camomanbg

Can you remember what your SOG or down speed was when you read these? Brian

That's right! Otoliths are actually round(ish) calcifications in the "ear". They have to extract them and then slice them very thin and count the growth rings. That would be the best way to age one. It may take some extra effort but you could probably get at them from inside the mouth since you are planning on doing a skin mount. Congrats on that awesome fish! Brian

For a marina with experienced fisherman in the bay that are targeting stripers in the fall start contacting Marinas in Deale, MD or around the NAS Pax River base area. Lots of stiper fisherman out of there. The season ends in early-mid December but that late season is a great time to catch the big ones. Tom Heacock (Foolish Pleasure Charters-410 804-8511) is a great guy to talk to. He has recently downsized his operation but he is very knowledgeable.

That was nice of her to wake.up and catch one on a rod you set [ Post made via Android ]

Eh, maybe the storm cells are going to move more North.....sorry for the false alarm. Now just take her lures off quick while she is sleeping

Nick, I'm in Rochester and a good storm just started up. Radar looks like its heading NE...just thought I'd give you a heads up. I hear thunder and rain on the roof...not sure about the wind. Brian. And yes...you should yell FISH FISH FISH!

I'll post this as a heads-up and hopefully an answer for myself and others. I've been using the Rhys Davis heads as well as another brand I can't think of the name. They come in a white package either with a plastic box around the rig or just in a plastic ziploc bag. Got them over at the slippery sinker...Mason might be the name? Anyway, I have been having trouble getting the line to stay when I adjust it to the length of the hook. Out of maybe 10-20 tries, I was only able to get it to stay a couple of times. I did this by jamming a toothpick in the holes on the top and back of the head but those holes for the line are so small it is really hard to get the toothpick to stay in there. I've considered making a loop around the red "toothpick" that holds the meat in but I'm too afraid I'm going to compromise the stregth of the line when a fish hits it. I've seen guys actually put the hook in the meat strip but when I do it the result is always way too much roll. Brian

That is awesome! I love the sync'd up split screen too!

I just set one up this season also. I put 1000' of 19 strand torpedo wire on it. No backing needed. I think 950+ actually fit on, just shy of 1000'. I had it spooled at a shop where they could keep a ton of pressure on the spool and go real slow, so I didn't have to let it all out before using it. I haven't had any issues. I am liking the torpedo wire, it's really pliable. Come to think of it my reel is an Accudepth 47LC plus...not sure how that is different. The reason to let it all out in the lake or to keep a lot of tension on it when spooling it on is so that when you do put it under a lot of pressure with a dipsy (and then dipsy and fish) the wire won't dig into the wire still on the spool and cause a bunch of problems. If you spool it yourself, whoever is holding the spool should make it almost impossible for you to reel it in....it needs to be that tight.

Ok, I was gonna sit here at the laynch for a few more minutes but everyone's up and the bass boats are launching already. See ya soon!!! [ Post made via Android ]

This is going to be an amazing event! I am really looking forward to being a part of something so cool and to meeting all of you guys from LOU. Brian

Swing by Rock The Dock in the NE corner of the bay! [ Post made via Android ]

It may be a good idea to find someone to go out with and get some hands-on experience. It is much easier to see and do it than just read about a lot of the methods for trolling. Check the trade a trip/open seat forum on here or see about doing a "learning trip" with a charter boat. Like Bazookajoe said, there is a LOT of reading that you can do on here.....this website is one of the best resources for outdoor info that I've ever seen. Good luck and welcome to the world of trout and salmon fishing!

It is! I think I burned through a whole tube of sunscreen! No sunburn for me though! We let the guests dictate when we went in. They would have stayed til dark. I would have too actually but we did have a bbq to get to. Having steady action makes it easy to loose track of time too.

Congrats guys!

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name: Bahtenda ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s):7/14 Time on Water:5:30-4:00 Weather/Temp: Hot and Sunny Wind Speed/Direction: none then NNW Waves: 0 building to 1-2' Surface Temp: Location: LAT/LONG (GPS Cords): =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 22 Total Boated:16 Species Breakdown:Kings, Steelies Hot Lure: Mag Bloodynose Trolling Speed: 2.2-2.8 SOG Down Speed: Boat Depth: 80-220 Lure Depth: 30-100 ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== We took out my friends co-worker and his 12yo son and hit the water first thing and started to setup in 85'. I put meat off the balls on both riggers and sent them 70' and 50' to start. I ran free sliders off of both with a Mag 42nd and a small glo frog. Before I could get the first wire out we had both riggers fire with skipper kings on the meat rigs. Almost had a double and missed a 3rd hit in the same time frame. Started our troll North and got the wires out 125 and 160 to start. I then wanted to run a 10 color off the planer board and asked the kid to pick a spoon to put on it. He chose a mag bloodynose and I threw it on. I don't think I've ever put that spoon in the water before so I was excited to try something new. While we were passing over the 135-140 area the port rigger fired with a screamer. The kid then sat down and fought his biggest fish ever a nice 14-16lb king. Next up was the leadcore screaming line over 180'...the dad got his biggest fish ever too...a 22-24# fish. The leadcore would fire many more times with kings ranging from 8-15lbs. We had a period of time around mid day where we missed 6 hits on the rigger in a row. Around 1:30 after swinging out to 220 we headed back in shallower and when we hit 180 area the deep rigger down 100' fired with a screamer. Unfortunately it got in the wire and broke off it felt like it was gonna be the big fish of the day (doesn't it always when you don't get em?). We decided after that to point it towards the bay and work in as shallow as possible. We picked up a few small steelies througout the day on meat rigs and one on a white green dot spinny with a white fly. Only two hits all day on the wires and I was trying all different depths with them. When we hit the 90' area the screen lit up with bait and marks. We saw a lot of marks on the bottom and the kid wanted to catch a laker so I dropped one of the riggers and pulled the throttle back a bit. I had a free slider on with a lemon ice NK28 on that rigger. As soon as we saw our next mark the wire takes off and we drop it. Oh well, it was about time to start pulling them anyway! As soon as that wire was in the boat the deep rigger fires...but it's taking drag! The dad ended up landing a 12-14lb king on the free slider. The dad and son were super appreciative and they left with tired arms. One of the best moments was when the leadcore released, the kid grabbed it and the fish ran some line and popped up on the surface way back there. He just said, "this isn't fair" with a big smile on his face! Couldn't have asked for a better day! Here's a few pics.

Oh yeah, we marked a few small schools of bait and a couple fish but other than that the screen was pretty blank....for what that's worth.

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name: Bahtenda ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s):7/12 Time on Water:5:00-8:45 Weather/Temp: Sunny 80's Wind Speed/Direction: Calm Waves: non-existent Surface Temp: Location: LAT/LONG (GPS Cords): =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 11 Total Boated:3 Species Breakdown:King, Laker, Steelie Hot Lure: Meat Trolling Speed: 2.5 SOG Down Speed:no probe Boat Depth: 120-220 Lure Depth: 75-110 ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== We ran out due North and set up in 110' and trolled North to 220 and turned around and went back. I put a meat rig off of each ball, one with a 000 flasher down 75' and the other with a green e-chip down 90'. Each of those got a free slider, one NK Mag black with green tape and the other a glow frog. I then tried to deploy a 500' copper (thanks to Throbbin Rod for leaving that with us) with a Mag Kevorkian. It was about halfway out when the meat down 90 fired with a 10lb laker for the newbie we had with us. After resetting I got the rest of the copper out. As soon as that was done the meat down 75' goes, and I grab it. The fish is heavy and pulling really hard. I'm expecting a screaming run and PLINK..... slack! The drag was cranked down all the way (doh!). Rookie move. The leader broke and I lost my flasher and twinkie rig and last meat strip. I put a FF combo down to 75' again. Then I set up my first wire on a 2.5 with a white/green dot spinny and white/crush glo fly and put it back 210. Later I moved it to 260 after not getting a hit. Next up was the copper flying off the release on the planer board! Our first fish on copper. Turned out to be a little 3-4lb steelie that our newbie got to reel in. Now for the fun part! Meat rig fires down 90', no one home. FF combo down 75' fires and it comes back without a fly. Leader broke just behind the swivel. Reset it with new rig. FF combo down 75' fires, no one home....including the fly. This time there isn't even a swivel on the spinny.....I know I closed it before I put it out. Then the FF combo down 75 with the third fly of the night on it fires again and it goes slack right away after picking it up. Spinny comes back with a swivel and about 2 inches of flouro. It was right about now that I had to take a deep breath and look at the setting sun to remind myself that at least I was out on the lake! That's 3 break-offs in a short period of time. We dropped a teenage king right behind the boat on the meat rig. The newbie confessed that he gave it a little slack as it was coming to the surface. At least he knew what he did and learned from it. Did I mention I tried to set out my other wire rod in the middle of all this but the wire was wrapped behind the spool and I couldn't produce a phillips head scewdriver to save my life? I tried using swivels, nail clippers, you name it! I eventually accepted the fact and left it in the rod holder. As I was resetting a rigger after a slider bite (on a mag Hawgwild) that we couldn't keep on the hook the newbie starts making noises....not yelling, no words, but eeeeehhhhh, ooooohhhhh, eeeeeeeee. I turn to see the wire rod was banging off the downrigger and had spun the rodholder around (whew, almost lost the rod). My buddy handed me the rod and I watched as the counter went from 260 to 475 real quick. After a good fight with multiple runs we boated a 22-24lb King. I think its time to put some quality dipsy rod holders on the side of the boat or at least thether them. After that we had both riggers fire at the same time on the way back in, in about 130' but neither one had anyone home. Headed back out this afternoon with my dad and tomorrow with some new guys for some derby fishing! Good luck to all. Brian

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name:Bahtenda ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s):7-8-12 Time on Water:10-6:30 Weather/Temp:80's Wind Speed/Direction:N 10+ and dropping Waves: 3-5's dropping to glass within a couple hours Surface Temp:73-75 Location: LAT/LONG (GPS Cords): =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits:8 Total Boated:6 Species Breakdown:3 Kings, 2 Lakers, 1 Steelie Hot Lure: Meat Trolling Speed:2.4-2.8 sog Down Speed: Boat Depth:180-220 Lure Depth:70-90 ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== We got a late start and it took us until 11 to get out to 100 FOW to setup with some pretty good waves coming from the North. Based on reports and my experiences fishing out of Olcott with DalleyDouble on Wed and Friday I set up with Riggers at 70 and 90 and wires out 120 and 225 for starters. I ran SD/Fly combos off the wires, Meat on my deep rigger and a SD/Fly off the other rigger. Put free sliders with steelie spoons on the riggers. We trolled North to check out the deep water. We had a release on the rigger with meat down 90 with no one home over 165', then we had a solid hookup on the same rigger over 180' with a 8-10# king. Next hit was on the meat again over 205' another 8-10# king. We trolled out to 430' and had no action so we circled back. I put meat on the other rigger behind a green e-chip and dropped it from 70 to 110'. In 205 we had a 8lb steelie hit our glow frog free slider on the 110 rigger. Back in around 180 we had 2 lakers in 5-8lb range hit the meat on the 90 rigger. We had cleared some lines with the second laker and before I could deploy them again the 110 rigger popped but went right back down...SCREAMER! My buddy grabbed the rod and I cleared one remaining wire from that side and we were all clear to give 100% to whatever took that meat rig. I was praying that the "meat=big fish" was gonna pay off at least once. Judging by the actual drag ripping display I knew it would be decent. It was nice to be able to put the boat in neutral without worrying about tangling stuff up (it was getting close to spooling our 47SH. I eventually bumped it back into gear and grabbed the net. We put the fish in the boat and figured we might have a chance to slip in on the bottom of the board. My scale on the boat was bouncing between 24-25# and we figured it could be off in a good way so we better check it out. Well, Mitchell's informed us that he was opening up to weigh another fish (Momay's) at 7:30 so we had dinner at Don's Original and then headed over there. It came in at 22.11, but we were still happy with it. It was cool to see that 31 those guys were weighing in. I guess I need to see if I can calibrate my scale Gonna reload on my cutbait and get back out there this weekend with some new people on the boat! Also, Thanks to all who replied to my Trade a seat post and especially to Fred. He even let me bring my dad. We didn't put any on the board but we put some low 20's in the boat. Here's a nice one from the 4th!

We left ours at home on accident but I rarely heard anyone out there last year. What channels do guys use in Rochester? [ Post made via Android ]

Sweet! Congrats and thanks for the message! Brian [ Post made via Android ]

Sure was! I figured that was probably you. I think you may have been fighting that fish when we were close, I was busy resetting riggers that kept popping. I looked up for a second to see someone wielding a yellow dipsy rod in a small boat nearby. [ Post made via Android ]

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name:Bahtenda ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s):6/23 Time on Water:6:30-10:30 Weather/Temp: Wind Speed/Direction:too much NW Waves: big Surface Temp: 68 Location: LAT/LONG (GPS Cords): =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 1 Total Boated:0 Species Breakdown: Hot Lure: Trolling Speed: Down Speed: Boat Depth: Lure Depth: ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== Set up in 100' heading North, took forever to get 4 rigger rods and 2 wires out. Marked fish and bait immediately, then nothing til we circled back to 80. Don't know what I'm doing wrong, this is the 2nd skunk in a row amidst decent reports. [ Post made via Android ]

Obviously I haven't used one of these yet, but I would think that if you wanted to do a little testing on your coppers and leadcore you could just compensate for the drag. For example, if you run a FF combo you could use a smaller flasher and replace the fly with the TD or if you normally run a spoon on them just put the TD in place of the spoon. Sure, the weight and dynamics of the TD aren't going to be the same but I can't imagine the difference is going to be that big. What is a foot of depth (or two). Wouldn't it be nice to know within 5' or so of where they are actually running? I suppose you could run into a problem with the TD shutting off since it takes so long to put those lines into position, the depth might not change fast enough? I don't run copper/leadcores (yet) and I haven't gotten the TD yet either, I'd just rather be thinking about fishing that working! Good luck to everyone this weekend. Brian

Thanks Tom!