Capt Vince Pierleoni

Casey, is your "anticipation meter" pegged??!!! LOL. Yeah, we have fished every one since it began in 1985. We are looking forward to this new beginning and all the new "sharpshooters" it will create.

Thanks for putting this together, Rob. We appreciate your work on this.

Thanks for all your volunteer work on this, Brian. Great idea. It's impossible to grasp the win/win concept with the new format without it being properly explained. There are talks of another one at the end of March at Gander in Henrietta, will post when it is firmed up.

We were the ones that caught that Sturgeon last May trolling the day before the WHI. 49inches long caught 5 feet off bottom on a mag DW spoon, at the Niagara bar. The creature had incredible stamina, I saw the length down deep behind the boat, and thought we had a monster laker. I turned my back to grab the net and heard a crash. My mate Nick looked like he saw a ghost, and said when it jumped 6ft out of the water it looked like a Muskie. It wasn't until right at the point of landing it did we know it was a Sturgeon, and yes it was hooked smack in the tentacles by the "hoover" mouth. Several get incidently hooked every fall during the Niagara Salmon run, usually they are smaller but they have been caught up to 70+inches. The Feds have documented natural reproduction in the river, but some year classes are better than others.

Rochester is the home to many "true blue" Giants fans. Jerry was, on that Sunday.

Beautiful work!

Beautiful work!

Due to the crazy weather forecast tomorrow, I was able to accept an invitation from Jim Salmon to be on his 1180 AM Saturday morning radio show. Time slot is to be 6am --8am+, he says we're going to talk fishing, boat repairs, the lake, and whatever else he wants. Rebel Jerry says he's going to call in and ask a hot water heater question, LOL. If anyones driving to a muddy Steelhead stream, or is out in their pole barn shooting your bow, you can tune in.

Tonight in the same facility as the LOTSA expo, 630pm D.E.C. presentation, with questions to follow. Important to attend and show the fishery matters.

The older Amberjacks were always, good, heavy hulls. Not familiar with more recent models. Twin inboard--good. If it's twin I/O with a huge "doghouse"(motor cover) then maybe it's not the best layout for a 29fter for our type of fishing. Any time you rig a boat, you have to consider how often you will use it for what. If it will serve primarily as a pleasure cruiser, with some lake trolling, there are many options utilizing track systems for mounting rodholders and downriggers.

Happy Birthday, Jason!

Nice post , Howie. I can assure you, you are not alone. There are many excited "AM" teams that are contacting commitee members from both ends of the lake. I feel they may be refraining from posting on here because this become a little heated. Wow, a "cold war" of boat acquisitions? For tournament fishing? No, it has more to do with the maturation of this fishery(we are 10 to 15 yrs behind Michigan), business depreciation, and the most important point of all--comfort of the clients. Anyone who has been in the Charter Industry for at least 10 yrs will tell you the client base is aging amongst the men, and growing with more women. Neither group has any interest in "roughing it" in any way. Big, heavy, fuel consuming boats are more comfortable and offer more amenities of interest to these groups. The "buyers market" did allow some of us that are actually deriving our sole income this way, to provide this to our clients. The same way some Drs and Dentists are now purchasing homes and buildings to house their practices, due to the "buyers market" rather than put up with costly dead end leases. The economy presents both opportunity and challenges and we all have to adjust. Whether you are disappointed or excited, you have to refer back to the original post. There was a very real possibility that the Pro-Am concept (county run, multiple day,multiple species) was going to go away forever. Now some of us can fully appreciate why. Volunteering is thankless. When the Pro-Am concept was resurrected this winter, the initial thought was 2 days, one division, big entry fee, a few big prizes for the best 2 day 12 fish catches. There was an incredible amount of work and time that went into the finished format, with much of the emphasis on spreading out the prizes and building an attractive format for all, even if it meant taking a step back in the short term. In the meantime, the "open" remains a very real option for anyone who wants to grow in tournament fishing. It is the feeling of the committee members to now concentrate on the positives and on the players who want to play. The ballots will be going out soon from the counties, the areas up for vote finalized, and lets go. The proof is out there on both sides of the lake, small boats and non Charterboats win and win big. Lets just be grateful the Counties still see a value in running these events, and Lake Ontario is one the most exciting places to fish in the world. As Spring approaches, we are going to get busier and will have no time time to address misinformation.

Happy Birthday, Howie!

Some great posts guys. First off, now you can all see why this was painfully slow to roll out. Secondly, it was absolutely NOT a "veiled ploy" to grab "20 or so guys entry fees in each port." Keep in mind what is going on with the Tournament culture around the lake. Guys in 18fters are gleefully putting up a grand to fish against 55fters. Yes, there is big money at the top and that is exciting. The fact is, relatively few will cash in on any winnings--what comes in goes out--it's just a matter of how it's distributed. When the "Pro-Am" style Tourny came here in 1985 from Michigan, the Ams primarily ran 18-20ft boats and some even had to be taught how to rig a downrigger before an event. Mis-identification of species was rampant. The Lowrance electronics staff(paid by their bosses to run and teach how to run a Tournament) said that the AM division should be huge, many more contestants than Pros. What they saw in Michigan was AM teams winning or placing a few times, and then moving up to the Pro division. Well, that did not happen the same way here. The AM divisions were smaller, and the hope that teams would move up(much like in Softball) voluntarily in the Pro division after a win or a few placings, rarely did either. ENCOURAGING NOTE*- Last years "Screamer" team, did exactly what the Pro-Am founders envisioned. They honed their skills in the AM division for a few years, winning and placing multiple times. When they moved up, they were competitive right away. In recent years they have become winners in the Pro division, capped off with winning the Challenge cup overall championship. The boat size thing works both ways. In choppy water, sure, the big "lead sleds" have an advantage. Should the lake be a mirrior or a slight chop, and the advantages of a small rig are many. 1) more economical 2) usually MUCH faster 3) smaller profile or shadow 4) quieter 5) more agile in heavy traffic. As stated in an earlier post, I have seen some huge Tournaments won on the North shore out of 18fters. Last year 2 big events were won out of a 27fter, even though there were at least 3 over 40 foot in the events. The time has come and gone when an everyday Charterboat Captain always has an advantage. We have to produce action for our clients, even if that means losing valuable scouting or pre-fishing time. For at least the 3rd time, last years KOTL series was won by a team fishing out of a 25fter. It is NOT a charterboat. Yes, there will be a few times where the best 12 fish catch will also contain the best 5/6 fish catch, but there will be just as many times where it won't. I would imagine some teams will decide to fish for certain species, and they won't always be in the same locations or on the same programs as the other species. STRATEGY CENTRAL! The commitee members, and the County coordinators knew their would be some who may choose to go with the "open" division. There's nothing wrong with that. The best way to bump up the payout in that division is to encourage more participation. The Pro-Ams have ALWAYS paid back at least as much as comes in , and due to some great sponsorship concepts and sponsors, probably more!

Reels sold pending payment.

bandrus 1, as to your question about show specials on Fish Hawk products, Great Lakes Tackle Shop will be running show specials and have the units drop shipped to your door. See them Sunday.

I want to thank the following people for their effort and generous donations to the seminar attendees this coming Saturday: Shane Ruboyianes of Dreamweaver tackle, Trevor Sumption of Fish Hawk electronics, Tom Allen of ATOM MIK flies, Dave Maryanov of Cannon/Johnson Outdoors, and Frank Campbell/Mustad. Thanks guys for being thoughtful in this challenging economy, I'm sure the attendees will be grateful.

Sounds like it was a perfect one, Tom .

These retail for $300 each. They look good and have plenty of life left in them. Off white w/ gray trim. $40 each or $75 for the pair. I will have them at my table at LOTSA Sunday if they don't sell before.

1 Daiwa 27H good condition, $25(not a line counter) . 1 Okuma 30D Convector Line Counter very good condition, $45. Can bring to LOTSA Sunday. I will have assorted rods, lures, and misc at my table.

Hope it was a good one, Glen.

Not a requirement at this point, and registration not necessary. It will make attendees more attractive to teams looking for a competent observer. It is great to see all the interest.

As has been posted prior, the Pro-Ams are different by the fact that they are primarily run by FOUR different counties. The coordinators are in most cases VOLUNTEERING their time, outside their normal responsibilities with no additional compensation. Due to past difficulties both via the internet and in person, the counties wished for this to evolve slowly and properly, and have approved the first public dicussion to take place at the LOTSA Expo. Yes it has been painfully slow, but I can assure you that alot of people from far and wide are volunteering their time on this in fact sponsorship meetings are taking place as I write this.

You do not have to register for these time slots but please be prompt to get the most out of them and considerate to the other attendees.

Its a young buck but no wonder you have some big guys around, it looks well fed and very healthy.