Seneca Shakedown Cruise

[Followed The Waves]

I got out for my shakedown cruise last weekend and fished the north end of Seneca.  On Saturday, I fished until about 4 PM and landed a nice mix of 9 fish---lakers, salmon (just one keeper and some dinks), a rainbow, and a brown.  All but two were caught by 10 AM or so.  On Sunday, I fished until about noon and managed three lakers and a decent brown.  Everything was caught from 20' to 70' on small spoons.  I ran a stickbait and a plug for a while Saturday afternoon with no action.  Everything came on 2 leadcore rods or a planer.  Water temps ran from 39° to 42°.  On Saturday, I didn't even see another boat until 2:20 PM.  A few guys were out perch fishing Sunday morning but I didn't see anyone else trolling either day.  For the most part, the fish looked healthy but the biggest brown was beaten up pretty bad by a lamprey and one of the lakers had a nasty bite.  Boat control is difficult for one guy in a 28 foot flybridge with the wind but by the afternoon on both days, things settled down.  Some chop is nice but I have to troll with the wind unless I have a driver on board.
I want to give a special shout out to my coach, Capt. Nick O (Reel Stories) for all his help in shortening my very long learning curve when it comes to trolling.  It's not something that came naturally to me with all the variables---speed, color, depth, temperature, etc. but I think I'm finally getting it.  Tight lines!

Saturday's catch...

Sunday's catch...

[Reel Doc]

Nicely done!  Agreed when trolling solo it's best to have the wind at your back.  If you don't have an autopilot I would highly recommend as it makes solo trips much more manageable.

[Followed The Waves]

RD, many thanks.  Autopilot would sure be sweet but probably not worth the money on my old 40-year-old clunker.  I'm heading up today and I'll fish in the morning and I may watch the eclipse from the water---with my eclipse glasses of course! 

[Reel Doc]

After this mornings trip to Ontario I definitely stand by the need for autopilot when running solo.  Got out with the sunrise and all systems were go except for the autopilot.  Working the shoreline became a major challenge as the waves were coming in at an angle and were just big enough to make it hard to step away from the wheel for very long.  

If you are hooked on trolling consider either installing an autopilot in your rig or buy a new rig!!

And if watching the eclipse from the lake send pics!!

[Followed The Waves]

Reel Doc, thanks!  It wasn't much of a show on Seneca.  I saw about 10% of the sun disappear and then everything disappeared behind the clouds.  I had been out most of the day at that point and only had one bite until the eclipse was just hitting the fan and a planer board took a dive.  After a long fought battle, I was able to get this guy in the boat.  I was sure the line was going to break.  As you can see from my expression, it really made my day!

I am beginning to look into an autopilot.  I'm just getting started but this one came up on my radar.  My 28 foot Voyager ways 10,500 pounds but with a couple tanks of gas and all my fishing crap on board, I'm sure I'm over 11,000 pounds.  Think I'm looking in the right direction?

 

[Reel Doc]

Who says the fish stop biting during an eclipse!!  Well done!  With all the rain clouds this week it seems we're in a continual eclipse here .... 

[Followed The Waves]

I keep an eye on the Solunar Tables and the best bite was supposed to be right before the eclipse.  This guy was a little late but he got the skunk out of the boat.

Agreed on the weather—-ugh.  I sat this weekend out.

Auto Pilot will be here Wednesday!