Sneaky Duck

It's a bit of a drive. Any of the western finger lakes have safe ice on them? I'm not really interested in heading up to greece.

So, just downloaded Navionics. Kind of pissed i haven't done it till now. pretty cool! question/concern. I see things like "hump" on irondequoit bay that shows as a "fishing/diving hotspot." is that data someone put in? When I put in my fishing spots they can't be public? Can they? Are the hotspots in there just public ones? Also, I haven't dug in too much because I'm on the trial version. Can I pull the maps on my laptop, put in pins and all and then access them from your phone like you can using OnX for hunting?

Thanks man! appreciate it. Out of curiosity, have you ever tried any of the apps that pull data from the USGS and give you stream flow gauges? I always have the hardest time navigating around the USGS site and finding the right gauge from my phone when i want to go fishing.

oh, I agree with the different tools for the job too. That's why I have fly rods of different weights, and I'm looking to get a 13ft Centerpin rod to go with the 11ft one I have. My question was literally just about a rod to go with this 1 reel.

I’ve heard that one is good. Are there different versions of it? I heard it costs $ but the App Store didn’t have a price. I’m fine with paying for the app. Just didn’t want to download the wrong one.

I haven't messed around with any of the fishing apps, but I've used hunting apps like OnX and hunt stand a good deal. Are there any good phone apps for fishing? Ideally a GPS mapping app that shows depths. I want to explore a bit but have NO idea where to start with most these bodies of water. (sorry for yet another question thread... I'd be out fishing if there was any ice. But alas.... Stuck on the computer thinking about it. hahaha)

I was given a nice 13 fishing freefall reel for christmas from my grandma and I want to get a nicer rod then the cheap HT combo's i've been using. Looking at the 13fishing tickle stick. Anyone got feedback on that rod? Which weight should i go with? I typically fish tungsten jigheads with mousies or something on it. Not looking to spend more the say $60.

You guys need to start doing what my buddies and I do. There's a few guys that hunt right next to us, so.... my friends and I just each take turns sitting in a stand RIGHT next to theirs on our side of the property line. We always get into the woods earlier then the other guys. So after a few times of showing up to their stand only to find one of us already sitting right next to them smiling... they moved his stand further in. Did the same thing with a trespasser's stand on a private property we got access to. Found someone had been hunting there without the owner knowing. So... we put our stand up on the tree next to theirs and used their shooting lanes. After a while, we found that stand was moved. My favorite form of Aggression is Passive Aggression! And we spend so much time in the woods, who cares if it screws up a couple sits. Thats why we take turns. hahaha

1 caution with OnX that I came across. If you have wifi on, on your phone and you're close enough to pick up someones house signal it throws off where your location pin shows on the map. That had me REALLY pissed off when we were blood tracking a deer this season. dropped a pin at last blood to come back in the AM, and went back to find that the pin was no where NEAR where I had been when I dropped it. I found if I turn off wifi, it was a lot more accurate.

Good to know. Thanks. I’m usually a wimp and won’t go out till theres 5-6 inches so there are normally other guys out. But knowing it’s hairy at the edges is very helpful.

Thanks man! Appreciate it. You stay safe as well.

I just moved to Rush from Charlotte. I've been ice fishing northern Monroe county on the ponds in Greece, Bradocks, and Irondiquate Bays, but I'd like to head south now that I live more south. Where's the best access points to get on the ice for Conesus, Hemlock, Canadice, and Honeoye? Also, from your experience, which freeze up first and where's the highest likelihood to find safe ice early season? I'm not a small guy, and would prefer not swim. hahaha

question on keeping fish I'm no cook, but i seem to remember it's not good to freeze thaw and re-freeze stuff. I was out fishing today and kept a couple perch. I didn't get enough for a meal so rather then clean and filet them, I just left them whole and frozen (since they froze while i was fishing.) is this ok? Or should I gut them before tossing them in the freezer?

I guess that's my poorly worded question. What do I look for in a used boat? Any specific models to keep my eye out for... specific features...?

I'm starting to think about the spring and with as much as I'm intending to fish from the shore I'm kicking around thoughts of boats. I need a TON of advice though because I really don't want to waste money on something that's not what I need. Eventually I'll be looking at something trailerable with a gross weight (trailer included) under 5000 lbs. that can handle Lake Ontario. For now though, I'm wanting to do this on the CHEAP that'll get me on the Genesee River, Bays, or Finger Lakes. My thought, is a 14ft Aluminum deep v utility boat with a pair of rod holders on each side, a marcum ice fishing flasher (with the high speed transducer mounted to the boat) and a handheld GPS unit. I'm wondering though how to push the boat? Gas outboard? Electric Trolling motor? That full package looks to me to be under $5000 and that's if I went brand new for EVERYTHING. Does anyone have other idea's for what I should be looking at and what equipment I can't do without? When you start looking at boats and electronics it gets VERY overwhelming especially for someone new to fishing. Thanks!

Yeah sk8 i was SUPER careful when i was shopping for this thing to check that out. Since it's the small model the top is all fixed length and the extender on the bottom for the bigmouth is a SUPER easy to use lever instead of those stupid tiny little push buttons. I'm SO happy i went with the insulated model too. I freaked out the poor DEC lady yesterday I think. She stopped by and I flipped up the clam wearing just a tee shirt and jeans. Totally caught her by surprise Stays toasty warm with the heater running. AWESOME since I had forgotten my mousies in the truck and they froze solid. After the first 30 minutes of sitting out there they were thawed right out! I'm thinking instead of drilling more holes for the tie outs, I'm going to put a pair of I bolts where the toe rope goes. Then I can tie the tow rope to them and tie some guy lines to them to hold me firm in place on those super windy days.

I've been trying to figure out how to kill fish humanely so I can use a fillet technique where I keep the head on. I've been having to kill them by cutting off the head. I have tried stunning the fish with a blow on the head, but the only thing i'v accomplished is driving the fish's spikes into my hand I was doing some google searching and came across this technique which came from Japan and seams popular in Australia. I guess the gist of it is that you drive a spike into the fish's brain which kills them immediately and humanely. There are even tools built for it similar to an Awl and also this gun thing http://www.ikigun.co.nz/ Does anyone use this technique or have a better idea for me? Thanks!

Thanks for the advise King. I did put the back to the wind (well at least where it was coming from 70% of the time since it kept shifting). I forgot the shovel which was a bummer cause It would have been nice to have some snow heaped around the bottom to keep the draft out. The Trap we got I can see is going to be an asset on windy days. It's nice and low and we stayed SUPER warm inside with the heater running. Neither of us had a coat on half the time and the heat was on low. It's amaizing how much better the experience is fishing from that thing compared to freezing my butt off on a bucket. The only issue we had were some cold toes on her from the breeze coming under the tent at times and had i thought of bringing the shovel I'm sure that wouldn't have been an issue either.