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chowder

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  1. chowder
    Not my first rodeo. Looking for another experienced deer hunter who , like me , is largely dependent on Tonawanda and Hartland State land. I’m old enough to know that I shouldn’t be in isolated areas in a self climber alone. I’m not a trophy hunter. PM me, not airing laundry here. Thanks
  2. chowder
    Keep in mind that wire divers have a distinct sonic signature different from that of braid. If and when the fish are aggressive ( July here in Olcott) it is typically a very productive combo. Slide divers on braid with spoons can be very effective in May and when the bite is off I like to have 1 in the water too.
  3. chowder
    Agreed. We only run wire on our 2 diver/ side dipsy program on Ontario. In May we often will run a Braid slide diver shallow with a dipsy deeper on each side . On Erie we run 3 divers per side, 1 deep wire mag, 2 regular on braid .
  4. chowder
    Removed smart troll unit from my dedicated salmon charter boat ( I/o, kicker) because I never really used it. That vessel does have a late model fishhawk monitor and running trips with no mate I never really felt like time spent trying to use the smart troll system with any regularity was in the interests of my customers. Fast forward: I am installing it in my multi species outboard charter boat because I do a fair amount of recreational fishing in this vessel and it is setup with the old 840 style fishhawk monitor ( since I have probably 4 of the new style probes I do use those in both boats) Anyway I am mounting the smart troll just to the port side of the PanOptix transducer which is just starboard of the Lowrance HDS transducer. This is essentially where it was on the Salmon boat and the outboard boat has a much lower wattage Lowrance transducer than the salmon boat. Figured this was the way to go?
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  5. chowder
    As far as short board lines go I guess I’ll add that copper or weighted steel is definitely not my go to. I have developed a a long standing preference for leadcore for those applications. It’s my distinct suspicion that core gives me a more undulating, ‘natural’ , presentation especially with stix and small spoons.For July salmon trips I do use 150 , 200 and 250 short coppers with large spoons and MagLips and for August walleye trips I do use shorter ‘walleye coppers’, 200, 250, 300 usually with larger stix
  6. chowder
    More user friendly for sure, bit more difficult to deal with for power pro to main line and back to leader( it’s abrasive). I do use Smart Troll for divers and riggers but my coppers( 2 per side ) are ‘where they are’, since there’s 4 different depths covered by them I don’t sweat the dive curve too much. I’m typically looking for a ‘hot presenter’ in one of the 3 rigger rods or one of the 4 diver rods and then hopefully a copper puts a fish or 3 in the box. 😎
  7. chowder
    Just curious if you’re using old school copper or the newer weighted steel line? I Agree with others; terminate with a high quality coastal snap style swivel
  8. chowder
    Longer range forecast L-36.com, short range NOAA. Both can be unrealistically favorable and unfavorable. You need to know how certain winds will affect the specific area where you fish on LO.
  9. chowder
    Any reports?
  10. chowder
    For what it’s worth; in my experience with jigging during daylight hours ( I have never nor will I ever fish at night) it’s essential to find numerous bottom oriented salmonids for jigging to catch fish with any repeatability. The 2 scenarios that work for me are 1. The Niagara Bar, drifting from the channel up onto the alluvial fan,going from approximately 70 to 30 fow. Any number of species can be caught in this environment because the density of salmonids is predictably high though it does fluctuate considerably throughout the seasons. An easier way to learn this technique, which definitely requires an understanding of how potentially subtle a ‘strike’ can be is with lake trout in an environment where they are densely congregated in approximately 60 fow or less and the boat is stationary. Jigging exclusively for suspended kings in open water is a low probability scenario although I have managed a few using the Northwest technique called mooching with cutbait moving slowly to cover water .It’s my perception that mature staging salmon at least in Lake Ontario are not predictably active and actually feeding much if at all at this point in their life cycle making them a poor target . The fact that they are increasingly poor table fare makes them even less desirable IMHO.
  11. chowder
    Statistically speaking ( different from single anecdotal accounts) a lot of ‘western’ eyes have begun to move back towards their offseason migrational home base and away from NY waters. Presque Isle PA area (Walnut Creek launch) usually continues to produce good catches for us until mid to late September.
  12. chowder
    As a charter captain I am often asked; 1. What’s the right temp. 2. What’s the right speed. 3. What’s the right color 4. What’s better- meat, or spoons 5. When should I run copper. The answer to any and all these questions is fundamentally ‘Do what the fish want’. The box is my gauge of what to do so I make small changes until I get some feedback from the box and act accordingly.
  13. chowder
    As a wise man once said “ Life is a matter of rational choice amidst a condition of scarcity”. There is no such thing as money not mattering. This is especially so for most of us wherein luxury purchases are pretty far down on the list of life’s money. spending priorities. Indeed I would argue that nothing is more important than making a decision about fishing equipment that provides the best rate of return while simultaneously providing an experience that reflects all concerned individual’s needs (others in the family)
  14. chowder
    Left it in front of the office back at the time. Foam was missing - Edit = Ooops must have been another person’s mag inline, there was no info on it
  15. chowder
    No matter what - you need to be mindful of the towline; all you need is for the wind to push a board boatward combined with a bit of a turn and ‘poink’ a rod gets plucked by the guides
  16. chowder
    North end of the lake is overall shallow and weedy. Holds a lot of largemouth. You will just need to find active fish
  17. chowder
    Great stories! - one more I guess: Customer brings a very large steelhead in, breaks off just out of net range due to an unnoticed abrasion. The steely is done, barely flopping. Customers are very dismayed. Of course we got 2 board lines on either side and we need fish to get a box. I drop a way point and begin a wide turn, after the 180 I aim for just down wind of the waypoint. Yar matey, came right up on and netted that steelhead to great applause from the guys
  18. chowder
    Last week: 500 copper broke off at leader to copper (weighted steel), thinking quickly I slowed boat and could see that the Scotty release , which was deployed in the pulled out mode ( very tight position) was holding onto the copper with a 10” flasher and meat rig on the end. I brought the planer line in gingerly, grabbed the copper and proceeded to put a good crimp end swivel connector to the backing. Sent it back out, 20 minutes later a 18lb king smashed that meat rig.
  19. chowder
    I’m looking for reports of actual experiences people have had with running the BR Sea Flea mono with Mag divers or divers with the big ring. Heavy flea accumulation ruins the diver rod experience for my customers on the wire rods when fleas are bad so I’m considering spooling up some spare reels with the blood run product I use on my rigger rods starting anytime now. I have been out with a friend who is a recreational angler and who only uses mono on his diver rods so I am well aware of the technique used to ‘release’ divers on mono.
  20. chowder
    I typically run 2 wire divers per side on Ontario. Deep inside is a Mag on 1.5 or 2 and an outside High on 3.5 or 4. ‘IF’ fish seem negative, I will swap out 1 or both high divers for a braid slide diver on 4 with 40’ of 40lb mono for diver to slide on. For Erie walleye I usually run 3 divers per side. Deep inside mag on wire and then 2 regular dipsys. I hardly ever run slide divers for Wallye because of conflicts with the other divers /just too much more labor with typically fast fish action.
  21. chowder
    I eat it every morning. We used to fish the Hudson out of Kingston In May. First we’d use Sabiki rigs on ultralights to catch Herring up in the Cree and then use them to target stripers in the main stem. If a herring kicked the bucket we used it for cut bait or, often enough, they went home to get filleted and pickled
  22. chowder
    I’d appreciate answers from owners of this technology or persons very familiar with this specific technology. Looking to find out : 1.) - Is the transducer sold with this particular unit ( seems like it’s the XM 9 HW MSI T ) the best choice or is it worth considering getting a separate transducer? 2.) Am I likely to get interference if I attempt to use this at the same time as a Lowrance HDS and a Garmin PanOptix system? Thanks!
  23. chowder
    What Fishmaster said
  24. chowder
    Glad you read my post carefully LOL. I’ve had the PanOptix for 2 years.
  25. chowder
    I have had the Garmin PanOptix system in the rear of my boat now for 2 years. I see things on it that I don’t see on my Lowrance HDS/ Airmar sonar system AND vice versa. ( very inconvenient to have customers ask “ if those are fish right now in your riggers, why aren’t we catching them “) ANYWAY: given I have the PanOptix + Lowrance HDS/ Airmar system facing essentially backwards what theoretical benefit is forward facing sonar for a trolling boat. Thanks for any experienced comments
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