Sk8man

Man.... they may think the cottage owners around the lake used to b!@#h a lot in the past wait until they implement this Sounds like another great idea from government...they have a lot of them....and few of them seem to work well.

SOLID RING ball bearing swivel and use a Duolock snap for the snap itself.

I agree with the possible feeding scenario and have in the past found some packed with those shrimp out deep. The lack of them in the shallower water in the usual places until later on when the water became "murkier" was also interesting and the ones we did catch out in 60 ft. had mainly either nothing in their stomachs or else partly digested crayfish which presumably they found in shallower but maybe not.

As I go along reading and thinking about the apparent decrease in available fish, the appearance of Zebras and Quaggas in the water (with their extreme straining activity) as well as other invasives present that the primary causative set of problems is at the microscopic level and basically taking out a critical link near the base of the food chain (phytoplankton and zooplankton). These microrganisms are collapsing probably for more than one reason ranging from the presence of chemical toxins in the water (e..g. waste effluents, pesticides from lawns and other places, ineffective levels of basic bio-limiting factors like nitrates and phosphates relating to photosynthesis, and the depositing of harmful substances in the sediment within the lakes. The sum total of this activity in combination is negatively affecting the presence of food for the baitfish of various sizes and species, the spawning of both bait and the fish above it in the chain and those fish with highly specific diets as in the case of salmon (vs. rainbows and browns etc.) are most quickly and severely affected. The previous severe winters theory can be tossed in for good measure. The increased clarity of the water from the zebras and quaggas straining out everything is probably pushing other species such as smaller perch and bass out to greater depths to avoid predators in the clear water too. I know we were catching perch in 60 ft of water on Canandaigua Lake this summer and early Fall and they didn't seem to be present in the usual places shallower when the water was gin clear and they were very pale in appearance suggesting they had been at depth for some time.

I guess I'm not a physicist All I know is that the fish come in pretty fast and I never have any problem getting leverage on them and I've never had to back up in the boat for any fresh water fish. I also learned a long time ago to keep constant pressure on them and not dip the rod any more than necessary or in any way give the fish slack.....slack is your worst enemy (assuming you have faith in your line and knot) As long as that line is connected to them they are going to get tired at some point if your drag is set right. For large fish you can also slow the boat speed a bit and make them work against the boat. As long as that line is connected you win. Patience is a virtue

I'm not so sure we should be too confident that the mussels are in total or permanent decline on Lake O because the Quaggas are able to inhabit quite deep water with a more extensive range and both types of mussels may have cyclical decreases going on and could rebound given fertile environmental conditions. The Quaggas may be able to out compete the Zebras too where they co-exist and in some ways may present a more complex problem. Mature Round Gobies are known to eat Zebra and Quagga mussels and although they may do so in the shallower waters the Quaggas in the depths will not be adversely affected by them and potential predators of Quaggas will be fewer in number with increased depth as well..

Not all reels have the option but power handles also can help a lot in the retrieval rate and increased leverage. I have them on every reel I have whether 4,5 or 6 to 1 gear ratio that they are made for.

As far as the "crispness" of the image and size of screen, the issue is much like that of a TV screen or most other electronic displays; the image presented on the screen is a function of the number and specific size of the pixels distributed across the display and the closeness of the viewing position. The smaller the actual pixels and the larger the number of them the"crisper" the image viewed at the same distance.

Jason (Great Lakes Lures) brings up a really important issue - that of durability of the paint job. He has graciously revealed and detailed a great deal regarding the lure making process in previous posts and his spoons are high quality and hold up well. Like a lot of LOU folks I too have been pissed from time to time about the lack of finish durability and the flaking off of the paint from certain manufacturers lures that otherwise are productive and attractive but when the finish doesn't last it feels as though they aren't worth the money paid. I think that often this problem related to improper preparation of the blanks before painting and or the particular undercoating used because when the paint comes off of them the resulting blank is very shiny and much too smooth which gives little or nothing for the paint to adhere to. The cure time, temperature and humidity are things I didn't really fully think about in depth but any one of these things could be a critical factor in having lure finish come out right and last.

Mike I'm certainly not a lure paint expert but I do know that it is critical that the undercoating for whatever you use is the right stuff for the particular paint used over it as this is often the problem with the surface paint coming off. Jann's Netcraft has a selection of paint stuff that you might want to take a look at.

A 4 stroke 9.9 (9.8 depending on manufacturer) will do for normal trolling and it is possibly all you'd need for most Finger Lakes fishing but if you are fishing Lake O you may want to consider a 15 horse instead. Considering the weight of a 24 ft. boat and particular hull design a 9.9 may be working harder to push it which may long term affect the life span of the motor. The more important consideration is the other function of a kicker motor - auxilliary power in an emergency. If or when your main motor should quit (usually in the worst weather too) no matter what size kicker you have you'll wish it was bigger I'm not sure all the 4 strokes in terms of physical size/weight diffeences but the older 2 stroke 9.9 and 15 horse motor were identical just had different carburation. If you go with all the bells and whistles (e.g electric start power trim/tilt, extra long shaft etc. these plush models can be substantially heavier than the basic models so that may be something to consider as well.

Like Jimski 2 I have seen parts of zebra shells in perch but it is unclear to me whether they were actually eating them or may have accidentally ingested them along with food in the weeds or on bottom.

I think you may be referring to sliders and fixed sliders rather than a "cheater" per se. A true cheater is usually thought of as a leader that is located on a Seth Green rig and located about 3 or 4 ft up the rig line and it is long enough to trail behind and downward from the shorter set of cowbells and resembles something hit and crippled and trailing behind the "school" which the cowbells represent. It can be a spoon or stick or else a wobble troll or peanut. and the leader may be up to 20 ft or more in length. A normal slider on the otherhand is a short section of leader (from 2-8 ft. long) with a spoon and swivel at one end and a swivel at the opposite end. Normally you want to keep the length of the leader slightly shorter than the rod you are using so that it is easier to net the fish without backing up way into the interior of the boat. The end without the lure is attached to the downrigger mono after the main lure on it is fixed and lowered to the desired depth. The slider "slides" up and down or locates itself in the belly of the mono line. A fixed slider is a normal slider only it is affixed on the main line in a single desired location on that line after the main lure is lowered. There are numerous ways to do this in terms of the attachment and release used. The normal slider is perhaps most successful when either the thermocline layer is not yet formed, and/or you are fishing deep with the main lure and want something covering varied depths above it. Often steelies , rainbows and landlocks are the main "targets" but s Pacific salmon also hit them even when close to the prop wash of the motor. Although you may spot the slider lure on your depth finder it may often be out of the cone so many times you don't know where it actually is in the water column and this may be especially so when fishing the downriggers in the extreme outward and 45 degree angle position. The fixed sllder can be used anytime but I normally use it when the thermocline is formed and I wish to present the second lure at the top of it or just within it so it isn't "free ranging" and is more predictable because the lure stays at that approximate depth. They both have their place in the arsenal as does the true "cheater"

Welcome to LOU Mike. Good luck with the startup business