Capt Vince Pierleoni

Yes. It's not necessarily in the warmest water either. It's a "minefield" of lumber, so watch out. When you find the shade of mud that they want to hang in, with bait in it you will find a mix of species. You may have to cover water to find them but when you do ther will be a concentration in one place.

The Fish Hawk X-4 is a perfected version of the already excellent Fish Hawk 840.

Although there have been credible reports of good sized trout and salmon chopped in half during retrieval, I'm sure what you encountered was a spawned out steelie. This time of year, it's not uncommon to find "drop backs" out over deeper water only a day or two after they leave a trib. The steelies wear down the tail during spawning or due to hiding under sharp overhanging bushes.

Here is my take on it for those that were not there. Incredible amounts of bait are in that area now. Arriving and departing smelt, alewives all over the top of the shelf and in the top 50' off the shelf. The water isn't warm enough to condense the bait, nor has it been stable enough. If a team was able to locate a concentration of KINGS, they were competitive and would play. Those stragglers on the ledge were well fed and nearly impossible to turn. They were the downfall of many teams, including ours. Good numbers of other species remain but things won't shape up until the east wind stops. Congrats to Kevin and his volunteers on a smooth first event. Congrats to the teams that put a box together, it was well earned. A huge undertaking, I personally would like to see this event go to some kind of 2 day format. The shindig/awards was great, with the boat house doing a fabulous job. The sponsors definitely got their bang for their buck with the displays and audio visual presentations. Kevins vision of bringing saltwater style hoopla to Lake O was realized. See everyone at the Pro-Ams.

It does look like a challenging week in the west end. The majority of the Kings will be at or over the line. I don't know what size vessel you have, but the area you are looking to target is much rougher on an east wind because of the Niagara current. Coho and Lake trout fishing remain strong, but all things considered you may want to pick a different week.

I have a set of 20D convectors that I have had for at least 7yrs. They have been flawless and even handle the odd King that blasts the small stuff when fishing the surface. I have them paired with 7 1/2' ML Okuma Blue Diamond rods. Perfect for 10--15lb line and board fishing.

Congrats guys!

Congrats! I think the State record will go down this year on Atlantics. Probably during a Pro-Am when it won't get mis-identified.

Entries for the Niagara and Orleans Pro-Ams will be accepted online only through Sat May 14th.

You guys made me remember one of the greatest Oak/Black North stories of all time. Sometime during the late 80's/ early 90's a fellow Capt had an evening charter in Sept. It was a Summer like day/eve but there were some Kings milling around the piers early in the AM and late in the afternoons. The Capt and mate pulled their lines at dusk and idled up the channel. As they passed the Black North Inn in full darkness, they were startled to hear a drag screaming. At first they thought a shore fisherman had hooked up, but soon they realized that they had inadvertantly put a rod in the overhead rod rack without reeling in the line. They had been unknowingly trolling a J-plug up the channel from the rod rack, and a King crushed it!!! Yes they landed it, to cheers from the Black North Inn porch crowd!

If you have a Merc or Force outboard from late 90's-- early 2000's you will eventually need this part. Brand new in the box, $40 new, sell for $20. Part number 828151A.

Mooching rods still for sale--like new.

Bow mount electrics are vital in my winter Niagara river charters. I have logged many hours with several models. My advice would be get only the features you need. All the "fluff" usually does with hard use is break. A 24volt model may be a wise choice if you are going to actually troll with it, but I'm sure for normal use in that size boat a smaller one would work. MinnKota are the standard around here.

Man, you were tired! Jerry, you weren't watching the royal wedding, you were watching the exciting "replay". Anyways, whoever invented a Chicken n rice wrap sure wasn't a Salmon tournament fisherman!!!! I told you to beware of a caloric deficit! We burn 'em up just trying to "will" 'em to snap! Never slept so well did you? Was it the team mandatory push-ups?

The deadlines got by alot of people as it was on a busy fishing weekend. The deadlines were for early bird entries. Still time to enter Niagara and Orleans Pro-Ams.

Although portrayed by the media as being somewhat Obamas doing(NOT), Kudos to our military for completing the task. The long years of training finally executed to perfection in a rat hole. Karma and mojo always wins. God Bless America. The reason it has been so prosperous for so long is because we as a country always acknowledged God. Lets hope the backlash is less than expected.

Good job! Hey Rick, do we have to worry about you running to this King bite Sat morning? I heard you feathered the bottom out!

Talking to Pete, and you Tom, for that matter DEFINITELY yields next to nothing at Tournament time. The posturing is SO much fun! Anyways, Pete is WAY too sly to talk to me. He knows which team members to EXPLOIT!!!! LOL! See you all soon. Nice job Tony.

Welcome to Lake O and Olcott. Absolutely the braid could hurt with the "stickbait rods". This time of year we purposely use 7 1/2' ML Okuma Blue Diamond rods for the surface fishing. You want light action rods and the stretch in the line. Astute observation.

Don't know what it is exactly . I do know of approx 2 dozen owners of larger ones( 70hp and up). The only problem we or anyone I know have encountered is the trim/tilt system. We use them in extreme cold temps and the reservoirs are plastic. I have owned 2 of them( a 115hp and a 130hp), and its the only problem I have had. The dealer was very cocky, he said, "we send 'em out the door and never see 'em again. For the most part, he has been right. I had one of the first if not the first one on the Niagara river. I chose it because I wanted a four stroke and they were the first to "marinize" a four stroke for outboards. I have grown to appreciate them for too many features to mention, and great reliability. Now, I have friends that have had great luck with "yammies", especially 2 strokes. They perfected the oil injection systems that are the downfall of so many 2 strokes--especially in cold weather I have been on the "wrong end" of these deals myself, a 1985 Sportcraft with Merc I/O that was only a few months old, and a S-10 Blazer that had the paint peeling a few months out of warranty. Only a severe ruckus works to get anywhere.

Yes, you have it bad. Give us a few months on the silver mature class please! When their agenda turns to spawning, they will creep in, many times doing what we call a "false run". It is during this time(late August-early Oct) that the Salmon are most vulnerable to casting lures. It is primarily an aggression or frustration bite, as they have incredibly discerning eyesight. Often it is the "faker" looking patterns that work in the fall shallows, hot flourescent colors, glo-in-the dark stuff, as well as large bladed spinners and loud rattle baits. Respect the fact that trolling rules the day and use it to your advantage. Stay inside the ends of the piers, or stay inside the harbor itself. Large fleets doing circles with their boats will push some salmon in super shallow and along breakwalls. They will congregate around these as they are a barrier. At the Oak and Olcott the Salmon are actually seen swimming up and down the break walls, I imagine Oswego is the same. First light and last light are usually best, but all night long can be great where it's legal. Many Salmon that aren't quite ready to run upstream will "test the waters" of the harbors during the night. Keep tabs on what is happening as temp is important. A rool over or inversion can bring early action, otherwise most of it will be after Sept 10th or so. Good Luck!

Yes, you have it bad. Give us a few months on the silver mature class please! When their agenda turns to spawning, they will creep in, many times doing what we call a "false run". It is during this time(late August-early Oct) that the Salmon are most vulnerable to casting lures. It is primarily an aggression or frustration bite, as they have incredibly discerning eyesight. Often it is the "faker" looking patterns that work in the fall shallows, hot flourescent colors, glo-in-the dark stuff, as well as large bladed spinners and loud rattle baits. Respect the fact that trolling rules the day and use it to your advantage. Stay inside the ends of the piers, or stay inside the harbor itself. Large fleets doing circles with their boats will push some salmon in super shallow and along breakwalls. They will congregate around these as they are a barrier. At the Oak and Olcott the Salmon are actually seen swimming up and down the break walls, I imagine Oswego is the same. First light and last light are usually best, but all night long can be great where it's legal. Many Salmon that aren't quite ready to run upstream will "test the waters" of the harbors during the night. Keep tabs on what is happening as temp is important. A roll over or inversion can bring early action, otherwise most of it will be after Sept 10th or so. Good Luck!

It was getting dark but I saw the new ride tonight in Wilson, sweet! See you guys on the "other side".

Happy Birthday, Rob!

Sean, Feel free to mention that you know someone with a Honda with 4,000 plus hrs on it. 100 hrs and they are walking away--criminal. Good luck with the repairs.