Gill-T

I don't think the license will cover backing up a boat on a trailer. Sounds more like a money grab. Will current boat owners be grandfathered-in?

Rare but not unheard of. I caught a slightly darkened king at Burt one year at the end of March.

It will be marked on the pump as no ethanol.

Happy B-day Larry. Have a pack of cigarettes at Jerry's house and relax.

I would say that I set my Blacks release to a similar release tension as my dipsys. If I was fishing the fingerlakes where smaller fish might not pop the release, I would consider the Chamberlains or Scotty's. The Scotties have that tether that shows small shakers. Nothing wrong with a release not popping on small fish IF you see the bouncing rod and are not dragging a fish. In fact your hook up ratio will be better with a tighter release. Lets face it.......Lakers ain't Kings!

The trolling motor up front really helps you stay directly over your bait to feel the bottom ticking the weight and when fish hit. Keep in mind lakers live a long time and have been caught before. If you are feeling a "tick" and you check your bait only to find it missing you may have to add a cheater hook to the back of the minnow. I have found most of my fish come on that back hook.

Plan B would be to bring your trolling gear for Kings or drifting the bar for lakers.

Most of the gas at marinas are treated ethanol gas.

WNY fishermen. The NOCO station on Whitehaven Rd. on Grand Island sells no ethanol gas with the 93 octane rating. With everyone starting to fill-up maybe others could list stations with good gas.

Hit the pier this evening. Browns, cohos and odd pike are around. Emeralds are in. We are way ahead of schedule.

Prespawn fish sometimes don't move much. Try a white jig'n'pig (white eel trailer) or a darker pattern, dropped on the bottom in front of their nose. Gently tingle it like you would for bedded bass.

Run the non-toxic antifreeze thru the engine right after you pull her out. The engine is warm so the antifreeze will flow right in. You just need one of those plastic tubs with engine earmuffs found at any West Marine. Don't worry about fogging the engine, since the boat will get used again soon.

With all the wind and rain, the sattelite image of Niagara County inshore water looks like mud-city. Can anyone confirm the water color is as unfishable as it looks?

On the south shore, a light N or NW wind will push the mudline tight to the shore. Watch the NOAA site for wind direction. When the green water gets pushed in you can run into a school of Cohos that will make for unforgetable fishing. Usually you are going to get browns. Throw stickbaits, hot'n'tots, or spoons on one rod and a minnow under a bobber with a second rod.

Cohos are collected and imprint in the Salmon River so in August I would be fishing offshore from the river out anywhere from 150' to over 500 FOW around the thermocline and bait. The other large collection occurs over deep water near the border with Canada off the Niagara. You find one you find many as they do school.

Seems to me at this day and age contestants could video their catch. If you allow culling the measurement and release of short fish would not be an issue. Every team at check-in receives an official video tape with a tournament intro to proove it is legit. No observers needed.

Huge undertaking to put on a tournament. Liability insurance, local government involvement, permits?, volunteers, sponsors etc. etc. Not too many people have the time to put it all together. Sounds like to me you are taking about a club-level event. The LOTSA clubs do have these low pressure fun events. Maybe you could convince the fingerlakes-run events to expand to Lake O since they have a model in place. Good luck gentlemen. Send me all your mojo as I take on the big boys.

moorelectronics.com

What is your question Blind Squirrel? This was posted to maybe help any AM teams that might be on the fence on whether to go pro due to the entry fees more than doubling. Seems to me the decision is a lot easier if you can get someone else to pay your entry fees.

Now that the dust has settled and we have all had time to digest the proposed Pro/Am format changes, many of the AM teams have come forward and ackowledged the changes are too much to consider competing on the next level. I would urge such fellow competitors to reconsider and give the new format a try before opting out. Look, we all need new challenges in life and after all it is just fishing... something we have done since childhood. So what if you end up in 15th place. You will be able to hold your head high and know your team is in elite company as the fifteenth best boat on THE WHOLE LAKE! Stressful thoughts about running eight rods spreads, competing in heavy surf against bigger boats, open communication crap etc. are real but not impossible tasks to overcome. I would hope some pro teams could share some insights into how to compete at the next level. Advice on defraying costs by obtaining sponsors, team organization, etc.......anything that might prove helpful. Most of us competitors are small business owners. Think about all the contacts we have made over the years with other businesses. Many of these contacts are potential sponsors. I would try to call in favors from those contacts before approaching tackle manufacturers. When you win the tackle companies will seek you out. Think outside the box of the fishing world. Most higher level corporate business leaders have a discretionary fund to use at their disposal. You have to get organized and start the process now as budgets are usually set in the fall for the following year. GET 'ER DONE. Below is a sample letter that you may use as a template to garner sponsor support for your team and the tournament at the same time. March 2, 2012 To: Name a Bank C/O Phil McCrackin 122 Moonshine Way Roadkill, West Virginia 22222 From: Your Name 234 East Pier Olcott, NY 11111 Hey So and So, It is getting close to boating season and I am in the process of setting up sponsors for my fishing team. This is an exciting time as the team is making the jump from the amateur division to the professional division in the Lake Ontario Pro/Am fishing tournament series. The odds will be stacked against us as we will be competing against teams featuring multiple charter captains with full crews and all the best in boats and equipment. To help our team compete on a more even level we are seeking corporate sponsorship in return for advertising exposure. The four Lake Ontario Pro/Am tournaments are held in the ports of Wilson/Olcott, Oak Orchard, Sodus Bay and Oswego. Competitors come from miles away from towns across New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan, Ontario-Canada and even England to vie for cash and prizes. Public exposure to these events include live weigh-in of the days catch at the events, televised episodes appearing on Angling the Great Lakes outdoor show with additional viewing access on the tournament official website found at Lakeontarioproam.net (click on LOPA TV icon at top of home page). Additional advertising exposure is given to tournament sponsors listed on the official website (can be accessed by clicking on the sponsor icon at the top of the home page), tournament literature and official magazine. The entry fee is tentatively set at $650/team per event. Sponsorship levels will determine how many of the four events our team will participate in. Any contribution would be appreciated. You may want to consider a tiered sponsorship structure based on the level of advertising exposure. For example, Silver Level Sponsorship- $1,300.00 Features include team involvement in the Niagara County (June 2nd, 3rd), and the Orleans County events (June 9th, 10th). Advertisement would come in the form of (name of company) logos on team uniforms and hats plus (name of company) logos on decals to be placed on the team’s boat and trailer. Gold Level Sponsorship- $2,300.00 Features everything from the silver level sponsor package plus $1,000.00 would be either given to the Pro/Am tournament to sponsor specific individual prizes with (company name) name attached to the award or placed into the general prize structure to be used at the tournament’s discretion. As stated previously, tournament sponsors are given advertising access on the website and tournament literature. A gold level sponsorship will go a long way to help promote tourism to the area. Thank you for your consideration! (Sign your name here) Follow up letter with a phone call. Add a disclaimer that you are not serving in an official capacity as a tournament representative. Committee members, if something in this letter is not accurate please advise Chad [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

A flasher is just an attractor. You could run almost anything behind it. Flies, spoons, stickbaits, J-plugs, meat etc. Flies usually have a 20"-30" leader. Everything else you could run longer leaders because they have their own action.

Has there been any discussion on lightning during the tournament? I brought it up after the Niagara event last year as many teams kept fishing depite the rumblings aloft. I know there were some team members and observers that felt uncomfortable staying out in the conditions but felt obligated to not say anything that may effect a team's outcome. I would think for liability reasons it needs to be discussed. I watched a Redfish tournament where tournament directors monitoring the weather directed all boats to the nearest port. After which time the storms had passed, the teams were released to fish with fishing time given back. Seems someone with a laptop could access and monitor the radar loop.

Come up to Niagara county in May. Plenty of boats around at that time of year to reveal where the fish are.

If the primary reason for the new format was to address dwindling team numbers, I think the changes will have the opposite effect in the short term. I truly believe more teams could have been added simply by having closed communication. If you polled the AM teams, they would have voted (probably 100%) for keeping the same format. Since it seems the PRO division wanted the change........it comes across as some have suggested, that the goal was to tap into AM entry fees. The commitee can try to explain all it wants as to the reasons for change, but to the AM teams we will see it differently. If the goal was to move/shove/kick AM teams to the PRO division then you should have LOWERED entry fees for the AMs thus reducing the payouts. AM teams would be more likely to voluntarily move to the PRO side if it makes financial sense. If the goal was NOT to hijack the AM division teams then why not leave us alone with the current format? I understand the reasons for changes in the format from a PRO perspective. There has been a "cold war" with pro teams getting bigger boats because of the current buyers' market eventhough fuel prices will continue to rise. Having multiple opportunities to cash-in makes sense for the pro field. THE AM DIVISION SHOULD NOT PAY THE PRICE FOR THIS COLD WAR!!!! My vote would have been for keeping the AM division format the same with a lower entry fee and lower payout. Make the proposed Yatzee changes to the Pro Division and have no communication. That is my rant. I am sure I will suck it up and get over it.

Is no communication scrapped........or is it still on the table? I have this really bad picture/scenario in my mind of a team that is hitting good fish for a short box, calling their buddy who might be trying for the big box. There are captains that own and run more than one boat that could have a competitive advantage over the field as they go after different categories.......divide and conquer. These changes would smell a lot better with a NO COMMUNICATION rule.