Sk8man

Sounds as though you've been using a lightweight Sutton spoon (resembling a flutter spoon in thinness with a fixed hook) which are in fact used to pull copper. First of all pulling copper correctly is almost an "art form" and is not necessarily the technique of choice for beginning trout fishermen and I am serious about that.....It is one of those things that most folks need demonstrated in person (often repeatedly) and even then the effective use of the technique is something developed over time. I've fished with, know, and have known some of the best copper people on the Finger Lakes and even after years and years of it catching hundreds of mainly lakers I don't feel it is my best tool in the arsenal in terms of competence.....so don't feel too bad if you're struggling with it My hunch is that you were dragging the spoon right along the bottom with too much wire out so it wasn't operating effectively and it is easy to do especially if on soft bottom with a light spoon. Often the lightweight spoons are used on a mono leader at the end of the copper with a weight attached so that the bottom (and changes in it can be felt as you go along it. The trick whether with that setup or the use of heavier spoon such as the Pfleuger, Ace, Hopkins, Bladerunner or many others is to get it to the bottom but to be bouncing it off the bottom so that the contact with bottom is intermittent and this is very dependent on your boat speed. You are constantly feeling for the bottom and it's composition through the wire and making adjustments as necessary to keep from snagging up (a frequent occurrence) in both the letting out and retrieving of the wire and your speed ....they are integrally related. If this relationship is not maintained you could troll all day long day after day without catching a fish (mainly lakers but sometimes even a huge smallmouth or brown). You can also do this if you have too little or too much wire out and what you are feeling is the belly of the wire making contact with bottom but not the spoon. I'll attach a pic of some of the spoons used for it. At the extreme left column are the Hong Kong version of the Pfleuger #5 (can't locate my originals), next the original Pfleuger#4, and next the Ace #4 (Pfleuger imitation made of brushed finish stainless steel) and the gold Hopkins #388 spoons They are all relatively heavy spoons intended to be used by themselves for bottom fishing and usually tied directly to the copper with a small loop at the end (no swivel) so that you can feel bottom the best (the feel of the particular bottom characteristics transmitted directly up the wire). They can also be used with a mono leader but this is not commonly done by most folks. At the right of the pic is the lighter weight Suttons (various sizes and shapes) and these are usually used at the end of a mono leader with weight suspended from the copper kicking up bottom material while the spoon "floats" slightly above it or used by themselves. Jigging is another technique that takes time and practice to do correctly and effectively. Again, having someone demonstrate it that knows what they are doing can really speed up the learning curve for you. There are a number of very competent guides in the Finger Lakes that could probably help with it and it could be well worth the money.

Way to go Andy and good report. Sure hope things settle down soon as far as the weather as it is really raising hell with these lakes and the fishing in general.

Nice going John cool rainbow with lots of distinct spots Best of luck to your son. The military sure can be a life changing experience at that age. I was 18 when I went in and 22 when I got out.....made a huge difference in my life. Tough as a parent to see them go but you can be VERY proud of him.

I think between Frogger and us we captured the range of conditions Lake O can be a beautiful place as well as a "wild" one....

Thx bud. Nice results for you on the fish

If someone saw that pic without the Hemlock title they'd probably think it was Lake O you were on instead of Hemlock .....nice work

I knew I shouldn't have taunted Bob before we went out because it was the 13th and my lucky number is 12 The water last night was about as good as it gets and beautiful sunset as well. It was a great family outing you had there Mike ....nice connection of the generations Thanks for the fun time Bob!

If you have any recessed rod holder holes on the gunwales you could get a gimbal mount (Cannon) and mount the board to it and that way it would be movable and all you'd have to do to clean it is dunk it in the water holding on to the gimbal tube. The mount is a little pricey new but Ebay may have one used at bargain price or perhaps on LOU. You'd also be at the side of the boat for easier access and washdown etc.

Those rod holders are a lot sturdier than they look. I wouldn't worry about a copper in them. I've run all sorts of stuff from mine for years without problem.

Best of luck with it. Half the fun is rigging and anticipation anyway

Here is why I recommended the #8 Spro power swivel over the #3HD for this particular application. It is smaller yet strong enough (50 lb test vs 150 of the HD) and fits through all the eyes of most rods and the level wind of most reels. Notice the size comparison in the photo.

Is the new one an orange one from the bait tank like the old one?

Good luck Ed.....maybe the bait is still in shallow and the silvers have been feeding on the bugs near the surface.often happens around now. In shallow and up towards surface with the lines if there isn't too much junk in there from the storm.

Many of the guys on here will say don't use a swivel ....use their favorite knot . I've found that the #8 is the largest (power swivel) that will fit through the eyes of the rod and line guide on my various rods and it is rated at 50 lbs.. The number 10 seems too small to make the connection especially with copper

First of all thanks for your service during Korea (another seemingly "forgotten" action like Viet Nam). Beautiful rainbow specimen and that lake doesn't give up it's good fish easily.