Sk8man

Very nice....don't keep all the hogs to yourselves though send a few south east will ya ?

Pressure is on Nick....one of the downsides of "going live"

You probably needed to donate to the fish gods and reduce your tackle inventory anyway Nick

Some of our North side brothers may want to pipe in here and maybe offer a pic as I don't have anything available right now for a pic. Meat rigs basically immitate a "live bait being trolled" presentation. It combines a plastic or plastic/metal "head" and carefully placed hook set up with an actual herring torso (or strips of fish) that has been processed (freeze dried, soaked in various brines etc.) to harden it so that it stays attached to the head and lasts longer when trolled. The rig is usually trolled behind various "attractors". A few companies sell their own renditions of bait which each have their own fans . Often times a herring scent is added to the bait as an additional attractant. The actual specific setup of the rig and the speed at which it is trolled are considered crucial factors by many of its adherents. When used correctly it can be deadly for a number of species but primarily salmon and lake trout. This is something that whole books can be written about but I tried to answer the general points for you.

I haven't used a snubber in about 20 years or more but it is a personal preference issue that usually splits about 50/50 with us guys. Here is a pic of one from my cellar (probably over 20 years old and I would assume they still look similar but different colors and lengths). Dave and John covered it very well so sometimes a pic helps put it together

Man....something screwey...my posts keep duplicating...sorry about that...

Hey Nick thanks for sharing the info on Dockers etc. I had wondered what the place was like but when fishing over there and trailering never have time to check it out. Black Cherry ice cream is my absolute favorite too by the way....you're living out my fantasies back to "business" lets get those fish figured out....

Sweet! Man those fish sure have been chowing down....no shortage of bait there from the looks of it....they need to be on Weight watchers or the "Biggest Losers" show

Cool! I haven't been out of the Lodi launch in years... I usually launch from Sampson.....I camped at Sampson for many years until the registration thing went to California somewhere. Used to fish out of Lodi long time ago with my buddy Scott Sampson...now gone.....great sportsman and writer too.

Sounds good....we'll have to meet up soon down there. You launch out of Lodi or Sampson?

Well Ed you sure had a lot more action than I saw.today. Seems as though Seneca is seeing more action than some of the other places right now. If the weather improves I hope to get down there soon....for some serious rig fishing....fleas or no fleas

Glad things went OK Mike I guess those biting flies were pretty bad too at Sodus today. It is a real puzzle Ed regarding this die off thing....especially since it seems to be multiple species and multiple lakes etc. It is also interesting that the fishing has been so bad on most of the lakes for most folks at this time of year .I usually do real well about now on the rainbows out here and not marking much either.....very puzzling indeed. Les

Well I was going to stay home today but then got up at 5AM and decided to give it a try before all h breaks loose on the lake with jet skiers, etc. and left the launch at 6:30 AM and to my amazement there were several water skiers and jet skiers out then at north end....as well as some folks parked near Kershaw...probably getting a good spot for the fire works tonight. That should have been omen enough but I never give up.... I started out at the pump station on a diagonal toward Thendara with two downriggers with sliders and a 6 color leadcore. Spoons on downriggers Rapala on leadcore. I changed out the lures after a bit and then I ran into the biggest debris field I've ever encountered near the east side in 100-125 ft of water (for miles). logs, sticks on top and underneath, grass, leaves dead fish...you name it! It extended all the way south to south across from Danny's place. Fleas are now getting bad the deeper I went with the downriggers on lines and some on cable as well. Stopped using the leadcore went to 30 lb wire rig...fleas still caught on terminus and lure and above dipsey. Very bad from about 50 ft down. Many people out water skiing and boats going full tilt not even noticing all the debris.. Just hope some water skier doesn't end up impaled by those limbs. Never had a hit on anything....only marked a few fish suspended and a couple lakers on bottom in 103 ft. and very little bait. I decided to bag it at 11:30 AM. First time skunked two times in a row in more years than I can remember (if ever) When I arrived at the launch ramp kids from the Finger Lakes Institute were there checking boats for invasive species and asking folks to fill out 4 page survey (which I did despite the onset of storm clouds and folks waiting in long line to launch). One of them said he had been to a meeting a couple days ago with DEC and they are quite sure the dead fish in the lake aren't the result of the virus but indicated that something serious is going on with the lake and they are not sure what just yet.... 74.5 degrees on surface.

Go get em Nick and Theresa. We'll be rooting for you. (with a cold one in my hand)....I figured that with the T storm warnings for next few days and my stainless steel bow rail I'll wait it out Looked like warmer surface temps to the west of Sodus on the map earlier today and right out from the Point 40's and 50's so those lines may be coming up a bit from last time out Nick and if it is a south wind they may be out and all over the place.....hope you get a break from the flea action with the messed up water. and temps...Good luck! Les

Yeah Kev for some reason the dead ones in shallow on copper don't seem to fight as well as the ones 75 ft. down that are spinning around on the way up and in on the Seth Green rig....have to leave it to the experts to sort that one out I guess

UV both sides?

The really interesting thing is that both catfish and bullheads are considered "bottom feeders".....yet caught trolling up in the water column....

Nice fish! Lake O sure has some fine specimens in it....