larry

Here's how bad the fishing was for us, Jerry lost 5 lbs chasing that turtle but he finally caught up to it, luckily it was a smoker and ran out of breath and that's when he pounced on him.

Happy Birthday Yankee - - Rebel

actually, it's in the Clayton Museum, not far

Take the day off and go fishing, have a great day!

Great work Bill, was pullin' for ya but you were up against the best and held your own in horrible conditions.

www.niagarafallshotels.com/ as of today the exchange rate is 1.18 so your dollar is worth a little more on the canadian side, the seneca casino on the american side is very nice and usually reasonable during the week, weekends is pricey but no hassle crossing the border.

I won the Lake trout division with a 24# laker taken on green spins with blk/slv Jointed J-13 160 fow, the bigger lakers will usually be deeper and like bigger baits. Don't be afraid to try out deeper as well, just make sure you have enough cable to reach bottom and bounce the balls occasionally. 1-3 rigger spread is more than enough, if they are down there you can't keep up with 2 rods firing.

check the maps section of this site, type in search or click on the flags

syphon hose, you never see gas thieves blow up

Welcome home, we're all thankful for your service and look forward to your safe return. There are a lot of members here from your area who will give you all the help you need to get your kids hooked on fishing. Bring 10th mtn Dave back with you. Should be a great year on the lake.

Just read through the article on last years salmon migration and it's right on the money, seen it happen other years too but had no way to verify our theories. Nice mag online, good work Troy, the wealth of information presented in your mag has always been professional and accurate. Thanks for your dedication to the fishing community.

ratcheting tie downs should hold it secure, turn over for less drag when at high speeds unless your passengers need the seating space.

What is a dead head? Jerry Garcia?

It's not that they don't work but they are more work. They usually come with double trebles that wound the fish pretty bad if you plan on releasing them, they tangle in the net and it takes awhile to get them out, the hooks are usually to small to hold the bigger fish and if you change them you kill the action, they have to be tuned in the water to run correctly or they will ride up on their side and not catch anything and probably kill the rest of the set as well. So, that said, I would have to say that you should not abandon the sticks especially in the spring shallows. As far as putting them down on riggers, they will dive below the ball if fish seem ball shy sticks may be the answer then again you could just lengthen the lead or keel sinker a spoon and get the same result. They are much more lifelike but are not cheaper than spoons, they take up more room in a tackle box and look prettier, have a wider variety of actions, rattles, dive bills but in the long run will not out produce spoons for trout or sd's for salmon. Still love smithwicks and rapalas in the spring but won't see them in the mix after the bar disappears, just too lazy I guess.

On a side note to all charter captains posting please omit catch ratio for the day and use a 1-10 rating for the day to describe how good the fishing was. This will keep the integrity of the post and limit misconceptions about why the post is made. Keep them professional and informative and the community will be well served. Thanks

The tangles you're worried about come from poor driving, slack lines, wave or currents and are not usually the result of a fish strike or the pattern you set up, although sometimes crazy teenage kings or bound for the surface bows will take out a higher line. We run 6 riggers in fair to good lake conditions with no problem. Tight turns and strong currents are the usual causes of crossed cables and tangled lines. The temp rigger is the most important and will always be the first one in and usually the deepest. Once you know where the break is and adjust the boat speed for the depth and lure type, you can then stack your pattern above it or match the break rigger depth with another rigger and two above, it all depends on what depth you start getting your hits at. Once you do get a strike don't wait to get another rigger to that depth (eventuallly with the same lure) whether you raise one or drop one down shouldn't be a cause for worry as long as the boat doesn't take an abrupt change of coarse. When setting the riggers, tighten the slack out of the line, a bowed line to the release is only useful in running free sliders, other than that it causes more problems such as tangles and lost fish because the slack time before you notice the rod has gone off is much longer and there is no pressure on the hook to keep it set in the fishes mouth, our rod tips are about a foot off the water. The long arm rigs on the back will be helpful when landing the fish to open up the lane and give room to net away from the other cables, you can 45 the other stern rig or both if the outside rig went. Your set up will be fine no matter what letter pattern you put down V, ^, / , \ ,T as long as understand that what happens on top of the water will have consequences below. The last thing you have to remember and be conscience of is resetting lines, the rigger person and the helmsman need to be on the same page and when the lines go down the boat needs to be going in a straight line and the cables should be straight as well.

Seems like a glamorous job after all you get paid to fish but the life of a charter captain is more than meets the eye. With a lot of captains visiting this site to squeeze out some information that might help them be successful on the next trip I thought they might share what a typical day, week or season is really like. I've been a part time, weekend Capt for 25+ yrs and still look forward to a new season but dread the amount of preparation from restringing 20 something rods to renewing a license and TWIC card. There has to be an enormous amount of dedication to serve the public and put fish on the line . This could serve as a checklist for other captains and an aspiring captains job desciption. What's it really like to have people pay you to put them on a fish, are all the clients happy? sober? good fisherman? Is there ever any pressure? nervousness? Why don't they teach this in college? Please share a story so those dreaming of being a cowboy don't give up the dream or why they should.

Excellent reports CB, I don't know what went on back then but as long as it's honest and not an advertisement to drum up business I don't think there's a problem. As charter Captains we are held to a higher standard in the way we present the information we share which is a thin line, between competing businesses and competing ports to bring in the tourists dollars. I know when out on the water we use hands and colors to let the other captains know how we're doing so we don't embarrass anyone if they're not doing well and on the site I've seen a few hard feelings when guys posted extraordinary catches that might seem like bragging but regardless, I know after a long day of fishing the last thing I want to do is sit down and type. You are to be commended for this effort and willingness to share your daily program. I'll recommend to Chad that your link be added to the LOU friends or if you just want to be allowed to post reports? I have no problem with either and I'm sure everyone would benefit from the information. On the surface it would seem that posting the information to share with fellow fisherman would be innocent and beneficial to all but you can't please everyone and you can't anticipate how they view the information presented. My hope is that by having someone from each port posting we can get an accurate picture of the migration and dispersion of the fish around the lake as the year progresses. Last year we hypothesized that the kings had gone north due to weather conditions but had no way to verify this theory except experience so we beat up the browns and bows instead.

Nice work Katie, don't let Chad take all the credit

Thanks Ray, nice Buc-A- Roo report as well, if there are any links to local fishing reports we can have Chad add them to the friends list to make them more accessable for everyone.

Exactly, didn't feel the need to post since the general information was always there but now I think we all need to start making an extra effort The foundation has been established so what kind of house we build is up to all of us. Ray's already stokin' the furnace and as soon as I can teach Jerry that the keyboard isn't in alphabetical order (and we get the boat in) we'll be putting up some info for Sandy Creek. How about you take Niagara, you'll have to put your lunch box down and type a little but if this catches on... Joe's pioneering effort will make every port on LO better.

Name: Larry Lapa Boats: Runnin' Rebel PennYan 26" & BiteMe 15" Smokercraft Home Port: Sandy Creek and Oak Orchard Capt. Cove Home away from Home: Cottage on the Lake in Lyndonville Years on LO: Since 1971 Years Fishing: Since 1959 Clayton, TI Residence: Greece Very proud of what my son Chad has done for the fishing community with this website and I like to think that I had some influence in creating his passion for the sport. Thanks to all of you that post here and share your experiences to help others enjoy it too! We're on ch 72 when we're out of Sandy, but I don't hear too good so try a couple of times and I'll have Jerry (Brother-n-Law) Felluca answer the call, always glad to help.

Miss the daily At the Oak reports and thought more reports would help fill the void

The tools are in place here to help everyone but it would be so much better if each port had postings daily. We have members all over Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes so a complete picture of the fishing conditions should always be at your fingertips. Whether your out fishing, talking to the people who were out, or live on the lake, put up a post of what you know, good or bad, wind, waves, temps, colors, lures but we all need to know. The more information everyone has the better the experience and success for everyone as well.

6-50 skipper19 has a good grasp of what's good data to use to find your best trolling direction, I agree with his observations although I can't hear the cables anymore. I usually try to match the gps and down speed to get cross current direction. Paddle wheel speed if it is all you have to go by will tell you a number for the direction your going that you can match again if you catch fish. Also, try hanging a spoon over the side of the boat and watch the action, it should wobble and snap when right, if it just wobbles you're too slow, if it spins you're too fast. 330 nw and it's reciprocal are usually good directions to cut current. If you gauge yourself against other boats or charters pick the ones only if you see them catching fish or you could imitate something that's not working. Good fishing!