Out of Sodus - 6/30 (gotta boat them to count)

[Hillside]

Same spot as yesterday.  Started with the same setup. Why change what worked awesome yesterday?  We got all six rods in and sat for ten minutes, Mag Carbon 14 takes a hit and three minutes later it spit the hook.  I looked at my buddy and said, "that is not a good omen".  Boy was I correct.  I lost three fish and my buddy lost three fish (last year he an I only lost ONE).  Only one was a break off and only one other wrapped the diver wire and got free.  We lost fish from the fly, from each of our six lines.

 

We went 3 for 10!  All were solid hookups and fights of at least three minutes.  I checked all the hooks (no issues).  The one that "broke the camel's back" was when we had to pull five lines to prevent being spooled.  My buddy's 13 year old fought it for 20 minutes then handed the rod off to his dad.  It was straight down.  We got the fish to within ten feet of the boat AND 45 FEET STRAIGHT DOWN!  Eight minutes later, with the dad still holding the rod and not gaining, the line went limp.  We were all devastated and nobody said or did anything for three minutes, then I looked at my buddy and started setting up a rigger and we went back at it.

 

Three for ten in the same spots just couldn't get them to the boat.  The only color change we made two hours in (due to the overcast conditions) was to take off the two froggy green spoons and swap one for purple and silver and the other to black with purple and white back.  Both took hits.

 

Hoping to be back at it for an evening troll next week Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.

 

Temperature break where we were is down 90 feet (45 degrees).  When we "strayed" off path, the temps were all over the place (57 degrees down 89 feet).

Edited June 30, 2021 by Hillside

[pdsalmon]

Thanks for the report, I thought we were the only ones with days like that.

Hang in there. Better days ahead. 

A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work, although days like that make you wonder. 

[Gill-T]

When you have a big one straight down, you can do two things to get the fish up on top. Speed up the boat and strip line off the reel. The change in angle will make the fish rise with less pressure. 

[Hillside]

In three five-hour days (Monday - Wednesday), we ended up 19 for 31.

[Hillside]

Thanks for the tip Gill-T.  That makes sense.  

[Mrm31790]

That’s rough! It’s a tough game. Went 10/10 on Monday. The same spots and marks Tuesday morning 1/1. Temps changed, still marked schools in the same spots. Not biting. Gotta love it!

[dhhurlburt]

Sounds like you still had a great time. Id rather go 0 for 10 than not going at all. Is 220 feet still the target rich depth?

 

Tight lines

[woody 184]

Hillside we all have had days like that , remember as long as you learned what you can apply to next time you get out….

[Steve.e]

I had a day like that last year, all lost (6) on flies that I just changed the treble to eagle claws. They seemed to have a shallower and wider  bend than the originals. Replaced all of them with some silver ones I had, not sure of the brand, no more issues. Maybe coincidence, maybe not.

[Pappy]

Hillside posted a Sodus Report which is great, it’s nice to have guys sharing the basics on here about Sodus area.

i headed up today for first actual trip, first quick run was to make sure everything worked.

i dry store so launching is a pain in the a....

got out to 180 set some stuff out and by 220 first king, medium. Turned a little east and by 260, big king. Made a big circle , didn’t find much, back to mark and at 260 another king.

two on wire dipsy, flasher fly the other on rigger spoon.

temp break was right at 100, fish were all there and below to 170 down

steady morning!

good luck

[Hillside]

6 hours ago, dhhurlburt said:

Sounds like you still had a great time. Id rather go 0 for 10 than not going at all. Is 220 feet still the target rich depth?

 

Tight lines

 

We started in 220 and worked out to 260 and the temperature break was between 96' and 102'.

 

Oh, I loved the fact that we got 10 chances.  I have to suck it up and learn (it was not the hooks, I checked them all (and sharpened a few points) and they all caught fish the previous two days).

 

I spent today cleaning the inside of the boat and scrubbing the bottom while one of my kids and her friend swam off of the boat (off the coast guard station in Sodus Bay), and my wife reading on the bow.  This was a good day too!

[dhhurlburt]

I worked 220 all afternoon. One good take on a purple meat rig, and one good rip on a green meat rig. 50f down 103. 

 

I gotta figure out the currents. Trolling west to east with NW wind, all my gear was drifting to the north side of the boat. My low diver kept getting tangled with the rigger cable...yes..the diver was set right...it was so frustrating. Same current situation trolling east to west...what gives?

[jimski2]

Always troll with the wind on your stern to keep a steady course. The worst course is travelling straight into a strong wind.  It sometimes is best to pick up all gear and travel upwind at high speed to return to your preferred waypoints.

[Hillside]

42 minutes ago, jimski2 said:

Always troll with the wind on your stern to keep a steady course. The worst course is travelling straight into a strong wind.  It sometimes is best to pick up all gear and travel upwind at high speed to return to your preferred waypoints.

 

I do the same as jimski2.  The little time it takes is worth it.  I, however, will not travel directly N or S, but the wind is at my stern.

[Dan M]

On 6/30/2021 at 3:26 PM, Hillside said:

Same spot as yesterday.  Started with the same setup. Why change what worked awesome yesterday?  We got all six rods in and sat for ten minutes, Mag Carbon 14 takes a hit and three minutes later it spit the hook.  I looked at my buddy and said, "that is not a good omen".  Boy was I correct.  I lost three fish and my buddy lost three fish (last year he an I only lost ONE).  Only one was a break off and only one other wrapped the diver wire and got free.  We lost fish from the fly, from each of our six lines.

 

We went 3 for 10!  All were solid hookups and fights of at least three minutes.  I checked all the hooks (no issues).  The one that "broke the camel's back" was when we had to pull five lines to prevent being spooled.  My buddy's 13 year old fought it for 20 minutes then handed the rod off to his dad.  It was straight down.  We got the fish to within ten feet of the boat AND 45 FEET STRAIGHT DOWN!  Eight minutes later, with the dad still holding the rod and not gaining, the line went limp.  We were all devastated and nobody said or did anything for three minutes, then I looked at my buddy and started setting up a rigger and we went back at it.

 

Three for ten in the same spots just couldn't get them to the boat.  The only color change we made two hours in (due to the overcast conditions) was to take off the two froggy green spoons and swap one for purple and silver and the other to black with purple and white back.  Both took hits.

 

Hoping to be back at it for an evening troll next week Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.

 

Temperature break where we were is down 90 feet (45 degrees).  When we "strayed" off path, the temps were all over the place (57 degrees down 89 feet).

You defiantly need a pair of fish flops on the boat to get rid of that bad mojo.

[wicked salmon]

Had a fish we could not move. Straight down. Was snagged in the middle of the back.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Gill-T]

5 hours ago, jimski2 said:

Always troll with the wind on your stern to keep a steady course. The worst course is travelling straight into a strong wind.  It sometimes is best to pick up all gear and travel upwind at high speed to return to your preferred waypoints.

This is a simplistic approach that is a needed default selection in heavy surf but does not take into consideration the crazy currents on Lake Ontario (jimski in mostly an Erie guy). If you are always trolling with the wind and waves, you may not be at the right downspeed to make spoons work right. I usually figure out the direction of the down-current and head into it regardless of wind or wave direction. 

[SmilinEd1]

Downspeed is most important..

If you cannot maintain a consistent downspeed it'll be a tough day on the lake

 

[Hillside]

5 hours ago, Dan M said:

You defiantly need a pair of fish flops on the boat to get rid of that bad mojo.

 

Dan, I have been reading your posts and was thinking the same thing...