Sk8man

I think Paul was referring to the softer more fragile mouth of the steelhead or rainbows and as ADK mentioned. You can't (or shouldn't) "horse" them.

Mustad 9510XXX (stainless steel) Siwash Salmon hooks #2/0's and 3/0's for most

Glad to hear you got out Kev and your dad is back into it too. Headed for Hughes in the AM with my son Mark (not in the derby) to see if we can figure out the salmon not real optimistic though at this point after folks results the past week or so.

How about a pic Ed?

Just make sure you keep the LED's and black lights away from your eyes as they can cause irreversible damage if shined directly into the eyes (UV)

Yes

x2 on Walter Hang I've talked at length with him at Ithaca College after one of his presentations and he is one of the most knowledgeable people I've met concerning these environmental issues.

Rick - Unfortunately the sticker is gone but it is a real big net (36 x37) and the handle extends out to about 10 ft.

Geez Bob you're turning into a sensitive male of the new Millenium

I guess although we may have all fantasized about it...but Pacific salmon would be a very poor fit for the Fingers and you have hit on probably one of the most important factors.....suitability of stream and spawning habitat. Many of the streams in the Fingers are only available in the early Spring during "normal" years and the rainbows mainly depend on the the larger ones then (e.g. Catherines, Keuka Outlet etc.) The nature of the "beast" is also a consideration though as Pacifric salmon are programmed wiring wise as ocean going and free ranging fish requiring large areas to roam that feed largely on suspended bait and they do not have the varied diet that many of the trout have or Atlantics for that matter. I've found for example plenty of bugs of various types in the stomach contents of trout and Atlantics but never in a Chinook. My hunch is that if thousands of them were dumped in the Fingers they would eat the place out of house and home in terms of the alewife base and if there were any smelt left as well leaving the remaining species with little for which to forage. The primary problem is that they would in all probability severely upset the balance of the existing ecosystem that is currently stressed by invasives and a lot of other factors leading to a large deterioration in the overall fishing quality of these lakes.

x3 on the Ranger. last time out on Lake O I brought mine along as my fishing buddy normally has a net on his boat that would be better suited for scooping bait from a tank and we were glad we did as we needed the extension on the handle and size of opening to reach a 25 lb thrashing king. They are a good durable net.

It is something to try when you are getting "short" hit where they aren't getting hold of the fly.I have made my flies heavier to slow them horizontally once I saw some underwater videos of salmon trying to "catch" the flailing flies that were whipping sideways. My hunch is that they aren't as adept at catching them when they are going real fast while sideways or going around in circles too fast despite being "fast fish" speed-wise. They seem to grab them better on the videos when coming from straight behind or up or down