Sk8man

Sometimes it can be a bad fuel line connector at either end (and especially where it goes on the motor) or the bulb is sucking air

Sounds more like a bad board (or short) in the downrigger to me....

Yeah I seldom turn mine on at all during the derby I learned back when we were still using CB radios Thank heaven for cell phones....

West River launch (at night) both near the launch and out on the point (may be flooded out there right now...not sure) and the bridge north of there on 64 on both the south west and south east sides of the bridge. I haven't heard of any action on the north end for over a week. They were getting them at the launch ramp and toward 5 and 20 there in sucker brook back then. Maybe over near Wegman's at night now with the water levels the way they are and the mud stirred up or in the lagoon itself in back of Burger King?

Sounds like a short someplace maybe the trim switch on the motor or at the control? and it may have burned itself up at the motor? I had to replace mine last season when it crapped out....

I think Pap is right and everything seems behind a bit this season so far. The trees around here were about a week or two behind usual in budding and leaving....June could be a big month....

I think it is safe to assume that there may be debris etc. in all of the Finger Lakes right now given the recent rains and high water levels

Back in the early eighties a buddy and I were fishing Owasco and we did notice a bunch of boats at the ramp but didn't think much about it until we came back in and realized that a derby was going on there. I inquired about the current standings on the leader board and a 9 pound something laker was leading. I asked them to weigh the two we had just for chuckles and mine was 11 pounds and change and my buddy's fish was a little over 10. The 9 pound laker held up and we were kicking ourselves in the butt all the way home for not knowing about the derby. It is a great little lake with some real nice fish in it.

I think if it were me I'd try going straight out to the middle of the lake from the park and head south in the channel where the buoys are and when you reach where it drops off to about 12-15 ft. or so (south) fish to the west side (e.g. outer edge of weedbeds near Canoga Park using live bait (e.g. shiners rigged with bobbers to "freefloat" or casting lures. If trolling try the channel area 8-20 ft (you'd be headed south) with stuff like red and white or black and white daredevles or stickbaits on toplines way back trolling slow for starters to where it starts dropping off out from Hibiscus Point and Frontenac toward the east. You should also run into some good sized Pickerel there.

It is an "old school tactic" that serves two main purposes - it keeps the spoon or stickbait under the surface and also can keep weeds or debris off the lure itself as well (usually placed about 2 - 4ft above lure for that).

I sure hope things settle down a bit before derby time Ed... Canandaigua Lake is also a mess right now A lot of debris and mud.