Yes the selection of fishing stuff is not quite as extensive as some other places but I picked up a set of walleye boards, leadcore and a few other things. The thing I was amazed at is the variety of other things ...everything from groceries and clothing to generators, ammo and a complete line of tools etc. The store is sort of like a combination Kmart, Lowes and Tractor Supply all in one. They also have a few Okuma combos already set up with copper, leadcore and 7 strand wire (Convector 55's and Magda Pros).
It is all going to depend on wind direction and wind speed from wherever you 'll be fishing out of and the weather reports often leave a lot to be desired in terms of accuracy. You pretty much have to wait until the last minute to assess things. The current gigantic front could stall or perhaps move through faster than expected with the winds dying down. At least we don't have the snow yet like out west today.
Jason I'm with you bud on that... and I think you hit it on the head when you said about the stocking and not being a sustainable fishery...probably a matter of $$$ from the state's point of view (as Mike noted. All of us would probably be out even on windy days like this....
P.S. I always enjoy fishing with you folks.....and scout has been revealing some of your deepest fishing secrets too
Les
My understanding has always been that trout, bass, walleyes, salmon, pike and muskies were not to be sold because they are considered as "game fish" while perch, whitefish and other panfish (sunnys, bluegills, crappies etc.) and bullheads could be legally sold. I believe the restriction relating to toxins applied to the American Eel. This was all previous to the initiation of the fish advisory by the DEC. I am unsure of the actual rationale behind it though and have always found it a bit "puzzling".
ihgard - Here are pics of the "gizmo" I am talking about and the finished product and components. I use beads on the wires because I do a lot of cold weather fishing/trolling and it helps to feel the wires when your hands are cold and helps prevent dropping the leaders overboard
I agree in the example you used....a good one too. On my own setups meat rigs with 11 inch paddles don't swing as far horizontally at the speeds I go with them as with (lighter) flies or with 8 inch paddles and flies (at usually somewhat higher speeds). I think it is mainly an issue to be decided on a particular boat running their own setups as much as anything and there really isn't any right or wrong to it in my view. Always good to hear different perspectives too....gets you thinking...
Sure Matt - The total thing is 42 inches long and the Bosch 1/2 inch hammer drill is the key to it...I tried a Makita, Black and Decker, De Walt etc. They all failed to do the job. The Bosch is an animal it could pull you into the hole if you're not careful It is probably the best investment in anything in my whole life. It has had about 5 years use and the batteries are still going strong. I think the conversion kit was about $30 about 5 yrs ago. I think the hammer drill was about $300 plus and I just used the bottom of a 7 inch Lazer auger for the rest. I wouldn't go bigger than a7 inch blade though.
I don't know where you are located but Fishy Business on Keuka Lake has some. I've always made my own with a wire bending gizmo from Jann's Netcraft and preformed wires and springs found there also.
I gave my power auger away to a friend several years ago. I have been using a Bosch Hammer Drill with a conversion kit (use the bottom half of a 7 inch lazer auger with it ) with lithium batteries and as long as you aren't fishing in places with 3 ft of ice I have drilled over 50 holes in 6 inch ice on one battery and no messing with gas, no fumes, no noise, environmentally friendly, lighter to carry etc. The batteries are rechargeable and come with a quick charger. You set the drill for high torque rather than high speed.
Nice going Kevin. It also underscores the possibility that some of us who believe that the poor fishing for trout and salmon during recent daytime intervals may reflect the haevy feeding at night in the bright light theory".
I don't think any of us fish to get no tangles .....but it is an expensive problem when it happens (especially if repeated cuttings are necessary to wire and copper) and it is true that you should let the fish dictate....up to a point... but to me having loose spinny's or flashers back 40 ft swinging back and forth on downriggers is asking for trouble when you have multiple deployments of wire and copper along with it. It may not be as large a concern for very large boats but many of us are not fishing from them.
Another consideration is "What other stuff are you running with/near it and how close in depth"? Keep in mind that Spinnys and flashers are not just going straight back and staying in a straight line. If you run them way back they can be all over the place and especially on turns. This may be especially important when running things like coppers down the chute
Usually running them within 12 ft or so of the weight works and helps keep you from tangles when running multiple downriggers and dipseys with spinneys or flashers. If down real deep i shorted them up from that so that the setup appears to "belong" together with the weight as a "group".
Wrap the ends of the copper around each other twisting and then wrap them with nylon thread around the twisted part (looks like the snell of a hook) and then use super glue on the thread
Glad you got in OK Ed that little channel between the rocks is treacherous in a stiff wind and you sure don't want to bang up that beautiful brand new boat/motors. I got my first big scratch in mine trying to be a good samaritan the last time out on Canandaigua and it isn't a warm and fuzzy feeling....
Zipp,
I too use fluoro in the lighter diameters especially for stream fishing and panfish, trolling leaders etc. and like you have had good success with it. I'm wondering though if ANY line is truly "invisible" to fish when it is of LARGE diameter and I know the fluoro can be quite brittle especially in real cold weather/water. I switched back to 50 lb. mono tying my trolling flies (trout/salmon) because of breakage on commercially tied 40 lb fluoro leaders...as I believe that the mono takes the shock from savage hits better than fluoro but it would take a really big shock to break 100 lb test fluoro I would think
I think for muskies I would be thinking about either titanium (thin and strong) or camo stainess wire