Sk8man

I'm willing to bet a bunch of us have been there.....good one Kev

You'll notice the diversity of replies here and it suggests that there is no one strategy that always works for browns. They can be very easy to catch at some tiimes of the year (e.g. Spring) in the shallows in the early hours, in the summer near drop offs and at other times seemingly gone but it also depends on where you are fishing for them. For example, Lake O doesn't have the rapid steep drop offs near shore in most places but the Finger Lakes do so you need to exploit the underwater terrain as well as the edges of colored water. On Lake O much of the brown fishing can be found in the shallow water aong the shoreline sometimes running boards right into just a few feet of water can produce. In the summer where you find about 58 degrees intersecting the bottom can produce or on the Finger Lakes where that temp intersects bottom near a drop off. Browns are often active night feeders so the early morning hours can produce some good ones right near shore sometimes surprisingly close even right around docks etc.. Silver Fox made an excellent point about the colored water and in the Spring trolling in and out of the edges of the colored water especially around creeks or the outside edges of flowing water can produce nice browns. Sometimes even a couple degrees of elevated water temperature can attract them in the Spring. Browns can be quite line shy and this becomes important in the clear water which now days covers a lot of areas but sometimes folks run way too fast for them and use too short distances both away from the boat and in back of it. I've run floating jointed Rapalas 100 yards off my outriggers before and had the browns hammer them and you'd think the sticks wouldn't run right that far back but browns aren't as fond of the turbulance from prop wash and motor noise as steelies or cohos can be A potentially deadly way to troll specifically for them is with lures that go back and forth like a flatfish or quickfish, jointed Rapalas etc. way back behind the boat off boards trolled VERY slow with brief increases in speed and then slowing back down and then turn. It can be easier without boards in this case so I use outriggers and straight toplines here. Often it is the outside line on the turn that will be hit as it speeds up a little. It helps to specifically target them with your setups and trolling tactics rather than running mixed stuff hoping for anything to hit thinking it could be a brown. The main thought here is that all your stuff will be running at a similar speed with minor fluctuations. I use 8 to 10 lb. fluoro leaders with small black good quality ball bearing swivels or use a Spro #8 a few feet up the leader from a small duolock snap or Fast Snap depending on where I fish (e.g. Fingers or Lake O).

I just returned from St. Augustine and am now wishing for the ice on Honeoye. I'm also looking at this post in secret so my wife doesn't see it and get ideas from you guys....especially Keith

Each type may have advantages dependent on the size of boat and hull shape as well as what material the hull is made from. Rollers can leave indentations in the bottom of the boat if the weight isn't distributed properly or the trailer isn't set up properly for the boat.

Forget about the line counter on the rod (e.g. Berkely) it sucks. The line or especially wire pops out of it all the time despite snugging it down

The mono helps reduce the internal pressure on the spool which can create undue compression and wear on the spool or other parts connected to it. I consider it "preventative maintenance" So far in the entire time I have been fishing with all the equipment I have I have only ever had one reel problem and that was because 7 strand wire got in the side of the spool between the side plate.....operator error

Yes, for the past few years and for the reason you stated and I've mentioned it on here in the past but many folks seems to think it is unnecessary despite the fact that Andy Copenhaver and the other folks in the Tuna shop have seen the inside of reels more than possibly anyone on the face of the Earth If you put braid directly on a new reel for example the spool often "slides" giving the appearance of an inoperative drag.

My son and I fished the south end today for gills. The ice was variable but 4 inches plus in most places. There were guys fishing toward the middle and north of the launch for several hundred yards but not directly north in close east side. many fished the usual spots on the west side in close for gills. Most of the folks we spoke with on the way in had lookers but not hitters. We did pretty well on the big gills but had to really work for each one and threw back a bunch of dink perch and gills. If you didn't have a flasher you wouldn't have known there was anything there by the hits In past years we have fished the north end as well (my son lived there for quite a few years) and even in the best of years careful is the watchword as there are gas pockets that can be hidden especially by snow, sometime the ducks or geese keep areas open also. The area near Trident is very sketchy and there was recently open water there. Over the years a number of folks have fallen through or drowned on Honeoye and although it is a popular lake in ice season because it freezes early it is also potentially a very dangerous place as there are many little streams along the periphery that may not be visible when ice covered nearby but they do have an influence on the integrity of the ice around and near them (as in thin and poor quality). I've fished there since the 1960's and my main advice to newbies would be to go there with someone who knows the lake well and never go there alone.

Over the years and thousands of perch most of the time after ice fishing I clean them afterward and leave them outside in the cold before I do for awhile. There have been times however that I have been really beat when I came home and I left the fish in a pail outside and then cleaned them next morning. Sometimes they are actually easier to clean that way (stiff) but your hands get colder than usual while doing so. As long as their temperature is reduced like that the whole time it has never been a problem refreezing them as I do in zip lock bags with water covering them inside. I believe the only problem might arise if they were left to warm way up and bacteria might be activated before refreezing them. I also rinse my fillets briefly before putting them in the zip locks and I have eaten perch five years after doing that and they were delicious

In 1976 I purchased my first downrigger a manual Riviera with 4 ft boom and not having a boat at the time it was used on my buddy's boat by installing an extra mounting plate and then in 1979 I got my own boat and bought another Riviera. By today's standards they were pretty primitive and shoddy being made largely out of plastic but they worked well for quite a few years until I bought two Canon electric 10A's in about 1985. I am still using those Cannon's and one still has the original wire cable and terminus on it and they have been used a lot. I have had to replace the battery to downrigger wires twice since installing them largely because of UV damage from the sun cracking the insulation. Both types of downriggers manual and electric have their place and as already mentioned it may depend on what type of fishing you do and how much of it that guides your decision. The manuals have some advantages in that they are more easily used on boats other than your own for example if you rent a place with a boat there as you can clamp them to a bench seat or gunwale etc. without being concerned with wiring and hookups. They are lighter to transport and they don't depend on a battery for power. I've used most of them and I believe the Penn's are the more durable and reliable and are very easy to use but the bases take a little getting used to when re-positioning the downrigger with weight on it. Electrics are great once they are wired and hooked up right or don't have cracks in the wires leading to a short because it can be frustrating having a fuse blow with multiple fish on and not be able to retrieve the weight or get it out of the way. A lot of folks on here prefer the fast retrieve downriggers with autostop but they too take getting used to and newer downriggers in general will accept heavier weights on their motors (for less blowback). Any electric should have some sort of emergency handle handy to be used in the event of electrical or mechanical failure as it is no fun hand winding up a 10 to16 lb weight from 150 ft down. Since the day I first used my electrics I have never used the down button I always carefully let down the weights by use of the drag brake knob with my hand on the cable wheel so basically the only electric use in on the ascent of the weight. The battery lasts all season without a charge. For ease of use running many lines and heavy use the electric is great. For low to moderate usage and little deep water use the manuals are more flexible and pretty much without operating concerns (unless you "bird nest" the wire)

And people wonder why Bluefin Tuna are disappearing.... http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/big-fish-sushi-boss-forks-over-dollar632k-for-a-single-tuna/ar-BBxUQO8?OCID=ansmsnnews11