Reel Doc

Patience is virtue....spent 10-15 minutes most nights picking away at the mess and straightening the kinks and happily finished rewinding the 325 foot tangle. Like the old St. Pauliegirl add...you never forget your first copper tangle.

Greg

I'm jealous...have been working on "not-so-happy" animals in the office all day today. Is it just my eyes or do the lake trout have deeper color in the Spring vs. Summer/early Fall? The ones we took out of Cayuga last week had a richer color it seemed.

Thanks for brightening the end my day with a photo.

Greg

How long will the fish stay that shallow, or does the rain coming through get them in at this time of year?

Thanks,

Greg

Thanks for the tip on the wrap Steve and for reminding me that we are essentially first-timers ....as much as I want to have more than 2 riggers and 2 dipseys out, I have to remember that when the kids get to try some driving they need to keep the boat STRAIGHT.

We've had the dipseys at 2-2.5 most of the time.

Greg

The boat is great Jim, thanks for asking. It works well with 5 on board. Just wish I had more hours on it this Spring, but with school out soon we'll have more family outings. This winter I picked up a copper setup from ATomik including the rod. I had it out 600 down the chute and too tight a turn is what I think let a dipsey out 260 catch it in the middle. Each night I'm working on the tangle for 15 minutes. Haven't cut the copper yet, but we may have to. As mentioned above, need patience, but that's part of fishing right?

Greg

So that knob created by the twist will not cut up the rod guides?

Our copper rig suffered a tangle and now has a bad kink in it. Is there a knot to securely retie if I cut out the kink?

Thanks,

Greg

A great morning to be on the water, but the fish were not so sure. Started trolling about 8:30 out of Dean's and had a hard time marking fish. Found some groups at 40-50 feet, landed a couple dink salmon. Finally this 8 1/2 pounder smacked a green patterned spoon, (one of the colors you boys recommended last Summer), off the rigger and he was pissed. In my experience, albiet limited, Lakers often give up at some point, but this fella gave Henry a workout for 15 minutes right to the net, and fortunately the spoon fell out just after he was in net. After that we marked more fish but only one other small Laker by lunchtime.

Can't wait to get out again regardless of how hard the bite is.

Greg

We'll hit it in the morning and see what happens. And thanks for the geography lesson!

Greg

I like the idea. And no trouble with losing a rig to a hard hit? We'll try things bare and see how it goes.

Thanks,

Greg

Is that straight on the grill or a little Italian Dressing marinade!

Greg

You guys are really messing with me on these locations...Crowbar point? I still haven't figured out where exactly Rocky Dock is. Please advise.

Greg

PS Good luck with the knee Dave. If you have been in pain be ready to have it go away....and no more limp. My mother-in-law stayed with us after hers a few years back. 6 weeks later she said her only regret was not getting it done 2 years earlier!

Wayne,

How deep a water were you running? Was the fishfinder lit up and just no takers? We're planning on a trip Friday from Dean's as the kids are off school. I'm thinking we'll be out in the AM provided I can get the gang out of bed, none of them gets sick ahead of time, and the office phone stays quiet. I've been patiently waiting over a month to get the boat wet and have been jinxed every time.

Greg

Loose drag to the point of slight line let-out at trolling speed, or a bit tighter?

711, when you say add a sinker, that is in place of a minidipsey correct? At troll speed, how do you determine what weight to use to acheive a desired depth? Are you using a 3 way swivel to attach the sinker?

Thanks,

Greg

I was looking to run stickbaits off a board using a mini dipsey to get more depth. It looks like overkill but thought I would get some opinions.

Greg

Is there any need to use a snubber when running a mini-dipsey?

Thanks,

Greg

Beautiful fish.

Bill,

Isn't it great to do something you love and make a living at it to boot. Congratulations on finding that balance with the family as well. Work, the kids health and high winds on the wrong days have conspired against us this Spring, but we hope to hit the water this weekend. Thanks for all the reports you put on the site. I enjoy them all.

Greg

Beautiful fish Thanks for letting us know there are still fish in Cayuga lake.

Greg

That is a beauty. Were you working the shallows or right down the middle of the lake?

I've got my 2 new boat batteries so with a little weather timed right we'll get out there in the next couple weeks to give it a go.

Greg

Sounds like a great father/son trip to me. My 12 year old caught his first salmon last Fall off TFalls and it really ignited him.

We took a family trip to the Falls Friday to hike the gorge and picnic...I had to bring a couple poles to work out the arms from shore for a few minutes knowing full well with clear skies and calm water it would be dead at 2 in the afternoon. Plenty of shore and boat anglers Friday, but at that time of day it looked quiet for everyone.

Greg

The followup on the batteries....had them tested at Advanced Auto Parts, both confirmed dead. Since they had lasted 8 years under someone else's care I thought I would stick with the Interstates. The tip to go to the warehouse store in Rochester is a good one. They priced out nearly $30 per battery less than buying them locally. As always, appreciate all the tips.

Greg

Split,

I used the BassPro last year with no problems but limited water time may not be enough to verify their longevity.

Greg

Wow I had heard Seneca had big perch....you just proved it there Gator. You must have had a blast. Is that your rig (dark pickup) that was parked at the North end a couple of days last week. I kept seeing it taking my kids to Geneva for school.

Greg

Jim,

The boat does have a Perko switch in the battery compartment. I was told when running to have it set to both batteries, but from comments here wonder if the dealer knew the batteries were on their last legs.

The original batteries are Interstate marine/RV cranking batteries. Must be a hybrid as I used to use straight marine deep cycle to charge the portable fencer so the sheep stayed home. Any other thoughts on battery type are appreciated.

Greg