Fishtails

They can be a pain....I'd have to agree with that.......then again lot's of guys say the same bout copper Umbrellas are designed to be an in- line attractor....same as a flasher. Instead of imitating a feeding Salmon (like a flasher does), it's purpose is to imitate a school of bait. They are bulky though and just like Gill pointed out, used as designed it can get in the way come time to net a fish. Many a stripper fisherman swear by them and they have been around a very long time, but stripper fisherman don't run the complex spread most of us salmon fisherman do. I have some ideas on how to occasionally implement them , yet dodge their pitfalls. Just something else to play with when the bite slows down in the afternoon.

I've used them Stripper fishing. I told Clark this past winter we were gonna run an umbrella rig as a test this spring to see it it chases all the fish away.....I think he thinks I'm a little unbalanced sometimes....don't ya Clark Anyways.....I have two all rigged up. 8 spoons apiece. One for dark days and one for bright days. My intention is to run it off the ball of the probe rigger for starters solely as an attractor. We'll see if it pulls fish into the spread and go from there. They work great for strippers....Just have no idea on the salmon, but both fish are similar in their feeding habits so who knows??

Great stories guys. That's a real special story Chinook. These are some real tough ones to follow. Sorry....but my story isn't nearly as deep or inspirational, but this is how we came up with the name. I decided last winter that my Lund Fisherman was no longer fitting all my needs, so I told the wife I was selling it and buying myself a larger boat primarily for Salmon fishing and I'd buy her a smaller boat for cruising around The St Lawrence, where she spends much of her summer. I bought a 24 ft Searay, and wanted to name it Rod Addiction, but she didn't really want the name to sound fishing related because while convincing her this was the thing to do I "may have" inadvertently told her it wasn't going to be strictly a fishing boat, and that we'd also use it as a family boat. Well, I'm a confessed parrothead and a huge Jimmy Buffet fan. One day while I was cruising in the truck listening to my Sirius I heard this song on Margarettaville by Scott Kirby Called Lucky Enough. The chorus of the song was "If your lucky enough to live on blue water, than your lucky enough by me". I liked it, thought It was catchy, and I figured it was appropriate cause we live on the water much of the summer. It also seemed to apply very well to our life, so I pitched it to the wife and she loved it. It seemed to be a good comprimise. And so it was....

I told Kevin I'm not at all opposed to moving slips once or twice, If that's what it takes. I don't see it being a problem unless the boat needs to be moved when I'm in Pa. Even so, I'm sure we can work it out.

Don't know if this has already been posted or not? If so...my apologies. http://lakeontariooutdoors.com/uploads/ ... 7Final.pdf

Kevin Jerge just got back to me and said it looks like he should be able to squeeze us in for the month of May thru the Pro Am Only thing is we may have to change slips once or twice.

I figured nobody would have an answer for this one.....but it was worth a try. I'm looking at that same place Rick. They have one oceanfront spot w/dock in 09 that just opened up from July 1st thru the first week of Aug. She said nobody knows about it yet and I'd need to book it fast. Not sure it's gonna work for me due to the Pro Ams. We are thinking about it but we're also hoping to go to Yellowstone in Aug 09, so It's looking like OC might not be in the cards for me. This having to plan so far ahead for good RV sites kinda sucks, but I guess I'm gonna have to get used to it. Talk about a lifestyle change!!

We use the Scotty's on our boat.

Okay....I have a question I'm hoping someone can help me with. I'm making reservations for camping in July 2009. This year the Pro Am's were moved a week later than last year. Anyone know if they will hold the Pro Ams the same weekends in 09 that they are holding them in 08, that being the 2nd and 3rd weekends?? I'm trying to coordinate everything. I'd be bummed if the dates get changed again and I miss them next year. Thanks!!

I have been going back and forth with Kevin for the past 2 months hoping to get a slip from May 1st to June 1st. I'm hoping to keep the boat there for the month but we have still not been able to finalize anything. I guess he's packed pretty tight during the Pro Am. I'm still hoping he finds us a spot.

Rick....I have good news and bad news on the lobsters you want to catch while your in Florida. Good news is they are not hard to get once you learn how to spot them and the technique used to catch em. Bad news....lobster season ends March 31st. That being said...I'll tell ya how it's done anyway for you or anyone else who wants to give it a whirl sometime. I have pictures of the ones I caught this past trip, but my sister has them at the moment. Basically, all you need is a tickle stick, a net and a catch bag. I catch them by snorkeling in the shallows, both gulf and ocean side. First....Locate the lobster. They can often be found under ledges and corals, in rock piles and holes. Spotting them can be easy once you learn what to look for. Look for the long, red spiny antennae sticking out from under the rock. Many times, if you locate one, there will be others with it. Often times one rock may hold 3-5 lobsters. I caught 3 from one single rock this past trip. I search for shorelines that have some rocks or structure. Sandy beaches will not hold lobsters. Next step once you locate a lobster is to "tickle" it out into open space. Tickle sticks are no more than a three foot long stick. Use the stick to poke the lobster's backside and it should come crawling out from its hiding place. Here is a little hint on multiple lobsters holding up together. Always coax the largest one out first. That will be the leader of the group and getting him first will make rounding up the others easier. Okay.....once you poke him in the backside with your stick and you coax him out of his hiding space, place your net behind his tail about a foot back. With your tickle stick, poke him in the antenna and he will scoot backwards right into your net. What your looking for: Good luck and I'll shoot you a pm on the fishing scene down in the Keys within a couple days.

BTW Rick......If you haven't already, tell the wife spiny lobsters don't have claws, but they are just as good There are lots of really good eating fish to be caught also. You'll want to pick up a book to identify them. We're pulling out and the wife is snarling at me to get on the road....Talk to ya in a day or so.

Yeah, that was one day we got out on the ocean side. The water is soooo blue.... I love that about the keys. It was 80-85 every day but the last day when a cold front hit and it only reached about 68. I have some neat manatee pictures I'll post when I get home. First time I ever saw one in the wild and I thought it was way cool.

Rick.....I'm on my way home (in nc @ the moment) and I'll pm you as soon as I get settled in tomorrow.

Thanks Ray. I am familiar with the area your talking about, but I am 20 miles from 7 mile bridge and I'm stuck here with the boat cause I pulled it down with the rv and can't launch it myself. The KOA did it for me. Damn rental cars don't have hitches. Tarpon are FUN, but I caught them last time and since ya can't eat them I've passed them up this trip. If I would have had more time to fish I might have gone after them. Had em swimming around the boat. Had a big shark grab a yellowtail when I tossed it back in the water. Makes ya think twice about washing your fishy hands off in the water Been doing good catching keeper size snapper, but as you know it's not as easy as it sounds. For every one over the 12" keeper size, there are lots of smaller & faster ones ready to jump on your bait for the ride to the boat. I'm learning that you chum in the small ones and cast beyond them for the bigger fish. They are all fun far as I'm concerned. There has been a small craft advisory every day but two, and it's now in effect again till Monday so it looks like I'm done unless I hit the bridge to use up my last box of chum. Thanks for the info though....next year I'll be staying down in that area so I'll keep that in mind. I hear there is another Manatee in the marina, so I'm off to check it out........

Here are a couple fish we've caught in The Fl. Keys. Lots of fun down here but I'm ready to catch some salmon!! A 15"triggerfish A 16"hogfish 14" yellowtail snapper A sharksucker. We caught this in the gulf....all 4 of us said wtf is that ??? Don't know what this is, but we caught about a dozen of them in the ocean. Mangrove Snapper Yellow Jack

Hey guys....thought I'd check in and say hi From the Fl. keys and give a report on the fishing for the ones still planning a trip down here. We have wireless here, just have had no time to get on the computer. I'll try to keep it as short and as to the point as I can. First off before I forget, Knights key looks real nice Rick. I drove by and checked it out. Great location to stay for fishing & central location in the keys. Stay on the water though....inner sights didn't look so good. According to my gps, the reef is much closer to shore in that area than where I am on fiesta key. This KOA is really nice also. It's been Sunny, hot and windy as hell! Out of the 8 days we have been here so far, only two were calm (10 mph or less is calm down here). The breeze is great unless your plan is to go boating...it cools you down a little. Overall, we've been having a blast. The fishing has been very good the three days I've gone out. Never made it to the reef on our little 16 foot boat. It's about 5 miles off shore in this area of the keys and most days have been 4-7 at the reef. I did go out on the ocean about 3 miles out yesterday morning and caught some good fish. Just about everywhere It's been one fish after another. It's hard to get past the little guys though. Yesterday we had a manatee come into the marina. My son went down on the rocks and played with it....really cool!! I have gotten into plenty of keeper size Mangrove snappers, porkies (the yellow one on ray's photos), some keeper yellowtails and grunts. Lots of crevelle jacks and all kinda of miscellaneous fish. I've been fishing mostly for table fare fish, so every time I hook up with something big, It tore my line. That happened 5-10 times :x . Had several big sharks and tarpon swimming around the boat. I also got out once to snorkel for lobster....caught 4 of them! Here are a couple pics...I'll put more in the picture section. Justin and I with a triggerfish he caught in the ocean. Along with the following hogfish, it's said to be one of the very top table fare fish in the area. A hogfish Our little 16 fter Mangrove snapper....delish!! I'll put some other catches in the picture section. Heading back to Pa on Sunday....hope to get out fishing again but they are calling for super heavy winds so it ain't looking likely.

Don't forget to hook your snap on the slider to your main line also....or bye bye lure when a fishy strikes !! But Yep.....Erin's way works also. I think you get a better hook set attaching to the cable because there isn't the stretch that you will get attaching to your main line. Just personal preference and both ways get the job done!!

Set your main bait on the downrigger and drop it down to the desired depth where you want to place the stacker. Then take the rubber band and hook it to your downrigger cable with a half hitch, you wrap the rubber band around the cable and put one end back through the rubber band. This allows you to snug it up on the downrigger cable leaving a loop of rubber band hanging off it. You take your slider swivel and clip it on the main line and also clip it on the loop of the rubber band. This places your slider on your main line but it also tacks it to your downrigger cable. When a fish hits it, it will stick the hook because the fish has to break the rubber band. If a bottom lure hits a fish, it too will break the rubber band.

Definitely a great event! A big thanks to LOTSA for all they do!! Ditto to the above comments, as it's always cool to put faces with the names and meet new people. There were several I didn't get a chance to meet and many that I did. Very enjoyable and educational day all around!!

On the subject.....I'm now a little worried about a fish one of my buddies caught aboard my boat this past season. It was his biggest and wanted it mounted so I called around the local baitshops ( Larrys Salmon Shop, All Season) and they all used Dave Fish. Anyone know about his work ? Thanks

Rob....you stole my answer :shock: Based on last year only, If I could only have two I'd go with the nk28 Kevorkian (taped) and the stinger nbk. I like the stinger kevorkian also, but the paint is half gone within several fish. Only two spoons would really suck though

Rick, Having both Big Jon and tite loc holders on my boat, I can tell you that you won't be unhappy with either. All things being equal, I'd take the Big Jon first due to the one handed adjustment, where on the tite loc there is a pin to pull before adjusting the angle. I believe you have 3" for mounting and Tim says the Big Jon requires 4". I'm all but certain the base of the tite loc is less than 4". If you want, I can measure both for you tomorrow. Tite Loc holders may be the better choice if you only have a 3" gunwale. However, If you can fit the Big Jon, I'd go that route.

Ray....don't know if you will get this, but here is a very good article on fishing the Florida Keys Bridges. http://www.florida-keys-fishing.org/flo ... ishing.htm

This one in MI looks like it's what your looking for If your willing to travel for it. http://www.usedboats.com/index.php?site ... toryback=5