choo-choo

Landshark and K-gone....I have always run main line to barrel swivel to 5/6 foot leaders and terminate with a small snap, like Walleyeyemagic.....How do you keep your line from twisting using spoons etc.? Are you just running your main line to a snap , or a snap swivel?

Looks like quite a few proposed changes for the Finger Lakes area....the DEC has a public comment period going on now until ,i think , until april 2. Check out the proposed finger lakes and statewide fishing regulations changes on their website:www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/propregulations.html Comments can be made via e-mail :[email protected] or by mail to albany:NY state dec, Shaun Keeler , Bureau of fisheries,625 Broadway, Albany,NY 12233-4753. There is a nice article on the changes in the new(march 9) new york outdoor news.

Hey Panfisher.....I'm glad you liked the pics.....Most yellow perch have 6 or 7 stripes, as you know,.....depending on the lake. So when this one came through the hole, i couldn't believe it !!! I thought about getting it mounted, because i will probably will never catch another one like it....but never got around to it......maybe i'll wait for a 12 inch, 20 striped perch!!

I posted a pic of this multi striped yellow perch on Ice Shanty....I thought you guy's here might like to see it.....I caught it a couple of winters ago , ice fishing on Oneida lake , and just found it while cleaning out my freezer.....sorry for the freezer burn, but you can still see the stripes well....

I'm not to good on the computer as far as posting pictures from other websites etc.....but if there is anyone that knows how to do it, it would be great to post some of those Oneida lake ice fishing evacuation pictures here ,of LOU member Snagger and and the others, from the Ice Shanty.com website. Thanks in advance....choo-choo

That group of guy's and gal (40 total stranded out there) did a great job of banding together , and making sure everyone out there got notified and knew the predicament they were in,..... then helped each other each get off the ice , and wade through the open water in a safe location to get to shore. True sportsmen and women , good human beings in general, doing the right thing in a time of need. We never know how conditions can change on us out in the great outdoors, whether on ice , or water , back in the woods , or up on a mountain...... you 've got to be prepared ,and keep a level head.This group, some of which are LOU members, did an awesome job,..... and i'm sure glad they all got off safely ....choo-choo

I fished the north shore sat afternoon 'til dark then again sun morning 'til noon. Saturday Caught lot's of short and tiny walleye, a few perch, and a big burbot right at dark. That was some wild, ominous snow cloud that came in on us!!!I got a little nervous and knowing i couldnt make it to shore in time, i stuck in a couple of ice anchors real quick on my Kenai. As I sat there ready for the worst,........ it just dumped snow on us with no heavy wind. Thank fully there was no lightning with that mean lookin' cloud, ...we were sitting ducks out there in my metal tube framed Clam!!Sunday morning we caught a bunch more short, tiny walleyes, and a couple of large yellows, (13 inch), a few 11 inchers, and 2- 14 inch fiesty white perch.

Nice job on the perch and a beautiful walleye !!

Super Nice fish and great report....a great way to start the lake "O" season !!! Do we now wish for continued mild winter ....or closer to average cold and snow ?I'm wondering what this continued mild winter, and lack of snowpack might do to the spring flows and temps in the rivers ,streams and tribs around the state . Well, maybe the streams and tribs will be ok with a continued mild winter, if our spring is cool, with enough rain.......

I Bailey... Thats sure not their normal ,preferred food in most waters in new york state .And not their normal feeding behavior,..... hunting down and chasing baitfish. YOU may say they all carp, catfish and other fish that live near the bottom feed the same, but many others would say otherwise. You were probably fishing the fatheads with weight on the bottom or stationary under a float . Catfish all over NY State love to eat fish, any chance they get. One of the best ways to catch catfish is with cut/bait or live bait or jigging with a minnow. Have you ever caught many carp on minnows, or minnow imitations, like spinners ,spoons or stickbaits that were trolled or cast , and the carp had to chase and crush the lure? I'm not saying a carp would never eat a minnow/fish, but it is not their normal preferred diet. Maybe as the carp were sucking up debris, and bugs and muck and slime and rotted vegetation and eggs etc. from the bottom at Montezuma, your fatheads just got vacuumed up along with the other stuff by accident. Opportunistic.....yes.....but you said"they all feed the same"....no way.

I think we will be travelling north....way north, real soon looking for safe ice too. When it gets down to 4" or less of hard ice down here I'm done.That looked like a fun tourney up there on Simon pond Tim....glad you had a good time. We did the walleye challenge on Sacandaga a few weeks ago and had a good time despite a real lack of fish for us.There are plenty of streams and rivers and lakes around for open water fishing......but I love ICE FISHING this time of year. So gas up and go North !! Stay safe.....and good luck

It has been a weird winter weather pattern for ice fishing....We have been a little more fortunate down here , in our little "micro climate", nestled between the Poconos and the Catskills near Lordville n.y. in Delaware county.We started ice fishing back on jan 5 2012, and I fished yesterday,Feb . 4th with icedd on Long Pond, a few miles south of the N.Y. state line. We cut , and measured 5 1/2 inches all around the eastern end and middle of the lake. We couldn't find any walleyes or callies, but did manage some nice keeper perch,8 pickerel and a big bullhead. We were told that lower woods and Belmont Lake , and several other lakes still had 6 inches as of sat.,feb 4 . I hope feb brings enough cold weather so you flx and LO bay guys can get out again and have some ice fishing fun .

Hey there Pete........No , I have never caught a walleye on a dry fly, but have caught them on streamers and nymphs.That must have been pretty cool catching them on dry's.....Were they sippers , gulpers, slashers , or head and tailers ?I would like to know.

Nice Pike !

Uneffinbelievable !!!!Way to go Snagger and buddies ! I,m down here trying to jig up a stray walleye and a few crappies and perch.....and you guy's are "personal besting" on numbers and size with walleyes !!! That sounds like one of those special, epic days to remember forever!!!!! Off the charts ,Snagger!! Now you've got to figure out why they were in that location, on that day, at that depth, in those numbers, and so willing to bite, for so long a perod of time !!! I don't think you could have done any better than that even if you were fishing in the hatcheries ponds and raceways!!! I hope you can find them again.....great job .

Capt. Bill ,I'm looking forward to your fishing reports.....from wherever you are fishing !!! Good luck and have fun on Cayuga this year .

Capt. Vince...... , Survival suit sounds like a good investment for sure. I saw a lot of fisherman wearing them while trolling up on the BOQ in early Dec.....they looked like they were warm , and comfortable too . Those few extra minutes of warmth and flotation that they provide, could really be the difference , between getting out , or going down , after a dunking. Especially as we get older.

Be careful everyone , 2 ice fisherman fell through and died last week in Windsor N.Y.........now 2 more fell through the other day, not to far over the border on Silver Lake in Susq> County Pa.,1 survived and the other died. Thats 3 ice fisherman dead in a weeks time. Remember that there could always be weak areas near springs, under water rocky points, shorelines, gas pockets ,pressure cracks,etc.,even on thick ice. Keep a ice spud with you when checking new spots,unfamiliar areas, and especially early /late ice Keep your safety gear handy at all times.....Ice picks,ropes, whistles ,horns,throwable cushions , life vests etc.Be safe and be smart...this is supposed to be FUN....not tragic.....good luck to all.

Hey King Me....I like that super glue trick for a quick repair........I'm gonna have to keep some glue handy.(btw, that was pretty wild that we posted a reply at the same moment , 2 days after Gamblers last post).

You can just splice in a foot of Mono ,with a willis knot on each side of the splice . (use mono of same # test or a little heavier break strength....for ex. 30 # mono for 27# leadcore) . In a pinch, out on the water for a quick repair,I've also just cut out the bad section ,removed a little lead, and blood knotted , or back to back clinch knotted, the sheath together.

I use to like catching them....They are strong hard fighters ,but their looks and smell , and knowing the could survive in polluted waters just kind of turns me off. Well maybe i will try to eat one, out of clean water, someday.

No panfisher , not ending fishing ...just ended 2011 calender fishing season. 1/1/2012 started the "new" season. I fish all year like a lot of guy's on this site......And I'm hoping 2012 is as good as 2011 was !!! Good luck to you and everyone this year.

Yes catfish and bullheads live on the bottom, along with a lot of other fish....but their diets and feeding style is not the same. I have caught a lot of bullhead and catfish on live alewives and shiners, suspended in deep water , while they were chasing schools of bait. We have trolled up catfish , that hit our spoons and plugs, while trolling for walleye and trout too. They love to chase and eat other fish , unlike the carp. There must be a reason why carp is rarely seen on restaurant menu's here in America, or has to be held in ponds and fed corn for a week ,or heavily smoked , or ground into patties and heavily seasoned to be made palatable. To each his own i guess....let me know if you try the baked carp recipe....i would like to know how you like it and how you would rate it.

Capt. Vince ....Thanks for the heads up on those 2 movies.... Going down to visit grand kids in March, and will get both of those ....Kids love animal , nature movies .

Have a great day Tom....I hope you have many more !