Rich s

Day -3

Had 1 good mark and rod fired . Shook off . Other than that we been from Mexico to sandy pond . At least lake is playing nice

Week 7 and day 2 of 4 .

Ain't no fish in this lake . At least not on my boat .

Well I can just say that after reading this discussion starting last year involving King davey and various experienced and fisherman alike , we all waited for the spring troll data .

That data came out and based on that data it seemed there was concern .

I have no reason not to discount the concern , at least from my view of struggling to catch fish compared to 10 years ago

Hope to hear a realistic plan come from this meeting

Rich

So I'm hearing the dec is holding a special meeting at the SR hatchery next weds to discuss 2017 salmon stocking . I also understand only guides and businesses are allowed to attend .

Hope to hear some feedback on this

Rich

Vhf with scan will pick up any call within range .

i have had cell service from Oswego to sandy pond if needed to call boat us

Here is my second year take on the Great Lake or big water .

If fishing smaller lakes that I have such as lake George , schroon lake and rivers like the mighty Hudson or muddy Mohawk , it's pretty easy to toss an anchor and wait it out . There are always passer by boaters so I felt comfortable if a mishap happened .

On the Great Lake , sometimes you see boats and sometimes you just see horizon . Given the conditions of high seas and deep water I don't want to rely on another angler for support .

I realized insurance was the cheapest peace of mind I could have out there . Chances are if you call , someone will come be it liability issues .

That said , I myself , wouldn't give a second thought giving or calling for assistance to another fellow boater .

I have often heard the coast guard call for assistance from any boat in the area to help , and they did , until they arrived .

A kicker motor is great although I don't have one mounted ( it's in the basement ) but I feel better spending the $75.00 a year

Rich

One thing I added this season and would recommend to everyone is boat us insurance .

It's a very cheap $75.00 piece of mind that runs year to year when you sign on .

We had our outdrive break on the last trip of the season last year . Thankfully is right at the dock . The day prior we were out in 4 plus seas and even a kicker would have been difficult .

I Have a lightning detector . It detects at intervals of 6-4-2 miles . Cheap insurance for any situation

I have owned a 89 221 islander 4.3 for 3 years now . 2 of them have been docked on the Great Lake Ontario . My eyes were bigger then my head when I bought the boat . I found out the things that were not so important on smaller put in take out places needed to be addressed on a Great Lake or any long term dockage . That said , I have found after owning many glass boats they are the most easily maintained . Granted rivets are a whole animal if problems happen but aside , everything on that boat is basically pretty simple do it yourself and can be fixed .

As for the fish ability and conditions .

1. The 221 fishes 3 perfect . The 4 th man works fine , it's all about how you lay out gear , coolers and grill . Yes we fish , cook , swim and sleep on that boat .

2. Sleeping , I stay 2 adults always almost every weekend . If you don't plan on sleeping on the boat then find a use for storage in cabin .

3. We consider 3-4' waves the norm on the Great Lake . 4 footers plus then it starts to become not as much fun as attention needs to be taken on everything . My boat has been on 6 footers and I have felt safe .

My only complaint s

1. Wife wants bigger cabin with walk in .

2. I want bigger (30') more wider , heavier and space in the back .

I am happy with my islander and would not resent my purchase a bad one

Good luck .

So memory service .

George Pataki eliminated sangging in 1995 .

Salmon stocking on the Great Lake Ontario was reduced from 5.3 million ( ny ) to 2.5 ?

I personally go for the fun of fishing the Great Lake with friends and family . Yup I burn gas , yes I would like to catch fish other then goby , mussels and dink perch . Really wanted to and trying to focus on a laker program from there , be it jigging , drifting or trolling just to find one . So far in 2 years there it hasn't happened , geesh Lakers are everywhere right ?

No matter no worries , the king is dead . Moving west for me only means more time and expense .

Didn't mean to come across as a complainer because I'm ok with my time spent in Mexico . Just throwing out my useless reports . So far I'm on week ( end ) 6 for the season at port . Catch rate = 2 Browns , 1 rainbow ( not steelhead ) , 1 skippy drowned salmon . The times she lets up play have been priceless .

It will come and it only takes 1

Rich

Not saying you won't find info here but I boats is very helpful as well .

We went out of little SR 6 am Saturday and started a north program at 100 fow in front of the SR . Went as deep as 160 fow . In 10 hrs not a rod fired but upon reeling in we had drowned a skippy .

Sunday we went out on a west program from 6 am till 10 am and never moved a rod as well .

While last year was a struggle , this year is much worse for us

Where the boat is docked in Mexico on the little SR was getting pretty shallow 2 weeks ago . I hope it's not sitting on the bottom when I get there tomorrow

http://www.lakeontariounited.com/fishing-hunting/topic/59455-custom-downrigger-weights/#entry429191

I ordered 2 and they just came today . They look fantastic !! Can't wait to use them this weekend .

Super fast shipping and great transaction !! Recommend highly .

Rich

Edit :

They yellow ones at the bottom are not from him .

The ones you get will be great

It's hard for me to add from the past or dispute the current but here is my perspective towards the Great Lake and Mexico area .

Family had a trailer boat in the hey days of the 80 which I would experience . Once that opportunity disappeared I took to the tributary fishing and it was zero - 100 at any given year for 35 years .

3 years ago I was blessed with the lake opportunity on my own accord once again to share with my family and grandkids . Yes it is a hobby ( for me ) to fish the Great Lake Ontario , yes I threw some money into the sport . It's been a struggle but not a defeat to catch fish out of that great lake . Some of the best times have come on days when we caught nothing .

It's a place that offers opportunity , the fish are a bonus

I try like heck but don't get discouraged , well unless we get blown off , that sucks .

Personally for me if my lines are in the water , I'm fishing and if I'm not then we are having fun on an adventure

I will leave the scientific data to the experts

I have upgraded from tite loc holders last year to big Jon this year . No comparison . Big Jon are quality holders

Personally I take those nice ball bearing snaps that come with the flasher and attach one to my mainline on every rod then if I change flashers I just undo / remove the one on my flasher and attach the one from main line in its place

Thanks folks that was basically the answers to my question . Currently without extending my boom , my riggers work fine as is . I wasn't sure if by extending them would help with less blowback or if there was an advantage to keeping the line/ cable farther behind the boat .

Thanks again

Is it suggested to extend the rigger boom ? If so what are the reasons ?

I have an extendable boom mag -10 but never adjusted it out . Just wondering if I'm missing something by doing so . It seemed to me that extending it adds more pressure on the boom .

Thanks :

Rich

While you said both are acting the same , to me it seems like low voltage as suggested , weak battery, terminal connects , etc . I have been there before .

Another check if they pull up slow is the cable - pulley set up at the boom . I had mine foul a few times on the pulley and cause excessive drag = draw on power .

Had it happen again this weekend again . Cannon has a upgrade pulley for them but I haven't switched myself

I have been fishing out of Mexico for 3 weeks ( ends ) .

We mark schools of bait from 80-100 fow every time . Only catch in that range was a 6.5# brown .

When we move outside there we see hooks or what seem to be lake trout on the bottom but no bait balls .

Sophomore year full time and still struggling to put a solid reliable program together .

No matter the catching , it's always a fun time

Nick , I love reading Theresa and your reports . Please don't take this wrong as I'm jealous but do you folks eat a lot of fish or what , lol . Those gill gaffs are kinda ugly , and yes I own one but never used it .

Seems like you both love the sport , striper and salmon as do I .

Again , I'm jealous and please keep the pics - video and reports coming as that's what keeps me going .

Thank you and best fishes

Yup

Thanks for sharing , the fish Pics and the lure selection . They are some great photos