Sk8man

I seldom "plug" businesses but I do believe as many of you do that small businesses locally should receive our full support; especially in this day and age of Wally world and Dick's and Gander etc. so this is an exception. After fishing Keuka I stopped by Fishy Business today with my buddy JB235 and was greeted by the owner Gerry who was not only helpful but actually very knowledgeable about the full range of trolling topics, products and items of interest and is a real fisherman himself (unlike the folks found in the big stores). He stocks quality trolling gear (rods, reels, lines (including Blood Run Sea Flee and Flea Flicker) FLT spoons, the largest selection of Honey Bee lures I've ever seen, amny other lures etc. and a range of terminal tackle from stuff for kids and novices to the stuff rig fishermen look for but don't see too often and he can set you up to rig fish. Gerry spent a lot of time with us familiarizing us with his products very casually and without any pressure and his line of products are second to none for a sole owner small business. He stocks the kind of things I or any of the rest of us longtime fishermen would stock - not the crap found in the big stores with inflated prices....his prices seemed very reasonable and fair. If you are at or near Keuka or the campground, State park etc. you should check him out (closed on Tuesdays). He is right up the road from Keuka State Park on the left (white place with sign out front) a little way from the park entrance (3737 Pepper Road Tel: (607) 368-2306 or (315) 719-3673. I don't have any financial relationship or interest in this I just felt very impressed with it. Les P.S. He also sells bait there and he's one of our LOU guys

As of today jigging is the ONLY way to fish Keuka The fleas will prevent you from doing anything else. You should get lakers jigging near the bluff in 120 ft or so as mentioned above.

They are probably best used during the Spring or late Fall when the fish are in shallower and usually are set up sort of like "top lines" with lures just under the surface that go out away from the boat with or without some (light) weight, with spoons or small to medium sticks. I've even run them in the past with some crank baits but they won't handle large cranks or large "digging" sticks real well. Often you'll have better luck with them catching with longer leaders than your rod length but then you'll have to hand line the fish in when you get to the yellowbird. If you keep the leader (fluoro for sure) the length or your rod or slightly less you are able to net the fish without hand lining (usually) Sometimes steelies run near the surface out deep (usually way out) so they could be used there as well I guess.I'm assuming here you are talking about Lake Ontario.

You might want to consider putting the braid on a spare reel if you have one and get 7 or 19 strand stainless Steel wire (1000 ft.) and fluoro leader right from the get go as fleas are starting to be seen in some places already. Save the braid for the Spring or even later in the Fall when the water temps go down and the fleas go as well and you haven't lost anything...wire can be used year around.... The wire is a good investment all the way around but get a twilli tip for the rod if you don't already have it. Also (I know others say different) put a small amount (50 ft or so)of 30 lb mono under the wire to protect the spool and reel as suggested to me by Tuna Tom who fixes them (apparently it helps alleviate pressure from the tightening wire and distributes the wire better allowing it to nest more evenly).

I know I don't have an electrical background but shouldn't the downriggers have all DC connectors and fused inline?

Nice going Sean. Pretty soon all hell should break loose out there. The t-cline was starting at about 40 here on Canandaigua last time out but the fish have still been in shallow 40-75ft.(north end anyway). The last laker I got here fought like a big bow....and faked me out at first (6-7 lb) they are fun anyway.

Some smart fishing They were in there the last time I was out too and rainbows as well mixed in and at that time the bait was there in quantity as well. I wasted a lot of time out deep but that is where I usually do well at this point in the season for the bows and browns and I wasn't after the lakers. The picture can change at any time now though because the lake is starting to set up and the bait will move out deeper and the fish will follow.

Nick's advice is excellent and so is the attitude underlying it....sometimes you have to take your lumps and move on but benefit from the "learning experience" where money is involved at ANY level or situation caution is advised no matter what the deal or seller.

Same as rolmops

That is about identical to my trolling pattern and flea result the other day along with some cotton and weeds

Kuba- I'm not sure what the equivalent is in Canada of Small Claims Court but that might be an avenue if you have something like it. Just not sure of the applicability across borders either....

Chas is right I missed the fact that it is positioned where it is. The thing you have to ensure is that it is also away from any chines or strakes (longitudinal raised areas on the hull to disperse water) where they end at the transom as these are sources of turbulence as well as the prop wash displacement. If you have room on the transom you might consider a transom mounting panel (usually plastic substance) so you can move the transducer around for optimal placement. (Cabela's used to carry them)

Nice report Rick....felt like I was right there....the ole bread and butter lakers are still fun and some of those dudes are probably 20 to 25 yrs old out there...not many places you'll find them that big or that old around here.

A number of things are going through my mind right now in sorting out the "puzzle". Keuka used to give up numbers of large lakers (especially jerking copper) even in closer than Seneca and Canandaigua during early summer (for whatever reason) when the fish in the other two lakes had moved out deeper as well as the bait. There has always been a somewhat different "pattern" there. There have always been large areas out there when using Seth Green rigs where no marks occurred and fish were dispersed but tightly clustered together in "pockets" and in the old days night fishing was the way to catch larger numbers and sizes of fish. In my recollection daytime fishing has always been more "hit and miss" there during this time of the year. It sounds as though there are some strong year classes of smaller fish in the lake recently and often smaller fish hang together more than mature lakers that seem to roam and have a more diverse diet (small panfish and perch,stonecats etc. in addition to the alewives and the now pretty much non-existant smelt in many places) so catching big fish may not entail the same techniques or they may not be clumped together in defined areas. There is no doubt that the introduction of invasive species has upset many of the traditional patterns and relationships of the fish in the Finger Lakes but also thrown into the equation is the observation that anglers have become much more productive and efficient in using electronics, techniques and equipment to harvest the fish and as the fish come out of there they aren't really "replaced" as if by magic. The younger stocked fish may be more vulnerable now in finding adequate food, reproduction rates may be negatively impacted by encrusted traditional spawning beds with zebras and quaggas or silting from high flow input conditions. I think it may take a few seasons to really get more of a handle on things rather than making conclusions based on such limited time frames.

Rick said a little better what I was trying to convey but what I meant by "angle" is the fact that many transoms are not perpendicular to the water and for a transom mount transducer it is often necessary to angle it from the already angled transom so it is pointing downward rather than in or out at an angle and when I said the "auto setting" I was referring to "dual function" I just wanted to clarify that in light of that info. I'm not sure from a technical standpoint (in terms of manufacturing) how the Airmar and standard transducers from Lowrance differ but I know there have been a lot more problems reported on here for example for the Lowrance transducers. I've had both and the Airmar seemed to pick up more detail.

I agree Brian...and he is there and really loving it big time. He met some guy with 200 acres of prime hunting land too and some right next to Pat so he is really in his element. Apparently a lot of good fishing nearby as well. Les

Often the transducer is supposed to be at an angle (usually defined in the installation instructions)..some of it depends on the hull design of your boat and the actual placement of it. Airmar transducers (when properly matched to the unit and use) are viewed by many folks(me included) to be superior to the ones that are shipped with Lowrance products. Another factor may be which khz setting you are using at the depths you are fishing (or whether you use the auto setting) The cone angle is dramatically different for each. The 50khz is best at deep water detection. Another possibility to keep in mind is that a bad transducer can act that way too and still detect bottom features fine.