It is a different form of trolling and it is tough to run out as far as you might like sometimes
I run flies both ways and have caught good fish on both approaches and both smaller flies and larger (usually hand tied home made ones) My hunch is that like in spoon and stick presentations it is the specific ACTION that is critical. The fact that "worn out" flies still catch them seems to support this too.
Theresa is right about the "natural" look of irregularity in nature but that is true for the HUMAN eye....and there is experimentation to back it up in the field of visual perception but as far as fish go it is still a "question mark" in terms of number or uniformity. Spots themselves do relate to the natural state of things in that many species of baitfish have "markings" whether spots or discolorations. stripes etc. which differentiate the foreground from the background (figure/ground) which is a critical dimension of basic visual perception and it also may add "cues" to discriminating movement by nearly all species. Also at work on the examples that Ed showed is the fact that CONTRAST (such as light on dark background or dark on light background helps various species to to discriminate objects and to detect movement so the "spots" perform that function as well.
I just spoke with one of the guys in the Wildlife Division because nobody was at the Fisheries section. I had forgotten they are shocking at Cold Brook today so I guess I won't find out until I get back Jeff....you might ant to give Brad Hammers a call at P: 585-226-5344
Cool Nick....haven't fished for the billfish there but have fished the Coronado Islands there for tuna and that was a blast. Hopefully the weather will be at least a tad better when we both get back here Good luck!
I have had an email in to Brad Hammers (DEC) since Jeff asked the question....haven't heard back yet. I have always been under the assumption that only the lakes proper were to be recorded. Hopefully he will answer back today as I leave in the AM for Florida.
They didn't report the total number in the paper but they had a pic of a guy holding up a 5 pound rainbow....not real impressive ( I got one through the ice a couple weeks ago a little bigger ) Really hard to say what this years run is going amount to or if some of it has already occurred the male I caught was spawned out
We used to use it in the old days in various ways but it has a much larger diameter than say Power Pro so there is much more resistance in the water meaning it doesn't get down to depth nearly as well. Some salt water applications use it mostly for backing.
Thanks Ted. I'll stop by when I get back...I was thinking about it yesterday and remembered we were going to chat about it Can't wait to get the boat out this year....
Thanks Bob . We're heading for Clearwater, Florida for a week but I'm planning to be home for the Watkins tackle "extravaganza" Still have a couple days left here though Pap
At least I don't have to worry about you taking all my fish with your "new" boat while I'm gone Bob because you won't be finished with all your "modifications" until a few seasons from now (once you figure out how all your stuff will be mounted)
The adipose fin (little one behind the dorsal the main fin on top) is present on each one so assuming that the hatchery didn't miss clipping the fin they look to be non-hatchery (naturally reproduced) fish.
I'm not sure about the Lake O browns currently (whether they clip additional fins or not) but in the Finger Lakes they clip different fins on trout to designate the year the fish were stocked.
Yes Zack...that is what my comment referred to I have one of the Mark 5XPro units with the ice bundle but I'd rather use my Vexilar flasher anyway because it is "real time" viewing rather than waiting for the screen of the other type unit to "draw" The "delay" can be crucial in jigging. The main feature of the "graph" type units for me is spotting the bait and fish before jigging The newer CHIRP ice units are intended to address the problem you are referring to.
It looks to me as though the one on left is an adult male fully colored from being in the stream for awhile while the one of the right appears to be a juvenile that may have just come in from the lake but absent any shots of fin clips etc. still a question in my mind whether either came from a hatchery.
It is possible that you've seen older units and the transducer that comes with it is the source if it is a "problem" as it is 200khz which is largely designed for shallower applications. I doubt if they figured many folks would be jigging in 200 ft of water. The newer CHIRP units have a 20 degree transducer that is 50 khz /83khz/200khz.(Low/Medium/High CHIRP) with a range down to 1000 ft. (The lower CHIRP has higher depth penetration)
I know all these fluoro brands say it is virtually invisible to fish but how many fish were able to verbally respond to whether THEY saw it or not....yeah it may be close to invisible for US