Mickey Finn

So the float stays on the line all the time? Is it normally right behind the boat? Then you just let it out further when you get a fish on another rod?

If I was looking for Eyes in that area, I'd head for Black River Bay. Troll the North shore of the bay. I'd make my first pass in 15 to 20 feet of water and move out deeper as needed. I like Storm Thundersticks and Bomber Long A's but most sticks in that size will work. I always had good luck with the blue/silver and black/silver, especially with red lip or orange belly. Perch and fire tiger had their days too. It's been a few years since I trolled them there but it used to be good for me. I like to run those baits way back too. Usually 150 to 200 feet or even further back fished off planer boards. Some guys have good luck on spoons too. Also some of the other bays in that area are good for eyes but I don't know that much about the other bays. Hopefully some other guys will jump in here with some more info for you but this will give you some place to start. Yes, as Landshark said, slower than Browns. Seems like 1.8 to 2.2 was good.

Sounds like a good reason to write my name and phone number on my boards with a permanent marker. Not everyone is a LOU guy.

Lets just hope they get it passed soon. Doesn't matter that much to me when I'm with three buddies but I'm looking forward to it when its just me and the Mrs. Now, if I can just figure out some way to teach her how to net fish so that I can catch one myself once in a while!!

Guys like that deserve some good fortune. I hope Keith catches the winning derby fish!!!

ok, thank you. Thats what we will do. We won't be there till May 16th.

OK, so now that it's rightful owner has claimed it, I'm wondering what the item was. Fishing partner who just lost the derby winning salmon?

7 species! WOW. Great day!

awesome that their still some decent ppl out there...

Now that's the kind of guy you are proud to call a true sportsman. Wish everyone looked out for each other like that!

Yankee the Youngstown Public Launch is deeper, the bad part is parking on top of the hill and walking up and down. It is also free.

Just looking back through some of these old posts. I'm looking on googlemaps and I think I see this launch but I don't see the parking lot. Where is it located?

I run them on my main line but I have heard of guys running them off the ball and then just run the lure a little above and behind the cowbells. Someday, I'll have to give that a try.

Slow, slow, slow! Make sure you're going slow. I like 1.3 to 1.6mph. Drop it to the bottom, let it settle out for a minute or so and then drop it to bottom again. Then pick it up a foot. Keep checking to make sure you are near bottom every once in a while. If I'm fishing just for lakers, I'll run three bells. I run two of them a foot off bottom and one about 5 feet off bottom.

If they have something like a fire tiger colored set or a yellow with flame orange edge, you might want to get one of those. Thats my favorite color. I run a yellow and orange spinner or peanut behind it. I also often run a silver/blue set of bells with a silver/blue/red lip flat fish behind it. That is probably my best rig for big lakers. I also agree that the Luhr Jensen bells pull very hard. I've had guys reel them up thinking they had a fish on.

New Price

Still available. This prop is new. Don't believe you'll find a new one anywhere for less than $150 plus tax and shipping. I'm asking $115 for this one which includes $15 for shipping.

New price.

I've got a King radio that I don't use any more. Just like to get it out of my basement. I have 3 radios. It worked ok when I last used it but as I mentioned in the post last year, the speaker was scratchy. If I got $10 to ship it and another $10 to make it worth driving to the post office, I'd mail it out. Here's a link to the post I put up last year so you can see it: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=18414

I say it depends on how good your sonar is. If you are seeing your fish and if your GPS lets you mark fish and gets you home at the end of the day, then go ahead and add the probe. I use the Depth Raider and really like it. They all work well though. However, if your sonar isn't showing you the fish then you can never be sure if you are on fish or not and no probe will help catch fish that are not under you. For me the sonar is more important than the probe. Some of the best charter captains that I know on the lake fish without probes. You can get a very good feel for down speed by watching cable angle of your riggers. Just my 2 cents worth.

Another great Brown and great to see the King. Here's hoping we start seeing more of those guys!

I think it's a good idea. It should get more people involved in the derby. Not everyone can get out to the deeper water where the big lakers are. Lots of people can get to the waters where they can catch Pike, Browns, Walleye and Pickerel. And there is still a Lake Trout division.

Actually, I beleive that is what it is supposed to do. I was told it will not freeze solid but will jell up like you said it did.

That is correct. I stored my boat for years in unheated storage in Maine with temps of -20 and lower and never had a problem. It will jell but not freeze. I don't actually know how cold it would have to get to freeze it but it worked fine for me.

Anyone know of lodging between Wilson and Fort Niagara that would give us the option of cooking some of our own meals? It would be mid May.

OK, we are going to be there in the middle of May after the LOC and Wilson Inv. Should I expect someone to be there to collect the fee? I don't mind paying it. I just want to know if I need to be looking for someone or if I can just drive in and launch. What is there at 4 Mile Creek State Campground for lodging? Is it just camping?

So the $10 is a launch fee or park fee or what? Is the launch open 24 hours a day or do they have hours when it's open?

What are the dates this year?