J. Sparrow

I added the snap weights to the leader section, at the junction of fluoro leader and the lead core.

We launched well before sunrise and took a 2 man limit out of SP yesterday. 50 - 60 fow was the zone for us. Sticks on 7-8 colors were good early, and then we added 2 oz inline weights to those to keep taking fish, but the sticks cooled off and harnesses improved. Divers and riggers were quiet early but improved as the day went along. Good quality fish, but no fish over 6 lbs. Lots of boat traffic........ but you wouldn't think so based on reports......

Good luck with the "new" boat......... I think that you'll enjoy her. I went from a midsized fiberglass boat to an 18 foot aluminum and love it. Portability, and the option to launch/load it solo is the main reason for my change. Keep us posted on your adventures in her....... and have fun in florida......I'd melt down there.

Made my first trip(solo) of the year to Erie, and it was a GRIND...... wound up with 5, mostly from 60 to 64 fow. But there were few marks on the screen and even fewer takers. harnesses with gold did the damage off one rigger and 2 diver rods....... Nice quality fish though. Every one had an MT stomach.

fished out of the Catt yesterday and could only manage 2 eyes. trolled 2 5 color cores and 4 diver rods with a variety of sticks, spoons, and worm burners............ nice day to be out........ gas prices suck.

I think you can still have decent catches. Last year at this time, we were still having success...... 50 - 60 perch. Because of gas prices, I haven't been making the trip as often as last year. My last trip to the Catt was about 3 weeks ago, and we boated 43. So it's worthwhile for sure, and probably more productive than fishing for walleyes during the daylight hours......... at least for me it is.

Hookers for hookers!

Good Luck JF! Hope you have a successful and safe season on the water.......

Merry Christmas Boys .................. Can't wait for the 2022 @ the Catt thread!

as an afterthought........... 19 of the perch were females...... and there were many decent marks that went through my screen at 20 to 40 feet down.... so many that I rigged a slip float with a couple minnows set at 30 down, but it didn't' take a hit...... damn! carry-on......

I made a solo trip and fished the better part of the day for 21...... some real nice fish, but I really didn't find a school to work on until late in the day. Made the trip out of my smaller aluminum boat, as my trolling boat is winterized..... think I'm done till spring, but you never know..... Keep warm, keep safe.

Anybody know if the docks are still in at the Hanover launch?

Back, and Yellowpike .......... what depth of water did you find fish at, and how deep did most of your fish come?

Bacon / Walleye / Water Chestnut appetizers ................. cut the bacon strips into 1/3rds wrap a walleye chunk and a WC slice with the bacon, and secure the bacon with a toothpick place a bunch of these little gems into an air fryer (healthy option) at 400 until the bacon looks like you want it to......they are excellent. a little garlic powder and or onion powder and black pepper doesn't hurt them....... maybe a little salt too.

Walleyes can survive in oxygen levels at 3 - 5 mg/L, and can tolerate less than that for short periods of time. The current bottom O2 levels in the eastern basin are in the neighborhood of 7 - 11 mg/L, so it's probably not the O2 levels that are keeping the walleyes suspended, it's probably temperature.

I think there's plenty of O2 below the thermocline off the Catt and Dunkirk to support fish. We marked bait (smelt?) and fish (trout?) below the thermocline on Friday..... and plenty of target fish (walleyes) and some bait were marked above it.... I don't know that a thermocline "breaks"..... I believe it more or less undulates under the blanket of warmer water sitting on top of the cold water. If the wind piles up the warm water in one direction, the colder water gets squeezed somewhere by the thickening layer of warmer water on top. It's hard for me to visualize exactly how it happens for a given wind direction, but on Ontario and Erie an E and NE wind sure makes it happen.......to the point where on Ontario, the sudden drop in temperature can kill warm water species....... and often on Ontario when it happens warm water species (particularly bass) wind up in high concentrations at the creek mouths or just inside...... can be some very good fishing for them then.

1.8 - 2.2 downspeed on a Depthraider.

backinthegame pretty much nailed my day........... beautiful weather, and good fishing. Solo limit, split between harnesses on a rigger, bay rats on the 10 color, and stingers on the diver....... 70 to 80 fow. For me, they didn't jump in the boat...... it took some time and coaxing but it was a beautiful day, with no place to be!!!!

I think there are lots of good options, and you'll get lots of opinions........ I've been shooting a Weatherby Vanguard in .300 WM for 30 years, with a Leupold vari-x 3, 3.5 - 10 and been very happy with it ..... but I will admit that I've never had any intention of shooting any animal at 1000 yards. Ranges where I hunt for elk are typically 50 - 400 yards.... I'd recommend finding a premium bullet that you are comfortable with. Currently, I'm shooting a 165 gr. Hornady Interbond, but I've handloaded Nosler Partitions, Hornady Interlocks, and Winchester Failsafes from 150 to 180 grains. You'll have to shoot them to find a recipe your gun likes. For my gun, Hornady bullets have given me the best accuracy over a variety of weights. Your gun may like something altogether different. I've always handloaded for accuracy, versus velocity, and for my gun it seems like that is never max velocity for a given powder/bullet weight combo. 2020 Montana late season public land bull taken with the 165 gr Interbonds..... about 40 yards from where the bullet hit him.

Had the pleasure of hosting the Ciscokid on my boat yesterday out of the Catt........ not fast and furious, but we managed 10 in the boat, with 3 or 4 lost and a half dozen shorts. Lots of marks. We fished 65 to 85 fow, and took fish on 10 color cores with natural colored sticks, harnesses (orange was good) off the riggers, and a perch colored scorpion stinger off a wire diver..... Of the 5 fish I cleaned, 4 stomachs were empty, and one had 4 half digested small baitfish..... emeralds if I had to guess.......

took a 1 man limit out of the Catt today...... lots of marks, lots of boats... 3 on sticks on a 10 color off a big board, and 3 on harnesses off the riggers......... fished from low 70's to high 80's..... fish were suspended 50 to 70 down...... rigger fish came from 53 to 76 down.... speed was 1.8 to 2.0...... out front, to a little west.

1.8 - 2.2 ...... I like to fish them behind divers....... another good spoon for me has been warriors..... flutters, little warriors, and XL's...... Warrior makes good colorado blades and willow leafs too!

we have caught them on everything from stinger scorpion (2 1/4") to NK 28's (3 3/4")..... I think it's a match the hatch thing.....