Where can you find us?

It's the off season and I am constantly looking for every opportunity to get out and either chase after some fish, or talk about fish. Thats just how I roll! I did a seminar at Gander Mountain last Spring, but the corporate headquarters have taken an axe to seminars in general at their stores. Thats a bummer because there were a lot of GOOD seminars that outdorsman were putting on, and teaching people how to maximize their time spent in the outdoors.

• We have been invited to set-up a booth at a local Sportsman Banquet on February 16th at the Victory Baptist Church Community Center (32 Wildbriar Rd., Rochester, NY 14623). I have heard that this event is a very good time and very informative for deer hunters especially if follow the rut. They have a guest Speaker, Charlie Alsheimer, who is a world renowned deer management expert, writer, & photographer. He will give us insights on the whitetail deer, and how best to have a successful hunt. There will be door Prizes will be raffled off. To reserve tickets, call (585) 334-8524 or click below by February 9th. As always, the tickets are free, but there is a suggested donation of $10 per person (collected at the door) to help cover costs.

• We will also have a booth at the now annual Lake Ontario Salmon and Trout Association (LOTSA) Expo. We did this last year and the turn out was amazing. We were able to show off some new products last year and we will be doing the same thing this year. If you fish Lake Ontario and want to get away for a Winter weekend, or listen to seminars from some of Lake Ontario's top charter boat captains then you wont want to miss this show. All proceeds go to the Pen Rearing project in Olcott, so how can you not support this? You can buy new and used equipment from many of the vendors, and have chances at hourly prizes. This will also allow you to network with many people who have the same interest as you do! 

More Stream Action

I was able to get out prior to the warm spell and heavy rains in the beginning of the week. Water was low and clear, but there were some fish around to play. Again, the tickets being beads and egg sacs. Smaller the better when water is low and clear like it had been. Anyway, here are a few pictures of some of the beautifully colored up fish that wanted to play on this particular day!

Stay tuned to my blog for some exciting news in the next month or so. LOTS of new gear is coming OUR way. I'm going to get one more chance this weekend at some stream fish then off to Disney World with my girlfriend to grab some Rest and Relaxation prior to our busy summer we have planned ahead. 7 Tournaments on top of all our charters is going to make for a VERY busy/eventful 2010 season. 

The weather this weekend was beautiful given the time of year. Mid 30 degree days with lows at night barley touching the high 20s over the last week have made outdoor activities enjoyable. We are still counting the days till April when we can begin to enjoy the Salmon and Trout on Lake Ontario from the boat.

On Saturday my Buddy Andy Bliss (who owns Chasin’ Tail Adventures) and I did a little steelhead fishing. We had a fun morning even with the fact he called me and told me he overslept. We landed some fresh steelhead and our largest tipped the scales at around 10lbs. A beautiful hen loaded with future steelhead, so like the others we gently placed her back into the water to fight another day. The ticket today was a variety of things. It seemed as if nothing would work more than once. Egg sacs in various colors and Trout Beads in various patterns (both stock and augmented flavors) took fish throughout the morning. Andy grew up just outside of New York City, and now calls Oswego home. He had seen the famous Nick Tahoes Garbage Plate on the Food Channel, and that’s what was on his agenda before he pealed out of Rochester.

On Sunday my buddy Scott and I hit up an ATV park we had been dying to try given it was only about an hour south of Rochester. Demon Run ATV Park was running a one time trial pass for $15, so we headed down there to give their trails a try. Even with the warm weather they were able to retain their snow. We saw one drift that had to be 5’ high. The trails were snow covered, but still very challenging. 20 miles worth of trails and some great scenery of the southern tier is what makes this place so enjoyable to ride. I would have had some pictures, but it seems the camera on my phone couldn’t with stand the ride of the trails.

Snnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooowwwwwwww!

Well, it doesn't look like the snow is going to stop anytime soon! Mother nature is unleashing her fury on us this Winter. Last weekend was spent plowing, but I wont let it happen again! I plan on hitting up Braddocks Bay in the morning looking to ice some Northern Pike. Braddocks is know for it's great fishery in the Rochester area. A lot of Pike to be had through the ice, but the Perch population can get good there as the season winds down. 

We are still in the planning stages for 2010. The phone is beginning to ring with people looking to book trips with us. I want to emphasize that my favorite two months on Lake Ontario are May and August. A few days are still available so please don't delay! We fish from two of the most fishy places during these months. Limit catches are the norm.

Our team also is involved in many tournaments held all over Lake Ontario. We have fished the Lake Ontario Salmon Pro/Am for 6 years now. 5 of them on the Pro side. We won our very first Pro tournament in Orleans County, and we have logged many top 10 finishes in the last few years. The other tournament trail we fish is the King of the Lake series. We started fishing these in 2009, and the format is very likable. Our tournament schedule for the 2010 season looks like this:

April 24&25 Port Dalhousie Scotty

May  8&9 Wilson Scotty

June 5&6 Niagara County Pro/Am

June 12&13 Orleans County Pro/Am

July 10&11 Oswego County Pro/Am

July 17&18 Wayne County Pro/Am

Aug 21&22 Oswego Scotty

We have a full compliment of sponsors who help us throughout the tournament season. All of them can be found on our Sponsors page. This makes it a lot easier for us especially in the time of need. A-TOM-MIK manufacturing, Northern King, and Legendary Products have all over-nighted product to us at some point because the fish on Lake Ontario took or shredded our hot set-ups. We also have a team that fishes together ALL the time. this is very important because we all get to learn each other, and what we do on the boat. This is a tough thing to accomplish for many teams.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

WOW,  this year went by fast! I remember running creek mouths on Lake Ontario in March casting for Brown Trout like it was yesterday. We had some fantastic days on the Lake this year. Both numbers of fish and quality too. 2010 looks to be shaping up to follow in 2009's foot steps. I just wanted to wish everyone who spends time on my site a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

We are still booking trips for the 2010 season! A few dates left for anyone looking to battle some Spring Salmon at the Niagara Bar. Also a few dates left for August fishing out of the Oak. Those are my FAVORITE two months on the lake because the fishing is consistently AMAZING. The phone is starting to ring from people looking to book trips, so don't wait!

If your looking to do some fishing while we wait for Spring to come around the streams have been running pretty good. Steelhead catches vary from day to day, but they are out there and willing to bite. Most main rivers and streams have Steelhead in them now, so catch a nice day and try your luck at some Winter Steelhead action. The bays and Lakes are also staring to freeze over. The Panfish and Pike are starting to take a beating from the ice fisherman. Some places have 5" of ice, while others are still pretty thin. www.iceshanty.com is a good resource for ice fishing.

Some more Winter Steelhead!

I have been spending a lot of time on some Western NY streams and rivers since the regular hunting season has started. I have to admit I am having a blast fishing for and catching these Winter Trout. I have to give a HUGE thanks to my buddy Andy Bliss who guides on the Salmon River (Chasin Tail Adventures) for getting me into this type of fishing. This type of fishing can be so peaceful and relaxing. Standing in the stream, watching a float flow down stream, and anticipating a Trout taking it under. 

Egg sacks and Trout Beads have been the ticket for me over the last few weeks. I haven't landed anything huge, but there have been some very pretty fish that have fallen to my presentations. Have a look at some of photos I took.

2010 Charter Bookings

As the Christmas season comes and goes lets remember that it wont be long until we are back on the Big Lake. We have a few days still available for May Spring King action on the Niagara Bar. Call me if you are interested. This is ultimately the BEST time to fish for Salmon on Lake Ontario. You don't want to miss the fun!

On top of it all......

With everything going on right now I have had a few opportunities to make it out to the streams for a little Winter Steelhead action. Its been fairly good, and when we are blessed with water the fishing can get very good. I have hit a bunch of streams/rivers from the Salmon River to 18 Mile creek. The tributaries on the south shore of Lake Ontario are all holding trout. At times the crowds are a little much, but I haven't run across anyone who has been unsportsmanlike. Imitation egg patterns seem to be the ticket to entice these Trout into battle. Here are some pictures from my recent trips:

It's been a while....BUT I'm still here!

Hey all you Crazy Yankee Sportfishing fans! My last blog was almost 2 months ago, and A LOT has happened in that time frame that has kept me pretty busy. Here is a quick re-cap:

* My father took a nasty fall from his roof about 3 weeks ago. He landed on his head in his driveway. I have spent a lot of time up at the hospital with family and friends. Most of you may not know that Rich Hajecki is the owner of the "Yankee Troller," and he is the guy that got me into fishing. It will be a long road ahead if he can pull out of this. He has shown some great improvements in recent days, but he is in no way out of the clear.

* 2009 Hunting season kicked off. It took me 5 weekends to get something within range of my bow. Finally, on the last morning of the last weekend I had what would have been the largest 8 point I have taken so far with my bow. However, he took it upon himself to break one side of his rack off. I was still very excited to have the opportunity to harvest this animal.

* Booking 2010 charter dates. We have about 6 dates left in May at this point, and a couple in August. A Lake Ontario Charter can make a very nice Christmas gift if you don't know what to buy that someone who has everything.

10/21 - The Boat is Away! But let's start Booking for 2010!

Well, the equipment is off the boat, and the boat has been winterized. That means two things: 1. Its hunting season and 2. Fishing season is over on the Big O. We had a FANTASTIC season on the Lake. The Lake is as good now as it ever was. Limit catches were the norm along with Salmon hitting the 30lb mark in late August and early November. I cant wait until next year! We have some things lined up for next year which we are very excited about. As they happen i will post them to this blog. It's never too early to book your dates for the 2010 season. Most customers in 2009 re-booked for 2010 already. So, grab your dates while they are available.

Looking for a charter thats a tad bit cheaper, or something your kids will enjoy? How about an April Brown Trout charter? These fish run a little smaller than the HUGE Salmon you see all over our website. So, the kids can handle them with out an issue. This time of the year, April, we don't need to go far to get to the fish.

May Salmon season is the BEST time on Lake Ontario for numbers of fresh Salmon. These fish are feisty, and offer up a lot of action. We have been fishing the West end of Lake Ontario during May, which is where the Salmon season begins, for 10 years now. We have a very good idea of what these fish do given any condition. Out of the hundreds, and maybe even thousands, of boats that fish the Spring LOC on Lake Ontario we are generally able to put a fish or two on the leaderboard. That just goes to show the dedication we have for May's Spring Salmon season.

The next prime month is August, from the port of Oak Orchard/Pt. Breeze, where we have been calling home lately during the times we aren't tourney fishing up and down Lake Ontario. Fishing during this time is a BLAST! Limit catches just about every day with a mix of Salmon and Steelhead. This is the time of year where the Trophy Steelhead come to play, and we are fishing one of the most consistent ports for this.

So dont wait! Pick up that phone, or write me that e-mail to hold your date!

Mother Nature is Keeping us off the Lake!

Well, we were going to try our luck at some "combat" fishing in front of the Genesee River this past weekend, but the wind and rain kept us from getting out. Very few boats made it out, and if you weren't fishing offshore the fishing was tough and sporadic. The fish that were staged in front of the Genesee last week made the push up to the falls. With that being said Saturday morning I figured the wind wouldn't bother me much above the Island just down from the falls, so I made the trip to see if I could put a Salmon on the Pin. My brother and I casted Cleos and Spinners to a bunch of jumping fish, but they just wouldn't eat. I finally had one pull my float down, but he was so fast I couldn't catch up to him to set the hook. I went 0 for 1, but it was fun. The Lake is winding down and the streams will be heating up. Keep checking back for some sporadic fishing reports, but I'll most likely be hunting Whitetails!

I hear the Salmon River and the Oswego River are LOADED with fish, so if you want to go try your chance at a Salmon from shore there is no better place. The Genesee will continue to have fish show up, and run the river. You can try your luck at the mouth with egg sacks and spoons, or go up to the falls and give it a shot there.

There is no better time to book your May Lake trip! Dates are going faster than last year. Only a few weekend dates left! 

The Oak 9/12-9/13 Rough and Tough!

9/12 - We headed out to 40' of water to give that same line a try from the previous week. The screen looked decent, but the fish that were there had lock jaw! We played in there for an hour or so before we made the decision to head offshore. We set up on the 28N line and worked our way out to the 34N line. We picked fish the whole way out and then on the way back. The waves made for some interesting footwork. Each member of the crew fought their fish sitting on the cooler. At times we had waves as high as our flybridge. It wasn't very fun, but at least the fish were cooperating. We ended up going 6-14. Mostly Steelies in the 4-9lb range and a small King. Our program consisted of Stinger Gator Glows on the corner rigger parked at 60', Stinger 42nd's parked at 65 on the other corner rigger, and NK Copper NBK's on the center rigger parked at 50. Our wires set on a 3 setting out 120 and 150 took a few shots with an NK 42nd Mag and a Dreamweaver Gator Mag. The 10 color down the chute (knot in the water) popped a few times pulling a Dreamweaver VQ Green Dolphin.

9/13 - On this morning we figured we would give the wall a shot considering a few boats took 2-4 Salmon off it the morning prior. Well, by the time we got out there were 25 boats trying to fish 1 wall. We made one pass and that was enough battle for me! So we headed out the Steelies we played with the day before. We stopped in on the 29N line and trolled out to the 32N line. We took 1 shot in about an hour on a Stinger gator Glow down 60 on the corner rigger. Waves weren't as bad as the day before, but it still wasn't any fun out there. One guy got really sick so his crew felt bad for him, and we headed back to the dock.

The Oak 9/5-9/6 Staging King Salmon!

9/5 (Mornin') - This morning we did a little Derby fishing (LOC). My father, Uncle, Brother, and I hit the water about 6:30. We dropped in around the 70' mark and started deploying lines. We ran a simple 3 rigger, 2 wires,and 3 junk line spread. The morning would be very disappointing yet eventful! We went on to drop our first 7 screamers! Actually one happened to be a Stealhead in the 12-15lb mark, but the rest bent our hooks while tearing line from our reels! Finally, at 1pm we would go on to boat a 5" Salmon while checking lines. Shortly there after our 300 copper rod took off with a Green E-Chip pulling an A-TOM-MIK Green Crinkle. That would be our first REAL fish to hit the deck this morning. We took shots on a Dreamweaver Green Mongoose plug, Green SmartFish pulling an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist, Mtn. Dew E-Chip pulling an A-TOM-MIK TG fly, White SmartFish pulling an A-TOM-MIK White Halo, and a Slippery Frog Spinny pulling an A-TOM-MIK Purple Mirage. Riggers parked from 50 to the bottom, wires out from 150-210 and 10 color cores, 300 copper, and a 400 copper all took shots. We finished at 2pm with 10 shots.

9/5 (Evening) - My brother, his buddy Adam, my girlfriend, and I headed back out at 3:30pm and fished till 8pm. It was an exciting few hours to say the least. We would take 7 shots and boat 6 of them. The largest being just shy of 29lbs. We hit a double off our riggers shortly after we started trolling. One took a Mtn. Dew E-Chip pulling an A-TOM-MIK TG fly, and the other took a Green SmartFish pulling an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist. Our next double would come from the 300 copper pulling a Green E-Chip/A-TOM-MIK Green Crinkle and the same Green SmartFish pulling an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist. During this battle we tried to clear the 400 copper down the chute only to have it wad up in our double. While we were playing with that mess the 180 wire took off pulling a Green SmartFish/A-TOM-MIK Green Crinkle. We would boat 2 of the 3 fish. The next two fish would take the 300 copper and that Green E-Chip/A-TOM-MIK Green Crinkle combo. A fun night with some great fish!

9/6 - With the anticipation of that morning bite we left the dock a few ticks before 6am. We set up in 70' of water and all I could get was 6 rods in the water before we had our first big guy on. He took a LJ Green Glow J-Plug fished of our 10 color. While that fish was out there our 150 wire pulling a Green SmartFish/A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist starts throbbing. We're doubled! We ended up loosing the fish on the J-Plug, but boated the small guy off the wire. Got set back up with 7 rods in the water and the Green Smartfish on our corner rigger took a shot. It had an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist behind it. As that one was making his run the other 10 color with that same J-Plug takes off. We're doubled AGAIN! We ended up dropping both.Get set back up and the other corner rigger fires. This guy had some shoulders! He hit a Mtn. Dew E-Chip pulling an A-TOM-MIK TG fly. Shortly there after we were clearing a 10 color when on the retrieve a Salmon Whacks the J-Plug. Thinking we were tangled in the fish on we let it go on a light drag. Well, it was a different fish and we would end up loosing that! Almost to the boat and the center rigger fires with a Dreamweaver Slippery Frog pulling an A-TOM-MIK Purple Mirage. Finally we boat this bruiser and its a PIG! We put it on the Berkley scale and it bounces between 31 and 32. Everyone is High-Fiving! Thinking the scales opened at 8am and it was 7:40am we headed for the weigh station. Well, it didn't open till 9am! So we sat for an hour during a fast and furious bite. When the fish hit the scales we put a 31.14lb Salmon on the LOC leaderboard! Now its 9:30 and we are headed back out to the lake. We took 7 shots in an hour and a half, and had a great anticipation of what else was to come. Even though we knew it would be tough to top a 31lb Salmon. Once we set-up it didn't take long and we were into another fish. In the next hour we would boat one and drop 2 Salmon. After that we wouldn't move a rod the rest of the trip. 

31.14lbs was what the derby scales said HE weighed! This fish happens to be the largest fish to hit the deck of our boat in 10 years. A true TROPHY, and its what we look forward to catching this time of year. Fall fishing can produce some GIANT fish, but it is also a time when the Salmon get moody while they await their trip up the Creek or River.

Oswego Scotty Event

So, this past weekend was the Scotty event out of the Port of Oswego. Considering we are a deep water team, and we had two top 10 finishes on the East end of the Lake this year, we thought it was going to be a good tourney. Well, we were wrong! Fishing was TOUGH, but the good times had both on the water and at the dock made up for it. Saying goodbye to all the tourney teams until next April, and talking about the 2009 highlights made for some good laughs.

Friday 21st (Practice) - We went out and dropped our lines at 80'. The picture on our fish finder was amazing. We worked the 80-150' depths East down to the Power Plant with just one fish. My custom SmartFish (Green blade/Crushed Glow on the back/Twinkie tape on the front) pulling an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist was the combo that took a dark 18lb Salmon. He hit on the wire diver. We then pushed North out to the 400' area and worked that West past the college. We took 2 shakers out there, but it just didn't look as fishy as the inside waters. So, to finish the day we headed back into 150' of water and trolled it East back to the Oswego River mouth. With minutes to go before we picked up our lines the Wire out 350' starts singing! We were battling another nice Salmon. This was the same combo mentioned above that the fish took. At the end of the day we heard the bite was tough for EVERYONE, and figured we should stick it out in that shallow water and see if we could scratch out our 5 Salmon.

Saturday 22nd (Day 1) - Well, we headed straight out and the screen was still loaded with fish. So we set out our usual 8 rod tourney spread (3 downriggers, 2 wires, and 3 junk lines). Everything but the middle rigger had flasher/fly combos. Our first fish took a Wonderbread SmartFish pulling an A-TOM-MIK Glow Hammer down 120 over 120 on the rigger. Another one of our keepers would take a Chrome E-Chip pulling an A-TOM-MIK B-Fly later in the day on our wire diver out 180. Those would be the only two fish we would catch on day 1. We lost a salmon on a wire diver throughout the day, and would toss back 2 short fish and a Brown Trout. After everyones catches hit the scales we were sitting in 17th out of 37 teams. Well within striking distance of another top 10. A total of 3 limits were brought to the scales all taken 20+ miles from Oswego.

Sunday 23rd (Day 2) - Well, since we were unfamiliar with the water 20 miles away we figured we would stick it out in front of Oswego again. The fish were there, but they were just not eating. WE figured if we could scratch of 3-4 fish we would be contending for a top 10, which in this tough tourney wasn't a bad thing. However this day wasn't as good as the previous two. We would go 1 for 4! Our lone fish took a Northern King Glow Froggy (white cup) fished 240 out on our wire diver. We lost a screamer on a 375 wire, a fish off our 240 rigger, and a fish off our 700 copper throughout the day. All of which were various flasher/fly combos. That one fish would drop us a little deeper in the standings, and leave us wondering is we should have just made the run!

August 15-16 Point Breeze (Oak Orchard) - Pics to follow!

Fishing out of "The Oak" continues to be strong! There are some majors hanging in that inside water (70-120) along with some skippy Salmon and  decent Steelhead. If you head offshore action can be fast and furious with the Steelhead, and the Kings are right there too. Some HUGE steelhead are swimming around out there.

August 15th (Morning) - We headed out with a friend from work who brought along his wife and daughter. We stopped and fished the inside water to see if we could find a few larger Salmon to play with our baits. It didn't take long and we were hooked up. First to go was a 80 rigger pulling a couple of Stingray Glow Aliewives. A Small Chinook Salmon hit the deck within minutes. Next was out 180 wire pulling a White/Green dot SmartFish followed by an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist. He made a run. Gave a few headshakes, and he was gone. We would work the inside waters for a little longer making about 4 passes total. We took 7 shots inside and managed a few fish. A nice 18lb Salmon took Ed for a ride on the 10 color pulling a NK28 Lazer Spook. That fish stood no chance to the Daiwa Saltist's gear ratio. At 6.4:1 Ed had that fish and all of the 500' of line in the boat. One surprise that we had while fishing that inside water was a beautiful 7lb Walleye. He took a NK Mag Sea Sick Waddler mupped on my 70 rigger. About 8am we pulled lines and made a dash for the 27N line. We set lines and trolled north to the 33N line picking fish the whole way. The same program that has worked for weeks produced for us this day. Stinger Gator Glows on our 80 rigger, Dreamweaver Gators on our 70 rigger, NK28 Copper NBK's on our 60 rigger. Our wires would not fire at all out there today. We tried every color combo under the sun, but I never did try just running a clean spoon! We boxed a few steelies and threw a bunch back. The highlight of the day (sorry Walleyes may be highlights to some people, but if they don't run or jump there is no highlight for me) was a 23lb King taken by the 14yr old daughter. This fish took a White/Green Dot SmartFish trailed by that A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist fly. A deadly combo the last month! She fought this pig on the 400 copper, and it didn't take it lightly on her arms. She passed out in the cabin shortly there after. The other highlight was a 11.5lb Steelhead that was jumping like mad on our 10 color fished off an Otter Boat. This fish was out of the air even before we got to the rod. He made some nice runs and tossed in a few flips. He sure thought that Stinger Copper Glow Green Alewife looked good, but all it end that lure brought him to our cooler loaded with Salmon and Steelhead! At the end of the trip we were scorched! It was flat calm and hot out there on the lake. We totaled up the bites and we ended the trip with 21 bites. Oh, by the way.....those Walleyes have some tough skin!

August 15th (Evening) - We headed out to the 27N line and set rods. Just my brother, his friend, and I on this trip. We fished for about an hour and a half in between run times, and took 9 fish. We got into some big guys on the 29N line! I took a 20lb King Salmon on Stinger Gator Glow fished down 80' on the rigger. We took a 12.5lb Steelhead on a Dreamweaver Gator fished down 70 on our rigger, and at the end of the trip we lost a pig just out of net range that hit our Captain Valium combo (New Spin Doctor/ATOMIK combo - chrome spinny w/ Green dots trailed by an A-TOM-MIK Wiggler fly) fished off our 300 copper. This trip was a decision maker for the following day!

August 16th (Morning) - We had the guys from Rowe Video on board today. 4 guys and a son along with my brother and I and there was a packed boat! Considering the great class of fish we had out on the 2N line we skipped the inside water. We got a call on our way out that the 26N line had a great picture, so I stopped the boat a few miles short and continued on a North troll. It didn't take long to get a few fish going, but they were rather small. Same program as the day before. As we trolled north the fish began to get larger and by 11am we had 18 fish hooked up. Our wires helped us out today as I changed up some settings and slid them a little further back. I went from a 2 back 150-210 to a 2.5 back 180-240. Should of mattered too much, but they started to fire again. One was pulling a Green SmartFish that I had custom made for me with an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist, while the other was that deadly Gator Spin Doctor pulling an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist.The Captain Valium combo did some damage today and took the largest steelhead of the day weighing in at 11lbs. Our big guy of the day was a solid 18lb Salmon that took the White/Green Dot SmartFish trailed by that A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist fly off our 400 copper. These guys where great and the kid took as many fish as he could get his hands on! His Salmon was just a shy smaller than the largest for the day, which I think might bring him back next year!

August 7-9 Point Breeze (Oak Orchard)

Another action packed weekend on Lake Ontario. The wind blew a little during the week, but the fish seemed to stay right out front of the creek. Mixed catches of Steelhead, ranging from 3-12lbs, and Salmon into the mid 20's kept us busy! 

August 7th (Night Scouting Trip) - We headed out and shut down on the 25N line. We worked North to about the 28N line and picked fish the whole way. The program didn't change much from the previous week. Gator Stingray spoons and Dreamweaver Gator SS's parked at 65 and 80 on the riggers were taking most of the fish. 

August 8th (Mornin) - We hit the water and were setting lines by 6am. We made a few passes in the shallow water looking for a few big guys, and ended up with one 10lb Salmon and a "Drive By" that straightened out our hook on an A-TOM-MIK Mirage Glow behind a White Double Crush Glow SmartFish. A "Drive By" is when you get a Salmon that hits the wire diver and line is ripping out before any head-shakes only to drop the bait and leave you shaking your head! Anyway, we headed out after that short time to the 25N line and began our journey out to the 29N line. We picked fish the whole way out. We took a couple of nice Salmon, but we also took a few beautiful Steelhead. One tipping the scale at 12lbs. As the day progressed it seemed as if copper colored spoons took the stage. Northern King copper NBK's and Stinger copper Glow Green Alewife's were the spoons of choice. On our copper rods we had White/Green Dot SmartFish pulling A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist flies, and Green Pro-Trolls pulling A-TOM-MIK Pro/Am Glow flies.

August 8th (Evening) - Took a fun trip with my father and uncle. My uncle's biggest fish prior to this trip was probably a Pike. WE would change that real quick! Rods weren't even down and they started firing. We did 5 fish in the first hour. Lost a big guy, and boated a few steelhead. That same Northern King Copper NBK was firing regularly as was a new spoon color I put down for the heck of it. A Stinger Nuclear Green parked at 65' on the rigger took two nice Salmon. The first being about 13lbs, but the next was a short, but fat, 23lb fish that took my 6'3" 275lb uncle for a ride! It took him out to 600' according to our Daiwa Sealine Line-Counter reels, and when he gained a few feet the fish would take twice as much! He had quite the grin when that fish hit the deck of the boat! The Stinger Gator Glows also accounted for a few steelies off the 80' rigger.

August 9th - I was joined my Mike Avino, his brother, and both of their wives. We decided to hit up the inside water 100-120' to see if we could hook into a big guy prior to heading off to those fertile Northern waters we had been fishing the last few weeks. It didn't take long, and we were into a brute. First to go was a wire diver out 150 on a 2 setting pulling a Gator Spin Doctor/A-TOM-MIK Green Crinkle. We dumped that fish almost immediately. Not 30 seconds later the other wire out 180 on a 2 setting starts screaming! My customer SmartFish with crushed glow on the back and twinkie tape on the front pulling an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist was hooked up. This has been my big fish rig for a few weeks now. It took us all of 30 minutes to bring this one to the net, and when we put it on the scale it was a nice 22-23lb specimen. We would loose one other Steelhead in that water before we turned North and started searching. Well, the searching took about an hour and we were into them thick at the 25-26 North lines.Once I dialed in the program we started to put a hurting on them. We ran Stinger Gator Glows, Dreamweaver Area 51's, and Northern King Lazer Spooks on our rigger. We pulled the two combos above on our wires, and our junk rods were a 10 color with a Northern King Copper NBK, 300 and 400 coppers had White/Green Dot SmartFish and an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist flies. We were done by noon with a four man limit, and some seriously satisfied customers!

August 1 & 2 from Point Breeze (Oak Orchard)

This weekend was a "Gator done".........Weekend! As long as the lure was in a gator pattern it was taking fish. Spin Doctors, Stingers Spoons, and Dreamweaver SS's all took numerous fish.

Saturday (August 1st) was a two trip day. We had Mike & Mike along with Mike's 2 sons aboard for the morning trip, and Greg Simmers and his gang from PA aboard for the evening trip. Both groups were a blast to fish with, and I'm pretty sure they left with soar arms. Those poor kids were battling teenage size King Salmon like champs! On the morning trip we dropped lines and were set up by 6am and it didn't take long for rods to start flying. The first few were small which gave the two young ones a chance to get used to handling the rods, but as the day went on the fish started to get bigger and bigger. On our afternoon trip it started out slow, but the last two hours of daylight was fast and furious. We fished a total of 10 hours and took a total of 24 shots. All our fish came between the 24N and 26N lines today.

We fished a 7-8 rod spread this day consisting of 3 downriggers, 2 wire divers, a 10 color, and a 300 & 400 copper. On our riggers we ran Stinger and Dreamweaver Gator Glows, Northern King Sea Sick Waddlers, Dreamweaver Glow Froggy SS's, and Dreamweaver Area 51 SS's down anywhere from 40'-80'. Our wire divers out 150-175 on a 2 setting pulling Gator Spin Doctors with A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist and Green Crinkle flies were HOT all weekend. On our 10 color we had a Stinger Gator Glow firing, but we never did get one to the boat. The 400 copper took the big guy of the day tipping the scales at 25lbs. He took a Green SmartFish with an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist fly. He hit like a freight train and didn't stop anytime soon. The 300 copper was quiet today. The other fish boated were mainly Salmon, with a couple of Steelhead tossed in.

Sunday (August 2nd) was one of those days you live for! We had Greg Simmers and his gang out again and fished from 6am - 12:30pm. We ran the same program as the previous day consisting of 3 downriggers, 2 wire divers, a 10 color, and a 300 & 400 copper. We boated 18 fish tossing back a few of the smaller guys, and we lost 12-13 fish! Nothing they did would have helped, but it was just one of those days. They would make a run give a few head shakes and off they would come. These fish were vicious today! I mean we took 30 shots today! That is an AMAZING day on the lake! On our riggers we ran Stinger and Dreamweaver Gator Glows, Northern King Sea Sick Waddlers, Dreamweaver Glow Froggy SS's down anywhere from 40'-90'. Our wire divers out 150-175 on a 2 setting pulling Gator Spin Doctors with A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist and Green Crinkle flies. The 400 copper pulling a a Green SmartFish with an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist fly, and the 300 copper pulling a Lemon Ice Dreamweaver Spin Doctor trailed by an A-TOM-MIK Hammer fly were consistent all day. At one point we were quad'd up with 4 heavy teenage - 20lb Salmon. It was hectic! We thought a triple earlier that day was exciting, but the Quad topped it easily! We ended the day with 6 Salmon between 18-20lbs, a bunch of other Salmon from 5-15lbs, and two steelhead.

This weekend we came REAL close to hooking up with 60 fish in about 16 hours of fishing. The school of fish off Point Breeze right now is ridiculous, and they are hungry! Although it was an action packed weekend this is not the norm.

Giving Credit where Credit is Due! (Part 2)

Daiwa Rods -n- Reels - I hear stories all season long how a Salmon burned up a reel, or how drags are getting sticky. I just listen and give a smirk! I cant remember the last time a Salmon burned up a reel on our boat! I cant remember the last time a Salmon snapped a rod on my boat. Daiwa has been in business for a long time! They have a great staff of professionals that give feedback, and aid in the development of better products. From thier top of the line reels to thier price point/weekend warrior reels you cant find a better company to purchase from. The Daiwa Sealine reels on our boat married to Daiwa Heartland rods have been put to the test and they are still begging for more! When you charter part time and fish 7+ tournaments a year you cant just settle. You have to have the BEST!

McCoy Fishing Line -  6lb test and I hurt myself trying to snap it between my two hands. Thats how my love for this fishing line began. You want tough, supple, abrasion resistant fishing line? This is the stuff! McCoy Mean Green is formulated to do all the above, but it wasnt formulated to rid the evasive spiny sea flea. However, this is exactly what it does. These pesky fleas stick to every line people are runningin the Great Lakes when water temps reach thier summer range. McCoy MeN Green sheds these fleas for whatever reason.  If your sick of peeling these fleas off your lines, or are simply looking for a tougher fishing line check out McCoy!

Giving Credit where Credit is Due! (Part 1)

Tourney season is almost over for Team Yankee Troller with our last event taking place in mid August out of the Port of Oswego. We are on a roll by collecting a top 10 finish in the last two tourneys, and have had highlights in other tourneys with HUGE boxes of Salmon. There are many things that need to coem together to have a good tourney, and everything has to come together to have a GREAT tourney. There are some people out there that without them we couldnt have done what we did in the last few months.

A-TOM-MIK Manufacturing -  Operated out of Oswego, NY this company makes THE BEST trolling flies on the market. Want proof? Go through all the Lake Ontario Counties (LOC.org) leaderboards Spring-Fall. His flies land more Salmon on those boards than any other lure on the market. He has the largest selection of colors available when compared to his competition. Durability on his trolling flies is topnotch, and his service rating is well above normal. Not to mention your keeping the money right here on Lake Ontario supporting local manufaturers. It doesnt stop at just flies with A-TOM-MIK either. He sells TONS of copper and copper set-ups. He carries wire for wire dipsey set-ups, and many more top products used to chase Salmon and Trout on the Great Lakes.

Legendary Products -  Want to talk about a guy who loves to tinker? The owner of this company brought Downriggers to the Great Lakes by inventing and selling Big John Downriggers around the Great Lakes. He has since sold that company off and started a new company called Legendary Products. One of his staple products is the SmartFish you read about in all of my reports. This is the first adjustable flasher to hit the market! You can tune it to the mood of the fish. If they want a trolling fly to whip hard then 11:30 is the setting for that. If they are lazy and want little movement we have found that 8:30 is the settign for that. Check out his website for other innovative products to aid in your fishing needs on the Great Lakes. His flashers have put 4 fish on the Lake Ontario Counties (LOC.org) leaderboards from our boat in the last year. 

These two products together have been deadly for us this year! 11th place finish in the Wilson Scotty event using both the Wonderbread and Green Dot SmartFish trailing A-TOM-MIK Hammer and Ultra Green Glow flies. This past weekend it was Green Smartfish in various patterns with A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist and Green Crinkle flies. These combos also boated us the second largest box of fish in the Oswego Pro AM event! Not to mention they have put 4 fish on LOC leaderboards in about a year. Check them out!

Sodus Pro Am 2009

Friday (Practice/Pre Tourney) - We hit the water about 6am and took a run down to Fair Haven. We heard the bite was good down there and when we pulled up the screen on our fish finder looked very good. We dropped lines and worked the waters between West Nine Mile point and the Silos West of Fair Haven. We picked away at them throughout the day, but we only had 11 bites by the days end. Our hot combos were Green Double Crush Glow SmartFish with either A-TOM-MIK Green Crinkle or Ultra Green Glow flies. Out 175 rigger and our 600 and 700 copper took most of the fish. Although we only took 11 bites we had a good class of fish in the area. We ended up taking 10th place in the pre-tourney they hold the Friday before each Pro-Am. 

Saturday (Day 1) - We used our 30 minutes of run time to head East to try to get back to our waypoints from the day before. We set down at 6am and dropped lines. It didn't take long to figure out with the current conditions that we would be in Oswego in no time, and that it would be a good idea to turn around and head back West. As we turned the boat and trolled back West rods started firing. We worked the are right off Port Bay the rest of the day circling an area about a mile and a half long. 175/140 riggers, 350 wires, the 500, and 600 copper all took fish. Again, it was the Green SmartFish pulling A-TOM-MIK Green Crinkle and Hypnotist flies that did ALL the damage. We would box 9 fish, loose 6, and throw back 2 skippys. At the end of the day we were sitting in 13th place with a 215 point box. 2 fish out of first! So, imagine what 3 would have done for us. Our highlight of the day was a HUGE 26lb Salmon. The boats biggest fish of the season, and good for 11th place in the Summer LOC derby. The last fish I had on the LOC board was last summer. Prior to that we had a string of 4 LOC fish.

Sunday (Day 2) - Again, we said that our best bet was to head back to our waypoints to the East during our free run time. We set rods in front of Port bay and it didn't take long. At one point we were tripled up with fish taking the 500 and 600 coppers and the 325 wire. Same Green SmartFish worked today. However, a custom SmartFish from Legendary really took honors today. It is a Green blade with Twinkie tape on the front and Crush Glow on the back. We put an A-TOM-MIK Pro Am Glow fly behind it and out it went on the 500 copper. It went about 4 or 5 times until one Chinook Salmon hit it and never looked back! My only paddle in that combo and it was now sitting in a fish's mouth! Oh well, stuff happens! So we continue the rest of the day picking at them and dropping our fair share of fish. WE had to wait till our 20th bite to box our 12 fish. I hate to sound like a broken record, but it was the Green SmartFish paddles with A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist, Green Crinkle, Wigglers, and Pro Am Glow flies. The 500 copper was HOT today! Our riggers down 120-150 were also on fire. We boxed out at 12pm and headed in. When our box hit the scales it was a whopping 290 point box. At the end of the day it was the second largest box of the tourney. We would finish in 8th place overall. 44 points out of 1st (2 fish)! Thats why its fishing and not catching! We would also end up in 4th place overall in the East End Cup race. 

Oswego Pro Am 2009

So, it was the beginning of the East end leg of the Lake Ontario Challenge Cup this weekend. Our tourney season in 2009 has been real up and down. Some GREAT days while other days made you wonder.

Friday (Practice) We headed West past Ford Shoals and set down in 120fow. Screen looked pretty fishy so we set lines. Our fist fish didn't come for an hour or so. We managed 4 fish the whole day! Not vary exciting for our team, but we knew where the fish were. We just had to get them to eat on tourney day! Three of our fish took a Dreamweaver Spin Doctor in a Gator pattern pulling an A-TOM-MIK Ultra Green Glow fished off a 500 copper rig. So, at the very least we had a pattern! Two of those fish were nice steelhead in the 9lb range and one was a skippy Chinook Salmon. Our last fish of the day took a wire diver out 270 pulling a 00 Orange Dodger with a Blue/Gold Coho fly.

Saturday (Day 1) - We were met with some strong SW winds up to 20mph. We started right out where we had our fish from the previous day and we went an hour before our first fish hit. Our first fish was a 20" Chinook Salmon that we had to box. Next was a 8lb. Laker, and then a nice teenage Chinook Salmon. All three on a Green Double Crush Glow SmartFish pulling an A-TOM-MIK Green Crinkle. We would then take a 22lb BRUTE on a NK Mag Sea Sick Waddler. Finally, we finished off our box with another teenager that took the Dreamweaver Spin Doctor Gator pulling an A-TOM-MIK Ultra Green Glow.

After the fish hit the scales we were sitting in 6th place with 117 points. Fishing was tough for ALL!

Sunday (Day 2) - Canceled! Too windy! So we waited around till 12:30 to collect our check (first of the year) which felt like a long time coming!