Owasco 5/17

[MarkNY]

fished solo today on the north end with my measley 2 rod spread. but it didnt matter because the fishing was on fire! fished the top 3-4 miles of the lake. went approx. 16 or 17 for 28 or 30 all on lake trout. nothing big but they were feisty. found some good bait in 45FOW with lots of fish on them. trolled scorpian spoons and needlefish spoons on the riggers 12-15' down over 45FOW. every pass would produce at least one hit. had a few doubles. that bite lasted a couple hours until i lost track of the bait. moved over to the east side and found lots of life over there too. marked a ton of fish today, mainly from 15-40' down but lots of deep fish too. fish were spitting up 2 1/2"-3" mooneyes. got some hits on bigger spoons as well. lost a bunch of fish today so i did some experimenting but i could use some tips. i normally run with tight releases so i dont pop them sending them down but when i get a hit that doesnt release, i lose alot fish when i grab the rod and reel down. i usually reel down until it releases and thats when the fish pops off. i tried going looser on the releases today and the seemed to help a little, especially when the fish popped the release. any tips on how i can improve on that? i know the single hooks on the needlefish didnt help either but i wanted to release all fish. thanks alot, mark

[Ray]

Nice report. Sounds like you had a great day.

As for the releases, I use black's downrigger releases. I can adjust the sensitivity of the release for the species and lakes that I am on. For me they work great!

Here is a picture.

[HomeOffice]

If you can afford them, I would recommend Chamberlain Down-rigger Release kind of pricey but work great because of how there designed. Having 2 adjustments, vertical & horizontal allows you to tighten the rod very tight but allowing the release side very lose.

Here's a link to there web site they have a video that shows how they work..

http://www.downriggerrelease.com/

[rshubuck]

You know me Mark. I love the Black releases. The only thing i can say is tighter usually is better because it gives a good solid hook up. I don't set the hook. The release does all that for me. But the issue is that these fish don't always release even when it is lighter. I think I troll a touch faster then you so things are a little different but I suggest as soon as you see the rod move power reel down till it releases and all slack is gone. I think that is all that you really can do besides using really sharp hooks.

Great report Mark! Glad to see you make it out there even in these weather conditions!

[tcon]

Nice fishin Mark sounds like a fun day.

Tom

[Broadhorizons]

Owasco can be real fun this time of the year on the North end. Good job.

[Second Chance 22]

I used to have this problem.

Stinger scorpian stock hooks are junk.The bigger the fish, the more likely you are to lose it with a stock hook.

Replace them with a quality hook such as the Owner "super needle point" stinger treble (ST-36BC) in size 4. Your percentage of fish hooked and landed on scorpians will soar.

[Hookedup]

Blacks release, with a rubber band. If you set the release just right rubber band wont brake, and you will be able to tell when you are dragging a 8 inch salmon. Sean

[kremer01]

rubber bands!

[Sk8man]

Black releases are definitely the way to go Ive been using them for over 30 years on downriggers and outriggers and I've tried just about everything else experimenting and nothing touches them especially for the money.

[Big Dave]

Do your 4 or 5 twists then a couple of loose ones. That way you can see the shakers with a Blacks release. Sharp hooks!!! I don't know how fast the line pickup is with those mooching reels to wind down to a fish.

[lyteline]

Black's are the best for us....2 on each rigger cause they work great for stacker lines too.Zeke & Cyn(Strike 3)

[grandpa fish on]

I did a solo this A.M. on the east side of Owasco around half way down the lake,I ran a jointed rapela out 100' and before I could hook it to the rigger release a 26" laker hit it, I boated 5 Lakers in less than a hour and then the approaching storm drove me off the lake.

There is loads of bait & fish in 30' FOW below Long Pt.

Mark N.Y. can you tell me if you were fishing above or below Long Point or all the above ? Gary (Grandpa fish on)

[MarkNY]

thanks alot guys! im gonna look into blacks releases. grandpa, north of long point on west shore has been best for me. best, mark