Dwight Hottle

I always wanted to fish the Buffalo waters of Lake Erie so we planned to do it this fall. Flew up on Sunday & fished for 5 days during the week. We were greeted with small craft advisories & mostly 4 foot waves on day one. We could not get out to the Meyers reef area we wanted to access so we fished 2 or 3 spots closer to the ramp in the main lake. Tried blade baits but could not get bit. We ended fishing drop shots & dragging tubes. Most bites were on the drop shot but the bigger fish came on the tubes. We needed 1/2 & 3/4 oz weights to stay in contact with the bottom while drifting. Same with the tube weights. We caught numbers but only up to 4+lbs. Target depths were 30 to 40 fow. Same for day 2. Day three was so bad we could only fish the upper Niagara river because the wind was howling. We used jerkbaits & drop shot rigs & fought wind blown weeds all day. We did manage to catch some smallies with the big fish at 4.5 lbs. Thursday we still had wind & waves but not as bad so we could go where we wanted and the wind/waves played down as the day progressed. We got much better numbers & size. Capt Joe Fonzi caught a 6-15 & Rob & I each got a 5.5lber. Very good day with lots of marks all on bottom in 35-40 fow. The last day was forecasted to get very windy by noon. We slowly ran back out which took almost an hour. We caught fish up to 5.5lbs then had to quit early because it was building. By the time we were approaching the harbor it was solid 6 footers with some rogue 8s mixed in. We fished out of a 22 foot ranger 622FS Pro with a 400 verado & 15hp kicker. Very good boat for the great lakes in that class except for the swells that come over the stern corners.

Even though the Bucks lost the Oregon/OSU game was a thriller throughout.

If you fish any rough water lakes the longer the better. Steady 2-3 foot waves require more length than normal/average. On my last boat I replaced my 60" trolling motor with a 72" to overcome the problems of wave height causing the prop to come out of the water.

Tennessee state record perch is only 2lb 5oz.

It's doable but you would be trolling about 6-7 miles per hour. LOL but good for muskies.

Sweet!

Such a shame. Have they started the access road purposed work yet?

Not bad for a first trip. Definitely vertical jigging while drifting would have been better for you both. I'm assuming you meant Lake Ontario instead of lake Huron.

I totally agree with you. And my feeling is that is that farm raised fish are even more contaminated than fresh wild caught unless they have a way to constantly change the water source by flushing dirty water with clean. I also know you eat a lot of fish that you catch. I have no problem with that. I eat fish probably two or three times a week but I'm selective with my choices. My original comment was regarding a change in behavior. I don't think the percentage of people eating fish will change much from present. That differs with more people leaning towards eliminating chemicals in their food purchased from the grocery store. And I don't think creel limits will be raised because of it. Just my opinion.

Duh?

I understand your premise with organic food & home gardens not chemical treating everything. But fish caught out of public waters have lots of chemicals absorbed in them because of all the sprayed fertilizers, weed killers & polluted runoffs. Especially in my home state of FL. Even the Great Lakes have fish advisories about fish consumption because of mercury & other contaminants. I don’t think more caught fish will get eaten than the current norm.

I had that happen with a new sink install. The installer came back & reglued the sink & installed ratchet type C clamps to hold the sink tight to the granite while drying for 24 hours.

I have had that happen numerous times when working a jerk baits under water & out of sight. I can sense I'm going to get bit before it happens & I call it out loud to my fishing partner. They are always amazed when it happens like I'm clairvoyant.

Congrats. New PB's are always sweet.

Welcome to BR Jason.

Best way to avoid speeding tickets for me is to stay out of Virginia.

I like to use tackle that I trust & have confidence in. I also like to try new stuff but stick with manufactures that have earned my trust. I love fishing jerk baits & top waters with my right arm so I enjoy jerks on spinning tackle & even bought a left hand reel to use on my casting rod for jerks just so I can work them with my right arm. I like to experiment with different baits to see what works best. And I only like to fish waters that produce quality fish. I'm past fishing for dinks & numbers of small fish. I will only resort to finesse fishing when all else fails. Just the way I'm wired.

Are you on Facebook? If so try contacting Tiger Free. Tell him I sent you. He fishes Potholes Res. regularly.

Bone.

Pre spawn for me starting in the fall until late spring. Best chance for a trophy.

Yes they are a little heavier. The diameter of the butt section is larger.

I had 6 weeks of chemo before surgery then 6 weeks after surgery. My chemo sessions lasted for 24-26 hours per session including overnight. The effects of chemo are cumulative building as you go. I was weaker at the end than the beginning. All I wanted to do was rest & build up my strength between sessions so I would be ready for the next session. Consequently I did not fish until the ordeal was over. But each person is different & the treatment schedule varies with the type of cancer you have. I would let my energy level answer your question but take all precautions as mentioned because your extremely vulnerable.

This is my "the one" hands down. I have not tried the Steez but have used the NRX+ 902. It covers all your bases but will handle heavier baits up to & including 1 ounce. https://edgerods.com/product/epitome-sjr-764-1s

@DaubsNU1 & @looking45 Good advice from you both.

@gimruis Shhhh! Your great lakes assumption is spot on.