momay4000

Hans, Awesome report bud - the fishing this year is absolutely awesome. Congrats on some great mature fish. I hope your boat steering issue worked itself out. Good luck and stay safe, - Chris

Thanks Nick for the support - you are definitely not the only one who worries. I had perfect engine temp, oil pressure and lower unit oil level, so my guess is the "chirping" of the alarm every 10-15 minutes could be a sensor issue. We'll see - as always thanks for your great play-by-play reports. I love 'em. 'til next week, - Chris

Fishing Report Chris / Liv n' Ellie: ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s): Sunday 7/29/12 Time on Water: 5:30 AM til 9:30 AM Weather/Temp: sunny, 70's Wind Speed/Direction: gentle SW Waves: 1-2' early Surface Temp: 73-74 Location: I-Bay east and west LAT/LONG (GPS Cords): =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 12 Total Boated: 6 or 7 Species Breakdown: chinook, steelhead Hot Lure: see below Trolling Speed: 2.8-3.5 sog Down Speed: 2.3-2.6 Subtroll Boat Depth: 120'-280' Lure Depth: see below ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== Fished with my good bud Anthony again and it was another fine day, other than my intermittent high temp/low outdrive oil/low oil pressure alarm chirping every fifteen minutes. Our gameplan was to try and put another LOC fish on the board, so we wanted to target bigger fish early. We started in 120' and right off the bat when setting lines we had a hit on the 115' rigger (buried down in the 43 degree water). We lost it - probably a nice 20# fish, but then managed to have hits on everything we had in the water. This included 115' rigger (later moved up to 100'), 85' rigger (later moved up to 65'), wires set at 275' and 250', 400' copper and 300' copper. The best depth seemed to be around 200 to 220' and we hit a school at one point that hit five out of our six rods within 20 minutes. We had an absolute screamer smash our 85' rigger (NK-29 42 sec. spoon) and take out 600' of line until it shook after we tried to slow the boat a bit. All in all, I wish we could have stayed out longer, but the intermittent alarm had me a bit nervous. It's probably a bad sensor, b/c we had perfect oil pressure, temp, and lower unit oil levels. Lots of boat traffic today, and we saw one or two fighting fish. No pics today for some reason - I was a little concerned with the alarm so I forgot to take some pics. Man what a year with both quality and quantity this year. The following took hits today: wire 250' - white/green dot SD/Hammer fly wire 275' - green nuclear SD/42 sec. fly copper 400' - 42 sec SD/green glow fly copper 300' - gator SD/mirage fly riggers 65'-115' - NK 42 sec, Bob Fuller's Evil twin black glow and Freaking Flog glow (awesome spoons with awesome glow by the way) sliders - Stinger NBK, DW SS Steelie Dan free sliders Good luck to all, - Chris

It's an opossum. Narrow snout, often they can be brown and I shot one in my driveway last year (we thought it was rabid but turned out to be hit by a car) and I remember the tips of the ears had the pink tips like in the picture. I can't believe that thing was so far out in the lake.

Claude, Apart from the obvious differences in depth achievement, each has their own unique pluses/minuses: Lead core: 1.) Excellent stealth presentation as Dan Keating would call it. A ten color core is going to be 300-400 feet from your boat and often a hungry king will hammer a standard or mag spoon on this presentation. Typically 27# leadcore sinks between 3.5 and 4.5 feet per color (ten yards). This is also one of my favorite mid summer presentations for high kings and off shore steelhead. Dipsy divers: 1.) Dipsy divers are a more aggressive presentation b/c the diver itself acts as an attractor (just take a look at how many diffrent colors of Dipsy's there are out there). However, I'm convinced that the stiff wire also adds awesome action - especially on wavy days - that helps to stimulate the fish in hitting. From May until Sept., not a day goes by that I don't have a diver in the water. I argue that both are great, but if I had to pick one it would be the wire Dipsy diver. Good luck, - Chris

Ohhhhhh mannnnnn - one of my favorite spoons and killer on the stealth copper or leadcore. I lost my last one this weekend on our leadcore breakoff. Time to get some - as always Rick thanks for your great posts and quick feedback, - Chris

Rick, Does DW make a Seasick Waddler spoon, or were you referring to the DW SSW Spinny? If so, do u have a pic? Thanks, - Chris

Interesting ideas, personally I love the flexibility of not having to use up an entire weekend day so I like the idea of being done and weighed in by 12:30. Since they allow us to leave port at any time (albeit you would be fishing in the dark early) it still seems like they give us ample time to land three fish. Some of the best thrill and fun for us this past weekend was having to land that "last big fish" when we were in the bottom of the ninth and it was 10:30AM right before we had to pull everything and head to Sodus. If they make it a later weigh in, I would recommend a six fish box instead of three. This allows the Open angler to use a little different fishing strategy and it would avoid unnecessary culling of the smaller fish. I don't mind fishing against bigger boats, in fact it's cool when us "little guys" can compete against the big boys and still make a showing..... Most of all it really was tons of fun and I got to meet some great folks and see some great fisherpeople. Good luck to all, - Chris

Hey gang, We fished our second Pro-Am Open this year and I thought it was great and very well run. The head guys/gals were extremely accomodating and they even took time to shoot the breeze about fishing (unlike some of the Pro teams on Sunday who couldn't give me the time of day regarding their fishing experiences for the weekend when I tried to introduce myself). The Open is a great idea and I hope more and more boats join in for years to come. I was blown away by the return on investment for a third place finish right down to a free fishing pole. Jusy my two cents, - Chris

Mr. Fuller, You have a PM Thx, Chris

Fishing Report Chris / Liv n' Ellie: ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s): 7/21/12 Time on Water: 5AM til 10:30 AM Weather/Temp: sunny, 70's Wind Speed/Direction: light Waves: calm Surface Temp: 68-73 Location: I-Bay LAT/LONG (GPS Cords): =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 10 Total Boated: 7 Species Breakdown: lakers, kings Hot Lure: see below Trolling Speed: 2.8-3.2 sog Down Speed: consistent 2.5 on the Subtroll Boat Depth: 100 fow to 488 fow Lure Depth: see below ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== We fished our second Sodus Pro-Am "Open" event and we wound up with a third place finish - and I have to thank my good buddy Anthony and my brother Kevin for saving our day with their catches. Our "Team Kings of I-Bay" had a blast on the water today and although we had to search for fish but when we found them we found a few majors. We started off with a seven rod spread including 10 color lead core (NK Seasick Waddler), two wires (meat 200', white/green dot SD/ATomMik Hammer 250'), 400' copper (Gator SD/ATomMik mirage fly), 600' copper (42 sec SD/green glow fly) and two riggers (85' NK 42 sec spoon, midnight special slider, 65' meat). We had two unbelievable hits - the first on the 250' wire and it was a major fish. We lost it after it ripped 400+ feet of wire out and it broke the treble off the fly. We were able to catch a glimpse and it was a beauty. The second ripped the 10 color core pulling the SSW spoon and it ripped 900' of line and when we started getting nervous about getting spooled, I decided to change boat speed. I fought the fish for 30 minutes until it broke off literally 5 feet from the back of the boat. My decision to milk the fish for 30 minutes and allow him too much play with putting the boat in neutral cost us dearly. He was the heaviest fish I have ever battled on leadcore and I estimate 30 pounds at least. We then lost another major off the copper after a shake off and by this time I was really struggling to maintain composure. Two break offs and my decision to change boat speed was all on me. Things changed after we boated a nice 15#10 ounce laker (85' rigger free slider mignight special). After that, we managed a few other lakers, but we could only keep one so back they went. We had a lull for an hour but then Anthony landed a nice king - around 17 pds. and we felt a little better about things. The fish hit mono 85' rigger again pulling the mignight special free slider. We decided to move out to 200 fow plus and finally Kevin landed our third keeper - only a small 5 pound king (250' wire white/green dot SD/Hammer fly) but it was 10 points that we needed. After that in 350' Anthony saved the day when he landed a beautiful king on the 400' copper (22.9 pounds). It peeled at least 300' of backing but he was able to muscle the beast in and "save our box". We were able to cull the smaller fish, and we felt much better about our chances with the bigger fish at the end. It was a great day, I thank Anthony and Kevin for their great composure and great sportsmanship when I took the "three lost fish" quite hard. A third place finish for three amatuers felt great and we will be back next year. I congratulate all the teams on their finishes today and good luck to all on the water, - Chris

Good luck out there - you have bigger stones than me. I do not fish during SCA. I hope the fish gods reward you with a 30 pounder. Be safe and good luck, - Chris

Skippers, They all have a back light - you have to wire the separate light wire to your own switch and then to the battery. The unit does not have its own on/off switch for the light feature

1.) No I have never had the unit "die" when turning the backlight on 2.) I have had the unit "die" many times at deeper depths, only to be rectified by wrapping the infamous wet towel around the pick-up attenna on the downrigger boom 3.) No I do not remove the battery each trip. It lasts me about 1/2 season. I remove it when it starts giving me trouble. Good luck, - Chris

Great job - thanks for sharing. Good luck on the water, - Chris

Awesome job and great report - that's a long day to be out there from 5:30 til 4 PM in that heat!! You guys really are troopers. Keep up the great work out there and be safe, - Chris

Fishing Report Chris / Liv n' Ellie: ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s): 7/14/12 Time on Water: 5:30 til 10:30 AM Weather/Temp: hazy sun, hot Wind Speed/Direction: SW 5 mph Waves: <1' Surface Temp: 75-77 Location: I-Bay LAT/LONG (GPS Cords): =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 16 Total Boated: 8 Species Breakdown: laker, steelhead, kings Hot Lure: Trolling Speed: 2.8-3.2 sog Down Speed: 2.3-2.5 Subtroll Boat Depth: 100-220' Lure Depth: see below ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== Fished with my good fishin buddy Anthony (Pike Hunter) out of I-Bay. Lots of boats today - looked like most were pounding the 120-200' area. We stayed east of the Bay. Two hits early right when we were setting up, then it slowed after about an hour, and then it picked up with great action between 8:30 and 10 AM when we seemed to find a nice school of fish near the basin north of Shipbuilders. We dropped a few today, it seemd like many head shakes shook them off the wires, and a few lighter hits on the riggers made it harder to land some of these beasts. Each one of our 6 rods took a hit today. We wound up with a nice 20# king and a beautiful 11#5ounce steelhead (would have tied for 20th place on the LOC but the first fish caught keeps the spot) that Anthony landed on the 400' copper of all things. Seemed like all trolling directions produced, but west to east and east to west seemed best. Also, for the first time ever on my boat, I had a fish swin into the prop today (he swam directly at the boat like a freight train) and the prop cut the line. Biggest king hit meat, 80' rigger, 3 green fly daisy chain behind a white 10" Spinny. The steelhead came off of the 400' copper pulling a gator SD/ ATomMik mirage fly The following caught fish: 10 color leadcore - NK Seasick waddler spoon 400' copper - Gator SD/ Mirage Fly' wire 175' - Nuclear green SD/ Atommik green crinkle fly wire 200' - white green dot SD/ AtomMik Hammer fly rigger 80' - meat rigger 80' - DW SS Steelie Dan free slider rigger 100' - NK 42 sec spoon down, free slider DW SS mooncricket (I think that's what its called) both took fish Great day to be out - good luck to all - we'll be at it next weekend for the Pro-Am Open on Saturday, - Chris

I agree with you - especially the Tweet stuff. The only reason I made a point, is I often post a lot of detail in my posts and I didn't want to seem offensive in any way. However, it is with 100 % CERTAINTY that I only do this to help the average angler like you and I catch more fish. (I often mention Subtroll in my downspeed, and lure makers) but I only do this to help them match speed (i.e. 2.5 mph on a Subtroll is different than 2.5 on a DepthRaider) and the lure maker stuff is so people can help match colors. Everything I own - I bought - nothing has been free. You don't need the best, the fastest, the newest, or the latest to catch fish on this lake. You simply need to have a little luck, some common sense, and most of all the desire to have a great time. Later, - Chris

Tom - in all honesty are you annoyed with posters who put lots of detail in their posts? Certainly there's a fine line between a post like yours and the infamous "....fishing was great, we went 20/22...." post. Thanks and be safe on the water, - Chris

Thanks again gentlemen for all your kind words - the fish is at the taxidermist as we speak. My boat is a 22' yellow Trophy hardtop (there's actually 2 or 3 that fish out of I-Bay) and we usually fish every weekend from May til Sept. Good to all on the water - be safe out there, - Chris P.S. - I'd try and post some of the video we took but there's way too many four letter words in there and during the "good part" when we bring it on board, my buddy's phone was in his pocket and we were only capturing audio....

Hey gang, Where's the weigh in station this year for the Wayne Pro-Am Open category? Thanks in advance, - Chris

Hey Camo, It was great meeting all of you guys at Mitchell's - your fish certainly looked bigger than 22. Sorry we all kind of went "nuts" at the scale over there....I guess that's what a big fish can do to you. Great report you had and thanks for the advice on the cutbait. I haven't had much luck with meat this year, but I think it's time to bring it back out this weekend and next for the Pro-Am. Be safe on the water - thanks for sharing your story and good luck out there, - Chris

Crazy weather on Saturday - as the "captain" I should have pulled us out sooner than I did......we were lucky this time. When we got back to the I-Bay channel the water level had dropped an amazing 2-3' and there were ducks sitting on the sandbar on the east side of the channel which was sticking a foot out of the water and it was no longer submerged. There was also a crazy rip current coming out of the Bay as if it was draining into the lake. Later that day, the news commented that apparently a "seiche" had occurred from the storm and it caused the water level to drop suddenly. Crazy stuff man......I'm glad we didn't beach the boat to add insult to injury Good luck to all, - Chris

Fishing Report Chris / Liv N' Ellie: ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s): 7/812 PM Time on Water: 4:30 til 6:30 Weather/Temp: hazy sun Wind Speed/Direction: N/NE Waves: 1' rollers Surface Temp: 75+ Location: I-BaY LAT/LONG (GPS Cords): =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 5 Total Boated: 3 Species Breakdown: KINGS Hot Lure: Trolling Speed: 2.8-3.2 sog Down Speed: 2.5 Subtroll Boat Depth: 200+ Lure Depth: ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== Finally we put an LOC fish on the board today - currently 8th place salmon division. Fished with my brother Kevin and our buddy Matt who was visiting from out of town and who never had a taste of good ol' Lake Ontario until today. He picked a great day to say the least. We started in 150' and headed north looking for some more stable water with the NE wind today. We started marking a few fish in 200' and we saw one boat out there circling so we thought that he was onto something. We hit a smaller salmon as soon as we hit 200' on the 115' rigger pulling an NK 42 second spoon. After that fish was landed and we reset, about 15 minutes later we had four hits all within 5 minutes - both riggers, the 400' copper and the 600' copper. The 600' cooper got crushed and the fish probably ran out 300' before shaking. Honestly it was the hardest I've ever seen a copper rod get hammered. The 400' got crushed a minute later (we thought maybe it was a tangle) and we almost got spooled, but it also shook. It was not a tangle at all, but another very decent fish. We still hadn't brought in both coppers yet and then the two riggers hit simultaneously - the 85' pulling a white/green dot SD with an ATomMik Hammer fly and the 115' rigger with the same 42 sec NK spoon. We managed to clear the chute as fast as humanly possible of the two coppers (neither tangled) and we landed the 85' rigger fish - nice ten pound salmon. Then we were able to enjoy my brother fight the fish of his life - a beautiful 31# 3ounce salmon. The fish burned out to 550' on the counter, I throttled down as slow I could go and he fought it for 20 minutes. It swam to the boat, under the side, nosed my torpedo weight, jumped out at 450' of line out, and he had tons of life when we netted it. When finally in the boat the brand new treble hook I changed yesterday actually broke off in his jaw!! We have video of this battle - hopefully I can download it at some point, but here's a few pics to enjoy. It is the biggest fish to date I have landed on my boat. It is a memory I will cherish forever!! I would also like to shout out a VERY SPECIAL thanks to the owner of Mitchell's Bait and Tackle on Lake Ave. who actually opened up his shop for us after he had closed for the day just to weigh our fish and another fish from another angler. He was delivering bait to Spencerport, yet he still made time to open for us and get our fish weighed before the 8 PM deadline. It is businesses like this that need to be recognized. What a guy!!! This lake is amazing folks - good luck to all, - Chris

Fishing Report Chris / Liv n' Ellie: ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s): 7/7/12 Time on Water: 6AM til 9:45 AM Weather/Temp: cloudy, storm Wind Speed/Direction: Waves: <1', storm 1-3' Surface Temp: 75 Location: I-Bay east LAT/LONG (GPS Cords): =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: about a dozen or so Total Boated: 5 or 6 Species Breakdown: steelhead, lake trout, chinook Hot Lure: Trolling Speed: 2.8-3.2 sog Down Speed: 2.4-2.6 Subtroll Boat Depth: 130-180' Lure Depth: ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== Fished with my good fishin' buddy Anthony (Pike Hunter) this morning. The fish were there, along with bait, but it seemed like they really were biting "light" for us today with many knock offs and very short - 3 to 5 second fights - before they were off. We fished a little longer than we should have b/c we got caught out in 150' in the storm. Always a great time on the water with Anthony - we managed a few copper tangles and I am sorry to the boat that I was fishing parallel to around Shipbuilders when I cut pretty close to their lines heading north. Please accept my apology. Fishing was best 150-175', at first it was best heading east, but then we saw a few boats landing fish trolling west who were landing fish so we gave that a try. The following all caught fish: Rigger 115' cable out, 42 sec NK spoon Rigger 115' cable free slider dirty white boy 600' copper - teens king - pulling a Gator SD/ AtomMik Mirage Fly 400' Copper - pulling a green NBK SD/ 42 sec Fly wire diver 275' - white/green dot SD/ Hammer Fly 85' Rigger - Kelly green SD/ crinkle green fly had many "short" hits Be back at it tomorrow for an afternoon troll - Good luck to all, - Chris