Depth to put my spoons

[Chinook Chaser]

Out for the first time this season and no fish. Honestly I really suck at fishing and burn a lot of fuel. Don't have a down temp Guage so looking at surface Temps between 45 and 53 out of hughs marina I kept most of my lures close to the surface or with one barrel sinker. few fish i marked were between surface and 20 feet. Was running 6 lines of the boards and just have hooked something. When we came in I noticed most other boats had on divers. Do I need to be deeper? Also what speed to run. Tried from 2 to 3.

[final flight]

Before I had down speed I played the percentages , I would flood the zone that had the most fish, with that said one must be aware that every spoon has a sweet spot when it comes to speed, a Moonshine will not run with a Alpena diamond , with that in mind I always run the entire spred of the same spoons . If they don't go I change the entire spred and go with a faster or slower spoon , if they don't want spoons then the whole spred gets changed to a stick program, the same holds true with sticks , some like it fast, some like it slow. You also need to pay attention to wind direction and currents, stingers could be wackin fish at 2.2 mph running with the wind, turn and head into wind and they never take a fish, , this what the current will do ! Gotta love this game !!! Good luck and GOD bless

[Paul Czarnecki]

Instead of burning fuel trying to blunder into a fish by accident you should simply take a charter to see how it's done.

Several of us on here offer on the water seminars that would be invaluable to you and shorten your learning curve immensely.

You could spend the next ten years on here and on your own trying to catch a fish or, for around $650, you could see how it's done directly from a pro and start catching fish today.

We are having one of the best springs in years---there is no better time to learn than right now.

PM me and I'll tell you about the seminar package I offer and what you need to do. (My gift bags are usually pretty good too 😃) *shameless plug*

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Chinook Chaser]

Final flight- thanks for info on trolling speed. And some of those spoons you have mentioned I have never heard of. I will have to look those up. So you say pick all the same spoons to start with and try different speeds. If nothing try different spoons or stick baits? Or how about starting with something like 3 nks and 3 stingers with different speeds and see what happens? As far as running depth, should i be using diver and riggers mostly now?

Paul thanks for idea of charter and that would be awesome, just 650 is out of my range to spend.

[Paul Czarnecki]

Final flight- thanks for info on trolling speed. And some of those spoons you have mentioned I have never heard of. I will have to look those up. So you say pick all the same spoons to start with and try different speeds. If nothing try different spoons or stick baits? Or how about starting with something like 3 nks and 3 stingers with different speeds and see what happens? As far as running depth, should i be using diver and riggers mostly now?

Paul thanks for idea of charter and that would be awesome, just 650 is out of my range to spend.

And how much have you/ will you spend in fuel learning by trial and error?

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[Silver Fox]

4 buddies slitting the cost. Is that so bad? In one day your frustrations would be gone. Its a no brained to hire someone for a day or just be frustrated for a long time.

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[pvelyk]

If charters out, I think LOTSA offers a class during the Niagara Falls outdoor show in the winter.  Won't help now and hands on water schooling is always best, but it is a option.

[final flight]

Use what ever will get you to. Target depth, snap weight- thru- riggers charters are great place to learn but you CAN do on your own , and the costly lesson have a tendency to stick with you, re-read my first post --run ALL the same type of baits, take notes and enjoy the fishing, it's not all about the catching !!!!

[Sk8man]

One of the things that occurs to me is the fact that sometimes folks are looking for "instant answers"  here rather than fully doing their "homework" by researching past posts on here and trying out the things experimentally on the water themselves, finding what works and what doesn't. Many of the guys on here have spent much if not most of their lives gathering this experience and information (at their own expense) and graciously offer much of that information to others but it is assumed that people will also think and do for themselves rather than being "spoon fed" information in bulleted form because someone is too reluctant to put in the minimal effort to become more informed by sifting through existing information. Paul's suggestion of an on the water "seminar" is absolutely the best way to learn this stuff and he is a very credible  person to conduct it. Many folks often chip in money/split costs to go on charters when they can't afford the whole shot themselves. It is far more advantageous than buying a bunch of rods and reels and lures and cruising around trying to figure out what you are doing.  Going out once and then assuming your results indicate that you suck at fishing and worrying about down temp or speed when you don't have the basic essentials down isn't fair to yourself either. You'll get it down and start catching but patience is also very much required in this game and a lot of times success out there may be totally outside your control (i.e Mother nature). Stick with it and best of luck to you.

[Chinook Chaser]

Thank you to everyone again. This forum is really awesome. Its enjoyable being out there regardless of catch numbers (to a point) and like trying different things and sometimes have great days and get a little lucky. Those awesome days make the slower days easier to handle. Taking notes would be a great thing to do and I will start doing so. I have actually been meaning to do that. Through keeping track of what is working I will figure out that it really isnt really luck. One day in particular last summer was amazing had a die off of sawbellys and I ran nothing but suttons and couldnt keep the fish off, had doubles all day. Then out the next day and totally different conditions and didnt catch much. I will see if I can get some guys together for a charter. 

[SmellsLikeFishNH]

I hired a guide to come out on MY boat with me for the day to see what I was doing, what I was running and how I was running it. That was worth every penny!! It changed my trips from skunks to limits on every trip.

[Sk8man]

Another good idea about going on your boat with someone with a lot of experience .....wantmorefish - you have the right attitude my notebooks have payed off big time over the years

[Fishtails]

Final Flight {Rollie) is a very good fisherman and all around super nice guy who just gave you some very solid advise. Without knowing the fow you were fishing over and types of spoons you ran, It's tough to say what went wrong exactly but most likely you had spoons far too high.  Paul mentioned charters and that is a great way to learn.  If the money is an issue, sign up to be an observer for the Niagara Pro Am or the the tournament at Oak Orchard the week after the pro am.  That way you learn from pro's, plus you even get paid a couple dollars instead of it costing you.  You'll walk away with more knowledge than you can imagine.

 

Good luck with your season!

[Silver Fox]

And I may need an observer for the oak open

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[Chinook Chaser]

Silver Fox --That sounds awesome! Can we talk details? I run my own business and can be very flexible.

[Silver Fox]

I'm not sure yet but send me a pm with your cell info

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[MadPerry]

I don't have anything to really add that hasn't been said, but, do a charter or hitch a ride with an experienced guy.  I had a really positive experience with a Rochester charter 2 years ago that completely changed my approach.  And we have some stellar Rochester charter captains.  I'm still no expert, but I catch fish with consistency and understand better how to approach each varying day.  Most important is not giving up.  You will learn from every failure.  Read the reports section.  Details are everything.  Some great guys that give detailed info, and probably for your area as well. 

 

A tool that lets you see down temp and speed is valuable in deeper water.  If you do get one, you will be amazed by how different surface and down speeds are.  I have found that gps speed is more accurate for down speed than surface speed is.

[bondouley]

Instead of burning fuel trying to blunder into a fish by accident you should simply take a charter to see how it's done.

Several of us on here offer on the water seminars that would be invaluable to you and shorten your learning curve immensely.

You could spend the next ten years on here and on your own trying to catch a fish or, for around $650, you could see how it's done directly from a pro and start catching fish today.

We are having one of the best springs in years---there is no better time to learn than right now.

PM me and I'll tell you about the seminar package I offer and what you need to do. (My gift bags are usually pretty good too ) *shameless plug*

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

i did this a couple years ago and highly recommend doing it.  these guys have decades of knowledge that will begin helping you immediately it did me!

[ReelDeal]

Years ago when I lived in the area - LOTSA seminars and networking with experienced fisherman made a big difference for me...I have been on many charters from Wilson to Mexico Bay - and knew alot - but it didn't translate equally to my boat...getting someone on your boat is a great idea - in fact - I wish I had thought of that so many years ago - would have been a huge step saver for me.

[TyeeTanic]

You will learn a lot as an observer at tournaments. The pressure is on for guys to catch fish, so they will use every trick under their sleeve.

 

Back to specifics - how long were your leads? How deep (water depth) were you? How deep were your spoons? What color spoons? What leader are you using on your rods?

[Chinook Chaser]

Tons of great suggestions and actually have started getting friendly with a few guys where I launch so this will help. Some guys in my area (close to sodus bay) told me not to feel to bad if its slow now its slow for them as well and the fish will be moving into our area heavier soon. My lines and leaders are all 30 pound flea flicker with about a 20 foot leader of 15pound fc. I was off the boards first time I went out and fished over from 70 to 120 foot of water and my deepest bait was around 10 feet. Surface temps around 43 so I kept them near the surface. I ran spoons and stick baits, dont remember kind or color. This is where the notes will be handy. Was running from 100ft to 150ft back. 

Second time out was about an hour with all suttons spoons at depths between 10 and 20ft. Nothing so after an hour changed to all stingers for another hour before the wind blew me off at same depths. Fished over 60 to about 110, didnt mark anything. 

[Chinook Chaser]

and speeds I ran last time out were from 1.5 to 2 for the suttons and 2.5 to 2.8 for stingers