Neil McCauley

Saw a guy launching a clean looking 18 ft center console bay boat last week. Was struggling to start the 2 stroke but it eventually ran. Anyway he said he got it + trailer for 1500. Crazy that people are trying to invest similar $ in kayaks lately. Just get a cheap used outboard.

I don't like wind. I think the fish are mostly indifferent. it is nice to drift spinnerbaits and crankbaits long distances though if it pushes you 1-2mph.

I went. It was about as expected, which is unfortunate. BPS seems to be following the trend of Wal-Martification that other Big Box stores are- mostly high profit margin merch crammed in there- plush toys, mugs, candy, Dr. Pepper flavor slim jims, etc- with the carrot of perceived great selection and availability of valued outdoors items and gear dangling before the consumer ("If it's not at Bass Pro it must not be anywhere" right?) I went in 2nd day to see if I could find a Rapala Dive-To 16' in some sort of natural silver color. They had one pattern on the fully stocked shelves, green gizzard shad. Nothing 2-3/4" in stock on the website either. Guess I'll keep buying from Amazon. The store location is pretty bad. Several long windy paths through parking lots to get to a very cramped undersized parking lot (but hey you can see it from 87 so that's what matters to them I guess). The store itself is very small (not including the 30+ feet of empty space under the ceiling) for a BPS. It's more like the Utica "outpost" mini-BPS and nothing like the Auburn store which has an absolutely massive parking lot, dedicated fly shop. dozens and dozens of wide aisles of tackle. In this new store about 1/8th or even 1/10th of the floor space is devoted to actual fishing gear. There is about as much floor for the fly fishing area as there is for the hot nuts stand. In general it doesn't seem like these big box stores take a very strategic or knowledgeable approach to what they stock in terms of actual fishing tackle and gear that matters- tons and tons of different brands and sizes and patterns of something, but in reality only a few brands, sizes and patterns are useful locally and depending on season. For example, 6-8 lb fluorocarbon line, or smaller sized ball bearing snap swivels, 9 foot 3x leaders, etc. I expect locally high valued sizes and types of items like these to be out of stock amongst the piles of junk in a few months just like at Dick's and Wal-Mart. While checking out it was just a long line of parents and kids buying fish pillows, hoodies and other junk. I guess it's a Clifton Park thing...look at the types of houses and developments going up rapidly in the area... I'm sticking with Fish307 and figure everyone else from the Capital region who actually fishes and is heading north does too. The employees know their products, sport and the local waters. They hold seminars, can give advice, etc though unfortunately not as many Yeti mugs, BBQ sauce in hand grenade shape bottles, or fish pillows.

Nope. But you know it's 10x more likely to happen in the first 10 feet after landing. So if you're trying to be efficient...why play the lure all the way when you could have had it back out at the sweet spot?

I fish pretty clear water and try to stay away from the fish, cast 100+ ft ...with poppers if I don't get a hit upon or within a few pops after the landing I retrieve and cast elsewhere. Zaraspooks, buzzbaits and other steady retrieve topwaters can be a little different and I give them a full retrieve, because why not, it doesn't take any extra time.

Great way to learn a lake and to target larger fish on deep open water structure. When you're trolling it's not just about the fish you catch it's also the ones you see on sonar.

Few years ago I had genuine Dover Sole at a Manhattan michelin star restaurant. Still prefer panfried yellow perch. 😊

I'm surprised MinnKota or another company hasn't experimented with this yet. The steel/aluminum props for gas motors are incredibly expensive because they're custom machined based on the engine/transmission, but a plastic prop for a trolling motor with known thrust numbers seems like it would be very easy to make. Anyone heard of this being done? Toroidal propeller - Wikipedia

Fill your yak halfway with ice water.

Coincides with the summer solstice too, and with very light winds. I'll be at my fav lake the entire week. Never seen 95*F temps in 30+ years fishing there. Plan on fishing 5-9 both AM and PM and sleeping/drinking the rest of the time. 😄

I always like the leeward facing shore because I hate wind. But on calm days when I have my choice I am not sure where to go. I think it depends on the time of year to an extent. If early spring when the water is cold, you want an east/south facing shoreline because the morning sun is warming things up. And in the mid summer you want the shade on a west/north facing bank. Year-round weed growth may factor into this also- east vs west facing shorelines may get more sunlight. Or- am I overthinking this and a good spot is just a good spot? For example, where would you choose here:

Other boaters. Especially those who aren't on the water to fish. This is why I fish mainly spring/fall and weekdays.

Never pumped ethanol gas in either my boat nor truck nor lawn mower nor leaf blower, etc in 10 years. Maybe just burning $, maybe not..

Lake George or Champlain. By coincidence, I live by both.

Reason for not getting a straight answer is dock fishing sucks and no one really cares. Cayuga is an awesome fishery, I recommend getting a canoe or kayak, maybe a small trolling motor. You're really missing out from shore.

imo the whole scent concept, like many things with fishing, is a marketing scheme. Water is the ultimate dilutant. And especially moving water, as it is with a lure being retrieved. There is simply no way these fish can smell anything on a lure moving through hundreds of feet of water. They are far more keyed in on their vision, hearing and lateral line senses. Do pro bass fishermen actually spray lures up before casting? No, just no. If scent is so important, we should be chumming to attract schools of bass. Real question is why're you wearing cologne while fishing...it covers up that wonderful bass slime scent.

I stood all the time in my Guide 147. Never tipped over when sober. Don't like fishing in 7+ mph wind anyway. Polyethylene, so gets dragged everywhere.

Even if someone could show evidence it does spook fish and leads to fewer catches, I'd still use it. Vertical jigging and watching the screen is too much fun.

I saw a great response to this recurring question on another forum: They said Ruger Mark IV .22LR. Get into target shooting, marksmanship, etc and move on from there. Buy and practice with other pistols. When the person is ready they will know what works best for them.

Black zara spook Jr, but a little popper on a fly rod is a close second.

x2, couldn't find the link in his profile. Canoe looks awesome btw!

The most important spots are the cheeks, nose and ears- that is where basal cell carcinoma, the most common skin cancer, will usually develop when we get older. Best protection for those areas is a buff imo.

Decomposing weeds release methane and other gases. Sometimes see the lines of bubbles trailing up on sonar too. Or it could also be from this: [

Recently moved to a more rural suburban development and am shocked how many bunnies there are running around right now. They outnumber the squirrels and are much less timid, I can walk right up to within a few yards of them and they don't flinch. They've even attracted predators like a coyote I saw in my backyard a few weeks ago. Wondering how I could legally hunt them this fall in my little patch of woods despite being relatively close (~100 yds) to dwellings. What my neighborhood looks like lately:

Or other baitfish patterns. Rapala "Dive-to" series works well too, at whatever depth you want. If you need to reach deep fish, trolling at 3mph with 100-150 yds of 6-8lb flurocarbon line out can get you down 30-40 feet or more. I have brought lakers up from 90ft doing this.