Sk8man

Oh Oh! Looks like the Round Goby has arrived (or possibly been there awhile)

The easiest way to tell is difficult from the pics unfortunately Steve. The Sculpin has two fins on the underside while the Round Goby has only one fin and it resembles a "suction cup" Just looking at the pics it appears that they are Freshwater Sculpin.

Welcome. Looks as though you have a good start on things. Best off luck out there this season.

Ditto.... just what I was thinking

Great choice

Thanks looks great

With fresh ones they can be filleted skins off and then put the fillets in a leak proof plastic bag or large zip lock and put salt and concentrated lemon juice in it let them sit for an hour or so. Most of the fishy smell and taste will be gone quickly and gently rinse them just prior to cooking (not too much rinsing as it dissipates the oils). I haven't ever tried it with frozen fish but I also remove the grey lateral line during filleting too as that is where a lot of the strong fishy taste comes from.

Yes but try getting off the lake during a storm when your big motor quits or won't start

Yes the looks on the littlest ones faces was precious and they let the kids gently touch the fish while they took scale samples

It is 36 inches as seen but can extend to 53 inches

Not sure what they would find when they examined further up the creek but my hunch is that given the rather mild weather conditions this winter and the brief warmer temps (e.g. 60) there may have been an earlier run but there still could be fish farther up. In the past I have caught them in mid May. I haven't fished it for a few years though.

For those folks that are curious..... I was a bit late and missed the first go round but reportedly 4 bows netted and 2 browns mixed in at first spot on the main road. I went to Digger Dam for the second netting and a pretty good crowd built up only saw three rainbows netted largest 6.02 lbs. Here are some pics to give you a feel of things:

You may be able to do what I did. Here is what I use

I had to have one of my towing eye bolts moved but I was able to have the bracket fit in (barely). By the way although some folks may not believe it you may not need a steering arm to troll. I used an EZ steer for a few years and it was a pain so I tried not using anything at all and under most conditions it works fine without any I just tilt the small motor a few degrees toward the main and then steer with the main motor (135 Merc) I also have an extension for an electric trolling motor that fits over the tiller handle if I need it so I don't have to reach out and can adjust easily inside.to change direction. If it is real windy I troll with the big motor.

I think he is referring to Cayuta Lake a small lake at the south end of Seneca lakes

I nearly always run 8 ft. sliders off the riggers for extra stuff in the water. The exception is while running in real shallow