momay4000

I'm a big Jon guy. Here's pros and cons: Pros: not too many moving parts with a simple design, a PAIR of outstanding rod holders (aluminum) come with the riggers, cost less than some others. Great swivel bases, very smooth and well built. Outstanding customer service at Big Jon. Cons: slower, can't use 20# balls unless you buy the Brutes, reels are plastic and can break (happened twice to me but BJ sent me FREE replacements), no auto stop on my Captain's Packs. I'd probably buy Canons next time around simply b/c of speed and ability to run heavier balls, but the BJ's have served me just fine and they have caught me piles of fish and I love the rugged aluminum rod holders which come standard at a much lower price than the same quality holders on Canons which come standard on riggers which are >$1,000 a piece Good luck, Chris

Your primer bulb won't stay hard, eh? Did he try a hot babe and some Viagra?

I am very indebted to Anthony today - when I wanted to leave the deeper water quickly after not marking much or moving a rod, he taught me to stay and " be patient" and boy did it pay off. I am very thankful to his great wisdom - today he was the captain, I was just the driver of the boat....lol.

I fished with my great buddy Anthony today and we had a fantastic day. Let me first begin by thanking of all of past veterans who sacrificed their lives so that we can have the incredible freedoms that we enjoy in this country. I'm thankful for their heroism so that me, my friends and family can enjoy all that we have today. Now onto the fishing - we started the day in 60 fow, just west of the Bay and then we gradually trolled east to join the armada of boats near Shipbuilders. We worked a lot of water from the mouth of the Bay to Webster Park, and we fished anywhere from 60 fow to 200 fow. Lures parked from just below the surface to about 50' down on the riggers worked well for the day. Anything deeper than that (400 copper, 80-90' rigger didn't fire at all despite multiple marks at that depth). We finished the day good ol' lucky 7 for 11, with all fish kings with the exception of one small steelhead. All fish but one were released. We had our first crush on wire, and also on a Flasher/Fly for the season, although Mr. King won that battle. We had two brutes on - one on the wire diver as mentioned above which was lost after a 5 minute battle, and another beautiful king 20# + which we lost right behind the boat after Anthony battled the beast for a good 10 minutes or so on 12# mono. It seemed like a due west or due south troll worked the best with our down speed (Subtroll) between 2.2 and 2.5. All of the following took fish or had hits: 5/8 ounce keel weight with a Raspberry dolphin spoon Glow Frog SS (shout out to Tomy L. for the tip on this one!) Plain Frog standard size spoon SS Blue Dolphin free slider Standard Carmel Dolphin on 3 color core SS Wonderbread was bread and butter after the sun came up SS Andy's Walleye Slapper Wire Dipsy 125', #2 pulling a Capt. Valium Spinny/Sweet Pea Fly I gotta tell you - the fishing around Rochester is just awesome and there's no better way than fishing it with my great buddy Anthony. Good luck to all, Chris

I fished an impromptu solo trip this morning from 5:30 AM til 8:30 AM and had much better action compared with my last two outings of only one fish apiece. I wound up 6 for 9, with one nice coho, two lake trout and the rest were small cookie cutter Chinook. I fished a salmon spread for the first hour or so and caught the coho and a smaller king and had one more knock off, then I switched to a cowbell program as I was curious to see what was hugging bottom in 90 fow. I kept marking streakers off the bottom which I think turned out to be lake trout b/c I was able to land two out of three fish on a NK Watermellon Cowbell/white glow spin-n-glow once I slowed down and fished the bottom. After confirming that the bottom marks were lake trout, I went back to a standard salmon program for the next hour or so and caught a few more tiny skipper kings. The highlight of the day was when I was passing my buddy Tomy (Tlombardozzi) as we were about 75 yards away from each other and he says "Hey Chris - I think you have a fish on" while were were talking on our phones at the same time we were passing each other. When I turned around my starboard rigger was indeed bouncing. I grabbed the rod and it was a nice fish that certainly peeled some drag but I was not able to land it after it shook after only about 30 seconds. The following all took fish today: riggers: between 35-55' down with free sliders riggers: cowbells hugging bottom The following did not take fish today: wire diver 175-200' out 300' copper The following lures also took fish: Standard Carmel Dolphin, DWSS blue dolphin slider, Fuller KOS, free slider Get-r Dun, NK Watermellon cowbells/white glow spin-n-glow Good luck to all and special thanks and blessings to all those who sacrificed their lives in combat so that we can have freedoms like we all had today on the water, Chris

Headed out around 4 PM, set first two rods and fish on (5# laker) ten minutes into the trip.... and I'm thinking "this is going to be a banner night for sure...." Well, we fished for another 2 hours until my brother tells me "I have to be back at the dock by 7PM...." so we had no choice but to pull rods at 6:30 and head in just before I'm starting to get ready for the great early evening bite when all heck typically breaks loose when the sun starts to go down. We did not move another rod since the first fish, although we marked some nice bait pods on the bottom, and a few solid marks between 50-80 feet down. We fished from 75 fow to 130 fow, mainly north and east of the bay. We ran a 300' copper, a slide diver 40' back and 110' out, a wire dipsy 175' out, a keel weighed red surface spoon and our two riggers 44' and 55'. It has been slow for me now two trips in a row, so it's time to re-think things a little. Originally my next trip was for Monday, but I'm heading back tomorrow morning for a few hours of solo action, just in time to be back for breakfast with my family. I need it to clear my head a little and get back on some fish before Monday with my buddy Anthony. Good luck to all, Chris

WTG Tom - nothing like doing it on your terms - solo!! Awesome stuff, Chris

Being a doctor, it sounds like it could be a number of things: possibly paranoid personality disorder, Asperger's, or a few other things, but who knows.

http://rochester.craigslist.org/spo/4473812968.html Hey Pete - it's funny how your story is already integrated in his updated Craigslist post! That being said, I'm not sure this guy is playing with a full deck. I agree with Les and Tom. Maybe I'll give him a call and ask if he's willing to take $200 for the whole lot...... - Chris

Thanks for the report Double D. I appreciate your honest reporting. Good luck this weekend, Chris

This picture was from 5/18 (Sunday) I believe. The other more recent MODIS images are blocked by clouds. It would be interesting to see how the mud plume looks now.

Out of respect to this gentleman who most likely lost his life, please keep in mind that he may have done everything properly (life jackets, float plan, whatever) and may have died from a heart attack, brain bleed, etc. and then fell overboard. With the benefit of hindsight, it is always easy for all of us to give our "two cents" but this may have been nothing more than a natural death that happened to occur on a boat in rough seas. May he rest in peace