Sk8man

Tim you have a PM. Fishy Business is the place to go for your fishing needs over that way for sure and Gerry is on top of his game information wise too so definitely worth stopping by if fishing Keuka.

You might want to include description/pricing for the last two images

Always great to experiment. The stuff looks real good. Sure is easy to tie up some bucks in the good stuff too

Aw cmon Rick with all the big bucks you could use gold beads as well. Nothing like lightweight imitation pearls to catch the eye of a female chinook

Yes Steelie and I even remember some guys used to use nylon tents with the center section of the floor cut out and anchor them outside with screw in ice anchors but a lot of times just mounding snow around the outside can provide enough to hold them down. I was thinking when I posted that at least this may give somebody an idea if they see the Polar Pal at a garage or lawn sale or something. Good luck with the fishing.

I believe it is separate ( i personally met him half way between us to receive mine) but I don't think the bulk rate is very much. He listed his email address in an earlier post.....I'd ask him for specifics Here it is : [email protected]

Just so you know.....10 pound weights are the maximum recommended for those downriggers. They changed the motors in the early to mid nineties to a little heavier duty. I just purchased three of the "shark type" weights (10 lb) and I think they will track much better than the standard "fish" weights. Check out the ones by bikinibottom here on Lou.

I fished Honeoye today and although there were some "lookers" there weren't many "takers" but I realized afterward that my general approach to fishing today might be worth mentioning as there were very few people on the ice other than my son and I because of the deep snow cover on the ice (other alternative reasons are possible too). Sometimes a blend of the new and the old surpasses the newest and greatest. Dragging many of the "stock" shelters (e.g. Clam, Frabill, Eskimo and others over deep snow can challenge the stoutest of heart and body. Some enterprising folks have built "sled" frames with runners to help with this problem made of everything from old skis, to PVC pipe or metal conduit. It provides less surface area for resistance from the snow. I left my Clam Fishtrap Pro(two person)shelter in the cellar today and went with a more"old school" approach from the 70's and 80's. Some folks may recognize the shelter from that period but probably not newer folks to the ice fishing scene so I thought I'd show another alternative to dragging conventional (heavy) shelters out on deeply snow covered ice. The old trusty Polar Pal "igloo" which folds up and can be carried on your shoulder or in my case just transported in my sled with all my other stuff. It goes up in about 1 minute or less and only weighs about a couple pounds. Coupled with a fold up chair and sometimes a heater it is a welcome substitute for the heavier stuff. To stabilize it in the wind (about 15 mph or more gusts today I packed a little snow around it....no problems. I carry 7 jigging rods/reels already set up with different jigs test lines,etc. so that when fish are fussy (esp. crappies, gills and perch) I can continue to present different selections to them with minimal effort and quickly despite carrying hundreds of different colored and shaped and sizeed jigs to change if necesary. One other tip worth mentioning again because I failed to follow my own advice (and paid for it today)....keep the cover over the blades of your auger when not in use. If you notice in the pic there is a surgical quality slit in the left leg knee area leg of my float suit...doesn't pay to be in a hurry when fishing...

I use light weight metallic jewelery beads and pearls usually 4 or 5 of them per fly but smaller flies 3 beads and I make them sort of "forward and reverse" for different impact (i.e."wildflies") and I use 3D eyes on all mine.

Aggressive whip action of the fly is fine for actively aggressive feeding fish but have you ever watched some of the videos here and on Youtube where the fish is having a hard time actually grabbing the fly when it is whipping back and forth at a fast rate? Salmon are very fast powerful swimmers that is not the problem but moving side to side rapidly is something that they can have a problem with. I have purposely designed my hand made flies to be a little heavier and the bodies tighter together (more defined target)so that they are slower back and forth while the flasher or spinney is still maintaining at or close to its usual speed so they can grab them easier. Just my away of doing it but maybe something to think about....

If you'll notice I said "tiny bit" of stretch (vs. none whatsoever with fluoro) and it can (and often does) "snap" right at the knot (regardless of the knot used) because of the brittle nature of the material and the hard coating on its exterior that "cuts through" itself when pulled under high instantaneous tension. It is just an opinion (not science) but it is based on my own experiences with both materials so I thought it worth mentioning. Honest I don't have any stock in Berkely Big Game or anything . I do use fluoro for many other things but not for flies or meat rigs

I'm with Tim on the 50 lb Big Game.....no problems with it and no break offs as I had with commercially tied flies with fluoro. My thinking is that a tiny bit of stretch is beneficial to absorb "shock" from kings (I don't use snubbers) and I also feel that the knot strength is better on mono after using both. Yes the fluoro is stiffer but it also is brittle and especially so in colder temps.

Looks like a stick figure during a hold up (just joking)...even stick figures are beyond my capabilities