Sk8man

And I thought leaving my hand auger on the ground in back of my parked truck in the past while I BS'd with a guy in the dark and then drove off without it was bad....That is awful and I sure hope you get your stuff back....best of luck with it and ....despite what is on the evening news there are good people on this earth.

WTG Dave. Looks kinda like the old days to me

Many congrats John. Life will never be the same but ....in a good way

It is helpful but you should also be aware that although it holds for Jann's these size designations may not hold for other manufacturers. There is little standardization in labeling across manufacturers so a #1 from one manufacturer may be a # 8 from another. Its really pretty crazy.....

While ice fishing the other end of Keuka a couple days ago I was checked out by DEC and he said it was still open water on the Branchport arm but it has been brutally cold the last couple nights....on the other hand it has been very windy as well....

Good point John. I think you and Nick could make a great team if it ever went that way and I know I would confidently recommend either or both of you to anyone as you are both very skilled fishermen.

Just a little "preprocess" commentary - It is important to do it outside or in some outdoor well ventilated building, wearing gloves when handling it and a good quality respirator mask while heating it. Lead fumes can really mess you up as well as directly handling the lead itself. I know there will be folks who may say it is BS they have been doing it for years but it is something that can mess you up bad in a variety of ways without it being evident for some time. It is best to undercoat the jigs with a primer of some type before painting to avoid it flaking off

FroggToggs makes a variety of them at various price ranges. I love mine which are the upper grade ones and I don't remember what I paid for them but I think somewhere in the $100 or so.

You'll notice here that with some of the shorter leader lengths folks are keeping them pretty much close to their rod length unless using slide divers. Unless you are real comfortable (and competent) at handlining fish and especially if you fish solo very much, and perhaps have never experienced handlining an unruly king it is a good rule of thumb to follow. Although I use fluoro leaders generally from 12 - 20 lb test and high quality solid ring swivels for various things (depending on where fishing and the circumstances) but mono seems a better choice for running leaders from dipsys on wire as there is a bit of stretch to it and fluoro is less "forgiving" when large or aggressive kings are in the mix. On the Finger Lakes 30 lb mono is fine (in case of hang ups etc.) but during late season Lake O fishing kings I switch to 40 lb. Big Game mono and tie my flies with 50 lb Big game as a little shock absorption protection (never had one break yet but have had 40 lb fluoro on commercially tied flies break). Mono tends to be a little softer than fluoro and not as stiff or brittle in colder weather and depending on knot I suspect maay have a little better breaking strength at the knot when cold.

Yeah and even Jim's gill plates are turning color now

Wondering if the board possibly hit a submerged object that didn't catch your line and bounced into the air?

Ah OK Nick I think I got ya on it. I know Seneca means as much to you as to me and I sure as heck hope things improve somehow. Happy New Year bud.

There is plenty of tourism at the Ithaca end of the lake during the fishing season (and plenty of money) I don't know how far a drive it is from your place Nick but I've spent quite a bit of time at Ithaca while my daughter went to college there and it is a thriving community with people coming from all over the place (with both Cornell and Ithaca College there). It could be a nice scenic trip down the canal to get the boat there too Maybe partner up with somebody good at Sodus Point for the Lake O stuff. Hopefully Seneca will recover with time but it may take awhile for the previously good fishing to return.

You have some good pros for the in hull transducers but you can also get good results with a high quality transom mounted transducer IF it is mounted properly and your hull design is compatible with it. It takes some care, some time, and sometimes multiple adjustments along the way till it is as good as you can get it. I had a transom mounted hard plastic plate installed on my hull with two screws and sealed at the screw holes as well as the back of the plastic with 3M 4200. The plate supports multiple transducers which can be moved around as needed during adjustment or mounting replacements or different transducers on the hull without drilling any more holes in the hull itself. Trandsducer designs (and physical sizes and shapes etc.) change with advancements in technology and when new electronics are installed.This is pretty much a done deal with thru hulls once they are epoxyed and installed. A lot more to the replacement and re-installation when you have a hole in your hull and I think it is something better left to competent professional installers rather than a do it yourself project Airmar as mentioned makes a range of transducers and types for many different applications and they are of high quality and often better than the ones that may come with some units butthey aren't inexpensive either but it is one of those things in life that may be worth the money to save headaches. None of them will work well unless properly installed and usually played with along the way to "optimize" them.

At south end - Roughly 4 inches some of it white ice in most but not all places and a layer of frozen slush under the snow in some others. Still need to be careful out there.