Gray Fox

We go the really cheap way...shower curtain rings and clothes pins for mono flatlines. You can make 100 release really cheap and usually from the dollar store. After about 3-4 years we buy another bag of clothes pins and put some new ones on. Heavier stuff like core and copper are run on scottys with rubberbands.

Snuff I set up my lead lines with power pro backer usually 30 pound, then the leadcore, and then 35-50ft. of flourcarbon leader. I keep a couple of different lengths around the boat (3,5,7,10 colors) that way I can reach different depths and still run the cores off my boards.

If you want to try something other than stingers, try some of the DW Super Slims. They are close to the same size. CBish, last year we took quite a few browns on the Clearwater 101 and 171 in the beginning of August, got some on honeybee stingers too. It was funny getting back to the dock with a cooler of browns and telling people, that they took clearwaters and honeybees, not many people knew what we were talking about. Heres a pic of a couple for those who havent seen them. From left to right, Honeybee Stinger, Clearwater 101, and (2) Clearwater 171

We use pinch pad releases as stated above, but we use rubberbands to attach the line to the release. Wrap the rubber band around 2-3 times and put both loops deep in the release. Most times the rubber band will break and you'll get the tag ends back to put in the garbage.

Switched last season to Scottys after running Walkers for over 20 years. Wasn't sure if I would like them having never fished with them but I knew that I didnt want Big Jons or Cannons. After running the scottys this season, I dont think I'd ever change to something else. Some of the features I now like are the mechanical auto stop, free- spool drop, strong boom and the tip up feature. Wasnt to sure how much I would like the tip up boom but found my self using them quite a bit. I would take the Scottys over the Walkers, Big Jon, Cannon, and Fishlander. Can't comment on Penn as I have only fished with them a few times. Thats just my opinion, hope it doesn't start a battle.

Cant comment on the Thompson but can give my input on the Penn Yans. They are great. We have a 1989 Penn Yan 245 that we bought new and have had no problems with. Had the boat surveyed this winter, no stringer or transom problems. Ours has the 5.7L merc and has plenty of power. I have fished off the same boat with the 5.0L Merc and thought that it was underpowered. If you can find a Penn Yan that is in good shape and surveys well I would suggest the Penn Yan. Also, there are a few other guys on here that run Penn Yans so I would expect that they will all say good things also. Good Luck with which ever you choose.

Thanks for the video, got a bunch of these to product test 3-4 years ago when I was working for Gander Mtn and never really gave them a good chance. May have to use them some more this summer.

We only run the big boards. Set back depends what we are fishing for and water clarity. When targeting browns in clear water, I'll stretch'em back to 250 ft. off the tow line. I don't typically fish in boat traffic so i dont usually worry about getting lines cut off. If I am fishing stained water than I'll shorten the leads considerably, but I never run a board line shorter than 100ft. when fishing for browns.

If you are going to Oswego now, I would suggest the harbor or the mouth of any creek that is pumping water into the lake, that is where you'll usually find the warmest water. We hope to start fishing around April 18 and will concentrate more so on the creek mouths and shallows in between to avoid the boat traffic in the harbor. Usually if you can find colored water you'll find some browns.

John no problem, I'll put them aside and bring them up in the spring if you would like.

pm returned

For Sale: (2) Shimano Triton 100G. Well used but in great shape. Used for brown trout reels. $25 each or $40 for pair. (SOLD) (1) Shimano Trition 100G. Used one season, great shape. $35 (SOLD) (1) Okuma Convector 30D spooled w/ #30 wire. Reel was bought for a spare wire reel and has never been used. Comes w/ the new wire. $100 (2) Okuma Magda 30D. Used two seasons as brown trout reels. $25 each or $40 for pair. (SOLD) (2) Shimano Triton downrigger rods. 8' light action, used for brown rods. Good Shape. $30 for pair. (SOLD) (1) Okuma Blue Diamond dipsy rod. 10' medium heavy w/ twilli tip. Great Shape. $40 (1) Ugly Stik. 9' medium action spinning rod. $20 (SOLD)

I've got 2 Magda 30d's and 1 Convector 30D freshly spooled with wire that I would get rid of. If your interested pm me and I'll send you pics and price.

Thanks guys hopefully I'll be able to shoot up in the middle of the week, thinkin about a perch/laker trip.

Thanks John, should be nice to fish for a change. Cabin fever sucks.

Just wondering if anyone has a good website to check the weather on Seneca. Would like to come up during the week and only have the 16 ftr. out. Dont want to drive all the way up and have it to rough to fish. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'll throw in a vote for straight rubberbands. Three wraps for the browns, four for the kings. Never really had a problem with false releases and I like my rod loaded up heavy. Just got to remember not to leave the bag in the sun.

Though we did not target them at all this summer, we have in the past. Some nights we were successful and others not so much. We run straight 18 rapalas, with black/silver, blue/silver, chartreuse/silver, and perch being the best colors. The only thing that we have found to make a difference was speed. We have tried fishing for them from both boats but found that the numbers were better when fishing from our smaller boat. Its an older tiller model and it seems to work best just to pull it in gear and not give it any throttle. We also do all our walleye fishing at night.

On Feb. 7th we held a small ice fishing derby in the Sterling Creek Campground, which turned out to be a success. First off, we would like to thank those who fished for their support and we would also like to thank Tom Allen for his donation of Caty Jigs. There was a total of 29 entrants with many fish brought to the weigh in. At the weigh in it sounded as though all the teams had the same problem that we did in that you had to catch a ton of perch to get a couple keepers. Thanks again Tom for the donation of the jigs. Here are some pics... These are the two prize winning fish, the winning northern weighed 9 pounds 8 oz. and was caught by Kenny Scott and the winning perch was caught by Chris Rushen and weighed 1 pound 4 oz. Both anglers took home $290.00, not bad for a days fishing. Here is a picture of the winner of the Caty Jigs, Brian Sutter. Now that the ice fishing is done, COME ON SPRING!!!

Fish307 carries them http://www.fish307.com/index.asp?PageAc ... rodID=8854

Just wondering if anyone could give us some more information. We haven't fished Cayuga in many years and this looks like a good way to be able to put some faces with LOU names. For example is there a certain launch site, where is the weigh in, what can we bring for the BBQ. Just curious as we will be trailering our Penn Yan down to fish and want to make sure we wont have any trouble launching a 24' boat. Thanks for the help. Gray Fox

Saw this morning that the harbor was open. Might make for some nice fishing if the lauch is open too.

Probably the worst rookie story I watched happen and then heard the story at the dock, was the two planer boards on one side trick. One early morning in April when the water was very cold, and had about a two foot chop I watched the boat slipped next to us double up and all three guys run to the back to land the fish. Key to this story is that no one was driving the boat. Anyhow the boat got turned in a wave, planer board line wound multiple times around the prop, you know the nightmare nobody wants to have, especially in 8 fow. Luckily, they got everything taken care of and never hit shore. The boat between us and them quick pulled there lines and slid in and was ready to tow them to deeper water if need be. All and all carelessness could lead to a very bad day. As said above safety should always be the #1 concern.

how much ice was on the bay?

Sterling Creek Campgroung Ice Fishing Derby Sat. February 7, 2009 $20.00 per person 100% Payback (50% biggest pike/50% biggest perch) Fish will be weighed for prizes. In the case of a tie, winner will be decided by measurement. Fishing will be restricted to Sterling Creek, Fair Haven State Park pond, Little Sodus (Fair Haven Bay) and Blind Sodus. Fishing will begin at daylight and end at 5p.m. Weigh in will be held at the Sterling Creek Campground pavillion from 5:30-6:30. Contact Everett Tooley to register or for more information at (315) 297-1867. Registration may also be done at the pavillion Saturday morning from 5-7 a.m. Sterling Creek Campground Juniper Hill Rd. Sterling NY