muskiedreams

Your father or the captain must know their way around to be out there at night.

I can tell you one thing. They are calling for 32* temp in the morning, so a warm layer or two and gloves might be in order early on. Also, since the water temp is still likely around 70*, there might be morning fog. It could delay the start a little. Depends on if there is any wind.

I have to admit that I haven't fished Lake Ontario or pier or tribs for quite some time and without experiencing that, it is hard to get a complete picture of the current conditions. I am not surprised and have heard that the north shore gets better returns and I am sure it is because of several reasons. I think number 1 is better trib habitat which translates to better natural recruitment. It would be nice if our tribs could be improved to produce better recruitment. I have no idea if it is something that could be achieved through habitat improvement projects. Meanwhile, I can see that if there are ways to improve the pen rearing projects to help increase returns to western and central tribs, that would be a big plus. If they could find technology that can be used to conduct telemetry tagging studies or fin clip studies (clip methods that indicate year and stocking method/location) to help determine return rates and at the same time, take measures such as modifying release locations and methods to help improve survival of pen reared fish (maybe open water release would not be ideal at that stage) and at the same time, consider what can be done to help improve the habitat in those tribs to encourage natural recruitment, maybe the fall runs can be improved over a period of years. Here is a pen rearing variation that was done this year with tiger muskies. maybe this will help with ideas to improve the pen rearing projects in Lake Ontario. https://www.lakeontariounited.com/fishing-hunting/topic/82229-chapter-70-pen-stocking-tiger-muskies/ The US Dept. Fish and Wildlife may have funds that can be tapped for projects of this nature for habitat improvement. At least for tribs it might be feasible in. Just some thoughts of mine about the issue. I don't know if these ideas have been already considered or if these ideas could help spawn ( pardon the pun) other ideas. I am going to have to drop out of this conversation for now because I have to get ready for a long weekend of musky fishing at Waneta Lake.

After reading through the all the things discussed in this topic, I would like to bring up a thing or two that I don't recall being discussed here. Also I want to say that I am an old guy that has lived and fished in New York since I was a kid. I became interested in fishing for trout and salmon in Lake Ontario near the beginning. I did not have access to boat fishing and I was excited about how the fishing in Lake Ontario was coming back from the dismal condition of the lake in the 60s and 70s. I actually entered the spring ESLO derby in 1982 and fished it from shore. I only caught a small brown but after that I became hooked on trout and salmon fishing in Lake Ontario. From the mid 80s til the mid 90s I spent a lot of time fishing from the piers in the spring and in the fall. By the mid 90s there were changes happening to the lake and it's tributaries which I think contributed greatly to changes in near shore trout and salmon fishing. 1) Zebra Mussels and later, other mussels: It is in my opinion that this has influenced the near shore trout and salmon fishing the most and has caused other cascading changes. As they cleared up the water, there was progressively fewer trout and salmon in the shallow water around the piers in the spring and the fall. They disrupted the food chain throughout the lake. Since trout and salmon prefer not to be exposed to bright light, they did not spend as much time around the piers unless the water was stained by runoff. It didn't affect the trout in the spring as much because of spring run off and cool water temps. However I do believe that gradually, the length of time that the salmon spent staging close in front of the tributaries and around the piers gradually shortened as the mussels caused the water to gradually become clearer. There used to be several weeks of consistently good salmon fishing off the piers and as the lake cleared, it became more sporadic. 2) The continued reduction of phosphors and other pollutants into the tributaries and the lake. This is good in a lot of ways but also added to clearing the water. 3) Effects of the clearer water on seasonal nearshore water temperatures. I think the clearer water, especially nearshore in the fall allows the sun to keep the water temps from falling as fast in the fall. That is if the lake doesn't turn over. The darker color of clear water as opposed to green algae laden water can absorb more heat from the sun. I think this can be even more of a factor in years with a warm September and low rainfall. 4) Changes in baitfish patterns as a result of the above changes. Please note that these are just my thoughts based on observations over the years. The lake as a whole is like a living entity that is constantly changing. All the changes can be considered good in some ways and bad in other ways. I do miss the pier fishing for trout and salmon. To me, it is much more exciting than trolling for them when you hook into one from a pier.

Dan, Is your last name also McGuckin (member of MI Chapter 69)? If so, I hope you will be there for the tourney on Oct. 5th to help us win the Chapter Challenge. Keep in mind that only fish caught by chapter members will qualify for the Chapter Challenge and chapter members don't have to be entered in the cash tournament to participate in the Chapter Challenge.

I just want to say that every boat and trailer combination is potentially different and how the boat's weight is distributed as well as how it is supported from bow to stern will make a difference. Some trailer configurations provide more and better support at the bow than others. Some bunk trailers have long bunks that may support the boat very well from the stern and way past midship. Some of them even have smaller bunks in the front on either side of the bow to provide bow support which help distribute the pressure over a fairly large area. Some roller trailers also have roller arrays in front to support the bow on either side and also spread out the pressure of the bow weight evenly over multiple rollers. These types of trailers do help a lot to spread out the stress over more surface area and therefore minimize potential damage at any one point from bouncing down the road. There may be some trailers that have shock absorbing suspension but most hit bumps pretty hard and most of the energy can translate to a jarring effect that needs to be mitigated. Some trailers, such as mine don't have a lot of support for the bow of the boat. Mine is an aluminum boat (1990 Grumman 18 FT). The trailer (Shorelander single axle) has rollers spread out over the rear section but there is only one place the boat is supported forward of that besides the winch stand stop. There is a 12" wide centering roller at midship under the keel which is mostly for centering the boat while loading and unloading. Then there is one other roller about 8" wide under the center of the bow just behind the point where the bow starts curving up. The boat was originally making contact to both of them. After a while trailering the boat, the keel became damaged from bouncing on the center roller. I figured the trailer and possibly the boat were flexing and that was causing the the keel to hammer against the roller. I was lucky the hull didn't crack there. I had it repaired (welded) and adjusted the roller so no longer made contact after the boat is all the way forward on the trailer. I later had a similar problem where the bow and the structural strip of aluminum at the center of the bow (which continues forward of the keel) both cracked from stress right where the front roller is. So I had to have it repaired (welded). That was when I realized that it was because the boat was bouncing on the roller, Not just caused by pressure from sitting on just one point in the front. I started using a ratchet strap off the bow eye to hold the bow securely down and have not had another problem in over 10 years except for having to replace the front roller occasionally. It would be much better if the trailer was configured with multiple roller hugging the bow on both sides but it has been working out ok now. I have also had other problems with the suspension and ended up having heavier springs made and had a welder heavily reinforce the spring brackets after the second pair cracked. A couple times I was lucky to notice the problem before the axle tore out from under the trailer. This is a big reason why I recommended before about inspecting the entire trailer thoroughly at least once a year for stress cracks. You can't necessarily rely on the yearly DMV inspector to discover them. It really would have been best to have a bigger and beefier trailer because I think the boat is the biggest that the trailer was meant for, and I added a 15 hp four stroke kicker and two big deep cycle batteries. So I think I may be over the weight limit. I don't know for sure because the printing on the rating sticker is totally worn off. I think sometimes boat manufacturers don't, or at least didn't back then, consider the possibility (or probability) that the boat owner will be adding more equipment to the boat and equip it with a trailer that will handle the additional weight and more than accommodate the size of the boat for many miles of trailering. Sorry if I rambled on too long.

My winch pulls from the top also. This may be true for all of them. It is easy to wrap the strap in the wrong direction when installing it and it may seem to work that way but maybe it is designed to work the other way. Look to see how others are wrapped. Maybe if it is backward it doesn't hold properly but the transom straps may be keeping it from backing off more. Definitely put a safety chain on. I believe it is a requirement. The way that winch is situated, it is mostly pulling and holding the bow forward and not really down that much. So the bow of the boat may be bouncing up and down on the trailer which depending on the way the boat is supported, could cause stress on the supports and/or the hull. Adding a tie down strap from the bow eye down to the trailer will make sure the bow isn't bouncing. The only thing is you probably can only put two hooks into that bow eye so you would have to hook two if the three things to one hook. Or what I did was use a one piece ratchet strap (no hooks on it) and I feed the strap through the bow eye and around the trailer beam.

@garymny, I just got through reading through all this and there is a lot of good advice that shouldn't be taken lightly. The last thing you want is an accident. Loss of control or a trailer failure can destroy your boat, trailer and vehicle. It can also cause serious injury or even death to you, your passengers and possibly other travelers. Just like being aware and mitigating all the dangers that can occour while on the water, it is equally important on the road. You can be driving down the road nice and smooth with everything seemingly fine and then all hell can break loose. Reading everything you can about trailer safety and taking measures to maximize safety as well as frequently inspecting tires (including pressure) bearings (including lube and checking for heat and play), and structural integrity of trailer and it's components (including boat support, axle and axle suspension components). With a dual axle trailer like you have, which I assume also has a brake system, having it level is very important so that the weight is distributed evenly on all four tires. And keeping the brake system in good condition is also important. Being at or over the weight limit of the trailer is very dangerous. If you are close, it might be a good idea to carry some of your heavier gear like loaded coolers in the vehicle. The structure of the trailer and suspension components are designed to handle the rated load. If you are at or above that rating it is only a matter of time till something fails. On some of our roads, it will take a beating and the springs only absorb so much of the shock and vibration. You can develop metal fatigue causing cracks which can cause major failure of the structure. You don't want an axle to break out from under your trailer at 60 mph on the highway. It is also best to make sure the boat is rigidly held down to the trailer. If it isn't and it bounces on it's supports, it can cause undue stress and possible damage to the hull and trailer components. Also keep in mind that stress failure can happen even when you keep below maximum limits.

That change might be a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of water that is built up in and constantly flowing from the upper lakes. Not to mention the amount of water that is constantly going into all the lakes. It might take years with favorable precipitation amounts to get the lake levels down to more normal levels. I am wondering if they might have to lower outflow even more during the winter so there isn't problems with ice.

This story is starting to smell fishier and fishier. Why was the engine removed and replaced with a different one? And other questions might be: When and why was the Yamaha removed? What, if any, changes have to be made to the fuel system when switching engine from the Yamaha motor to the eTec motor? Could or did the original dealer have done something during the change over or otherwise to compromise the fuel system and cause the problem? Did your eTec mechanic pinpoint the exact fault that caused the problem of water in the fuel system or fuel tank? (such as a faulty tank or vent) And ultimately, was it a MFG default or something done at the dealer that caused the problem? Those questions may be hard to get the answers to (with documented proof) since the dealer and the Mfg. may have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship and dealers may not want to point a finger at another dealer. It will be interesting to see how this turns out. It sounds like you shouldn't have to pay the cost of repairing the motor if the problem was caused by a defect in the boat or caused by the dealer. Good luck, and I hope you get this resolved. It is bad enough you are stuck with a boat you still can't use.

It is starting to look like high water will be the new norm. At least for the next few years. As far as I have heard, all the water from the upper lakes must drain through Lake Ontario. And I think that the only place where the flow can be controlled is the dam at Massena, NY. And they only have limited control. I don't know if they can conceivably let any water into the Mississippi and there is flooding problems there already. Maybe the Russians are causing the weather changes, or maybe aliens (the kind from other planets). https://news.yahoo.com/floods-wreaking-havoc-great-lakes-060051539.html

@Bob256, It sucks in situations like yours. It seems like the customer shouldn't be left holding the bag. You have a boat warranty and a motor warranty but if one fails it is covered under warranty but the damage done to the other isn't. Isn't there any wording in those warranties covering collateral damage? So in another possible scenario, if the motor fails and causes a fire in the boat, the mfg of the boat will not cover the boat damages because it was not a failure of their product and the motor manufacturer only covers the motor.

As I was reading this I was concerned that you were going to say that the lure flew back and stuck you. I'm glad that wasn't the case. Seeing them jump is exciting but it makes it so much easier for them to shake the hook. I would say the angle should be low on a short line if the rod is off the side of the boat. If you are working in the prop wash, it would be a trade off. You might want to keep it up so that the rod loads up to keep pressure and protect the line from the shock of the strike but then if the fish breaks water it could create momentary slack which might allow the fish to shake the lure or snap the line. If you keep it low with very little loading from the rod, depending on the drag setting, you could snap the line or not get a good hook set. Just my thoughts. Others might have different suggestions. The rod and line you use might also make a difference. But I don't know about you but I can't afford a lot of rods.

Hans is a true artist. He carves every detail down to the scales and his painting is superb. Just incredible and leaps and bounds beyond the rest. So is the cost, but if you can afford it I doubt you will find any better.

I see the makings of a blues song and music video that could be posted under the Catch and Release topic. Maybe it could be a hit and a reminder on other musky forums.

I just ran across this and since I didn't see anything on LOU about it, I thought I would post this. I wasn't sure if it is real or not. I couldn't get to the Facebook post without an acct. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/08/22/fish-two-mouths-caught-lake-champlain-new-york/2083144001/

On Lake Ontario, I wouldn't go offshore more than 1 mile when T-storms are in the forecast. That might mean going for bass instead of salmon. Preferably stay within 1/2 mi of shelter (place to tie to a dock, beach the boat or hide under a bridge. When storms are in the forecast, you should have a plan of what to do just in case, and be ready to implement that plan in a moment's notice. If you have technology to give you warnings and to watch for developing storms, you should use it accordingly and always keep an eye on the sky because a storm can sometimes develop quickly right before your eyes. Once, back in the early eighties, I was alone on the south end of Canandaigua Lake in a 14 ft rowboat I rented from the marina at the south west corner. I had my own 5hp motor on it. I was fishing in the south east corner for LMB when a storm came barrelling over the hill on the west side. By the time I got my line in and the motor started it was already poring hard and lightening was hitting the top of the hill. It took what seemed like forever to get back to the marina and I actually saw lightening hit the water north of me on the way in. I am not sure if I had wet my pants because my clothes were soaked to the bone by the time I got to shelter. Now I feel a little more comfortable in a situation like that in the boat I have now that can go close to 30mph. Once I was on Oneida Lake with a friend fishing in a cove on a beautiful partly cloudy day when a storm came out of nowhere barreling toward us. We went directly to one of the nearest docks and tied up as the rain was starting. We found out there was nobody home at the house so we were heading toward a small gazebo for cover when a guy at the house next door offered for us to sit it out on his enclosed porch. The storm didn't last long (maybe 1/2 hr) but it was powerful with high winds (gusts were probably 40 or 50 mph) and torrential rain. Even in the cove there was two foot chop pushing against the boat and there was heavy thunder and lightening. After it blew over, the sky cleared right up and the wind calmed down so we went back out to fish some more. We discovered that the wind and waves pushing on the boat pulled one of the steel dock supports right out from under the wood dock. We went right back out in the cove and immediately started to catch a few nice walleye and some LMB and pickerel throwing cranks. The weather was great the rest of the day. Needless to say, I have a great deal of respect for the weather mother nature can throw at you. It can easily catch you off guard.

Do we now have to consider fish identity theft and privacy protection? If the software could be perfected, maybe it could be an effective tool to supplement tagging studies.

It seems like NYC thinks upstate is here to serve them, and then they want us to take their garbage.

Jet skier in December? Seems like it should look a little out of place.