Tough fishing! Better than working!

So we hit the same water we smoked the Brown Trout in last weekend, and things definitely changed. For starters the water was gin clear, which isn't good for Brown Trout fishing. Water temps are starting to get into the lower 40's. We took 3 shots in the few hours we spent on the water. First hit came off the planer boards and it was on and off within seconds. We waited a while for our next fish and when it came we fought it for about a minute before we lost that one too. That fish also hit a flat-line off the planer board. Our last fish came east of shipbuilders creek, and it was well worth the wait. With a newbie on board this was a quality fish weighing in at 8lb's. All fish took natural colored stickbaits.

We hope to splash the big boat next weekend, so look forward to the report. It wont be long now before we are catching those crazy spring kings.  Also remember we have a seminar coming up in May. If your from the west end of Lake Ontario you want want to miss out on this!

3D Archery!

This past week I had a tremendous thing happen to me that is very rare, or should I say very difficult, in the archery world. During a 3D league I shoot in at Indian Mountain Archery I "Robin Hooded" an arrow. This was the second time I have done this and I waited about 2 years for it to happen again. For a robin hood to happen everything has to align perfectly. Some people look at this as a ruined arrow, but in my eyes its a trophy that deserves to be on the wall right next to my deer mounts. Here is a picture of the one from this past week and the first one I ever shot.

Warm Water Trolling Seminar at Gander Mountain

On May 4th I will be holding a seminar at the Tonowanda Gander Mountain. The topic of discussion will be warm water trolling tactics for Salmon and Trout. This happens to be perfect timing for this topic as the Salmon fishing in the Western basin is just about to pick up, and some of these tactics can be used for both Spring and Summer. This discussion will cover how we find the schools of Salmon and Trout during derby's, charters, and tournaments. I also plan on discussing several techniques on how we would approach different situations with different trolling set-ups. If there is anything you would like me to cover please send me an e-mail and I will add it to the presentation (if I left it out). Again this will be held at the Tonowanda Gander Mountain on May 4th at 6:30 p.m. Stay tuned for more details.

One heck of a day!

Well, we worried about the weather report of 1-3' waves out of the NW late last night, but we gave it a try anyway. My buddy Jeremy met my brother and I down at the Bay around 8am. Waves were bearable, and the fishing was HOT! We finally got into the fish a little East of Irondequoit and it didn't stop till we hit Hedges. Final count was 15 for 18. Tally was 1 Atlantic, 2 Rainbows, 12 Browns. Biggest Brown was close to 10 pounds. The Atlantic was the surprise of the day. It was my second ever, and first in the open Lake. The water ranged in color depending on where you were. The overcast sky and water color made it a great day for natural colors, and that was what they wanted. Water temps ranged from 37-40 degrees. 2 rigger bites with all the rest coming off the big boards.

 Trolling in a BASS BOAT 101!

We got a late start on Sunday due to the 4-12 hour days I put in at work prior to Sunday. I needed a little sleep! We stopped short of Shipbuilders creek and started to cast. First thing I noticed was the decent water color, but more importantly the water temperature was a few degrees warmer than last week. So, hopes were high! We casted spoons and stickbaits down the shoreline with no hits or follows. I made the decision to start trolling. We put out a few small in-line boards and a couple of flat lines and down the shore we headed. Right as we got into the cove East of Shipbuilders creek FISH ON! IT was our first fish of the day and it was our smallest fish of the day. We trolled a little bit further without a hit, and I made the decision to head down to 4 mile creek. We pull up and the water still looks good. We found 37 degree water outside the mouth and once in the creek it was 38. Not a touch, which was really surprising. So, again the decision to troll was tossed out and accepted by the crew. We put the lines in the water and headed back West. From 4 mile creek to shipbuilders we were able to put 5 more fish in the boat, and we also lost one. It was a great end to a slow start! Black and silver off brand stickbait was the hot bait for us pulling 6 bites, and its brother in a goby pattern took one. Reports from some friends said they had as good or better luck trolling from sun up. Its starting guys, so gear up and lets go whack some fish! Here are the pics from Sunday:

Sea Sick Waddler

As I look outside I see more of the white stuff falling. Its been a while, but I have to remember winter still is not over. I plan on hitting the water this weekend so stay posted for a report when I get off the water. Only a few short weeks and it will be GAME ON! April Brown Trout trip availability is VERY limited at this point, but we still have a few dates for our May Spring Salmon season. If you are waiting I would recommend you don't wait too much longer! You don't want to miss out on this season. Last season we witnessed a great year class for the 2009 Salmon Season on Lake Ontario. 

Northern King, one of our sponsors, has included our Sea Sick Waddler (SSW) pattern into their 2009 line-up. This pattern was UNBELIEVABLE last year, and helped us notch a top ten placing at the Niagara Pro-Am tourney. It also took our largest Salmon of the 2008 season weighing in at 30.03lbs. These are available in tackle shops up and down Lake Ontario. A tackle shop in Pulaski was noted as saying it was their hottest spoon of 2008! Captains Cove and Narbys had them in right at the beginning of the CRAZE! Here is a picture of the spoon if you are not familiar with it:

This season we will be testing out a Sea Sick Waddler Spin Doctor with a custom A-TOM-MIK tournament fly. We are super pschyed for May to come so we can get this set-up wet. If it was anything like the spoon it might be the next Spin Doctor/Fly combo for 2009! Stay tuned to see if its the real deal!

1st Day on Lake Ontario in 2009!

Well, enough was enough! The warm weather we had over the past few days was enough to melt the ice around the launch at Irondequoit Bay. So, we headed down there this morning with high hopes of getting hooked up with some spring Brown Trout hanging out in the warmer waters flowing out of the streams. We hit up the three creeks east of Irondequoit with no luck at all. Not ever a follower. Water temps ranged from 33-34 degrees, but the water color was right where it needed to be. On the way back to the bay we stopped to give the first creek on more shot since we had such great success there in the past. Not 5 minutes went by and I hooked up on my new Daiwa Heartland Noodle Rod and Daiwa Exceler Spinning Reel. It ended up being about a 4lb. Brown Trout that didn't stand a chance from the Bass Pro Shops Nitro Minnow that put 2 trebles in its mouth.

It should only be another few warm days before this type of fishing explodes! We had some great success last year doing this, and we are anticipating another successful year in 2009. If this is something you might be interested in give us a shout! Its a little more personal than trolling for the Browns.