Gill-T

The theory of the "haze" of the thermocline makes it easier for us to fool fish into biting is interesting, but I think there is more to it. The thermocline is a layer of water with high O2 content. Fish are more likely to be active in a higher O2 environment. Remember the first Wilson Invitational? A few days of east winds followed by two days of dead-nut no wind and you have a recipe for lethargic fish in O2 poor water. That is why the winning team won the tournament trolling the mouth of the Niagara. The thermocline is structure. Most of the ecology and food web takes place at the thermocline or above it.....therefore baitfish and the predators that eat them HAVE to play around it if they want to survive. Keep posting stuff....we all need these discussions at least until March.

Seen plenty of Fishers in Allegany Co. where they have been stocked and protected. Could be adding to the nest raiding population. Lots of Coyote sign also. May be behavioral changes to the increasing ground predation as I have been coming across more pine tree birds that act like spruce grouse and don't flush.

This video has got me thinking about the column of 44 degree water out deep....Hmmm http://www.bobstrophycharters.com/winte ... ishing.php

Mexico Bay and Sodus Bay come on first, but not far behind is the water from Olcott to the mouth of Niagara, the water around I-Bay and the Genesee outflow, then the Oak. Pick your poison. End of March thru April peak time. I am sure others will chime in with their take.

Best case scenario.....niners win in a good entertaining win, and Ray Lewis has his bad arm fall off making a tackle.

I would add also it depends on the spoon blank. I have light weight R&R blanks that have singles for running at slower speeds. My NK's I run for steelhead have trebles. I would have to say as a percentage I have killed more small fish with a single (brained) than a treble. The treble inflicts more "non-lethal mouth damage". You take the risk of killing a fish every time you put a lure down so I don't sweat it, I except it. For me it is about how I want the spoon to run.

Didn't see a link for rules. Has a decision been made about comunication vs no-comunication?

http://www.michigansportsman.com/Tips_n_Trix/Seeing.htm

Thank you to everyone who sent in a photo. Some truly great pictures of beast Atlantics! The pictures were submitted to the editor of GLA. Which pictures are used are at the discretion of the editor so we will all wait for the issue. Should be in either the March/April issue or the June/July edition.

Anybody who would like to potentially get their mug in GLA magazine email me your Atlantic Salmon photos. Thanks. email: erkahler@roadrunner.com

Anyone have a lead on some birds on state land?

Mild winters......should be more birds. Scratchin' my head lately. Four trips for a total of maybe 15 hours of walking for a grand total of two flushes.......WTF. My dog has taken to chasing deer due to lack of action

30 lb green Trilene Big Game run clean to a flasher. For spoons I just add a small power swivel and a leader of 15 lb or 20 lb.

Nice start to the season.

Went out today in a friend's Polarcraft out of Olcott. Nice conditions for the most part. Good to see NOAA is in mid-season form......SW wind forcasted was strong westerlies with whitecaps 2-3' waves in 20' FOW. Clear water conditions. 37-38 degree surface temps. Good emerald shiner schools in harbor. Could have been good, but we opened the 2013 season with a skunk. Now I know what Jan. fishing is like and I can concentrate on bird hunting until March. NOTE!!! call ahead and check the conditions of the launches this spring before you trailer as the water was still 2.5' below normal. If you are used to trolling with a two or 1.5 color.....you may want to make up some 1 colors to keep from hitting bottom.

It will be interesting to hear the breakdown of the year classes that spawned. I wonder how the flood of Oct, 2010 will effect the three year old class this year out in the lake. If more fish bypassed the gauntlet of snatchers then in theory more fish would have made it up to the no-kill zone to spawn.

Nope, I will stand by my statements. The author asked for our opinion. I too have every spoon listed by other posters and agree they are all good patterns. I am not sponsored by anyone and have no agenda only trying to keep a fellow angler from getting a spoon collections as big as mine. In the end if I had to start all over, I would only have one spoon box with those patterns I listed. Too many options clouds judgements. Keep it simple to start. Spoons on the riggers and flasher/flies on the dipsys and you will do fine. Rather see you spend your money on a good fishfinder and speed and temp unit then getting every spoon pattern under the sun.

I am going to do you a favor. Go to Northportnailer.com and order a bunch of their 100 series 3.24" spoons in K41G color for steelhead, cohos and spring browns. Order a bunch of their 300 series 3.75" spoons in K82 color for Kings. You will not need any other spoons for Lake O fish. If you would like some other good blanks try dreamweaver SS in Leopard frog color for a green spoon, and mytacklebox.com has a great spook pattern (dark) listed under their hex pattern super-lite blank in Black ice/glow LB #99.

I hear you Vince, the blue zone was solid with bait from Niagara County to Orleans County this fall. Is it March yet?

Anybody have figures on what percentage of returning salmon are 4 year olds? As good as last year was.....I think this year will be even better for numbers of big 4 year old kings. Of course if they all spawn at 3 years old then I will be wrong with my prediction. http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_ ... lights.pdf

I would think the "majority" of spawning occurs before the April 1st opener.....esp with the mild winters we have been having so the decreasing numbers probably goes beyond trib pressure. Perhaps we need a slot limit to protect the big spawners and do away with the derbies? Maybe catch and release sections?

Great Buck! Better still is there is a buck big enough to fight with him for next years season. Get those trail cams up.

Agreed BS. If the committee is so worried about Laker health they would target the spring LOC. I am not sure if the DEC truly knows how many Lakers are in the system. I would gladly invite any of the researchers working on the "laker problem" to join me this spring and I will show them a world class-laker fishery. The problem of lack of spawning evidence is not a fishery-take problem (nobody keeps Lakers), but a pollution, alewive/thiaminase problem......and they ain't going to solve that in our lifetime.

Ya, I guess you can't have a Seneca Shootout on a lake other than Seneca . What kind of help are you looking for?