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Sk8man

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Everything posted by Sk8man

  1. You're "hardcore" John. Good going.....getting me psyched up for ice fishing
  2. I've been following this thread right along and having fished both streams and lakes all my life including Lake O and feel that there is a whole lot of room for both ends of the spectrum in terms of opinions, the relating of experiences injection of ideas etc. and many of the comments offered thus far have been both entertaining and enlightening but some comments have also seem to have gotten away from the spirit of the forum too and emotional coloring seems to be gaining a foothold and overcoming the main purpose of it which is informational sharing. It may not be the most fruitful avenue to let emotions take over the conversation as it can inhibit others from offering ideas or opinions from which we might learn something. A little tolerance goes a long way. The upcoming holidays can be stressful enough for folks without taking potshots and letting all the emotions take over the conversation regardless of the strength of belief or opinion. Its not worth it.
  3. Don't say it too loud seems like every time I say something like that it happens
  4. Good one Chuck
  5. What do you think the odds are on that coincidence happening ?My hunch would be about a trillion to one...unreal!
  6. My guess is Susquehanna long river though....
  7. Sounds good (you lucky dog)
  8. Hey I think that is my Blue Mullet Mike If you return it I have a lot of the hooks to go on it.... Another memorable one for me that i think I may have mentioned before is many years ago while fishing for perch in 60 ft on Seneca with two rods I was hooking up on one rod with a perch double and jumped up real quick from the seat and my knee knocked the other rod out of the holder into the water. with my ultra-lite rod and Mitchell 308A attached (which was considered at the time an ultralite reel). I was pissed at the time but then forgot about it over the winter. Next Spring while jerking copper across the same spot for lakers I snagged something that I thought was a tree limb from the feel and low and behold it was my rod and reel. I took the reel apart and cleaned it good and still have it today. I wasn't as fortunate with the rod (which had my name on it) as I snapped it off on the back lid of my van awhile later
  9. Some really funny stuff Pete thanks for sharing it.
  10. Trouthunter I'd enjoy that opportunity to talk in person
  11. Mark is "the man" when it comes to Sutton's and their history etc. Those box swivels pictured are a major indicator of age going back to 1900 or so on any of the spoons and spinners. Some spoons also used the suspended brass wire connection for the treble hooks. Some older spoons had an almost "pewter" color finish and the hook connection was in the mid portion of the spoon rather than at the extreme rear.
  12. Mike I was prepared to ask you guys for the serial numbers before coughing it up.... How about a perch sandwich instead?
  13. Good one Chuck... I expected Frogger and Signalman to claim it so I didn't mention it until way afterward when it was all spent
  14. During one of the National Lake Trout derbies on Seneca Lake while trolling my son and I found a hundred thirty three dollars floating on the surface and watched either a 20 or a fifty swirl toward bottom in the prop wash. Guess the net paid for itself on that one
  15. yes on the #44's but I already have quite a few.... had to go for some "secret weapon" spoons for the Canandaigua derby Lucky
  16. Like most guys I haven't even started...
  17. I would agree and hopefully some benefit would come from it but I also know that the problems on both Seneca and Keuka are very complex and multidimensional. Some folks believe that these lakes are OK as they are and in my view this is a function of short term observation without historical perspective. I first fished Seneca in 1949 and Keuka in 1958. I have fished them for trout both in streams (Coldbrook, Guyanoga, Wilsons, Kashong, Keuka Outlet, and Catherines) as well as the lakes, from shore, and in boats and ice fishing as well. During that extended time frame there have been many changes in these lake and stream environments and many ups and downs in the fish populations and subsequent fishing conditions. I have kept DEC trout and salmon diaries off and on since the early seventies. When I was a kid and teenager I fished many places on Seneca shoreline and in places like the Seneca lake State Park, Sampson, all along the railroad tracks on the west side for perch, bass, trout and pike. For many of those early years there were pronounced weed beds at the north end and along the sides in the shallows out to about 18 ft of water and they were literally packed with those species of fish along with sunfish and bluegills and others. There were minnows of various species swimming in the shallows in huge schools. You could catch panfish at nearly any location. In the Spring you could fill a 5 gallon pail full of bullheads, bluegills or perch off the seawall at the north end or in the canal at the state park before it was a state park. Right up through the 80's and 90's perch fishing in the marina at Sampson state park was spectacular and it was good but less spectacular up until about 2014 or 15. In recent years in my travels around Seneca the former weed beds are pretty much gone or just "spotty" and scraggly and may be different variety of weeds as well. There are zebra shells encrusting about every rock. Gone are the huge schools of minnows and young of fish like the smallmouth and largemouth bass that used to be present. The water around the periphery of the lake appears as a submerged "moonscape" devoid of life and crystal clear most of the time. To those folks who say the lake is fine and will change in cycle I say " I hope so", but deep down I doubt it because of the extent of the changes from the past. Last year while out on Keuka ice fishing for perch and panfish in 20 ft or less water we pulled out one lake trout after another. Some were very skinny and obviously malnourished while a few were spitting up numerous tiny perch that were still alive squiggling on the ice Although I have caught an occasional laker through the ice there before it was obvious that something very different is happening as usually they have fed mainly on alewives and smelt (before they virtually disappeared) but now they are desperate and feeding on the much less nutritious perch. What does all this have to do with the original concern of rainbow creel limits? The point is these lakes and streams have changed dramatically and we should be changing our thinking in line with the changing nature of the environment. Catherine's Creek and Coldbrook which as major spawning streams have likewise undergone radical changes such as stream washouts of banks from flooding, elimination of some deep holes or holding structure, and elimination of brush cover, and trees along the banks. There have been stream improvement efforts e.g. Coldbrook) but the fishing has continually deteriorated from that noted the past. There is more fishing pressure on these resources at a time when they are experiencing significant difficulties. As far as the redds (hollowed out areas of gravel or bedrock areas where the females lay their eggs) being trampled as I mentioned previously. I have seen firsthand masses of ignorant fisherpersons walking in the streams during the first days of the season stepping all over the spawn. Yes many of the spawning trout may have already left the stream earlier as some even winter over in them but these redds (or nests) being destroyed is still a problem. Rainbows are a pretty fragile fish when considering "catch and release" as a potential option and especially so as water temps rise in the streams or lakes . This complicates making a suggestion such as proposing a catch and release only for a year or two for both Seneca Lake and its tributaries. Establishing a complete moratorium would also not deal with one of the large problems thought to be facing Seneca: the apparent over abundance of alewives (and possible lack of predators). Too bad they couldn't be netted and shipped to Keuka
  18. You can almost see the relief on their faces to be out there and not here
  19. A thoughtful note Trouthunter. We do indeed have much to be thankful for in this great country of ours too and it is a good time to remember those folks that gave their very lives so that we can live the way we do and enjoy these special resources and activities. Happy Thanksgiving to all the LOU "family".
  20. Man you guys be real careful this wind is really something else. I just took the dog out and was nearly blown over probably a lot of dead limbs etc. going to be trashed in this stuff.
  21. I think I am with Chinook 35 and Billy on this one. The 2014 thing appears to be a very poorly thought out decision and although the invasives were probably brought in by the shipping geniuses the lampreys seem to have a much more distant past
  22. Maybe you could even dig deep and make it a beer
  23. Sometimes you make too much sense Mike As an old time stream guy one of the things that has always bothered me greatly is watching people trample redds without any apparent concern. I would certainly respect a decision to give the rainbows a break for a year or two....(and who knows how many I have left)
  24. Nick - an example of limitations of what goes into the decision making process is the one rainbow limit on Canandaigua. It wasn't really based on the data per se.;it was based on the desire to keep things consistent among the western Finger Lakes. This was even admitted to me by DEC folks. This is truly an inexact science in stocking these lakes right now and setting creel limits as well. There is a lot of "shooting in the dark" and it is understandable given the complexity of present environmental circumstances. Many of these lakes are experiencing difficulties and are in varying stages of trouble and it is unclear whether or if they they are capable of "self-correcting". There are a variety of interests that need to be "balanced". and I like you am willing to leave it in the hands of the biologists for the time being
  25. Truly touching. It is also a very inspiring example of what being brothers and true friends is all about in sharing life experiences
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