fish, but nothing over 12lbs. We ended at 10:30 with 6 fish for the day. Most of our fish came just a little east of Sodus in 630 fow. At weigh in, the boys found they had a very respectable box at 95.52 and placed 2nd....only 1lb out of first. We also noticed had we fished the Pro division, we would have been second in the Trophy division and 10th in the classic with the fish we caught, even though we stopped at 10:30. That made them extra proud of their day. Sunday..... We started Sunday out a little earlier, with a 3:45 wake up. That extra time was lost when I am greeted by a Raccoon that got into the boat. It couldn't get out, and my attempt of chasing it all around the boat with a net ended in failure, though it probably would go viral on You Tube had their been video. It eventually disappears and is never seen again, though I expected to be greeted by it hissing at me and jumping on my face every time I went into the cuddy. We head out with intent of setting up again in 630 fow, but it was a rough run and I make a mistake and set up over 200 fow. We had fish, but couldn't move a rod so I troll N. Once we get to 350 we get an 8 lb Steelie and a small king. Not what I am looking for so we never turn and I head deep, which seemed to take forever! My spread was similar to the day before, but I start changing up things. I ran all different colors, paddle sized, leader lengths, depths, you name it. Finally, I decide steelhead will have to do and put down my first Warrior spoon on a 90 rigger. By now I am over 740 fow and within 2 minutes that rigger takes a shot and I grabbed the rod while the fish burns out 650 ft of mono before stopping. Once it stops, I hand the rod to Justin and start to clear rods...knowing this was a big fish and we needed it bad. Jordan and I clear every rod and we land the fish on the side of the boat, trying to keep it out of the prop wash and getting pissed. Just barley hooked on the edge of its mouth by one barb, we get our first decent fish in the boat at around 9am and it weighs 27.5 lbs The mood with the boys really changes and dad realizes these fish may want spoons. I quickly pull my high wire, and put a spoon on and we continued our north/south troll over 740 fow. That wire rod had a Walker Kelly Green Deeper Diver on it and I set it at 250 on a #3 setting. I had two wires on that side of the boat, and my inside wire was also at 250, but on a 1 setting. The high spoon wire gets clobbered within 10 minutes and Jordan takes his turn. We actually didn't think this fish was real big, and we were caught off guard when it got behind the boat and I saw the tail. Justin and I scramble to move thins around, but it goes right into the other wire and under a rigger rod. Justin puts the boat in neutral, as the fish is all wrapped up in lines and we somehow get the net under it and put it in the boat....our little king weighed 23lbs! We now have two pigs and a 8 lb steelie. All our rods are tangled so I cut them all and re tie as fast as I can and we start to re-set. I go all in on the spoon program leaving only one flasher fly on a deep diver and meat on the copper. and we pick away at smaller fish until we start pulling lines. Again...the high wire with the same warrior spoon gets slammed and we land a 15lb king to complete our box We head into Sodus with a box we are all very happy with. I made a couple big mistakes this day that almost cost us, but we persevered and the boys were on top of the world at weigh in and sooo proud of their box. The had tasted crushing defeat at the Atommik challenge when we finished near the bottom, so they savored every moment this weekend with dignity and respect to all their fellow fishermen. After weigh in, the boys sat on top day two in first place with a 94.26 box and also got big fish at 27.5....missing the top spot in the youth loc salmon division by 2 ounces. Had we fished the pro division, we would have won the Trophy Box overall by over 5lbs and had top 5 in the classic with 4 hours more to fish. Anyone can do it....we were more lucky that we were good. As you can see by all the teams that didn't weigh in, fishing was tough and we were very lucky to get the fish we did! My son Justin is on the left, and Jordan is on the right. Don't let the look on his face in this pic fool you, he was all smiles all week and a young man I was proud to spend time with. Our Hot flies were all Big Weenies, including Blue Weenie, Broke Back Jack, Dominator and the spook. Our hot spoons were Warriors....here are pictures. The missing paint is from them taking so many big kings. Warrior paint actually holds up fantastic, but big azz chinooks will tear paint off any spoon come this time of year if they take it deep enough. Sorry for the loooong report. This was my first time fishing the Pro Am Open. There are a few minor bugs that could be worked out, but all in all it was just fantastic and superbly run. The payout was great for the investment and I highly encourage families to get involved and enjoy the expierence together

Not sure off hand. If it's green like it looks I have not seen that fly, which is nothing unusual cause Big Weenie has a load of flies I never see. Email him the pic and Gary will tell you what it is. [email protected]

Happy birthday Todd

This is such a great point Jerry, and congrats on two great weekends of fishing and incredible finishes! One reason I did not fish many tournaments this year was that for various reasons, I was not having the fun that I used to have, and need to have to make it worthwhile. For me, the fun factor needs to be the central component when tourney fishing and as you stated, a good finish is a bonus. I have had too many experiences of good to great fishing days, only to be surrounded by disappointment over not having the strong finish that was hoped for. I had decided to semi retire from fishing tournaments anymore until I could find the fun in it again....and this week I found it thanks to two young men that, despite my exhaustion, kept me smiling and laughing all week long! Congrats to everyone who participated these past two weeks and enjoyed the spirit of good competition with good people & friends!! If you finished in the money....even better

Ray, It really falls on the shoulders of us participants to post "instant" results, and while I didn't do that, nor did I even take pictures of the leaderboard (and I should have), other guys did and plenty of the results are posted either in tweets or within their reports. While you point out that Oswego was not updated yet, keep in mind that it's the same group of volunteers that had to run Sodus the very next weekend, so we can all imagine how busy they were switching gears and getting ready for the next event, all while doing their day jobs, taking care of their families, managing their daily lives, and donating their extra time to give us such a great event to participate in. I know you well enough to know that you mean no harm Ray.... just sayin Thanks! I literally get a little choked up as I reflect back on the week I spent with them. It was a perfect week with a perfect ending and I have never had more enjoyable, or a prouder moment in my entire life. I made sure they understood it was not about the final results, but the spirit of good sportsmanship and enjoyable competition.

Thanks bud...all the credit goes to my crew! The boys were on top of their game this past weekend. You ain't kidding...I was the deepest boat out there....740 I like to fish alone. I found fish in 620- 630 on Saturday, but it was too crowded there on Sunday

I kinda agree with Tim here....chill out, we are all recuperating. If you need the results right away, go to the Pro Am and participate. I don't get why the Pro Am got too rich for you Ray, you above fishing the open/am ? I fished the Open this time with just myself and two thirteen year olds and had a total ball.....most fun I have had tournament fishing maybe ever. I don't know if full blown "tournament teams" should fish it, but plenty do and there is nothing saying they can't. The three of us had an awesome time in Sodus. Should the board be better....hell yes, but overall it was run incredibly well and most that participated had a great time

Nice job in tough conditions. It was not easy fishing....glad you had a good time, as that is what its all about! [ Post made via Android ]

Nice weekend Wayne....congrats I am fishing the open with two kids this weekend....they are pretty excited and ready to give you some more competition Again...congrats on the productive weekend.

1) no 2) yes 3) no 4) no

Totally agree with Carl...if you care, than the Boga is the way to go ...

I know, and I didn't even realize it was ballyhoo till Jon told me. Then I looked at the package and sure enough it says Ballyhoo right on the package. Erie Dearie also sells herring, but the herring strips are smaller. I fished a pack of each....didn't make a difference. I also fished MC Rockets on one side of the boat and meat on the other....with Rockets taking equal hits. That just tells me it's not the scent....it's the death roll that attracts the fish and triggers the strike

I forgot to mention that I used Erie Dearie Premium bait strips for the first time this year and it's a great product!! Jon's Little Salmon in Mexico should have a new supply for the weekend. It's actually Ballyhoo and and it holds up for two to three fish per strip....unlike the "other" stuff. It's great and the kings slammed it Black death uv was my best Big Weenie meat rig, followed by the Ludington destroyer. MC rockets were #1 and the Silver Bullet. Mags seemed to out perform Regulars.

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name: Lucky Enuff ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s):6/30 7/1 Time on Water: 7am to 1:30pm Weather/Temp: Wind Speed/Direction: w to nw Waves: Surface Temp: Location: LAT/LONG (GPS Cords): =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 30-35 Total Boated: 19 Species Breakdown: All Kings except one Steel Hot Lure: Various Big weenie meat rigs with meat & MC Rockets, Big Weenie flies: Spook, Last Brunch, Blue Weenie, Dominator Trolling Speed: Down Speed: 2.1-2.4 Boat Depth: 180-210 Lure Depth: 120-190 ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== Took my son and nephew out derby fishing in the bay for the weekend. Both days turned out to be a little more sporty than the weatherman was calling for, making boat control and speed a little more challenging. For that reason, and that I was the only adult on the boat Saturday, I kept the program simple and ran a 5 rod spread early and cut it back to a 4 rod spread as the sun got high and we went deeper. We probably had a 50/50 ratio catch between meat and flies, and I took just as many hits on MC Rockets as I did on real meat. As stated in the other reports, fish and temp was deep, so I had my Walker Deeper Divers out 325 to 425 and riggers were between 120 and 190. paddles were both 8 & 10" spinnies and 8" Pro Trolls. I never put out and big paddles figuring it would just make it harder on the kids pulling in the fish. We never got our derby fish, as our biggest to hit the deck was around 25, but we had a couple real bruisers on that we were not able to land. The temp came up about 20 feet or so on Sunday. Here are a few pics of the boys trip: Sunday's 1 foot or less...lol

I'll work my schedule so that me and Justin will be there Nick. Good News....Spoke with Big Weenie Brand today and they are proud to be on board as a Sponsor. They will be putting something very cool together for us. I know how swamped Big Weenie has been just trying to keep up with orders, so it's really appreciated that he's going to work us in. I'm working on a few other sponsors too, so stay tuned

I plan to make the run out there this weekend if the weather allows, so check my reports next week.

Right on brother It's hard because as a dad I really wanted to send them in with a good tournament box, something for them to be proud of and we had the right fish on the line....we just couldn't put them in the net on Saturday and I was so busy trying to run the boat I couldn't really mentally process what was going on. When I overheard my Son's buddy Jordan say "I can't stop smiling"....I knew it was worth all the effort I am very thankful to Lester Zimmermen, who made sure every kid in the tournament got a trophy just for fishing it. How awesome is that? Lester does so much for youth fishing in these events...you can't help but to get a little choked up seeing the smiles on there faces and it puts it all right into perspective.....Thanks Lester

I stooped to begging a few of my team sponsors Nick....I will see what I can get together for this. It's hard this time of year because everyone is so busy and short on product, but hopefully I'll get something together

Hey Spike, How are you bud? Actually, it was the twin I/O's on a 24 ft'er that I was searching for, not the bridge. The kids liked it, but I never really did and I love it being gone !! Still not sure what we are doing....crazy, right? Now it looks like the wife may be done out in Cali by the end of the year so I may not be going except to visit? That would be fine by me I should be in Cali mid Aug, but who knows and if not we need to get out fishing one day