Fishtails

What Rich said Nick....it protects that area on and just above the treble where we often grab with the pliers to free the hook.

More times than not when you have a "bite off" just above the treble on a fly, it's not actually not a bite off at all. The line above the treble can get nicked easily by the pliers when removing the hook from a fishes mouth. Not sayin that is what happened....but it's the cause of most break offs like you had. I tie my own fly leaders and I use a 1" piece of surgical tubing over the treble shank for that exact reason. Keep the reports coming buddy....

Sorry to hear about this Jon. Hopefully the name will come out. There should be a no tolerances policy when it comes to behavior and ethics at ALL tournaments & derbies. These events are a privilege and we all need to appreciate the hard work & money put forth by the coordinators. IMO, Anyone that gets out of line behaviorally, or cheats, should be banned from ALL events. DQ's happen, we have seen many experienced and reputable teams make honest mistakes. It's how you handle yourself after the fact that defines you as a person (or team).

Thanks for the heads up on the "inspection" Stan & Skipper....I woulda never figured on that. Thanks Jon...Justin and I will be up in late June and about all of July before I take him out early Aug....maybe your house will be done by then?

I couldn't agree more....Jon is a great guy Wish I could have fished the derby, but I'm glad to hear George had a killer day.

Go get em Nick....wish I was there !!

Good News Glen....have a speedy recovery

How about that....a report from Dave Nice job on the 3rd place finish and Ouch....that hook was deep!

I'm looking forward to getting together with you Stan....boat looks great! Me & Justin drive out for the first time the beginning of Aug, so I'll call you on the way

I know, right? I think if I want to continue being married I'm just gonna have to work it out cause it's what she wants to do Let me put it this way though....I'm not selling my house, I'm not closing my business, I'm not getting rid of the lake boat and I plan on racking up the frequent flyer miles.... The last 9 months have been really nuts already...it's just gonna be me going back and forth now instead of her.

Looks like I will be heading way west...to San Francisco. The wife has been working there for the past 9 months traveling back and forth why I've stayed here with the kids. I guess she wants to work there (for PG&E) full time so it looks like I'll be getting close and personal with some west coast Salmon later this year I plan to split my time living between the east coast and west coast starting In Aug, but I'll have most of July to fish lake Ontario yet so I'm gonna fish some July tournaments with My son Justin and I plan to make sure I'm back during the fall LOC. So....anyone have tips for me for fishing the bay area? I am taking my 16 footer out there so I will have a way to get out on the water. I'll jump on a charter or two when I go out In Aug....maybe I'll even learn a few west coast tricks? They say change is good, I guess I'll just have to see about that.

Hey Chris, Keeping in mind that things change daily, having just fished a few days during the WHI I'd maybe poke around the bar a little, but the numbers have definitely been from Wilson east. We fished deep off the bar (270-330) for the WHI and managed a 12th place box but I'd be lying if I said we didn't have to work our ass off for it. Most teams fished east of Wilson and did way more numbers than us, but we choose the deep water off the bar banking on much lower boat pressure. The fish were pretty scarce out deeper off the bar, but when we found some they seemed to be a good class. Now that the WHI and Loc have passed, a lot of the boats will be gone and you should be able to tear it up from Wilson to the Plant. Have a great time and post some reports!

I have been curious to where all the bait is at? Last year we had bait so thick on the canadian side of the fence during the WHI that we had 5 Alewives on our spoons when we pulled lines one day during pre fishing. I haven't been fishing much this year, but so far the bait has been eluding our fishfinder.

Very nice heart felt tribute Lew RIP Capt. Seller.

Get well soon Glen....wishing you a speedy return to the big pond

Nice report...and a new rig to be very proud of

Nice Report !!

I can tell you this much....I got super mooned by a teammate as I entered the RV last weekend in St Catherines and it DEFINITELY impacted my fishing! My vision is still blurred and I wake up during the night screaming. I never knew the difference between a moon and a super moon...I wish I still didn't !! A regular moon is no big deal, but when the cheeks get spread to expose the brown eyed cyclopes...that is a super moon and a horror I will not soon forget!

You might have Paulie, but not to me The thing I got from Jeff though...who I guess musta got it from you, was the fence term for the river , and I have to give you kudos for that cause I can't think of a better term....it's a perfect analogy! I always said you were way smarter than you look. So thank you for that buddy....but the rest of the north shore theory I came up with all on my own......and you thought I was just a stupid refinisher BTW...you know we are gonna even things up at the WHI this week, right? You only edged us out on Sunday in St Catherines cause I couldn't get our driver to go any slower than 2.7 and as a result we got littlefi****is. We have Steve back behind the Wheel for the WHI and we'll be on a big fish smackdown so you better be wearing your big boy britches next week. I hear you have a "Top Gun" fishing with you in Wilson, but unless his name is Dagon it may not be enough...lol You may need a man hug again...

I am sure everyone has there own ideas about this. It certainly seems as though we have great numbers this year, so that plays a big role but I think a lot has to do with the mild winter and the fact that lake Erie never froze. On an average year large numbers of fish will stack up on the west end because that is where the warmest water will be. During an average April, The Niagara river is going to be colder than the lake water and that traps a lot of fish on the Canadian side because it acts as a fence. A lot of fish will head north towards Toronto and the north shore, while others will hang along that Canadian side of the Niagara river and start to disperse in May. A lot of those fish that head north find plenty of food and good temps, so they stay on the north shore until they sniff their way home later in the summer or early fall.. This season, a much warmer than normal lake Erie meant there was no Niagara Fence. so the fish were free to roam anywhere they wanted and I think we are seeing a lot of the fish that normally would have gone to the north shore for the spring and summer have stayed on the south shore....at least for now. It can all change once the lake sets up depending on the winds, but lets hope it continues all season long Then again...I could be wrong

Most excellent response Vince

Congrats to your daughter Ray, she must get the smarts and talent from her mom I thought you sounded a little down when we spoke on the phone this morning. I understand the mixed emotions, but it's a great day

You think I'd let that slide by without snapping a photo. All joking aside....these are good guys and you'll have a lot of laughs with them

I could post some funny ass (excuse the pun) pics of this, but I fear retaliation ....it's a long season

We still need an observer for anyone who may be interested. Spoke with Ray and he may be striper fishing, but personally I think he's afraid of getting addicted to tourney fishing again... Can't say as I blame him....we are definitely not the crew to hang around if you don't wanna catch the tourney bug.