Gill-T

I hope this proposed monday "caddilac" tournament is not going to dip into the weekends Pro/Am payout money.

Ray, I have a set of 10' Med/heavy Ugly sticks with roller tips which I use with my wire set-ups. I REALLY like them. In fact, when Lady Bluegill was on my boat for the Sodus Pro/Am he commented on how easy it was to move dipsys in and out. The roller and action make the difference more so than the length IMO. Just make sure the roller rod you get has tight tolerances between the roller and housing for obvious reasons.

I believe it is mostly diet related. Fish that feed on mysis shrimp, crayfish, aquatic invertebrates etc. will have more of a pink/orange flesh due to the higher levels of keratin in the food (exoskeleton). More Pelagic fish that suspend and feed on alewives are going to be more white in flesh color. West Coast ocean fish are REALLY orange because of the Keratin in Krill, shrimp etc. I don't know how the spiny water flea is effecting flesh color up the food chain, however, I have noticed the flesh of steelhead out of Erie and Ontario are more often orange these days.

Well there is the problem........ the planer line color. If you had spooled up yellow line you would not have had that problem.

I don't know Tom, every year that last island of 40 degree water runs out in the blue zone from Niagarfa to the Oak, and is setting up again on schedule (at least that is what NOAA is saying). One of these years I will have the balls to go check it out to see the happy wintering grounds. Call me when you have a launch open.

My boat is the same length as yours. With 10' dipsy rods stowed away, swivel at the tip, my set-ups run down around the handle and back up with the hook resting in an eyelet half way up the rod. I do have a swim platform that helps netting with the longer leaders.

If you don't like the 600' copper on Ontario, you can always save it for the finger lakes.

Stan, I am telling ya for those size fish.......a Lake Clear Wabbler with a 20" or so sized leader with a trailing hook with a piece of nightcrawler, salted minnow or regular minnow will haul in a few more fish after you run over them a few times with lures.

Sorry, fish hit from behind the bait, and turn it around in their mouth before swallowing head first. Just ask the fish.

What is the "man-law" interpretation of wearing a spedo around at fish camp?

That is ESLO derby and Scotty Tournament time. NO GOOD.

Purple Hologram Glow NK, A-Tom-mik Pro-Am fly.

There are two launches that I am aware of. The north end has a town launch, but probably will be ice locked. The south end near Naples has the other, that should be Ice free now. The better fishing for me has been on the southern 2/3 's of the lake. Same stuff that works on Seneca. Flasher,dodgers/flys, spoons, peanuts, seth green rigs etc.

Nice haul gents! Is winter fishing an early morning bite or do the fish heat up as the temps go up as the sun rises? You can include me in on a Sunday if you plan on hitting Canandaigua. The grouse hunting has been spotty and I am getting cabin fever.

Is Seneca in March a shore bound fishery or do you need your boat to get at them?

I am only for three rods for TROLLING. Three rods/angler on the piers of Lake O would be a disaster for short piers. I am also for a limit of nine total rods also.

Lawn mower, snow blower, and car will get rid of it.

Most guys around Western N.Y. either head up to Simcoe, Ontario or for smaller, closer ringbacks....Silver Lake.

Stan, you may want to try the light-bite slide diver. One, because you are dealing with smaller trout on those alpine lakes.......these divers will trip with small fish when set correctly. Second, you said you are getting snags a lot, so if you are hitting bottom with the diver, you can reel some line in quick before the bait snags due the fact you can have a long leader from bait to diver giving you time to react. I would not run these off the boards. Try the Big Jon mini disks off the boards.

Core or copper down the chute.....no problem. The problem with trying to run outriggers AND planer boards is a hardware/tangle issue. I think most run one or the other.

The beauty of the roller releases is they are infinitely adjustable as to the amout of line you can pay out. If the fish are high.....just reel some line back in on the spool. If the fish are hitting deep......just send out some more. The only tricky part is make sure you put the braid/wire on the roller and not between the wheel and the housing......snapolla if that happens when a fish hits. Keep tension on the the release once closed and as you tranisition the dipsy out to the end of the outrigger....if you throw a slack loop into the works, the line may jump the roller and end up stuck between the housing. Jerry, at Rebel Charters could expound on the system........that is where I learned the trick.

If you want to run the outside dipsys on your outriggers, you need an Afco roller release (West Marine has them) on the outrigger string. This will allow you to replace the outside dipsy without ever messing with the inside dipsy. Just send out the outside dipsy about three-four feet and clip the braid or wire in the roller release. Now have someone pull the outrigger string to move the release to the end of the outrigger pole while you thumb the reel so the dipsy follows the release out to the end of the outrigger. Once at the end, zero your line counter and send the dipsy out. You will never tangle your dipsys again.

Which one is Ray?

Un-frieking real!!!! Beautiful pics! Unreal getting doubles!!

YESSSSSS!!!!!!!! When they polled us after the Oswego event, the shark people had their ear bent to what we as fisherman need. I was probably one of a long list of fellow tournament anglers who wanted a mega shark for the probe rigger. Kudos to them for listening.