Ronix 51

Larry, It was cool to hear some of Kevin and Derek's ideas (thats all they are as of now, another thing ive learned from working out there is that its impossible to ever get any legislative assistance for restoration efforst) especially for the harbor. A lot of guys have voiced the opinion that it should be stocked but in my opinion that wouldnt make a difference at all because A.) its lake erie....those fish would be gone the second they found their way through the gaps, B.) Theyre not great lakes strain, and C.) There is nothing for fingerlings to eat in there! Kevin and Derek's ideas revolve around restoring from the bottom up ecologically in the food chain and creating more spawning habitat/nursery....definitely some smart dudes to talk to and learn from. Those behemoths you guys used to see are still out there I would imagine, theres just nothing drawing them in the harbor as much anymore (industrial warm water discharge --> shad school up --> predators follow) but I bet there are a lot of them around the shoals and humps throughout the eastern erie basin. There are billions of emeralds though so there is plenty of big perch for those pigs to eat. If i were to fish the harbor id just follow the perch boats all over haha.

Havent posted on here in a while thought id post a report of my summer on the niagara! Got to work under Dr. Kevin Kapuscinski doing fisheries work helping with his Rudd and Muskie research on the upper river and buffalo harbor and got to learn a lot of new things about a water ive always wondered about but never knew anything about. It was also nice to fish it after work many days. It was definitely different going from staind lakes to the gin clear waters of the niagara (most days you're able to see fish 25 ft down and make out the bottom perfectly) but it was a very cool place to get to learn. We spent a lot of time emptying trap nets and electrofishing in the harbor bays, at strawberry island, northwest GI, and grasse island...if there is one thing I can take away from this summer is that theres too many god damned rudd in there haha but hopefully they can atleast fatten up the muskies. Another thing I was impressed by were the numbers of wild tigers I got to see out there as well...and some of them were BIG fish. They're awesome looking fish but in a system where the muskie and pike populations are entirely maintained by natural reproduction Dr. K and other DEC biologists say there is concern regarding the higher numbers of hybrids. I attached a few pics from the summer, some are mine but the pics of the young of year muskies/tiger are from Dr. K. YOY Muskies The top is a YOY tiger and the bottom is a pure strain, real impressive how fast the hybrids outgrow the naturals Dr. K with a nice 44" river fish Lots of smallmouth in there as well Dr. K took this pic on one of our evening outings, you can see the mist of the falls it was cool being right above them and fishing

Larry I will be signing up for three tourney entries shortly

Gents, Having spoken with Chuck Battaglia (sorry if I mispelled it) about some topics he may be concerned with regarding the conservation issues surrounding chautauqua/cassadaga lakes, his first and primary concern was the lake home owners association pushing hard to treat the lake and rid it of any weed growth for the pleasure boats and swimmers. Obviously this can mean bad news for not only the muskie fishery, but all fisheries in that lake for several reasons. This may not be news to many of you but just in case I thought id post this article that I just found regarding webster lake: http://goshennews.com/localsports/x6944 ... bster-Lake

Paul, What July Chautauqua tourney have you been doing for years? As far as im aware this was the first one scheduled at this date...correct me if im wrong since ive only fished them for 2 seasons now but hasnt it always been a june and october tourney? A lot of tournaments have been forced to do the same thing, the PMTT for example would reschedule events if the water temps became too high...they almost rescheduled the eagle river event due to water temps holding right around 80 and on Chautauqua the temps at 22 ft down are in the 70s. I definitely see your argument that its a let down especially when plans have been made and hotels have been booked. I think Larry's concern was just to avoid having X amount of excessive pressure on the water during these high temps. As far as fishing in the heat and highi water temps, I dont think its going to become any sort of extremism case scenario, I highly doubt the DEC or any DNR agency would ever even consider closing a season due to water temps unless it was a threatened or close to being threatened species. Nobody with a logical head on their shoulders is trying to start a "no fishing in heat" movement (notice I said logical, I agree there are certain people out there looking to start a witch huntfor anglers deciding to do so) but what it all comes down to is that you bought a license and you have the right to fish whenever you please in the given season and no one is saying not to do so. Some anglers just make the choice not to fish for them to avoidn the chance of killing one.

im doing ok so far this season but the hot weather is making it miserable to be on the water after 10 am and with the temps climbing it probably isnt a bad idea to give the fish a break until things stabilize here...I am considering trying some night fishing in these next cooler nights but we will see. So far these are the highlights of my season:

sounds like a good idea larry, lookin forward to the fall tourney!

For sale is new motorguide freshwater edition bow mount trolling motor. Motor came new on boat purchased this year and I have since upgraded. Motor has 42" shaft, 12 volt, 46lbs thrust. There is a crack on a plastic piece on the motor mount but this does not affect motor or its performance at all. Motor goes for 369.00 new im selling for $275.00 firm. Pics available upon request PM if interested. -Mike

honestly...those things can be anywhere in that system. Anywhere you can find backwaters, islands, or slack water fish it. I will be at otisco this weekend and possibly cross on sunday...anywhere from cross down to bville is a good shot since those fish cant pass through the damn as often.

When I saw those numbers stocked I was real excited too about that system. Truth is, you can probably count half of those fish dead right off the bait, those tiger fingerlings are dumber than s**t and will sit right at the surface in the open for the bass, pike and birds to feast upon until sooner or later they figure out they're supposed to hide from predators! There are definitely big fish in there though but tigers move a lot, they pretty much follow the food throughout the system. We managed to get one out of onondaga, I really think that lake is going to be a good spot for big tigers in the next few years. Until then, cross will be a good spot for some nice fish...just not good density. That river is a challenge because there is a lot of water, the clarity is real low, and not a ton of prominent structure other than a 20 ft dredged canal!

the ONLY tiger I have seeon out of that system came out of onondaga lake itself. They pump it so full of them from cross to onondaga but apparantly they scatter and go everywhere.

Looking to pick up a V1, V2, or Terrova with autopilot if anyone has one they are looking to part with. If any available please send me a PM, thanks. -Mike

just registered my partner for the tourney, the both of us are all set and signed up!

there are northerns everywhere in ontario, dont focus just on the weedlines fish river/stream mouths, harbors, marinas, suspended bait schools, humps, and pretty much anywhere you see other fish communities.

panfish and its LOADED with alewife

advantages: less visible in the water, doesnt kink up after a fish, safe (er) for the fish if it rolls or gets it tangled or wrapped around itself. As brad said definitely upgrade to minimum 65lbs test, heavier lures put a strain on the line so if not for a 65lbs fish do it for the sake of keeping all these expensive famn baits we all deem so necessary to waste our money on! As for fluoro, order a spool of 80-130lbs seagur fluoro, get some quality swivels and stay-lock snaps and either crimp your own or tie them using a nail knotter tool (all of this can be ordered the muskyshop.com or muskytackleonline.com) Its pricey at first but I still have my spool of 100 lbs fluoro from last season and havent spent a dime on leader material since so it lasts you a while and in the long run will pay for itself with the money you save from buying cheap steal leaders.

ideally im looking to redo some of my guides with fuji k series guides and maybe redo some of the handles on them. what do you think zach?

Anybody know of any local custom rod builders? Ive got some rods id want to get some work done on and was wondering what my options were?

good day!....except for joe, who was again a victim of the contents of my cooler.

Scramp I can also echo Old Man. Ive never even seen a follow from anywhere south of mcpherson point either. Mine have come from oak orchard point, the weedbed just before the point old man mentioned, and from the north end flats.