otisco 8/6 b'day walleye

[rnsurfnturf]

Got out on my toon on my birthday with my Dad about 6:30 last night. Getting used to using big planers that Justin (justtracytrolling ) was kind enough to let me try out and set them out pulling tdd9's ,shad raps, and tdd11's on 4 rods.

 

All I have up to this point is a couple of boards on orange mason line clipped to a couple pieces of 1" lead pipe that are stuck in some armrest cupholder holes. I bought the deep diving cranks and a 6 of the releases after Justin made me a BELIEVER to the trolling game. THe poles are kinda wedged into the railing with something on top of the butt. No rod holders, etc.

 

After a couple trips up down the west shore and 1 down the east shore heading north with nothing to show for it, I headed back across to the west shore and figured once I got over and headed south I was going to call it a night.

 

I started turning south at 8:30 over 55 ft of water and said to my Dad, " Well, this was a bust!" Two seconds after I said that, the inside rod pulling a foil perch tdd11 at 3 mph released and the pole LAUNCHED towards the back of the boat and landed on the rear couch and I managed to grab it before it kept on going.

Landed the 26.5" 8+ lb walleye safely with no issues as of course the hooks came out of her when she was in the net.

I don't think I've seen that violent of a hit from a walleye before! My 3 yr old boy had to get out of bed to come out and check out the walleye when I got home last night.

 

I owe it to Justin for confirming what I had thought could be successful in Otisco in the past but I just never put any real effort into the trolling thing other than dragging a couple sticks behind the boat hopin for a strike not paying attention to depth or speed etc. I.m pretty sure that other than maybe a local bass guy or two I know, there probably arent too many guys that have more prop revolutions on Otisco covering water than Justin. That guy has put some big time effort into figuring out whats going on and never giving up. Its been a pleasure to go out on his boat which is outfitted very well, learn what he has been doing, absorbing everything he has learned and then realizing that its silly for me not to add the trolling game to my arsenal to keep after these bigger fish during the summer when they are out in the middle and suspended. Justin has allowed me to "test drive" the trolling gig and I have bought it!

Anybody who fishes Otisco knows it can beat a man down with disappointment and frustration, but after hooking  a few avg 5-8 lbs fish and knowing whats in there, you know that your hard work will pay off if you are persistent.

 

Thanks again Justin! No I have some outfitting to do by next year!

 

Tim

[Xxx]

I'm glad  that JT has taken the time out of his very busy walleye schedule, and this get together this weekend that didn't materialize, I was a bit disappointed, but I wasn't surprised this late in the year with all the silver fish coming in closer you can't pry those guys off the lake. I think his object in life is to educate people on the how to and what, where and when, and why. Personally I think he took a big challenge on which is fantastic, that tells me a lot about the man, but getting back to trolling when the inside lines went slack that monster hit the lure and ran, and tore the rod out of your make shift holder you were lucky that you didn't lose your entire rig, but I bet it was exciting for a few minutes. You mentioned that you were going to outfit your boat with rod holders and what ever else you will be needing, which JT will help you with that I'm sure. You have a great pal on your side, and you will have no problems getting the right stuff for your boat. PAP

[fbg14619]

That is a beauty. Great going guys!

[fishhard23]

I was on otisco yesterday as well, saw you on the west side, we were on the 19 ft bluefin more in the middle of the lake. Lots of fish, tons of bait, no walleye, all spoons for us

[Kevin J Legg]

Justin will keep you on tract.

[Sk8man]

Tim - Very nice walleye....good going. 

 

I spent time this morning from 4:45 AM till about 11:30 AM with Justin at Sampson State Park on Seneca waiting for the wind to die down so we could troll for trout. It instead  gained strength and we realized that it was virtually unfishable from the standpoint of controlling speed and lines so we opted for an intensive mutual sharing of information and ideas across species lines and everything else under the sun and talked for hours. He sure is one motivated dude when it comes to fishing and in my view is going to be one heck of a charter captain for walleyes. Justin is the guy to go to for eyes on Otisco for sure and he is proof that doing your homework and spending the time doing (i.e actual experience) and watching, and recording data and reviewing it and "thinking out of the box" pays off. I might add that we also noted Kevin Legg's accomplishment up north in this regard   My thinking about the walleye scene is quite different as a result.....

 

Keep up the good work Tim!

 

Les

[Kevin J Legg]

We've all still have a lot to learn when it comes to walleyes! I learned a lot about fishing boards from fishing with Landshark and Kelly Page By the way the Chamberlain down rigger release is similar to the Black but has two adjustments allowing you to have a tight bent rod but a lighter release on fish like walleye. I currently still use the Blacks but will try Chamberlains next as I believe they are superior.

[rw6788]

The releases I use

Fourteen inches of down rigger cable with two swivel one on each end.

Attach one to the end to the down rigger and use a walleye rubber band attach to line and then to top swivel.

You can watch the rod tip which is very sensitive. So sensitive that you can tell when you have. Golby

Learned this trick from Lake Michigan anglers who been using this method for years.

[justtracytrolling]

Tim you cost me an hour of sleep last night as i was so wound up after you sent me the pic! Congrats...so you got it all figured out...lol...wish i coulda seen that rod go...and you have seen vicious walleye strikes before...they just dont look as impressive in a rod holder...lol...good thing you snapped your barbie pole a couple weeks ago the day you ended up jigging for panfish in a 4 hour long downpour. To anyone starting out all the valuable info on this site isnt worth a thing without some good old fashioned hard work. Bet that one fish last nite with dad was better than 10 on my boat. Tim started at ground zero and just plugged away never quitting...that fish will open the flood gates, and with some equipment we will be seeing some more pics from Tim.

Justin

Sent from my N9500 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[rnsurfnturf]

Thanks all! Saw you out there as well fishard23, sorry you didn't have much luck. Sk8man sorry to hear you couldnt get out...it was pretty windy today for sure!

One of the nice things about otisco is it takes a lot to make it unfishable and you can get off the water quickly if needed

[fishhard23]

Never said we didn't have luck! We slammed them!... just no walleyes

[rnsurfnturf]

My mistake fishard23...I read that as lots of fish marked not caught.