Sk8man

One of the problems with alewives (sawbellies) is keeping them in captivity is quite difficult if talking more than a day or so without specialized circulating tanks, access to unclorinated water and the die off rate is still high. They are quite fragile...even more so than rainbow smelt. They are often netted in fairly deep water by commercial bait guys at night and when we used to night fish on Canandaigua and Keuka we used lanterns hung over the side of the boat (I used to put mine on my 4 ft.downrigger booms at a 90 degree angle on each side of the boat which attracts bugs and the sawbellies then come up in bunches to get the flies and you used dip net to catch them when they got near the surface...you could see them rising from the depths and sometimes a rainbow, brown or laker would be in hot pursuit of them....was a lot of fun. Nothing like waking up and hearing your drag going out with a good fish on in the dark and trying to avoid tangling in your anchor rope During the Spring for still fishing (mainly lakers) off the shoreline we used to use weighted throw nets when the sawbellies came close to the shoreline in masses and keep them in coolers with portable airators..

The other lakes were probably populated by alewives being "brought in" as bait (e.g. Conesus) and they are prohibited on some lakes (E.g. Honeoye). Rainbow Smelt used to be seen in very great numbers in many of the Finger Lakes and they were prized by some for eating and by others (like me) for bait for trout and pike etc. Unfortunately for the past ten years or more the populations of smelt have diminished almost to the point of extinction on lakes like Seneca and Canandaigua where the streams used to be packed with them each Spring. People after them are lucky to see even a few now days. As far as people catching and using alewives as bait it was done for many years on many of the Finger Lakes for still fishing and night fishing for example but a major problem with the hemmoragic virus pretty much put a stop to it as you have to have a receipt for live bait from a store (or the packaging from commercially prepared bait) or be able to prove that you have obtained the bait only in the water you are fishing.....so most folks don't bother with it anymore.

Dry for sure. If the grease is used the disks usually end up sticking together and it defeats the purpose of the drags (slippage)

The deficiency is result of the enzyme thiaminase which when present does inhibit reproduction in trout and salmon. My hunch is that the problem wasn't as pronounced when there were good levels of rainbow smelt available in the lakes that provided an ample supply of nutrients (despite not being as rich in oil or calories) as alewives which originally were also salt water bait fish. I think they are thought to have migrated up the Hudson to the St. Lawrence into Lake Ontario and then into the other Great Lakes from there through the Welland Canal. The Cayuga and Seneca Fingers are connected to Lake Ontario by the Seneca River chain of water through Cross Lake etc. and locals around here have thought the alewives came via that route.....if anyone knows differently for sure feel free to correct me.

Dre - To better answer your question....I had occasion to go by there this afternoon and there is snow covered ice extending to about the north edge of the Sawmill restaurant over to the east side of the lake (irregular edge) and the parking lot hasn't been plowed either.

Idsyang you have a PM (personal message)

Thanks....that has been happening since the1960's that I know of.....

Someone reported a person going through the ice out there so I guess it is a safe assumption that the launch is frozen in now....the Onanda launch was open in late November though

Welcome to LOU! By any chance did that laker come on a Rooster Tail spinner? Nice going.....

Is it possible that it was "spillage" somewhere on the motor after running the stuff through and then "dripped down" with time? I'd clear the stuff away and then placefresh snow there and see if it continues...and see if you can better identify where it is coming from...the prop housing?

I'd give it a bit more time because of the snow coverage. There are three guys out on Honeoye out from Trident Marine right now but I wouldn't be surprised if the fire department is called out to extract them.....it can be tree inches in one place and 1 inch in another a short distance away and you'd never know it with the snow coverage...until it is too late. Think I'll stick to painting jigs for a couple days....

Been wondering what you've been up to Nick ...haven't heard anything in awhile ... I think you'll be a happy camper though to have a "like new" engine after the rebuild. I'm hoping to have my 9.9 gone over during the winter "doldrums" too....just wish the ice fishing would start up soon...good luck with things Nick. Les

Today there was some ice starting at the north end of Canandaigua between Kershaw and Seager's and around Squaw Island (out to the south about 60ft or so) but it looks as though it will be awhile for any significant ice at the north end. The bubbler near the Canandaigua Lady reminded me of another caution: the currents from bubblers can circulate outward from their origin for large distances under what seems like good ice (undercuts it)....until you step on it.....a lesson that cost my son and I our cell phones last year on Honeoye

I've used all sorts of Seth Greens but for many years I have used the old tried and true 6 and 6 1/2 ft. solid glass boat rods some with all rollers and some with just roller tips. I run Penn #309's with ss 7 strand wire on them from 30-60 lb test (the heavier wire for wide spaced rollers so the wire doesn't go over the edge of the roller tips that have with 30 lb mono and also 50 lb braid rig lines. There are many different setups possible for all of it. When I first started out I used a big wheel like thing and rolled up all my leaders right onto it and although it had a primitive drag I mainly used it by hand. For the past 30 years or so I have used small pieces of styrofoam to roll up each leader separately and I keep spoons right on them and change as desired. I run a 2 pound. sinker suspended about 20 inches - about 2 ft or so from a large three-way swivel. I use both fluoro and mono leaders depending on circumstances usually about 12-18 ft. long (the shorter in cold weather). I use bead chains spaced about 12-24 ft apart on the rig lines and spring clips are at the end of each leader to fasten it to the bead chain. I keep extra sets of leaders all set to go int he boat so if anything happens I can instantly re rig without tying anything. I think there was a thread awhile here back that discussed Seth Green rigs in some detail. Here is one of the Seth Green (Thermocline) rods to get an idea of it: Here is a close up of the roller tip and guides: Here are the (from left to right) Spring clips with beads to assist in cold weather in handlingin them (on end of leaders with ball bearing swivel at other end with lure), bead chains, three-way swivel: Here is the Penn #309 with wire and mono with bead chains and note the Power handle on the reel VERY handy Here are the fluoro leaders on styrofoam (without lures): I can't draw for s..t but here is a basic set up if you can read it from the pic

Jack....it is a total of 15 but in the old days you could legally run 15 lures for each rod (e.g. Seth Greens if single hooks used) and I used to have 62 lures in the water at the same time sometimes (e.g derbies)(my son fished with me) Four Seth greens each with 15 singles and two top lines or dipseys from the outriggers. It was when things were tough on Seneca took an average of 6-8 hrs per fish back then because of lamprey problem and insufficient stocking.

Before the snow I thought we had a good chance with the low temps but I think you are right Zack....

You may have tapped into my unconscious Jack ......more hooks and more lures but since the law changed only 5 per rod anyway now but....3 rods is a real bonus I can live with....

Honeoye has had ice for the past few days but not sure how thick and again the snow will probably slow down the formation of it (insulate things) on any body of water. First and last ice is always the most dangerous....(speaking from experience). A lot of people don't realize that even if you are able to get yourself out....hypothermia can kill you anyway and with frigid temperatures and wind it only takes a very short time despite what some videos suggest....especially when you factor in wind and being way out on the ice. Your legs and arms become numb very quickly and you are unable to move on your own. I'm anxious to get into the ice fishing season too but DON'T TAKE ANY CHANCES FOLKS (wait for safe ice)