Lake Champlain March 4th Salmon spoon taping workshop

[digitroll]

Lake Champlain March 4th Salmon spoon taping workshop "Big success"

Please let me introduce myself: Ron aka "Digitroll" on our 1,100 member Pro Board forum site on Lake Champlain. We love to pursue Landlocked Salmon here on Champlain from March - January on open water trolling on our lake. With the lamprey control happening and the alewife invasion the fish now look like there on steriods!

I love to fish Kings off the Niagara Bar every year during the Spring Loc tournament in NY on Lake Ontario. It's a 8 hour trip for us with the 19 ft Sea Nymph in tow from Vermont.

Just wanted to share with everyone on LOU a unique tradition here in Vermont that started 3 years ago in my heated garage with a few die hard lure tapers that quickly grew to 20 the next year and this past winter 40 and 45 for the two workshops this Winter 2011 at my marine workplace in Williston, VT near Lake Champlain. Great way to beat the winter doldrums getting some of our forum faithful together for some food, stories, taping lures, and a chance at winning great product donated in a free raffle! I was curious if anyone was doing anything like this around Lake Ontario?

We already have a spin-off workshop happening 2.5 hours north of us in Montreal, Quebec with our northern forum members.

March 4, 2011 Workshop #2

Another incredible workshop in the books folks!

In summary:

Tonight on March 4th the bar was raised: We had 45 attend and the free drawing for 45 donated prizes worth $4,500! Everyone won something in the drawing!

I want to thank the folks below that donated some incredible products and forum members as well!

All-Star list of donors:

LCI: All-Season pass certificate

Tamiron Products: Tape

U-Charters (Lite Bites): 3 Lite Bites with power rings and weights.

Crazy Ivan Lures: Custom painted lure package.

Onyx Outdoor clothing: Arctic shield pants / Arctic shield coat.

Yasner Taxidermy: 2 certificates for two fish mounts.

Great Lakes Angler magazine: 35 March issues.

Fish Hawk: TD temp / depth digital portable gauge.

Berts Custom Tackle: Two 17†tracks and two ratchet rod holders.

Adventure Products: EGO S2 Ez Slider 48â€-60†net

Cannon: Intelli Troll-Temp / Probe system.

Fish 307: Custom salmon rod

Navionics: Certificate for any Navionics SD chip.

Marine Tech Products: Trollmaster Pro – III certificate

Dockside: Net, two inline planers, 4 MI Lake trolls, 5 SeaGuar spools of Fluro line, 2- 0 Jensen dodgers, 2 Eagle claw salmon rods 8’6â€,

2 custom lure totes.

Ques Tackle: Boga scale float

Torpedo Divers: 4 Torpedo divers

Dan Keating: Salmon videos

Lowrance: HDS-5

Plattsburgh Rotary Tournament: 2 Certificates for the derby.

Scotty: Downrigger

Rob (Thorny): Seafood platter from Price Chopper!

Gerry (Gecha): Custom scissor’s set

The Old Fishing Hole: Ramel (JabberJaws): Many nice fishing accessories / gear!

Vincent (Sleeps): 2 nights hotel stay in the NorthEast Kingdom.

Randy (Surprise): Custom tied streamers.

45 Attendees:

Thorny (Rob), In the office (Mark), Fathead (Jeremy), 4C's (Pat), Surprise (Randy), ShayedWinds (Don), LightnVariable (Jeff), Reelax (Matt), Salmonseeker1 (Don), Plantstone (Forrest), Gecha (Gerry), Dragnballs (Kevin), Voyager (Paul) Wind (Gary), Instigator (Reggie), , Bill Crenshaw, Tunamas (Scott), David Chavea, Salmon Eye (Paul), Heijac (Randy), Wally Andre (Andre), Crazy Ivan (Todd), Homewrecker (Dean), Scorpio (Bruce), Kamel (Kurt), Lazy C's (Mike), Madsierra (Eric), Salmon Slayer (Scott), Brian Pratt, Supercab (Judd), Marknfish (Mark), Flashpoint (Matt), Cas (Mike), Mike Morin, Cloudnine charters (Obie), JabberJaws (Ramel), Surf-N-Turf (Sean) Sleepswfishes (Vincent), Gary Tobler, Hawkeye (Bob), Digitroll (Ron), Dockside (Ben), Brian Gingras, Matt Buehrer, Michael Cowherd, Karl Hubbard,

Final thanks too:

Some of the forum members that helped me set up early before the event. Wally Andre, David and Gerry Chavea, and others that came early as well. ShayeDwinds (Don) for checking everyone in at the table and taking photo's of all 45 that won prizes. Thanks for keeping me straight Don for looking at the camera most of the 45 times as I handed off prizes for photo ops.

Jim (Vt Home and Marine) my boss who let us use the site for the 5th workshop in the last two winters. His brother in law Gerry who lent us 25 chairs.

And the forum members that made the trip from Montreal and NY to be with us tonight!

As Randy say’s! “Fish on†for 2011. See you all on the water!

Thanks all!

Ron

Photos:

The entire prize table tonight:

The food: 15 pizzas from Domino's and Thorny seafood spread:

Thorny's seafood from Price Chopper:

Don (ShayeDwinds) helping checking everyone in!

Big crowd!

Some pre-taping done before the party by ShayeD:

Thorny talking about the finer features of the new redesigned 2011 Scotty electric that was on display to Randy and Jeremy:

The Admiral and Reelax:

1957 vintage secret lures purchased by Fat head on display from E-Bay:

Taping end of the showroom:

Lowrance HDS-5 GPS/Sonar and Dan Keating videos fishing salmon part 1 and 2:

Torpedo divers / 2 Rotary derby certificates / 2 fish mount cert. Doug Yasner:

Andre and Gecha's donations (scissors / Scotty rigger) tonight from our friendly neighbors up north:

Cannon Intelli Troll-Temp Probe system, Great Lakes Angler Magazines, Fish Hawk TD temp / depth portable device.

Dockside's generous goodies!

Free magazines from December / January / March from Great Lakes Angler. Also LCI / Torpedo divers brochures!

Onyx Outdoor Products: Arctic shield pants and coat / Bert's Custom Tackle tracs + rod holders.

Adventure Products net / Lite Bite Slide divers / Fish 307 custom salmon rod:

Navionics certificate for any chip up to $200 in there catalog / LCI all-season pass / Trollmaster Pro-3:

The old fishing hole in Morrisville Ramel (Jabber Jaws):

Sleeps with da fishes 2 nights stay in the North East Kingdom / Crazy Ivan lures / Surprise streamers:

Surprise and Crazy Ivan lures on Dockside lure caddies!

We started off with the Daytona 500 prize the Lowrance HDS-5 GPS / Sonar first: Dean (Homewrecker) was one happy person!

Supercab wins the Bert's custom tackle (tracks and rod holders):

Kurt (Kamel) wins the Adventure product net!

Mike (Lazy C's) wins the Navionics chip of his choice:

Andre contributes the Scotty downrigger and Thorny wins it!

Matt (Flashpoint) wins the Cannon Intelli probe system!

Sleeps wins the TD Fish Hawk portable temp/depth:

Bob (Hawkeye) wins the Onyx outdoor camo pants:

Matt (Reelax) wins the Onyx outdoor camo jacket:

I had to get in on the action and win one of the two Yasner fish mount certificates:

Michael Cowherd winning the Trollmaster Pro III!!!!!

Mark n Fish winning a Rotary derby pass!

(4Cs) winning a Dan Keating video on Salmon!

And finally! Phew!

The one and only Crazy Ivan winning an All season pass from the LCI and Todd has the best chance at a 10 lb Salmon for the upcoming 2011 season!

[Big Dave]

Looks like a good time and a fun crowd!!!!

[flashpoint]

Thanks to Digitroll for reposting on the LOU forum! I have been fortunate to meet many of these folks on the Champlain forum as well as meeting many on here! A great group of guys and some awesome dedication by VT Home & Marine for hosting our winter events! The night was well worth attending as I was lucky enough to add the new Cannon Intelli Troll to the Flashpoint for this upcoming season! Be sure to let you all know how it works, I know Billy V & crew have had great luck with it! Hope every one is getting through this long winter, hitting the Niagara with Sparky for some cold water Iron heads next week....lets hope they cooperate!

Matt

[rustyrat]

Very nice Ron!

RR

[digitroll]

Very nice Ron!

RR

Scott,

We missed you at the motel last Spring during the LOC. Good to hear your alive and kicking! Tough Bar bite last year with 40 plus releases as we just couldn't hang on to much with our poorest 5 day showing since 2003 our first trip to the Bar.

Are you going to be there this Spring?

Ron

[rustyrat]

Hey Ron,

We were there at the middle and end of the LOC at the camp ground. needless to say we only got out 1 day of 5! But the day we got out we smoked em out deep.

I'll be back at the camp ground (Tracy bought a nice camper) this year from Wed on. Call me on the radio or stop by.

RR

[digitroll]

Scott,

I will give a yell on the radio or stop by at the campground on the way to Lazy C's camp nearby for our evening get together to eat.

It was one of the roughest 5 days that I have ever fished out at the Bar in 7 years. We did get out Monday - Friday each am + the bonus Sunday evening shakedown after riding 8 hours towing the boat. We had some rough water especially on Friday our last day when it switched to the dreaded N/E in the afternoon.

See you this Spring!

Ron

[rustyrat]

Sounds good Ron. see you up there.

RR

[Dipsey]

Looks like a super time!Great bunch of folks and outstanding forum! Can't wait to launch out of Willsboro again, lots of ice yet though I imagine.