NitroMusky

G- check yo inbox... Hoping I can get out at all now, so make sure to take good pics for me!!! Heres the deal: heading back in this past sunday the motor started acting up...went out yesterday for a bit...yup, plugs are definitely fouled. great timing-damn you Optimax! of course, West Marine only had 2 in stock today so I got them all out and the toughest pair are now shiny new. Now the cards just have to all fall into place: headin out tomorrow afternoon on a road trip to play 36 hole tourney on thursday. So unless BPS has them for me to pick up along the way, to be put in on Friday, I could be ska-rewed for the opener. maybe its a blessing in disguise that I couldn't do chaut...then I'd be really pissed. catch a couple 50s for me, guys!

Bob, nice fish! I cant believe I'm saying this, but its not looking like Chaut is in the cards for me this weekend My usual partner (the one with me on Seneca when we saw you) just added a new baby to the family 2 months ago, so getting him out is tough, overnight is next to impossible and that is one brutal day trip, especially flying solo. Sooo...I think I'm looking at Waneta and a fight with the bass tournament they have there that day . good call on the, er... bimini... I think I'll have to throw mine on unless the forecast changes.

Bob, thats not like you!!! don't feel too bad...all the folks I chatted with and the folks they chatted with said it was almost zero bite out there today at least. With that said, my buddy managed a good sized pike and one similar sized follow early, then the bite tanked for rest of the morning; but a new day dawned at noon when I got slimed with the familiar muskie scent. well, that rounds out the 'triple crown' for me- been huntin' conesus (and otisco) a while for that tiger. glad it finally paid off

not I, but planning on sunday...crack o' dawn. Bob- where you headin for the opener? Its a toss up for me...

Bob S you really are the master of those slime darts...way to go...

don't feel bad...conesus is notorious for having a massive forage base and thus some very well fed fish. the trick is figuring out what they want and then how to make them eat when they're already stuffed to the gills. the upside is that that forage makes for some real lunkers unlike honeoye which is full of stunted clones it can really be a feast or famine proposition-no pun intended! [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

Avon Anglers runs the tuesday night 'working-man' open tourneys. that's the only one that I know of. a wednesday league would be news to me... [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

congrats! you're half way there already...just finding them is a trick unto itself. Next thing to do is wait until June 20th- opening day How big were the fish you saw? sounds like pretty good ones, but then again almost anything would seem big when you're expecting a bass Now, keep in mind that you've asked the age old question which many people spend their whole life trying to figure out, and the more one learns about muskie the more one realizes that there is no 'right' way. that said, here are a couple tips for that particlar situation: when you see a follow (heres where it gets tricky), rather than crap yourself you need to A) speed up the retrieve- like a normal baitfish would when being persued, muskies dont have brakes either, they'll often keep going right on past. B) when the lure gets boatside move your rod tip toward the water and in a natural motion (with a foot of line out), plunge your rod tip a foot or two below the water and with the lure making a sweeping turn to the side, start doing figure 8s with the bait. muskie often cant resist an easy meal 'trapped against the boat'. I've heard of muskies that will sit there for 20 '8's' before biting, so be patient. also, just keep throwing different types of lures and colors once you locate one. as I said, muskies don't read their own rulebook. next time you're out, up the size of your baits...muskies may be curious at times, but they do seem to care about the 'return on investment' meaning they would rather eat fewer large prey rather than a lot of small ones. curiousity got them to follow but a 'worthy meal' is more likely to get a strike. Rollie and Helen's Muskie Shop is the best place online to see what they look like and see if anything that you have in the box could be considered muskie sized. the largest sized husky jerks or jointed could get you by in a pinch. you probably want at least 1 muskie sized inline spinner, a jerkbait and deep diver, if the bug hasn't hit you to buy all the gear you can get your hands on...muskie is quite an addition

Bosco, what in the world is that? a channel cat or something? Its tough to make out, but boys its a biggun...and right on when you said Ugg-Leee! must have been a great fight though, huh?

great story. that was me and my wife last year...and my wife still this year... Given the subject line I kept waiting for the part where you go in the drink and the ensuing horror story glad it wasnt literal

The wife and daughter wanted to go for a nice slow cruise on Sodus last eve, so I figured 1.5 mph is slow, right? "oh and while we're at it, why not troll a bit? I just happen to have my gear with me." We were out from 5-8 PM and picked up a nice stout 24" walleye in about 20 FOW a little before sunset. that turned a nice evening into an even better one It hit on a deep diving rapala near the islands.

HaHa. everyone has an opinion on line! [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

my first dabble with 'braid' was fireline but I found that it lost its shape pretty quickly with the strands separating from one another and in effect flattening -which I found concerning for strength reasons. I switched to 50 lb spider line ultracast after some research and really like it. either way I prefer to use a flouro leader of at least a foot for casting, longer for trolling jigging or dropshotting using whatever lb test I need for the situation- all the way from 6 to 80 [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

saturday was a no-go due to the winds but went out last night for a few hours. 1 bass but no pike in the north end 15 FOW. temp about 59 there. went south and trolled east side 50 FOW through schools of bait 1/2 way down. had something nice sized on at dusk, but lost it before we could get a look at it. south end was a few degrees cooler than north. talked to some folks coming in as we went out who picked up 4 pike. [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

thanks for the report. I was just looking this AM for any info. one of my favorite places but haven't made it out there yet. we picked up some cats as well there last year at this time and had similr challenges with the toothies..just 1 30 inch pike. what marina did you launch from? [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

thanks guys. I'm locked in for saturday so we'll see what happens. hoping for warmer weather to fire 'em up. The light bumps are interesting. I don't know that much about the habits of the 'eyes, but if they were pike, I do know that sometimes they will in fact bump or nudge the bait without actually biting it-particularly on a slow retrieve, which may explain a lot; but if these were at night I suspect they may well not have been pike as they aren't known for hitting after dark. hmmm

phil was that you I saw on the bay in the blue fishing 'yak yesterday? around noon on the west side. was going to give a yell but wasn't sure. [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/art ... in+October Fishermen should be asked to weigh in on this issue ...what do you think about closing in Oct vs Nov currently?

unfortunately I didn't. last minute change of plans. My daughter wanted to go too and her riding lesson got moved up to earlier in the afternoon so she and I just ran over to the bay for a few hours. you know what they say of the best laid plans... water temps were the same there and also not much action. picked up a nice LM shallow but that's about it. sounds like I didn't miss much though. I suspect that they're still hanging on the deeper breaks until the water bumps up a few more degrees but I had no action in the 20ft drops either. will be there next weekend almost certainly. you? [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

looks like I might get out tomorrow! Any pike/tiger reports? general info: shallows, drop offs etc? water temp, and weed growth detail would be great too... [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

not sure that I'd eat anything that came out of the canal heard too many stories about things in there that just shouldn't be in any body of water

I think you're probably right on. Esox are known to get a bit aggressive during the spawn and often show such signs following the mating ritual [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

Correct me if I'm wrong but from the sounds of it, you were being overtaken from the rear, correct? If so, then this is THE situation in which a powerboat has ROW over the sailboat. From the comments here, it sounds like this sort of behavior is the rule rather than the exception with this particular club. I'm saddened to see this type of behavior from the A-holes of my alma mater tarnishing our good(?) name I would ABSOLUTELY call the head of athletics, their Public Relations dept and the ombudsman and lodge formal complaints.

Solgrande- it didn't come through but I sent you a note back in anticipation of the subject.

I use 60 lb braid on the casting reel and 40 on my trolling rods. both get 80-100 lb flouro leaders. casting is best, but spinning gear will work ok if you use a large model reel and dont try thowing a hard pulling bait like a double cow girl.