Sk8man

I'm hoping to maybe get out there tomorrow as well if the wind dies down a bit and the ice is still "doable". What I mean by "doable" relates to the condition of the shore ice...and whether the rest of the ice is accessible after this crazy wind and warm weather off and on. When the creeks start flowing after rain the edges get very "sketchy" on Honeoye. I'm not sure about Saturday yet....will know later in the week. My daughter is coming from LA on way back to college in Ithaca so I may be "occupied"

I was told in the past by a DEC Officer It is illegal to make holes in the ice that are10 or more inches because kids could fall through them. A drill has to have a lot of torque to work properly and most are geared for speed only and the higher the speed the less torque. I gave away my gas auger because the drill is superior around here ....If you are in Michigan or way up north here a gas auger may be needed for real thick ice but for the last 5 or 6 years I didn't need mine. They can be a pain (gas spillage,fumes, and noisy).

Yes that one would work but an 8inch blade is pretty big for most drills.....I use a 7 inch and that is about as big as I'd want to go and my drill is very powerful. This is especially true if the ice is thick and/or you want to punch in a bunch of holes. I can't see from the pic whether they have modified the part that goes in the drill chuck but with mine I had to file the edges of the spindle flatter so they would hold better as they were a slightly rounded hex shape

Cool! great (and reassuring) to know there are still good honest people in the world.

I just tie a flashlight on pointed at the bait (sorry couldn't resist messing around). We used to tie a small piece of RED yarn just up from the hook and let the end dangle about a half inch near the hook/bait and for whatever reason it worked both on Seneca (when it froze up) and on Cayuga. The red yarn also works for perch when wrapped around the shaft of an aberdeen hook or small treble and fastened with a small amount of super glue.

Likewise on the "thanks" Justin on behalf of us trolling guys. You've made a noticeable impact on the interest level in Walleye fishing and trolling in general. Your comments regarding the Angler Diary program are well taken. I did it for trout and salmon for well over 20 years and you do gain a lot of information from looking at the data and comparing with the annual report results. I kinda drifted away from it a whie back when I overheard some guys saying that they just filled in the data at the end of the year (i.e. made it up) because it was "too much trouble" recording the data (which is pretty absurd). I was pretty disgusted at the time and stopped doing it but I'll be contacting them again and do it because as you say it is very worth while doing it. Interestingly, back in about 1979 or so I learned from the report that I was the first person to catch a landlock (3 lbs. on Seth Green rig out near Dresden) on Seneca....they weren't stocking them.... and some of the guys didn't believe it so I sent the photo into DEC and they confirmed it and said it probably had escaped Keuka down the Keuka Outlet and into Seneca Lake. My point is that you sometimes learn some things that personally translate from the collected data too.

Yes you never know what you'll get. While fishing for perch with 2 lb test on Keuka a couple years ago I was looking down the hole and an Atlantic salmon swam by I reeled up my jig and spike in front of him and he sucked it in his mouth without even moving the rod tip (just under the ice) I tightened it and he took off but I got him in - a nearly 25 inch specimen which I cooked out on the grill and he was great. The best one though was a guy next to me on Canandaigua fishing for perch through the ice and he started yelling and I ran over to see him land a 12 pound lake trout on 2 lb test line.....pretty cool ....but pretty lucky too

"Ted's new shop is at 5772 Big Tree Road (Rt 20A) in Lakeville, Bob's old shop. Has hours cut down for the fall but is planning on being open full time again once the lakes ice up. He has a facebook page that he posts the hours on if you're on that, too. I think the number is:(585-429-0587"

Hey Sneaky if you get into the perch in any numbers invest in an electric knife....makes your life a lot easier.

Good points Mark.

Just a FYI ....while I'm thinking of it regarding the Clute launch at the south end of Seneca. Last year Admiral Byrd and I were winter fishing and launched from there and it was clear of ice when we went out in his boat but when we returned to the launch at dark there were huge ice floes coming down the creek that we were lucky to avoid....almost like "ice bergs" and they were much bigger than the boat....just something to keep in mind....

Yes I believe it is about 8 or 10 miles on the west side from the Watkins end of the lake so about a quarter of the way north. FYI there is a quite steep hill encountered near the launch itself so not sure about road conditions

Yes I agree Dan but do we really need more formal regulations? Other than California we have more laws and regulations than any other state. I guess the SAFE Act crap and then the boating safety thing (e.g.after 50 years of boating all over do I really need to screw around with that?) I apologize for the rant..... must be male menopause

I used to do real well out between the buoy markers and in front of Canoga

Lets face it....we live in a police state. I have taken my boat to the car wash after leaving the launch EVERY SINGLE TIME I've used it since I have owned it no matter where I have been fishing and I've never used it in multiple waters on the same day......just one more straw on the camels back....what a state we live in .. I can imagine them trying to pull half the crap they do here in someplace like Montana. not to mention the fact the the cat is already out of the bag....and why weren't they monitoring the jerks who emptied their ballast etc.

I'd go with the 50 because you can always use it in the future on a bigger boat. I don't think the battery usage will be enormously different. What uses the battery up is the speed setting itself and if you run either at the highest speeds for long it will suck life out of the battery but it is nice to have a little extra "zip" when you need it. On the other hand, a 40 should propel that 12 foot boat pretty good if you have no future intentions....