You can find the full line of Elite bows at:
Klein's Archery119 Freeville Road
Dryden, NY 13053
607-844-3474
Give Joe Guernsey a call at Klein's today - he'll set you up with everything that you need!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
Capt. Bill's Blog - Lake Ontario Trout & Salmon fishing at its finest!
Captain Bill Ruth
I'm your Captain, Bill Ruth. I've been fishing the waters of Lake Ontario for over 25 years and I hold a 25 ton USCG Master Captain's license. I specialize in trolling for trophy-sized trout and salmon. We're always trying new things in an effort to catch more fish; charter us for a fishing trip for a day or two and you'll most likely see a lure or technique you've not seen before. We regularly field test the very latest equipment and tackle for our sponsors and we're more than willing to share the hot set-ups and lures with you. I hope you enjoy our fishing reports and the behind the scenes look into what goes on with our little operation.
Captain Bill's Blog
It's been a while!
I'm sure that most of you know by now that I went to work for Elite Archery as VP of Sales over the summer. I'm loving my new job and have jumped in with both feet but my fishing and this blog have had to take a back seat while I got my feet wet with Elite. I'm settling in nicely now and have recently begun thinking about our fishing plans for next year. Lately we've been kicking around ideas about where we'll keep the boat, what our tournament schedule will look like, and how much time we can commit to a charter schedule. It's funny how life can get in the way of what we've always loved to do, but rest assured that we'll be chasing trout and salmon somewhere next year. Once we've made a final decision about our plans I'll be sure to post it here and to share it with our email list of clients.
Until we announce our plans for 2012, I thought you might enjoy this video that my buddy Jeremy Sage shot of us running to the fishing grounds during one of the Pro-Am's last year. Jeremy was fishing on our good friend Rick Hajecki's boat, the Yankee Troller. We had been letting Rick and his 10 meter Trojan serve as a wave break for us for a while but decided that we needed to pick up the pace a little bit so I gave her the throttles and smashed our way around them:
That's about it for now. Time to get back to selling bows! I'll try to be more diligent about posting here over the winter and will be sure to post any updates that we get from Cannon, Humminbird, Minn Kota, Daiwa, Dreamweaver, Siggs Rigs, Northern King, etc. here as well.
Until Next Time,
Fish On!
~Capt. Bill
NEW from Elite Archery
Henrietta, New York; Elite Archery is adding the Elite Answer to its 2012 line up this fall. The Answer debuts with a redesigned two track cam as well as two module options, a smooth mod and a speed mod for those customers looking for different options.
“Our customers and dealers told us what they wanted for 2012 and we listened, “ commented Elite Archery President, Peter Crawford. “Time and time again, we heard current and potential Elite shooters asking for a 33.5-inch axle-to-axle bow with a 7-inch brace height and today we are giving them the Answer to their request.”
Along with the new dimensions, the Answer has two different mod options available. “Our customers also wanted different draw cycle options on one bow platform. While all of our bows are designed to have a smooth draw and will ship standard with the smooth draw mod, Elite dealers can purchase the speed mod set for their customers requesting a little more speed,” said Elite’s Vice-President, Garret Armstrong.
The Answer is available from 27” to 30” draw lengths and from 40 to 80 lbs. The new bow is also available in all of Elite’s current colors; Realtree AP®, Max-1® and AP Snow® as well as the Ninja Black, the AT Editions and the target colors; Elite Blue, Cosmic Orange and Slime Green. When set up with the Smooth Modules; the Answer has an IBO speed of 330 fps and the Speed Modules provide up to an extra 10 fps. Dealers can order the bow in both right and left hand models.
The Answer is not all that’s new for the 2012 line up. Elite is also making changes to the existing Hunter, Pure, Pulse and Tour models and re releasing them to the public. All 2012 model bows will have an adjustable cable rod as well as Elite’s patent pending Rod Lock System
“The Rod Lock is a patent pending cable guard and string suppressor fastening system new for 2012,” explains Elite Design Engineer, Mike Derus. “Instead of a setscrew tightening directly into the rod, the Rod Lock wedges the rod inside the riser with minimal to no marring to the rod. It will allow you to tune your cable guard and string suppressor rod accurately and easily.”
For more information on the Answer as well as other Elite Archery products, please visit www.elitearchery.com or call 877-503-5483. Media questions can be directed to Maggie Armstrong at maggie@elitearchery.com
Orleans County Pro-Am Report
We'd had a great couple of weeks fishing down in
Wilson, but we were really looking forward to fishing in Orleans County
this weekend. We've never done well at this tournament in the past and
we were committed to doing what it took to get it done this year,
including making a 40 mile run back to Wilson to get in on the King
fishing that was still good there. We spent Thursday night on the boat
in Wilson and had planned to fish there on Friday, but after checking
the forecast on Friday morning we decided it didn't look favorable for a
40 mile run over the weekend, so we decided to run east and fish closer
to the Oak to try and figure something out closer to that port. We
found lots of smaller fish willing to take our baits out in 140-200FOW
west of the Oak, but we really didn't feel like that class of fish was
going to be big enough to put us in contention over the weekend. To be
honest, we didn't have much of a plan B figured out if we couldn't run
west but fortunately for us the forecast had changed and it was looking
like we could make the run back to the west on Saturday morning. It was
either run west on Saturday morning if the weather allowed, or head out
of port on Saturday morning and try to figure something out on the fly.
Not the best feeling to have the day before a tournament...
Mother Nature cut us some slack on Saturday and we were able to make the run West like we had hoped, although the run was a bit bumpier than the 1' or less that NOAA had forecast. We made it down to 6 mile in about and hour and 15 minutes and set up the same program that we had run the previous weekend at the Niagara Pro-Am - 400, 500, and 600 Blood Run coppers (awesome stuff BTW!), divers out 240-350, and riggers 85-120' deep. We gave up about an hour of fishing time in the morning and we were worried about the weather all day long, but after our first hour of fishing we had 5 good Kings in the boat and it looked to me like we were going to have our 12 in another 90 minutes or so. Unfortunately we then encountered a bad case of the drops and we dumped 4 or 5 more good fish and had to throw back 3 or 4 smaller ones. Then the bite stopped and we had to grind. We only put two more Kings in the boat before 10am and we were all starting to sweat the clock. We knew we needed to be on the road back no later than noon and our bite had dried up. I was convinced that all the boats back at the Oak were hoovering up their 12 fish like they did the day before, and when we saw Cold Steel pull up at 10:30 and run back east I was even more convinced that we were way behind on our numbers. We had a quick team meeting and decided that we needed to get out of there and run back to the Oak to pick up a few "easy" smaller fish like we'd found the day before. We put the hammer down and ran into 2-3 footers out of the East at about 30mph - not a fun ride at all, but the Penn Yan handled it beautifully. We got back to our waypoints from Friday at 12:30 or so and set up our program from the day before to get some of those "easy" fish. Man was I wrong. There were no "easy" fish for us. We pulled two bites in the last 90 minutes of our day, one we dropped and the other was a 16" throw back. We went back to the dock with knots in the pits of our stomachs because we just knew we'd blown it. You gotta love not knowing what everyone else has. Turns out most everyone struggled on Saturday and our 7 fish box put us in 11th place, which was a pretty big surprise for us.
The forecast looked good for another run west on Sunday and we were committed to heading back to do something about our case of the drops from the day before. When we got out to the lake we found perfectly flat water and we let the Penny hum along at 34mph. We made the long run in just over an hour and set up in 140 FOW a mile or so west of where we were the day before. There was a slug of colder surface water from Wilson to 6 mile and we didn't like what we saw at our waypoints from Saturday so I kept pushing west till we found 61 degree surface temps. We ran the same deep program as we had the day before, but we got off to a much slower start. Our first bite didn't come for almost an hour - talk about stress on an already shortened fishing day due to the long run. Once we had that fish in the boat I looped back around in a big circle and we took 2 or 3 more Kings on that troll. As soon as we got back to where we took the morning's first fish we hooked up again and landed another good King. So around the loop we went again, although this time I made a smaller circle in an attempt to get back on that spot sooner. On our third pass over that spot we doubled up and landed both Kings - one on the 88' rigger pulling a pro-chip/Sigg's gangster, and the other on the 400 Blood Run copper pulling a green dot spinny/Sigg's green hypnotist - those two rigs would take over half of our fish on Sunday. As soon as we landed those two Kings back around the loop we went again. We did this for 5 passes, and each time we hit that exact spot we hooked up. It was pretty cool to see on the GPS - we took 6 fish from a spot the size of a postage stamp and each time we looped back around I made the return trip tighter so we could get back to that spot faster. We had our 11th fish in the boat at 11am and then it died for us. We watched three competing boats pull up and leave early (we thought they had all boxed and were going home - again you gotta love no comm!) and we were sweating the clock and the bite again. We never did pull that 12th fish and at noon we pulled gear and pounded our way home into the 3 footers that had come up in the last couple of hours. We had a few minutes left on the clock when we got back to the Oak so we threw a Hail Mary in 40FOW right in front of port hoping to pull something from there, but to no avail. When we got back to the dock it was quickly apparent that most boats had another tough day and we had hopes of moving into the top 10. When it was all said and done we ended up with the comeback of the day and wrapped up the tournament in 4th place. We took a beating and burned a lot of fuel running 80 miles each day but in the end it was worth it for us.
I gotta say that we had a lot more fun as a team under the no communication agreement and it made for some real suspense for us. Not knowing who has what really impacted our decisions over the past two weekends and at times left us feeling like failures because we mistakenly assumed that others were way ahead of us because they pulled up and left our area early. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up to Pete Alex and Vince Pierleoni for spearheading the effort for no communication - we love it and will be signing the agreement for the rest of the year.
It's been a fun two weekends on the west end of Lake Ontario for us and we're looking forward to the last two Pro-ams of the year on the east end. We'll be taking a few weekends off to rest and spend some much needed time with family before we get back after it in July.
That's about it for now - stay tuned for Pro-Am reports in July!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Mother Nature cut us some slack on Saturday and we were able to make the run West like we had hoped, although the run was a bit bumpier than the 1' or less that NOAA had forecast. We made it down to 6 mile in about and hour and 15 minutes and set up the same program that we had run the previous weekend at the Niagara Pro-Am - 400, 500, and 600 Blood Run coppers (awesome stuff BTW!), divers out 240-350, and riggers 85-120' deep. We gave up about an hour of fishing time in the morning and we were worried about the weather all day long, but after our first hour of fishing we had 5 good Kings in the boat and it looked to me like we were going to have our 12 in another 90 minutes or so. Unfortunately we then encountered a bad case of the drops and we dumped 4 or 5 more good fish and had to throw back 3 or 4 smaller ones. Then the bite stopped and we had to grind. We only put two more Kings in the boat before 10am and we were all starting to sweat the clock. We knew we needed to be on the road back no later than noon and our bite had dried up. I was convinced that all the boats back at the Oak were hoovering up their 12 fish like they did the day before, and when we saw Cold Steel pull up at 10:30 and run back east I was even more convinced that we were way behind on our numbers. We had a quick team meeting and decided that we needed to get out of there and run back to the Oak to pick up a few "easy" smaller fish like we'd found the day before. We put the hammer down and ran into 2-3 footers out of the East at about 30mph - not a fun ride at all, but the Penn Yan handled it beautifully. We got back to our waypoints from Friday at 12:30 or so and set up our program from the day before to get some of those "easy" fish. Man was I wrong. There were no "easy" fish for us. We pulled two bites in the last 90 minutes of our day, one we dropped and the other was a 16" throw back. We went back to the dock with knots in the pits of our stomachs because we just knew we'd blown it. You gotta love not knowing what everyone else has. Turns out most everyone struggled on Saturday and our 7 fish box put us in 11th place, which was a pretty big surprise for us.
The forecast looked good for another run west on Sunday and we were committed to heading back to do something about our case of the drops from the day before. When we got out to the lake we found perfectly flat water and we let the Penny hum along at 34mph. We made the long run in just over an hour and set up in 140 FOW a mile or so west of where we were the day before. There was a slug of colder surface water from Wilson to 6 mile and we didn't like what we saw at our waypoints from Saturday so I kept pushing west till we found 61 degree surface temps. We ran the same deep program as we had the day before, but we got off to a much slower start. Our first bite didn't come for almost an hour - talk about stress on an already shortened fishing day due to the long run. Once we had that fish in the boat I looped back around in a big circle and we took 2 or 3 more Kings on that troll. As soon as we got back to where we took the morning's first fish we hooked up again and landed another good King. So around the loop we went again, although this time I made a smaller circle in an attempt to get back on that spot sooner. On our third pass over that spot we doubled up and landed both Kings - one on the 88' rigger pulling a pro-chip/Sigg's gangster, and the other on the 400 Blood Run copper pulling a green dot spinny/Sigg's green hypnotist - those two rigs would take over half of our fish on Sunday. As soon as we landed those two Kings back around the loop we went again. We did this for 5 passes, and each time we hit that exact spot we hooked up. It was pretty cool to see on the GPS - we took 6 fish from a spot the size of a postage stamp and each time we looped back around I made the return trip tighter so we could get back to that spot faster. We had our 11th fish in the boat at 11am and then it died for us. We watched three competing boats pull up and leave early (we thought they had all boxed and were going home - again you gotta love no comm!) and we were sweating the clock and the bite again. We never did pull that 12th fish and at noon we pulled gear and pounded our way home into the 3 footers that had come up in the last couple of hours. We had a few minutes left on the clock when we got back to the Oak so we threw a Hail Mary in 40FOW right in front of port hoping to pull something from there, but to no avail. When we got back to the dock it was quickly apparent that most boats had another tough day and we had hopes of moving into the top 10. When it was all said and done we ended up with the comeback of the day and wrapped up the tournament in 4th place. We took a beating and burned a lot of fuel running 80 miles each day but in the end it was worth it for us.
I gotta say that we had a lot more fun as a team under the no communication agreement and it made for some real suspense for us. Not knowing who has what really impacted our decisions over the past two weekends and at times left us feeling like failures because we mistakenly assumed that others were way ahead of us because they pulled up and left our area early. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up to Pete Alex and Vince Pierleoni for spearheading the effort for no communication - we love it and will be signing the agreement for the rest of the year.
It's been a fun two weekends on the west end of Lake Ontario for us and we're looking forward to the last two Pro-ams of the year on the east end. We'll be taking a few weekends off to rest and spend some much needed time with family before we get back after it in July.
That's about it for now - stay tuned for Pro-Am reports in July!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Niagara County Pro-Am Report
Sorry I've been so negligent in posting reports
here lately - I've had some pretty major life changes going on (all good
stuff) and it's been all I can do to make it to the boat on weekends to
fish let alone post reports afterwards. Here's a quick report from the
Niagara County Pro-Am for our team. It's been a crazy couple of weeks
so some of the details are kinda fuzzy...
We pre-fished right out in front of Wilson and had a great day taking lots of Kings and a few cohos in 125-150. We primarily fished the top 70 FOW with spoons and found both big and small fish in those depths. Best spoons for us were the NK glow frog, DW midnight special, and NK Die Hard fished off of riggers. A green dot spinny/Siggs Gangster fly was our best paddle set-up, but it really was pretty much a spoon bite for us on Friday. We felt like we had a pretty decent program put together for the weekend and we were hopeful that we could put together a decent box each day.
On Saturday morning we went back to our waypoints from Friday and found that our 60 degree surface temp had plummeted to 56 degrees. We checked the sonar for about 10 minutes and didn't like what we saw, so we saddled up and made a 15 minute run West towards the red can and sat the boat down at 6:00am and set up in 150 FOW and pointed it NW. We had a lot better water temps there and we found tons of receptive fish. Like most of the rest of the field we had a stellar day and were completely wrapped up with our 12 fish by 10:30 am or so. The same spoons and flasher/fly combos we'd used the day before worked great, but we didn't have the size of fish that we had the day before. It was primarily a spoon bite for us on Saturday but late in the day we figured out a program for pulling a couple of bigger fish that would end up saving us on day 2. We saw all the boats around us fighting fish all day long, so we knew that there were going to be a lot of limit catches and we figured that we'd be mid-pack with our box. Turns out we were in something like 22nd place after day 1, but we were part of that tight group of boats bunched up with 220-240 points or so and we figured with a better box on Sunday we might be able to cash a check.
On Sunday we headed back to the same water off the red can and set up out a bit deeper in 240-300 FOW where we found our biggest fish on day 1. The program that we put together on Sunday was entirely different than the way we had fished on Saturday. On Saturday we'd been fishing the top 70' with mostly spoons and took a lot of smaller fish, but late in our morning on Saturday we threw out a 400 copper pulling a flasher/fly combo and that pulled our two biggest fish of the day for us. Hmmm...could it be that we fished over the top of the bigger fish?? We thought so, so we loaded up our east end deep king program on Sunday and had at it. We set up with 400, 500, and 600 Blood Run coppers, all pulling flasher/fly combos, divers out 270-340' loaded with flasher/flies, and riggers with spoons down 80-120'. Turns out our hunch on fishing deeper with flasher/flies was right on as we found bigger kings and came in on Sunday with the 3rd biggest box of the day at 263 points. Our best combos were a green Spinny/Sigg's Greeen Hypnotist, and a green dot Spinny/Sigg's Gangster fly fished off the 400 and 500 Blood Run coppers. We also took some nice Kings on the deep riggers pulling a variety of our favorite spoons - Glow Frogs, Die Hards, NBK's, and Midnight Specials.
At the end of the day on Sunday we ended up coming back from 22nd to finish 7th, which we all felt really good about. We loved fishing under the no communication agreement, had a blast fishing together, and were looking forward to fishing at the Oak the next weekend. Kudos to Yvan and his Get it Wet team for a great two days and the win, and also to the Pro-Am committee for their hard work in putting together another great show.
That's about it for now - stay tuned for more of our fishing adventures!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
We pre-fished right out in front of Wilson and had a great day taking lots of Kings and a few cohos in 125-150. We primarily fished the top 70 FOW with spoons and found both big and small fish in those depths. Best spoons for us were the NK glow frog, DW midnight special, and NK Die Hard fished off of riggers. A green dot spinny/Siggs Gangster fly was our best paddle set-up, but it really was pretty much a spoon bite for us on Friday. We felt like we had a pretty decent program put together for the weekend and we were hopeful that we could put together a decent box each day.
On Saturday morning we went back to our waypoints from Friday and found that our 60 degree surface temp had plummeted to 56 degrees. We checked the sonar for about 10 minutes and didn't like what we saw, so we saddled up and made a 15 minute run West towards the red can and sat the boat down at 6:00am and set up in 150 FOW and pointed it NW. We had a lot better water temps there and we found tons of receptive fish. Like most of the rest of the field we had a stellar day and were completely wrapped up with our 12 fish by 10:30 am or so. The same spoons and flasher/fly combos we'd used the day before worked great, but we didn't have the size of fish that we had the day before. It was primarily a spoon bite for us on Saturday but late in the day we figured out a program for pulling a couple of bigger fish that would end up saving us on day 2. We saw all the boats around us fighting fish all day long, so we knew that there were going to be a lot of limit catches and we figured that we'd be mid-pack with our box. Turns out we were in something like 22nd place after day 1, but we were part of that tight group of boats bunched up with 220-240 points or so and we figured with a better box on Sunday we might be able to cash a check.
On Sunday we headed back to the same water off the red can and set up out a bit deeper in 240-300 FOW where we found our biggest fish on day 1. The program that we put together on Sunday was entirely different than the way we had fished on Saturday. On Saturday we'd been fishing the top 70' with mostly spoons and took a lot of smaller fish, but late in our morning on Saturday we threw out a 400 copper pulling a flasher/fly combo and that pulled our two biggest fish of the day for us. Hmmm...could it be that we fished over the top of the bigger fish?? We thought so, so we loaded up our east end deep king program on Sunday and had at it. We set up with 400, 500, and 600 Blood Run coppers, all pulling flasher/fly combos, divers out 270-340' loaded with flasher/flies, and riggers with spoons down 80-120'. Turns out our hunch on fishing deeper with flasher/flies was right on as we found bigger kings and came in on Sunday with the 3rd biggest box of the day at 263 points. Our best combos were a green Spinny/Sigg's Greeen Hypnotist, and a green dot Spinny/Sigg's Gangster fly fished off the 400 and 500 Blood Run coppers. We also took some nice Kings on the deep riggers pulling a variety of our favorite spoons - Glow Frogs, Die Hards, NBK's, and Midnight Specials.
At the end of the day on Sunday we ended up coming back from 22nd to finish 7th, which we all felt really good about. We loved fishing under the no communication agreement, had a blast fishing together, and were looking forward to fishing at the Oak the next weekend. Kudos to Yvan and his Get it Wet team for a great two days and the win, and also to the Pro-Am committee for their hard work in putting together another great show.
That's about it for now - stay tuned for more of our fishing adventures!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Fishing Report - Wilson, NY May 7th, 2011
Today we were joined by Larry, Lenny, Kevin and Kody for a full day out of Wilson. The Kings hadn't shown up in any numbers prior to today so we decided to give the inshore brown trout fishing a try first thing in the morning. We set up just west of port in 8 FOW and trolled for about an hour without so much as a touch. We quickly decided to give up on that and I pointed the boat north. Once we got into 40 FOW the screen just lit up with fish, much like we saw last weekend. We put down a mixed Laker/King/Coho program and hammered that water pretty hard and only had one Laker to show for our efforts. Oddly enough, that Laker took a stick bait flatlined off the surface - go figure. Since the 40-70 FOW range just wasn't producing for us either, I kept pushing the boat out into deeper water. Once we got to abut 140 FOW we began taking cohos and a few small kings pretty regularly. They loved our Firetiger and Silver/Black KABOOM stick baits! In anywhere from 140-180 FOW we had plenty of coho action to keep everyone busy:
When we got out to 140 FOW the surface temperature was 45 degrees, but as the wind backed down the temp began to rise, and it peaked at just under 48 degrees by the time we had to pack it in for the day. The fish seemed to want our offerings at a faster speed today - 2.8 mph on our IntelliTroll was the magic spot. We didn't have a single bite on a downrigger or a diver today. It was all stickbaits all the time for us.
While the fishing was good today, the bugs were awful. The boat was just covered with them and it took Jay and I quite a while back at the dock to clean them off. They were literally everywhere!
While the fishing was good today, the bugs were awful. The boat was just covered with them and it took Jay and I quite a while back at the dock to clean them off. They were literally everywhere!
We never did find the Kings we were after today, but we did manage to come home with a cooler full of cohos and lots of great memories. "Coho" Kody did his usual great job of reeling in fish today and the guys saw that we just have to take what the lake gives us sometimes!
We'll be fishing most of the week with charters and pre-fishing for the Wilson Harbor Invitational next weekend, so the reports will be a little bit delayed. Once the tournament is over I'll be sure to post reports from each trip out this week.
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
We'll be fishing most of the week with charters and pre-fishing for the Wilson Harbor Invitational next weekend, so the reports will be a little bit delayed. Once the tournament is over I'll be sure to post reports from each trip out this week.
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Fishing Report - Wilson, NY May 1, 2011
Today we were joined by Chris and his Dad Tom for a morning trip out of Wilson. Jay and I had fished the day before, so we were pretty confident that we had a program dialed in for today. But, as often happens, Mother Nature had her way with us and threw some East winds into the equation. The nice colored water that we had yesterday had been replaced with coffee colored water everywhere we looked. Ugh! There were no definitive temp or color breaks for miles either direction of port, so we headed back to yesterday's waypoints and set up. We had a slow pick of Lake Trout for the first few hours of the trip and the East winds kept the lake riled up enough that we really had to pay attention to our GPS and the waypoints we were working. But then the winds began to subside just a little and we were able to find a very faint color and temp break in about 65 FOW just West of port. Once we got on that troll we began lighting up the Lake Trout and this was my view for much of the rest of the day - the guys doubled up!
We had a very nice class size of fish - most of them were low-mid teens fish, but no LOC Derby sized keepers and we didn't boat a single salmon today although we did have one real good rip on a diver that we lost. Whereas spoons had been the hot ticket the day before, today was all about our divers. We took fish on a white Spin Dr/Siggs Rigs Glow Ghost fished 140' out on a 2.5 and our Green Spin Dr/Siggs Rigs Gangster setup was the hottest of the day when it was set out 120' on a 2.5. We also took multiple spoon shots on a NK Die Hard fished at 57', and a DW Superslim Midnight Special parked at 45'. Oddly enough, we didn't take a single bite on our flatlined stick baits.
Of course, just as the trip was wrapping up the wind changed direction and we could see the color changing yet again. That's part of what makes this lake so much fun to fish - you jut never know from day to day what you're going to get and then its up to you to figure out what the day's gameplan is!
The salmon fishing should be just around the corner so stay tuned for our reports from Wilson over the next month or so.
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
We had a very nice class size of fish - most of them were low-mid teens fish, but no LOC Derby sized keepers and we didn't boat a single salmon today although we did have one real good rip on a diver that we lost. Whereas spoons had been the hot ticket the day before, today was all about our divers. We took fish on a white Spin Dr/Siggs Rigs Glow Ghost fished 140' out on a 2.5 and our Green Spin Dr/Siggs Rigs Gangster setup was the hottest of the day when it was set out 120' on a 2.5. We also took multiple spoon shots on a NK Die Hard fished at 57', and a DW Superslim Midnight Special parked at 45'. Oddly enough, we didn't take a single bite on our flatlined stick baits.
Of course, just as the trip was wrapping up the wind changed direction and we could see the color changing yet again. That's part of what makes this lake so much fun to fish - you jut never know from day to day what you're going to get and then its up to you to figure out what the day's gameplan is!
The salmon fishing should be just around the corner so stay tuned for our reports from Wilson over the next month or so.
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Fishing Report - Wilson, NY April 30, 2011
Today the guys from Krenzer Marine towed the boat down to Wilson for us. We met them at the Wilson Boatyard at about 11:30am and then drove over to Tuscarora State Park, where we launched the boat. The boat trailered really well (the guys at Krenzers do a great job with that!), and all we had to do once she was in the water was put the nets and antennas up and start the engines. Jay and I were anxious to start fishing so we headed right out front and set up in about 50FOW. There was a ton of color in the water - chocolate brown on the shore, coffee colored water just outside that, and some brownish green outside that. We set up in the greenish water and within 5 minutes had our first two fish in the boat, both Lake Trout. Late April/early May in Wilson is often a lake trout fishery, and this whole weekend was no exception. Jay and I ran a simple 4 rod program - two riggers and two divers, but at times we swapped out one diver to run the new Daiwa Tanacom Bull 1000 copper reel, which we have filled with Blood Run Super Copper. What a great setup!
We took fish on riggers from 20-50' down pulling spoons - the NK Glow Frog and Die Hard were both hot for us. We also took fish on divers on a 2.5 setting out 120-150' pulling Spin Dr./fly combos. Our best combo was the new Siggs Rigs Gangster behind an 8" Green Spin Dr. Like I mentioned earlier, most of the fish that we took were Lakers, but we also managed a King, and Atlantic, and a Coho today as well. It sure felt great to see that first silver fish come to the boat!
We had a great time today and got to spend some time playing with our new Cannon DT10 riggers and that Daiwa reel I mentioned earlier - both of which are going to make fishing even more productive for us.
Be sure to stay tuned as we're going to be fishing a lot out of Wilson this May.
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Be sure to stay tuned as we're going to be fishing a lot out of Wilson this May.
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
NEW from Sigg's Rigs in 2011
'Tis the season for hot new colors here at Capt. Bill's Blog! Today we're happy to publicly unveil the new colors from our favorite trolling fly manufacturer, Sigg's Rigs. We had a hand in designing one of these patterns....can you guess which one? I'm sure you'll see it in our fishing reports over the coming months! Here's what's new in 2011 from Sigg's Rigs:
The 72 Monty
The Gangster:
The Joker:
Eclipse:
Black & Mirage Crinkle
Blue & Copper Crinkle
Look for some of these behind some of the hot new Spin Dr's we talked about here last week!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
The 72 Monty
The Gangster:
The Joker:
Eclipse:
Black & Mirage Crinkle
Blue & Copper Crinkle
Look for some of these behind some of the hot new Spin Dr's we talked about here last week!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
NEW from Dreamweaver for 2011
You know we love our DW products, so we're really excited to share with you the new colors from them for 2011! You saw it here first!!
Look for some of these to find their way into the water behind the Billy V this year!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Look for some of these to find their way into the water behind the Billy V this year!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
2011 LOTSA Expo
This past weekend I was at the LOTSA Expo in Lockport representing Cannon, Humminbird, and Daiwa. My good friend Capt. Rick Hajecki joined me in the booth for the day, and boy were we ever busy! The new Cannon Mag 10 STX and Digi-Troll 10 downriggers got a lot of very positive feedback and an awful lot of people were impressed with the demo we had running on my Humminbird 1198c SI unit. As you know, we tested the new riggers for most of last season and we're definitely looking forward to running our production units this year! We've also been running Humminbird products on our boat for the past three years or so, and they just keep getting better. We're excited to have Side Imaging on the boat this year and we're looking forward to using it when we're in skinny water chasing browns.
On the other side of our booth we had most all of the trolling rods & reels that Daiwa offers: Tanacom Bull 1000 , Saltist , Sealine LCX, Sealine SG-LCA , and Accudepth Plus reels as well as the full lineup of Heartland rods. The Sealine LCX and Saltist reels were well received and are proving to be fantastic Great Lakes trolling reels, but the talk of the Daiwa lineup was undoubtedly the Tanacom Bull 1000. I had it spooled up with 600' of Blood Run Tackle's new 45lb. Super Copper and most people were surprised at how compact and light an electric reel like that was. We're definitely looking forward to running it this year!
The LOTSA Expo raised over $3,300 to help fund the pen rearing projects out of Olcott and Wilson. The pen rearing projects are great initiatives that have done nothing but help to improve the quality of our fishery lake-wide. Rick and I had a great time talking fishing equipment all day long and it was especially nice to see some of our fishing friends there. If you missed the event this year, you'll definitely want to put it on your calendar for next year - it's a great cure for cabin fever and will help get you pumped up for the coming season.
It's hard to believe but we'll be splashing the boat in about 30 days and banging the beach off of Sodus for a few weeks chasing browns. Then we'll be headed to Wilson for 6 weeks or so for our favorite time of year, the springtime King fishing at the Niagara Bar. Spring can't get here fast enough!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
On the other side of our booth we had most all of the trolling rods & reels that Daiwa offers: Tanacom Bull 1000 , Saltist , Sealine LCX, Sealine SG-LCA , and Accudepth Plus reels as well as the full lineup of Heartland rods. The Sealine LCX and Saltist reels were well received and are proving to be fantastic Great Lakes trolling reels, but the talk of the Daiwa lineup was undoubtedly the Tanacom Bull 1000. I had it spooled up with 600' of Blood Run Tackle's new 45lb. Super Copper and most people were surprised at how compact and light an electric reel like that was. We're definitely looking forward to running it this year!
The LOTSA Expo raised over $3,300 to help fund the pen rearing projects out of Olcott and Wilson. The pen rearing projects are great initiatives that have done nothing but help to improve the quality of our fishery lake-wide. Rick and I had a great time talking fishing equipment all day long and it was especially nice to see some of our fishing friends there. If you missed the event this year, you'll definitely want to put it on your calendar for next year - it's a great cure for cabin fever and will help get you pumped up for the coming season.
It's hard to believe but we'll be splashing the boat in about 30 days and banging the beach off of Sodus for a few weeks chasing browns. Then we'll be headed to Wilson for 6 weeks or so for our favorite time of year, the springtime King fishing at the Niagara Bar. Spring can't get here fast enough!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
DEC ANNOUNCES “STATE OF LAKE ONTARIO” MEETINGS
Biologists to Update Status of Lake's Fisheries
“DEC is committed to sound management of Lake Ontario fisheries to maintain high-quality angling opportunities and associated economic benefits,” Chief of DEC’s Bureau of Fisheries Phil Hulbert said. “The State of Lake Ontario meetings provide an excellent opportunity for individuals interested in the lake to interact with the scientists who study its fisheries.”
Lake Ontario and its embayments and tributaries support thriving populations of fish, including a variety of trout and salmon, bass, walleye, yellow perch and panfish. New York’s waters of Lake Ontario comprise over 2.7 million acres, and a 2007 statewide angler survey estimated over 2.6 million angler days expended on Lake Ontario and major tributaries. The estimated value of these fisheries exceeded $112 million to the local New York economy.
The meeting dates are as follows:
- Wednesday, March 2, 2011: 7 - 10 p.m.at the Oswego County BOCES, 179 County Route 64, Mexico, 13114 (Oswego County). The meeting is co-hosted by the Eastern Lake Ontario Salmon and Trout Association.
- Thursday, March 3, 2011: 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. at the Cornell Cooperative Extension Building, 4487 Lake Avenue, Lockport, 14094 (Niagara County). The meeting is co-hosted by Niagara County Cooperative Extension and the Niagara County Sportfishery Development Board.
- Monday, March 14, 2011: 7 - 10 p.m. at the Imaging Sciences Auditorium, in Chester F.Carlson Building (76) on the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) campus, Rochester, 14623 (Monroe County). The meeting is co-hosted by RIT and the Monroe County Fishery Advisory Board.
DEC, United States Geological Survey, and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources biologists will make a number of presentations, including updates on the status of trout and salmon fisheries, forage fish, lake trout, warmwater fish, and sea lamprey control. There will also be an update on the status of Lake Ontario Sportfishing Restoration Program projects. There will be ample time at the end of the scheduled program for the audience to interact with the presenters.
Navionics cartography = an edge that you need!
I've written about our Humminbird GPS units here many times and you undoubtedly know that we love them. But one thing that I haven't mentioned here are the charts that we use in those units. We've been running Navionics products for several years now and have been especially impressed with their Fish'n Chip and Platinum + Chip . The Fish'n Chip features the most detailed inshore and offshore US fishing charts available - with up to 1' HD fishing bathy on select inshore estuaries and bays of the US East Coast, US West Coast and US Gulf Coast, High–resolution 1 meter bathy covering the entire Great Lakes,
high-resolution offshore and canyon fishing bathy, vegetation and marsh
areas, rocks, wrecks, offshore safety navaids, tides and currents, and
professional guide waypoints. Available in the US and Canada (Great Lakes) only. In short, the Fish'n Chip will show you every detail you could ever want to know about the structure in the Great Lakes. We've been amazed to look at our waypoints in comparison to the bathymmetry on our charts - we're constantly finding subtle humps and ridges that our waypoints are clustered around. Could it be that those minor changes in bottom depth are spots that deflect current and subsequently hold fish? Our data says YES! Here are a couple of Fish'n Chip screen shots from two of our favorite spots on the lake: The Niagara Bar:
And the Oswego area:
While we love our Fish'n Chip for all the detail it provides when we're out fishing, we've also become big fans of the Platinum + Chip for navigational purposes. The Platinum +charts are Multi-dimensional marine charts that offer navigators and fishermen a selection of bonus information beyond the best available navigation charts such as panoramic pictures, 3D/2D views with satellite imagery, coast pilot guides, POIs & built-in offshore fishing detail. Check out this shot from the St. Lawrence:
Or this Humminbird shot that shows the 3D birds-eye view of the Platinum+ on the left and the paper-chart view on the right - pretty cool stuff, and worth their weight in gold when navigating unknown waters or entering an unfamiliar port.
We'll be running both the Platinum+ and the Fish'n Chips on our Humminbird equipment this season. Feel free to stop by the boat and ask us for a tour of the latest cartography from Navionics - we'd be happy to show it to you!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
And the Oswego area:
While we love our Fish'n Chip for all the detail it provides when we're out fishing, we've also become big fans of the Platinum + Chip for navigational purposes. The Platinum +charts are Multi-dimensional marine charts that offer navigators and fishermen a selection of bonus information beyond the best available navigation charts such as panoramic pictures, 3D/2D views with satellite imagery, coast pilot guides, POIs & built-in offshore fishing detail. Check out this shot from the St. Lawrence:
Or this Humminbird shot that shows the 3D birds-eye view of the Platinum+ on the left and the paper-chart view on the right - pretty cool stuff, and worth their weight in gold when navigating unknown waters or entering an unfamiliar port.
We'll be running both the Platinum+ and the Fish'n Chips on our Humminbird equipment this season. Feel free to stop by the boat and ask us for a tour of the latest cartography from Navionics - we'd be happy to show it to you!Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Niagara River fishing report - January 30, 2011
Today Dad, Rick Hajecki, and I spent the day fishing the Niagara River with Capt. Vince Pierleoni of Thrillseeker Sportfishing. Vince runs what is easily the most decorated tournament boat on Lake Ontario and we've gotten to know him at those events over the years and decided to book a river trip with him. Dad and I had never fished the Niagara before, so it only seemed to make sense to ask Vince to be our guide for the day. After some family events on Saturday, Dad and I drove up to Olcott and spent the night at Vince's cottage. The next morning we followed Vince over to the ramp at Lewiston and met up with Rick. After we launched the boat we made a short run to the spot that Vince had picked out for us. From the minute that we put our lines in the water the action was fast & furious. On virtually every drift that we made with the boat we were doubled and tripled up on fish - it was crazy! We took a very nice mixed bag of Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Steelhead, and even a bonus Walleye. Vince obviously knows the river and what these fish want to eat and he had our presentations dialed in from the onset. If you're considering a guided trip on the Niagara I wouldn't hesitate to call Vince - he put us on what was truly one of the best days of fishing that we've ever had anywhere! Here's just a few of the dozens of pictures that we took today:
If you're looking for something to cure that case of cabin fever, why not get out and fish? This trip on the Niagara was a great representation of what Lake Ontario has to offer, and there's no better way to get into fish like this than by hiring a qualified guide. Capt. Vince Pierleoni knows his stuff. Give him a call today and enjoy a unique fishing experience. I'll tell you this much - we'll be calling him for another trip again soon!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!
~Capt. Bill
Until Next Time,
Fish On!
~Capt. Bill
Cannon downriggers to sponsor the Wilson Harbor Invitational
Cannon downriggers today announced that they have signed on as a sponsor for the Wilson Harbor Invitational . We appreciate their support and are looking forward to their involvement as we move forward with what is fast becoming a must-fish event here on Lake Ontario!
If you haven't registered for this event yet, you're going to want to get your RSVP in soon. We're expecting a sell-out and once it's full, it's full!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
If you haven't registered for this event yet, you're going to want to get your RSVP in soon. We're expecting a sell-out and once it's full, it's full!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Keep those batteries fresh!
Have you ever stepped onto your boat and turned the key and heard.....nothing? Ugh, a dead battery! Most of us have been there before, right? It's no fun and can get your fishing trip off on the wrong foot, that's for sure. Last year we took some steps to prevent that from ever happening to us again when we installed a couple of different battery chargers on the boat. First off, we installed a Minn Kota MK440D on-board battery charger that keeps the batteries fully charged while we're hoked up to shore power at the dock.
Here are a few of the MK440D details:
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Here are a few of the MK440D details:
- Digitally-controlled microprocessor design protects your batteries so you can stay on the water longer
- Up to 2X faster charging in high temperatures
- Enhanced status codes provide comprehensive feedback on charge stage, maintenance mode status, error notification and full charge
- Convenient on-board mounting eliminates the hassle of traditional portable chargers
- Fully automatic multi-stage charging (bulk, absorption and maintenance) so you get a full charge each and every time
- Automatic temperature compensation delivers fast charging recovery, even in extreme temperatures, while protecting your batteries from overcharging
- For use with 12V / 6-cell batteries (40-130 amp hour rating) that are flooded/wet cell, maintenance free or starved electrolyte (AGM) only
- Waterproof*, shock- and vibration-resistant construction
- Short circuit, reverse polarity and ignition protected
- Saltwater tested and fully resistant to corrosion
- FCC compliant
- UL listed to marine standard 1236
- Includes: one pre-wired on-board marine battery charger with four 6' fused output cables and one 6' AC power cord, installation instructions and owners manual
Here are the MK-2-DC 2-Bank details
- Charge-on-the-fly circuitry puts additional juice back in your trolling batteries on runs between fishing spots – turns off when the engine stops
- LED indicators display power-on, charging and check connection
- Waterproof, shock and vibration-resistant design delivers exceptional durability in harsh, marsh environments
- Engineered with advanced corrosion protection to withstand the destructive effects of saltwater
- For use with 12 volt systems with 12V / 6-cell batteries that are flooded/wet cell, maintenance free or starved electrolyte (AGM) only
- Includes one 6-foot fused input cable and two 6-foot fused output cables
- FCC compliant
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
More on the Daiwa Tanacom Bull 1000
I spent some time out in my shop tonight messing around with the new Daiwa Tanacom Bull 1000 reel that I wrote about here a while ago. I wanted to see how fast it would bring in a 600' copper line so I spooled one up and video taped it for you to see. I was very impressed with the speed - it took just under 2 minutes to bring in 600' of copper, but I was even more impressed with the incredible about of torque that the reel has. It won't have any problems bringing in a flasher/fly combo whatsoever. We're really looking forward to using the reel on tournament days when we have to swap out a bait on a long copper line. Gone are the days of a 6 or 7 minute grind on a slow manual reel - we'll just flip the lever and let the Tanacom Bull do the work for us! The extra few minutes that we'll save each time that we swap baits could mean the difference between cashing the big check and finishing out of the money. I'm pretty sure that this reel will fast become a must-have for the serious tournament fisherman or even for the charter Captain who doesn't operate with a first mate. Here's the video:
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
The Tanacom Bull isn't available in most tackle shops as an in-stock item, so be sure to stop into your favorite Daiwa dealer and ask them to special order a Tanacom Bull for you and be sure to tell them that you heard about it here.
That's about it for tonight - Stay tuned for more video reviews of equipment over the winter!
Until Next Time,Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
The Humminbird ICE Series
Ice fishing season has recently gotten underway and guys all over the state are out chasing perch and walleye through the hard water. Humminbird is doing their part to help take ice fishing out of the ice age by introducing their new series of ICE fish finders. Their exclusive fiber optic displays and proven dual-beam technology give ice fishermen a distinct on-ice advantage. Take the new Humminbird ICE 55 for example:
The ICE 55 ice fishing flasher has a 6-color, industry-best fiber-optic flasher display that offers unmatched performance and gives greater distinction between targets in the beam. It also features an extreme temperature LCD with digital depth and automatic depth scale. Its unique purple target line allows fishermen to set a visual indicator at a specific depth to know exactly how far to lower their jig. A professional-grade carrying case is included. You can rely on Humminbird ice flashers to find your spots and keep your cooler full.
The ICE 55 is just one of Humminbird's full line of ice flashers . From the budget minded ICE 35 to the combo ICE 55/385ci combo flasher/gps unit, there's a flasher here for everyone. If you're headed out to the hard water this year, be safe, have fun, and put more fish in your cooler with Humminbird ICE flashers!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!
~Capt. Bill
Happy New Year!
As a new year starts and an old one ends,
We contemplate what brought us joy,
And we think of our loved ones and our friends.
Remembering how they enriched our lives,
We reflect upon who really counts,
As the fresh and bright new year arrives.
we immediately think of you.
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Salmon River Report Dec 29, 2010
I took a vacation day today and spent it drifting the Salmon River in search of some fresh chrome with my buddy Andy Bliss of Chasin' Tail Adventures . We put the boat in at Pineville and drifted down to 2A over the course of the day and were rewarded with a fantastic day of catching browns, steelhead and rainbows. We took fish on beads, bags, and jigs in a variety of colors today - pink, white, and blue all had their moments. Andy knows every inch of the river and we took fish in just about every place that we dropped anchor. Here's a few pictures to tell the story:
Thanks for a great day Andy. I look forward to more days like these together on some of the best tributaries in the world - those Lake Ontario gems that we all love so much!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Thanks for a great day Andy. I look forward to more days like these together on some of the best tributaries in the world - those Lake Ontario gems that we all love so much!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Wilson Harbor Invitational
There's a new tournament coming to Lake Ontario that you're going to want to be a part of. The Wilson Harbor Invitational is something different than we've ever seen on the Lake before. We'll be there for sure and we plan to put a hurtin' on a bunch of BIG Kings as we do our very best to win what is sure to become Lake Ontario's premiere event. Here's a little teaser:
"The Wilson Harbor Invitational is a high class, high stakes, high dollar event. With no communication and only one day to get it done, there are no lifelines, and there is no day two for redemption. As our lakes top anglers converge on the doorstep of what could be the Great Lakes finest fishery in its finest hour only one thing comes to mind, Go Big or Go home.
This tournament is not open to everyone and space is very limited. Participation in the Inaugural Wilson Harbor Invitational is by invitation only. With simplified rules and fierce competition our hope is that our one day shootout will be the pinnacle of the Great Lakes team tournaments!"
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Merry Christmas!!
A Message From Santa Claus
If it were in my powers,
I would bring peace and love,
To this world of ours,
But I don't have magic enough,
I can cross the sky,
and pass by the stars,
But I can't seem to stop,
Any of hatred's wars,
I see children on the street,
With no hope left,
in the eyes.
So many homeless people
with no where to sleep.
I can't give the things they need,
Oh But God I would try.
I'm only a fantasy,
that once took wings to fly,
Some are deceived,
by the gifts that money can buy,
But those who truly believe,
see the gift with the heart,
not with the eye,
I sometime stop and go to my knees,
and pause,
and I too always pray,
That we will find an end to wars,
and live in peace one day.
For all those who believe in me,
I will continue my cause,
Across the stars,
over the wars,
On Christmas Eve,
For the hearts that still believe,
In Santa Claus
©Judy Arline Puckett
Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Another Reason to Love Elite Bows!
The Elite Hunt Guarantee
Elite Archery believes that our customers are top priority and we want our customers to be 100% confident in their bows. Elite Archery is comprised of dedicated and passionate bow hunters – for this reason we offer a unique guarantee for our hunting customers.
It happens. You are on the hunt of a lifetime and you accidentally touch your broadhead to your string. You are taking your one-week of vacation to hunt with your friends and your buddy dry-fires your bow. If there isn’t a bow shop within driving distance, your hunt is over – but not if you’re shooting an Elite bow. No matter where you are or what happened to your bow, Elite will send a bow to you at no charge the very next day so that you can finish your hunt. This bow is on loan from Elite Archery and not intended to replace your damaged bow. The loaner bow will arrive with the customers requested draw weight and length, with a rest, sight and peep installed. The bow will be tuned and ready to shoot. It will only need to be sighted in with the customer’s arrows.
If something happens to your bow while on your hunt, please call us at 877-503-5483 and ask for the warranty department. The bows must be returned to us in the condition that they were shipped with all accessories. The loaner bow must be sent using a shipping company that provides package tracking. Our goal is to make sure you can finish your hunt, no matter where you are, no matter what happened.
Now that's a company that stands behind it's products!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Cannon Cranks Up New Downrigger Production
The first of the newly re-designed 2011 Cannon downriggers recently rolled off of the assembly line in Mankato, MN. Stores should begin seeing the new downriggers over the Holidays, and they'll begin showing up on boats on the Great Lakes as early as ice out next spring. Cannon has made a major investment in what is the first totally new downrigger design on the Great Lakes in over a decade. There's an awful lot to be excited about in the new lineup, and there's something here for everyone. At the top of their lineup is the new Digi-Troll 10TS, which we'll be running next year:
The Digi-Troll 10TS features:
Perhaps the design that most anglers will turn to is the new Magnum 10 STX :
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
- 250-feet-per-minute retrieval rate is the fastest in the industry
- Intergraded Control Screen provides illuminated keypad controls with large backlit LCD screen. Also can display IntelliTroll speed and temp ratings, and lets you raise and lower the weight, adjust Positive Ion Control, or program the line amounts
- Revolutionary Control Features allow you to cycle the weight up and down at preset intervals and depths, or use Bottom Track to automatically keep your bait at a preset distance from the bottom. You can even store up to five different preset depths for easy refernce.
- Short-Stop - at the push of button, Short Stop automatically retrieves the weight and stops it at the waterline, so you can get back to fishing without worrying about boat damage from swinging weights
- WaterLine Zero lets you keep your weight at a set depth below the surface
- Adjustable Positive Ion Control (PIC) allows adjustment of the amount of voltage emitted. PIC emits positive ions from the cable to combat the negative ions from your boat, creating a fish-attracting field of energy
- Five adjustable retrieve and deploy speeds
- Cannon Link compatible - control up to six downriggers at once from your Humminbird fishfinder. CannonLink lets you cycle your Digi-Troll 10 up and down, bottom track, raise and lower the weight, or adjust Positive Ion control. (CannonLink accessory sold separately)
- Heavy-duty telescopic boom extends from 24" to 53"
- Digital depth counter
- Includes dual axis adjustable rod holder
- Easy spool access
- Includes stainless steel spool
- Includes mounting base and low-profile swivel base
- Includes 2 line releases and 400 feet of 150-lb test stainless steel cable
- IP68 waterproof connections
- Integrated ball storage hook
- 20-lb weight capacity
- Corrosion-resistant construction
- Limited lifetime warranty
The Magnum 10STX features:
- 250-feet-per-minute retrieval rate
- Short-Stop - at the push of button, Short Stop automatically retrieves the weight and stops it at the waterline, so you can get back to fishing without worrying about boat damage from swinging weights
- Positive Ion Control emits positive ions from the cable to combat the negative ions from your boat, creating a fish-attracting field of energy
- Includes dual axis adjustable rod holder
- Includes mounting base and low-profile swivel base
- Telescopic stainless steel boom extends from 24" to 53"
- IP68 waterproof connections
- Easy spool access
- Three-digit depth counter
- Integrated ball storage hook
- 20-lb weight capacity
- Includes line release and 250 feet of 150-lb test stainless steel cable
- Corrosion-resistant construction
- Limited lifetime warranty
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Humminbird brings XM Satellite Radio’s Real-Time XM NavWeather™ Service to Anglers
This isn't new from Humminbird, but it is something that we've found to be an invaluable tool while we're on the water and I wanted to share it with you. For just under $10/month, we subscribe to XM NavWeather and display it on our GPS. I can't tell you how nice it is to have real-time weather data available when we're out fishing. NavWeather allows you to track inland
storm systems across the US and see exact details of your local
conditions. It's like having a personal meteorologist on the boat with
you, keeping you ahead of the weather and maximizing your time on the
water. It's given us a heads up with regards to some nasty weather several times and has kept us out of harms way. Feel free to stop by the boat sometime and we'll show you just how NavWeather works on our Humminbird equipment.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EUFAULA, Ala. (July, 2008) – Humminbird® has partnered with XM® Satellite Radio to bring
freshwater anglers the most current weather and radar images directly from their GPS chartplotter
or fishfinder/GPS combination unit.
Humminbird’s new AS WX 1 weather accessory provides anglers with access to continually
updating weather conditions from the XM NavWeather™ service. Compatible with color screen
models of Humminbird’s 700, 900 and 1100 series GPS combo units, anglers can now view
current radar images spanning the country.
XM NavWeather™ uses sophisticated Threat Matrix™ technology to track nationwide weather
information for more than 20 different weather conditions, including precipitation, wind,
lightning and full forecasts for more than 150 cities across the country, then scales and
customizes this detail to the angler’s specific location.
“Almost every serious angler has had a day on the lake ruined by an unexpected storm,” said John
Luther, product manager for Humminbird. “For the first time, inland anglers can have up-to-the minute
weather information at their fingertips. With a radar summary image continuously
updating, they can maximize their time on the water.”
Users subscribe to the service for $9.95 per month, plus a one-time $14.99 activation fee. Since
use of the AS WX 1 tends to be seasonal, a flexible subscription plan is available to anglers
wishing to pay only for months the service is used. Suggested retail price for the Humminbird
AS WX 1 satellite receiver accessory needed to receive the service is $249.99 and available to
consumers beginning in January of 2009.
Humminbird AS WX 1 (Available to consumers Jan., 2009)
• Satellite receiver allows access to XM NavWeather™ service
• Compatible with color screen models of Humminbird’s 700, 900 and 1100 series GPS
combo and chartplotter units
• Suggested retail price: $249.99
XM NavWeather™ Service
• Flexible subscription plan means users pay only for the months they use the service
• XM NavWeather service utilizes real-time, dynamic data
• XM subscription based service ($9.95 per month plus one time $14.99 activation fee)
• Easy to read, detailed graphical weather overlaid on the chart screen
• Alerts user of atmospheric conditions including rain, sleet, snow, wind, fog precipitation
intensity and lightning.
• Continuous Image Update shows changing conditions for the most accurate inland
weather details
• Displays National Weather Service warnings
• Displays 3-day city weather forecasts for over 150 U.S. cities
• Canada data not included with XM NavWeather™ service
• U.S. inland weather coverage only:
– Includes Great Lakes coverage in U.S. Territorial Waters
– Not for in-shore or off-shore saltwater use
Until Next Time,
Fish On !!
~Capt. Bill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EUFAULA, Ala. (July, 2008) – Humminbird® has partnered with XM® Satellite Radio to bring
freshwater anglers the most current weather and radar images directly from their GPS chartplotter
or fishfinder/GPS combination unit.
Humminbird’s new AS WX 1 weather accessory provides anglers with access to continually
updating weather conditions from the XM NavWeather™ service. Compatible with color screen
models of Humminbird’s 700, 900 and 1100 series GPS combo units, anglers can now view
current radar images spanning the country.
XM NavWeather™ uses sophisticated Threat Matrix™ technology to track nationwide weather
information for more than 20 different weather conditions, including precipitation, wind,
lightning and full forecasts for more than 150 cities across the country, then scales and
customizes this detail to the angler’s specific location.
“Almost every serious angler has had a day on the lake ruined by an unexpected storm,” said John
Luther, product manager for Humminbird. “For the first time, inland anglers can have up-to-the minute
weather information at their fingertips. With a radar summary image continuously
updating, they can maximize their time on the water.”
Users subscribe to the service for $9.95 per month, plus a one-time $14.99 activation fee. Since
use of the AS WX 1 tends to be seasonal, a flexible subscription plan is available to anglers
wishing to pay only for months the service is used. Suggested retail price for the Humminbird
AS WX 1 satellite receiver accessory needed to receive the service is $249.99 and available to
consumers beginning in January of 2009.
Humminbird AS WX 1 (Available to consumers Jan., 2009)
• Satellite receiver allows access to XM NavWeather™ service
• Compatible with color screen models of Humminbird’s 700, 900 and 1100 series GPS
combo and chartplotter units
• Suggested retail price: $249.99
XM NavWeather™ Service
• Flexible subscription plan means users pay only for the months they use the service
• XM NavWeather service utilizes real-time, dynamic data
• XM subscription based service ($9.95 per month plus one time $14.99 activation fee)
• Easy to read, detailed graphical weather overlaid on the chart screen
• Alerts user of atmospheric conditions including rain, sleet, snow, wind, fog precipitation
intensity and lightning.
• Continuous Image Update shows changing conditions for the most accurate inland
weather details
• Displays National Weather Service warnings
• Displays 3-day city weather forecasts for over 150 U.S. cities
• Canada data not included with XM NavWeather™ service
• U.S. inland weather coverage only:
– Includes Great Lakes coverage in U.S. Territorial Waters
– Not for in-shore or off-shore saltwater use
Until Next Time,
Fish On !!
~Capt. Bill
Steelhead fishing
Dad, Dave, Irwin, and I recently had the chance to fish the Salmon River with Andy Bliss of Chasin' Tail Adventures. As luck would have it, the river flow had just been lowered to 335CFS, so we knew that the fish would be concentrated in the deep holes. Andy had a hot tip on a hole down in the lower river, so we set up shop there and boy did his tip pan out for us in a BIG way! We just throttled the steelhead in this run all day long - thanks Andy! I've personally never had a day on the Salmon River like this before - we even managed to land a triple! The fish weren't picky - it was either trout beads or egg sacs fished below a float. Here's a few pictures from the day:
If any of you have the urge to fish the eastern tributaries of Lake Ontario this fall or winter, I'd highly recommend Andy Bliss of Chasin Tail Adventures . He's a full-time professional guide and he'll definitely put you on the fish!
We'll also be fishing the Niagara River later this off-season, so stay tuned for our report from our day with THE Lake Ontario legend himself, Capt. Vince Pierleoni!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
If any of you have the urge to fish the eastern tributaries of Lake Ontario this fall or winter, I'd highly recommend Andy Bliss of Chasin Tail Adventures . He's a full-time professional guide and he'll definitely put you on the fish!
We'll also be fishing the Niagara River later this off-season, so stay tuned for our report from our day with THE Lake Ontario legend himself, Capt. Vince Pierleoni!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Daiwa Tanacom Bull
We recently received an amazing new reel from Daiwa - The Tanacom Bull TB 1000 . We're going to be running it for long copper lines next season and are really excited about it. Those of you who have fished with us in the past know that we like to use long copper segments to pull big summertime Kings from the depths of Lake Ontario. You also undoubtedly recall that the only reel out there that will hold upwards of 600' of copper has a horribly slow gear ratio that makes retrieving those long lines a strenuous task at best. Enter the Tanacom Bull. With an electric motor capable of automatically retrieving a 600' copper segment in just over 60 seconds it will forever change the copper fishing game as we know it.
Check out these stats:
The thing that's missing from that stat line is that the reel will retrieve a copper line at 130 meters/minute! No more 5 minute cranking marathons when it's time to change baits! We'll be running the TB 1000 just as soon as we start fishing for Kings on the Niagara Bar next May. Be sure to stop by the boat and check out the Daiwa Tanacom Bull!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Check out these stats:
- Programmable jigging function
- Brass and Aluminum Bronze gearing
- Four ball bearings
- Rod Clamp
- Daiwa’s unique Power Lever™ for instant control of winding speed and power
- Digital readout measures line let out and distance retrieved from the bottom
- Programmable Auto Stop™ feature stops winding when lure reaches the surface
- Manual winding option
- Convenient 12 Volts DC operation
- Washable design with sealed electronics
- Power cord and reel bag included
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Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
In Bed for the Winter
On Saturday Jay, William and I spent some time at Krenzer Marine in Sodus and we gave the boat its final wash & wax of the year and got it ready to be stored for the winter. The gang at Krenzer's winterized it, changed the oil in both engines, and pumped the head for us, but the rest of the work was up to us to complete on Saturday. Jay and William were a huge help today as I'm still not able to get around quite like normal after my hip surgery yet. They climbed up and down the ladder a dozen times or more apiece as I stood on the ground and loaded the truck with the gear that they brought down to me. We pulled all the tackle, rods & reels, electronics, etc off the boat and then got down to cleaning. It cleaned up really nicely and looks great now. Our program of washing and waxing the boat in the fall sure does make getting it ready in the spring a whole lot easier! Here's a couple of pics from the day:
If my hip allows, I hope to be able to get out into the woods with my bow this fall. If I can, I'll be sure to post pictures and report about it here. We'll also continue our tradition of trying to post breaking news in the fishing tackle world here, so stay tuned all winter long for your fishing updates.
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
If my hip allows, I hope to be able to get out into the woods with my bow this fall. If I can, I'll be sure to post pictures and report about it here. We'll also continue our tradition of trying to post breaking news in the fishing tackle world here, so stay tuned all winter long for your fishing updates.
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Our New YouTube Channel
We recently set up our own YouTube Channel. We have most of our video clips stored there, and we'll be using it for all of our future videos as well. Check it out, be sure to subscribe to it, and tell your friends! Here's the direct link to it: http://www.youtube.com/user/K2willy67 and here's a sample of one of the videos you can find there.
Enjoy!
~Capt. Bill
Elite Archery Announces 2011 Bow Lineup
Elite Archery recently introduced their 2011 bow lineup to the public. There are four entirely new bows in the lineup - the Pulse, Pure, Hunter, and Tour.
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to shoot my 2010 Elite GT 500 side-by side with the new 2011 Elite Pure. I've been a huge fan of the GT 500 for a couple of years now and have considered it to be one of the best bows ever made. It's fast, quiet, shock and vibration free and has a great draw cycle. Fit and finish is among the best I've ever seen on any bow.In short, I love the bow and have recommended it to lots of my friends and have even written about here.
When I first saw the 2011 Elite lineup, my initial reaction was that it was nice looking stuff, but nothing"Wow'ed" me. To my untrained eye, the specs looked like they took the2010 lineup and just tweaked a few things here and there. Then I shot the bow.Before I get to the way the bow felt, let me say that fit and finish is exactly what I've come to expect from Elite - it's was flawless. Not a bump or mark anywhere on the riser, limbs, or cams. The Pure is a beautiful piece of work and felt balanced and natural in my hand. I was able to put a few arrows through my GT 500 with string leeches, rest,and my stab on it, and then I shot the Pure with nothing on it other than a rest and a D-loop - no additional string leeches or a stabilizer were installed. I believe the words that came out of my mouth after I drew and then fired the bow were something like "OH MY GOD!". What an incredible difference!! The draw is SO MUCH smoother than on the GT 500 - no more stacking up of the draw cycle before breaking over the hump. To me, the draw cycle of the Pure is just what the name implies - it's pure - it's super smooth like a hot knife going through butter and felt a lot more linear and effortless tome than my GT500 feels. I found the bow to be incredibly easy to hold at full draw and didn't notice a tendency to want to creep or jump at all. It had a very firm back wall and frankly kinda blew me away with how much of an improvement the entire draw cycle is over the GT 500.
Once I punched the trigger I was blown away once again - this time by how completely silent and shock and vibration free the bow was. The Pure is a quantum leap in improvement in this area over my GT 500,something I didn't ever think was possible or even needed for that matter. In my opinion there is no need to add anything to the Pure to help silence or dampen it. I'm really at a loss for words as to how quiet and buzz-free the bow is. How the folks at Elite pulled this off is way beyond me, but they certainly did it. To me, they've hit a huge home run with their entire line-up this year.
To those of you who had that same reaction to the specs of the 2011lineup that I initially did, do yourself a favor before rushing to judgment - Go shoot the bows!! I shot the Hunter,the Pure, and the Pulse and loved each and every one of them.There really is something for everyone in the 2011 Elite lineup.
You can find the complete line of Elite bows a Klein's Archery in Dryden (607)844-3474. Ask for Joe Guernsey and be sure to tell him that we sent you!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Humminbird® Offers Traditional 2D and Down Imaging™ Sonar in One Package
For More Information:
Steve Roth
(402) 437-6400
steveroth@swansonrussell.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EUFAULA, Ala. (October 2010) – Humminbird® is expanding sonar and price options for anglers by offering fishfinder models with both Down Imaging™ and traditional 2D Sonar technologies.
“We are the first manufacturer to offer the combination of dedicated Down Imaging and 2D Sonar in one model,” Humminbird Brand Manager Dale Logue said. “This allows us to present consumers an even greater opportunity to choose the specific sonar technologies they want at a price that best fits their budget.”
There are a total of five new Down Imaging/2D Sonar models including those with or without GPS capabilities, color or monochrome screen and one portable model. All models include best-in-class resolution with 640 vertical pixel screens boasting a true, unparalleled 5-inch 640V x 640H screen.
Humminbird’s revolutionary Down Imaging Sonar focuses directly beneath the angler’s boat to provide detailed, picture-like images of structure and the water column. All models also include traditional 2D Sonar capabilities with exclusive SwitchFire™ technology. “Having the ability to show detailed activity around the boat when stationary is important to anglers,” said Logue, “All Down Imaging products work best when moving, so including traditional 2D Sonar is mandatory to accommodate the different fishing situations anglers often experience.”
Here are brief descriptions of the five new Down Imaging/2D Sonar models from Humminbird:
• 788ci HD DI Combo includes GPS chartplotting capabilities with internal antennae, 5-inch color display, Ethernet capable, dual SD card slots and upgradeable software
• 597ci HD DI Combo includes GPS chartplotting capabilities with internal antennae, 5-inch color display and single SD card slot
• 596c HD DI includes 5-inch color display without GPS capabilities
• 570 DI includes 5-inch monochrome display without GPS capabilities
• 570 DI Portable includes 5-inch monochrome display without GPS capabilities, rugged carry case, suction cup transducer, 7Ah battery and charger
All models will ship with a newly designed high-speed transducer. Speeds over 50 mph and depths greater than 250 feet have been verified with the new transducer. Different variations or attachments for the transducer will allow mounting in-hull, thru-hull, on the transom, or attached to a trolling motor. The transom mount variation will ship with all Down Imaging products except the 570 DI Portable.
The price range for the new Humminbird Down Imaging/2D Sonar models is $299.99 to $799.99. The new models will be available to consumers in January of 2011.
For more information visit humminbird.com, contact Humminbird, 678 Humminbird Lane, Eufaula, AL 36027, or call 800-633-1468.
Johnson Outdoors Marine Electronics, Inc. consists of the Humminbird, Geonav, Minn Kota and Cannon brands. Humminbird® is a leading innovator and manufacturer of fishfinders, fishfinder/GPS combo units, chartplotters and digital depth gauges. Geonav® develops and manufactures state-of-the-art integrated navigation systems and autopilots for blue-water fishing and cruising yachts. Minn Kota® is the world’s leading manufacturer of electric trolling motors, as well as offers a complete line of shallow water anchors, battery chargers, trim tabs and marine accessories. Cannon® is the leader in controlled-depth fishing and includes a full line of downrigger products and accessories.
Meeting with Daiwa Executives
Recently Jay, Dad, and I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet with the men who are directly responsible for designing, producing, and marketing Daiwa fishing reels. We met at the boat a couple of weekends ago and spent a very productive morning talking about rod & reel design with Miki Kobayashi - Fishing Reel Research & Development Manager, Toru Takahashi - Manager of Overseas Marketing & Customer Specific Products, Kenny Kaneko - Executive Officer of Marketing & Sales Worldwide, and Rob Birchler - President of RJ Birchler & Associates.
We had the opportunity to show them how we use Daiwa products on the Great Lakes and to tell them what we'd like to see improved and what we already like with the existing lineup. But perhaps most importantly, we had the chance to ask them to produce a few new products that we've wanted for quite some time. I can't go into too many details about what we're hoping they'll produce, but think "big copper"!
I'd like to thank Miki, Toru, and Kenny for making time in their trip from Japan to meet with us, and Rob Birchler for setting the meeting up. We're looking forward to working with the Daiwa design team in the coming months as we discuss the possibilities of some new and improved Great Lakes rods and reels, and of course we'll keep you posted about the progress of those discussions right here.
Pictured L-R are Toru Takahashi, Miki Kobayashi, Jay Harmon, Bill Ruth, Jim Ruth, and Kenny Kaneko.
That's about it for now!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
We had the opportunity to show them how we use Daiwa products on the Great Lakes and to tell them what we'd like to see improved and what we already like with the existing lineup. But perhaps most importantly, we had the chance to ask them to produce a few new products that we've wanted for quite some time. I can't go into too many details about what we're hoping they'll produce, but think "big copper"!
I'd like to thank Miki, Toru, and Kenny for making time in their trip from Japan to meet with us, and Rob Birchler for setting the meeting up. We're looking forward to working with the Daiwa design team in the coming months as we discuss the possibilities of some new and improved Great Lakes rods and reels, and of course we'll keep you posted about the progress of those discussions right here.
Pictured L-R are Toru Takahashi, Miki Kobayashi, Jay Harmon, Bill Ruth, Jim Ruth, and Kenny Kaneko.
That's about it for now!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Humminbird® Offers Unprecedented Color-Screen Resolution At Mid-Range Price Point
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EUFAULA, Ala. (September 2010) – Humminbird® has significantly increased the resolution of the color screens on its 500-Series fishfinders to give anglers the sharpest, clearest display available at the mid-range price point.
“Humminbird has the highest resolution 5-inch color screen in the fish-finding industry and we’re offering it at a price that budget-minded anglers can enjoy,” Humminbird Brand Manager Dale Logue said. “We’re always striving to provide the best value and performance throughout our product line and this is another example of how we’re accomplishing that goal.”
Humminbird’s 597ci HD Combo and 596c HD 2011 models will now feature 640 vertical pixels by 640 horizontal pixels displayed on 5-inch high definition color screens. Humminbird’s 587ci HD Combo and 586c HD 2011 models will now feature 640 vertical pixels by 480 horizontal pixels displayed on 4.5-inch high definition color screens.
The two Combo models include 50-channel GPS capabilities with internal antennae. They offer built-in UniMap™ cartography and a standard SD card slot. Both models are also compatible with optional LakeMaster® and Navionics® cartography software packages.
The 2011 HD color-display Humminbird 500-Series models have a price range of $349.99 to $569.99.
For more information visit humminbird.com, contact Humminbird, 678 Humminbird Lane, Eufaula, AL 36027, or call 800-633-1468.
Johnson Outdoors Marine Electronics, Inc. consists of the Humminbird, Geonav, Minn Kota and Cannon brands. Humminbird® is a leading innovator and manufacturer of fishfinders, fishfinder/GPS combo units, chartplotters and digital depth gauges. Geonav® develops and manufactures state-of-the-art integrated navigation systems and autopilots for blue-water fishing and cruising yachts. Minn Kota® is the world’s leading manufacturer of electric trolling motors, as well as offers a complete line of shallow water anchors, battery chargers, trim tabs and marine accessories. Cannon® is the leader in controlled-depth fishing and includes a full line of downrigger products and accessories.
Boat Review - The 2010 Tidewater 230CC
Recently my family and I had the opportunity to spend the day aboard a 2010 Tidewater 230CC on Sodus Bay, compliments of Krenzer Marine. We picked the boat up at Krenzer's gas dock and I was immediately struck by how good looking the boat was. It had a beautiful blue hull that we got several comments about over the course of the day. With a classic Carolina style and a 20 degree deadrise, the boat is certainly at home here on the Great Lakes or the Finger Lakes.
The center console design lends itself to a variety of uses - fishing, cruising, swimming, and tubing come immediately to mind, and were all things that we enjoyed while on the boat. We had plenty of space to spread out as a family and over the course of the day we used every bit of that space to enjoy our day on the water. There is a roomy bench seat/leaning post for the Captain, in front of the center console there is seating for two more people and the bow will seat an additional 3 people per side. That's a lot of seating for a 23 footer!
The center console design lends itself to a variety of uses - fishing, cruising, swimming, and tubing come immediately to mind, and were all things that we enjoyed while on the boat. We had plenty of space to spread out as a family and over the course of the day we used every bit of that space to enjoy our day on the water. There is a roomy bench seat/leaning post for the Captain, in front of the center console there is seating for two more people and the bow will seat an additional 3 people per side. That's a lot of seating for a 23 footer!
Under the bow seats there was plenty of storage room for our towels, food, and drinks. Additionally, there was a ton of space located inside the center console accessible through a hatch located on the port side. You could probably put a porta-potti in there if you wanted to. All of the latches on the boat are stainless steel and the lids and doors closed securely. Fit and finish is very good all the way through the boat. Tidewater doesn't use any wood in their stringer systems, so there's no need to worry about rot somewhere down the line. This is a well made boat!
Speaking of the center console, I found the design to have all of the instrumentation that I needed plus room for a large screen Multi-Function display like the Humminbird 1157C that we like so much on our own boat. The windshield provided plenty of coverage from the wind as we cruised around the Bay, and the dash board, while not as large as I'm used to on my 30 footer, was big enough for me to store my cell phone, keys, and wallet without fear of losing them.
Powered by a nearly-silent Yamaha 250HP Four stroke engine, we were able to trim the boat out using the standard power trim and tilt as well as the trim tabs to reach a top speed of just under 50 mph! This boat is a rocket ship on the water and handled it like a pro. If this were my boat, we would be spending a lot of time pulling a tube behind it when we weren't out fishing. The boat has plenty of power for both, as my oldest son William found out!
Speaking of fishing, there are rod holders everywhere on board: There's a 4 rod rocket launcher on the hard top, vertical holders on the back of the Captain's bench, and flush mounts on the gunnels. We spent some time fishing and loved the amount of room that we had so that each of us could concentrate on our baits. I wouldn't hesitate to take this boat out onto Lake Ontario to troll for the King Salmon that we love so much, but it would also be a great boat for chasing bass and other panfish on smaller bodies of water like the Finger Lakes.
Powered by a nearly-silent Yamaha 250HP Four stroke engine, we were able to trim the boat out using the standard power trim and tilt as well as the trim tabs to reach a top speed of just under 50 mph! This boat is a rocket ship on the water and handled it like a pro. If this were my boat, we would be spending a lot of time pulling a tube behind it when we weren't out fishing. The boat has plenty of power for both, as my oldest son William found out!
Speaking of fishing, there are rod holders everywhere on board: There's a 4 rod rocket launcher on the hard top, vertical holders on the back of the Captain's bench, and flush mounts on the gunnels. We spent some time fishing and loved the amount of room that we had so that each of us could concentrate on our baits. I wouldn't hesitate to take this boat out onto Lake Ontario to troll for the King Salmon that we love so much, but it would also be a great boat for chasing bass and other panfish on smaller bodies of water like the Finger Lakes.
With a host of standard features that includes a 10 year fully transferable warranty, fiberglass stringer system, high density composite transom, 103 gallon fuel tank, 25 gallon aerated live well, raw water wash down, drink holders, stainless steel hardware throughout, anchor storage, transom door, and more than I can possibly list here, you can see that the 230CC would make the perfect boat for fishing, cruising, or just plain family fun. When I asked my son Benjamin what he thought of the boat he and I agreed - We give the 2010 TIdewater 230CC two very enthusiastic thumbs up!
Loads of fun, fast, stable, well built, and a great value - that's pretty much how I'd sum up the 2010 Tidewater 230CC . If I was looking for the perfect trailerable family boat, this would be it! You can see the complete lineup of Tidewater boats by visitng Krenzer Marine in Sodus Point. Be sure to tell them that we sent you!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
More on the NEW 2011 Cannon Downriggers
I recently stumbled across this short video about the completely new 2011 Cannon Downrigger line and thought you might like to see it. Enjoy!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Fishing Report - August 22, 2010 - Sodus Point
Today we were joined by Joe Guernsey of Klein's Archery and his buddy Mike for an Elite Archery day on Lake Ontario. Joe sells the complete line of Elite bows at his shop in Dryden, NY and Mike just got back from an African Safari so we thought it would be fun to get together for a day of fishing out of Sodus Point to wrap up the summer before we all go into bow hunting mode for the fall.
The weather forecast wasn't sounding very good for the day (heavy winds from the East and rain all day long - yuck!!), but we decided to give it a try anyway and I'm glad that we did! We left the dock at about 6:00am and ran out to 100FOW and set up headed North. It didn't take long and the rods were firing consistently. We took a nice mixed bag of Kings, cohos, steelhead, and even a small brown in the first two hours of the morning - all before the wind started to pick up. Once the wind started cranking from the East, things slowed down and we settled into a slow pick of fish until about 11:00am, when we took three nice fish in a row headed into the 3-5 foot waves. Joe did a great job of handling the biggest fish of the day as it was just about to come to the net and suddenly decided to go through two different downrigger lines and one diver line at the last second. Yikes - that one was interesting and I look forward to seeing the video of that fiasco that Joe shot with his video sunglasses! Here's a picture of Joe with that fish and his cool video shades:
Our best depths were 150-180FOW straight out in front of port to just a couple of miles West. We had 46 degree water down 75ft and we took fish on riggers set at 65', 75', 85', and 100' over the course of the day. It was mostly a rigger bite for us today, but we did take a couple of fish on divers out 210' and 250' on a #2.5 setting. Those diver bites both came on Spin Dr/Siggs's fly combos - one was a Green Dot Spinny/Sigg's Billy V Glow Ghost and the other was on a White Double Crush Glow Spinny/Siggs' Glow Ghost. That White/Glow Ghost combo also took a wicked shot off the 110' rigger that had our Daiwa Saltist reel screeeeeammmiiinngg! Unfortunately that combo got broken off by one seriously upset King! We sure would have liked to have seen that one. Even though we had Spinny/fly combos on 3/4 of our rods, the spoons fished off of our Cannon riggers were easily the stars of the day as they took the majority of our fish. Best spoons were our old favorite, the Northern King Die Hard and that new Dreamweaver Super Slim Midnight Special that we like so much. Best down speeds were 2.2-2.6mph on our Cannon IntelliTroll .
Here's a couple more pics of the guys and today's fish:
We had a great time fishing with Joe and Mike today and we look forward to many more outing with these guys over the years. Look for a more formal Elite Archery day with us next year - we hope to be able to get Joe, Elite President Pete Crawford and a couple of his factory shooters out with us sometime next year. Thanks for a fun day today guys - and thanks for hanging tough when the waves built to an uncomfortable level. I'm glad we stuck it out and were able to box those last three fish at noontime!
That might just be the final fishing report of the season for me as I'm having my hip fixed later this week. The boat is still in the water however, so if I heal up quickly enough we might just get out for one final trip of the season!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
The weather forecast wasn't sounding very good for the day (heavy winds from the East and rain all day long - yuck!!), but we decided to give it a try anyway and I'm glad that we did! We left the dock at about 6:00am and ran out to 100FOW and set up headed North. It didn't take long and the rods were firing consistently. We took a nice mixed bag of Kings, cohos, steelhead, and even a small brown in the first two hours of the morning - all before the wind started to pick up. Once the wind started cranking from the East, things slowed down and we settled into a slow pick of fish until about 11:00am, when we took three nice fish in a row headed into the 3-5 foot waves. Joe did a great job of handling the biggest fish of the day as it was just about to come to the net and suddenly decided to go through two different downrigger lines and one diver line at the last second. Yikes - that one was interesting and I look forward to seeing the video of that fiasco that Joe shot with his video sunglasses! Here's a picture of Joe with that fish and his cool video shades:
Our best depths were 150-180FOW straight out in front of port to just a couple of miles West. We had 46 degree water down 75ft and we took fish on riggers set at 65', 75', 85', and 100' over the course of the day. It was mostly a rigger bite for us today, but we did take a couple of fish on divers out 210' and 250' on a #2.5 setting. Those diver bites both came on Spin Dr/Siggs's fly combos - one was a Green Dot Spinny/Sigg's Billy V Glow Ghost and the other was on a White Double Crush Glow Spinny/Siggs' Glow Ghost. That White/Glow Ghost combo also took a wicked shot off the 110' rigger that had our Daiwa Saltist reel screeeeeammmiiinngg! Unfortunately that combo got broken off by one seriously upset King! We sure would have liked to have seen that one. Even though we had Spinny/fly combos on 3/4 of our rods, the spoons fished off of our Cannon riggers were easily the stars of the day as they took the majority of our fish. Best spoons were our old favorite, the Northern King Die Hard and that new Dreamweaver Super Slim Midnight Special that we like so much. Best down speeds were 2.2-2.6mph on our Cannon IntelliTroll .
Here's a couple more pics of the guys and today's fish:
We had a great time fishing with Joe and Mike today and we look forward to many more outing with these guys over the years. Look for a more formal Elite Archery day with us next year - we hope to be able to get Joe, Elite President Pete Crawford and a couple of his factory shooters out with us sometime next year. Thanks for a fun day today guys - and thanks for hanging tough when the waves built to an uncomfortable level. I'm glad we stuck it out and were able to box those last three fish at noontime!
That might just be the final fishing report of the season for me as I'm having my hip fixed later this week. The boat is still in the water however, so if I heal up quickly enough we might just get out for one final trip of the season!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
The 2010 Elite GT 500
I know it's hard to believe, but we're in the home stretch of fishing season already. There's a lot of Kings yet to be caught, but we'll be wrapping our season up around Labor Day. So that must mean that bow season is just around the corner, right? With that in mind, I thought that you might enjoy seeing some pictures of the Elite GT 500 that I'll be hunting with this fall. It's easily the best shooting bow I've ever pulled back. It's incredibly smooth to draw, quiet, vibration-free, and talk about fast....how's 336fps IBO sound? My hunting set up is pushing arrows at 305 fps - that's 35 fps faster than my previous bow! We're going to tweak a few things on the bow and add some new Gold Tip Velocity XT arrows to the quiver and when it's all said and done I'm pretty sure that we'll be pushing 320fps - from what it quite possibly the smoothest drawing bow I've ever shot. The deer will never know what hit them!
119 Freeville Road
Dryden, NY 13053
607-844-3474
We'll be back out fishing and messing around on the water again this weekend, so stay tuned right here for some more pictures and a fishing report or two!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
You can find the full line of Elite bows at:
Klein's Archery119 Freeville Road
Dryden, NY 13053
607-844-3474
We'll be back out fishing and messing around on the water again this weekend, so stay tuned right here for some more pictures and a fishing report or two!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Fishing Report - August 14th, 2010 - Sodus Point
Today we had a full day trip out of Sodus with part of a two-boat trip that we ran with Russ Hacker of Honey Hole Charters. Having gotten into the Kings last night, we felt that if the wind would just hold off for a little bit that we might be able to get out to last night's way points and put a few Kings in the boat before Mother Nature had her way with us. We left the dock and ran out to our spot from the night before only to find that the SE wind we had over night had already messed up our water. We set out or standard 8 rod set of 4 Deeper Divers, 3 riggers, and one copper rod and went into search mode anyway - the guys really wanted Kings and didn't want to go back into shallower water to try our hand at the browns. After about an hour of searching, the 400 copper rod fired and the drag was just screeeeeaming! Ricky grabbed the rod and the fight was on. While he was battling this behemoth, two other rods fired and we boated a small King and a nice healthy coho and had yet another rod fire with no one home. Ricky continued his battle with this fish for almost a half an hour and after a near disaster at the net, Ricky had boated his personal best King - a 28 lb beauty that is going to reside on the wall at his house thanks to Jay's unbelievable save at the back of the boat. About "The Save" - Jay was just about to net this fish when it made one last lunge at freedom and caught the stinger hook on the fly in the net. When that happens its almost certainly going to cost the angler the fish, but not today. Jay knew he had a big fish on and nearly went into the drink to grab this King by the gill plate and land it by hand. You've never heard so much cheering and celebration as when Jay pulled this fish into the boat by hand. Great job buddy - That was easily one of the best saves I've ever seen in the back of the boat!
After we landed this beauty we decided that the wind and waves were getting to be too much so we trolled back into shallower water. We had a few more bites on the way in, but nothing that compared to Ricky's fish. By the time we had gotten back into the brown trout water the wind had built to the point where the water had changed drastically from the morning bite and the fishing had shut down.
Our best combo today was easily that 400' copper that was pulling a White Double Crush Glow Spinny/Sigg's Glow Ghost combo. It took 4 or 5 shots today. Others that took shots were our JV Cheerleader fished off of a Deeper Diver out 300' on a 2.5 setting, a NK Seasick Waddler off of a 110' rigger, and a Super Slim Green Alewife fished off of a 90' rigger. The fish wanted it faster today - 2.6-2.8mph on our Cannon Intellitroll. Temps were all over the place today and the SE wind brought ice cold water in as the day progressed.
While we didn't boat as many fish as I had hoped we would have after Friday night's screen, we certainly did manage to make lots of incredible memories for the entire crew. We had a great day together and I hope that we can fish with Ricky and crew again next year. Congratulations of the fish of your life Ricky! That's one to be proud of!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
After we landed this beauty we decided that the wind and waves were getting to be too much so we trolled back into shallower water. We had a few more bites on the way in, but nothing that compared to Ricky's fish. By the time we had gotten back into the brown trout water the wind had built to the point where the water had changed drastically from the morning bite and the fishing had shut down.
Our best combo today was easily that 400' copper that was pulling a White Double Crush Glow Spinny/Sigg's Glow Ghost combo. It took 4 or 5 shots today. Others that took shots were our JV Cheerleader fished off of a Deeper Diver out 300' on a 2.5 setting, a NK Seasick Waddler off of a 110' rigger, and a Super Slim Green Alewife fished off of a 90' rigger. The fish wanted it faster today - 2.6-2.8mph on our Cannon Intellitroll. Temps were all over the place today and the SE wind brought ice cold water in as the day progressed.
While we didn't boat as many fish as I had hoped we would have after Friday night's screen, we certainly did manage to make lots of incredible memories for the entire crew. We had a great day together and I hope that we can fish with Ricky and crew again next year. Congratulations of the fish of your life Ricky! That's one to be proud of!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Fishing Report - August 13th, 2010 Sodus Point
Jay and I went out for a short 2 hour trip out of Sodus Point after work tonight. We were in search of KINGS and once we got to 250 FOW just East of port the screen lit up and so did the rods. We had consistent action for the last hour or so of our trip, the highlight of which was this beauty that took my Lemon Ice Spin Dr/Siggs Glow Ghost combo out 710 feet before finally slowing down. The sound that our Daiwa Saltist Levelwind made when this fish took off on its run was incredible -zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!
That combo was fished off of a Deeper Diver out 270' on a #3 setting. We also took fish off of our 120' rigger pulling a Super Slim Midnight Special, a 100' rigger pulling a NK Glow Frog, and a Deeper Diver out 300' on a #3 pulling a Green Dot Spinny/Sigg's Billy V Glow Ghost. Our best water was 250-310' down 70-120'. Best down speed for us was a slow 2.2mph on our Cannon IntelliTroll. The screen was lit up with fish and we were really excited about our prospects for tomorrow morning - until we heard the weather forecast of 20-30 mph winds from the SE. That's going to make tomorrow's fishing really interesting. Stay tuned to see how it goes!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
That combo was fished off of a Deeper Diver out 270' on a #3 setting. We also took fish off of our 120' rigger pulling a Super Slim Midnight Special, a 100' rigger pulling a NK Glow Frog, and a Deeper Diver out 300' on a #3 pulling a Green Dot Spinny/Sigg's Billy V Glow Ghost. Our best water was 250-310' down 70-120'. Best down speed for us was a slow 2.2mph on our Cannon IntelliTroll. The screen was lit up with fish and we were really excited about our prospects for tomorrow morning - until we heard the weather forecast of 20-30 mph winds from the SE. That's going to make tomorrow's fishing really interesting. Stay tuned to see how it goes!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Billy V Sportfishing and Klein's partner to promote Elite Archery
Commenting on the new partnership, Joe Guernsey of Klein's said “Elite Archery has fast become one of the premier bow manufacturers in the U.S., but it is still a relatively new brand. Capt. Bill is a long-time customer of ours and we have enjoyed our relationship with him over the years. Partnering with Bill will allow us to gain a greater level of exposure for the Elite brand through his many fishing and outdoor related contacts - something that will benefit both Elite and Klein's Archery. We're very excited about this partnership and look forward to spreading the word about the Elite brand."
Captain Bill Ruth is a successful charter Captain, outdoor writer, bow hunter,and tournament fisherman with over 25 years experience fishing Lake Ontario. “I'm delighted to be working with Klein's Archery to promote the Elite brand” says Ruth. “Klein's Archery has been providing archers, hunters, and outdoorsmen with an exceptionally high level of service for nearly 20 years. I look forward to using my contacts and expertise to assist them in promoting what I believe to be the finest line of bows available - those made by Elite!. I love my GT500 and I'm sure that once others have a chance to shoot an Elite that they'll be equally impressed. Get your hands on an Elite TODAY!!”
About Elite Archery
Elite Archery was established in 2005 in the state of Washington. After changing ownership in 2007, Elite Archery was then sold to Elite Outdoors in January of 2009 and moved to Upstate New York. Elite Outdoors, LLC is lead by Peter Crawford as president of the company. Peter has worked in the archery industry for nearly a decade. Garret Armstrong heads up the marketing department as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing and Mike Derus is the company’s lead design engineer. Also on the Elite Outdoors team are Jim Klossner, Vice President of Operations, Maggie Armstrong, Director of Communications and Vickie Pellegrin, Credit Manger.
119 Freeville Road
Dryden, NY 13053
607-844-3474
Give Joe Guernsey a call at Klein's today - he'll set you up with everything that you need!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill119 Freeville Road
Dryden, NY 13053
607-844-3474
Give Joe Guernsey a call at Klein's today - he'll set you up with everything that you need!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
Billy V/Krenzer Marine takes 2nd at the 2010 Wayne County Pro-Am
What a weekend in Sodus Point! Our Billy V/Krenzer Marine tournament team boxed 12 fish on each day of the Wayne County Pro-Am for a two day total score of 390.76 points - good enough for second place and just 0.6 points behind the first place Cold Steel team. Our team consisted of Captain Bill Ruth, first mate Jay Harmon, and crew members Rich "Gump" Peaslee, Tim Habecker, and Dan Feldman. We pre-fished the tournament on Friday and found lots of hot brown trout action West of port so we knew where we were headed on Saturday. When we got to our spot on Saturday we found that the temps had slid out just a tad bit deeper than we had found them on Friday and once we got our program dialed in the rods began popping. We boxed our first 10 fish by 10 am and then had to grind for almost two more hours to get the next two. We headed to the scales just after noon on Saturday and when all was said and done we sat in 16th place, but we were only 18 points out of 2nd place - a gap that could easily be made up on day two if we had a good day and some of the teams above us faltered.
When we headed out onto the lake on Sunday we found that Mother Nature was in one of her moods again - West winds and 3-5 foot waves. Not good! It took us a bit longer to run to our spot from Saturday and when we got there we found that the wind had piled warm water in tight and that all of our fish and bait had disappeared. Luckily for us we're running a Humminbird 1157c with a thru-hull transducer, so I can pick up fish and bait when we're up on plane. I used that to our advantage on Sunday as we spent an extra few minutes working deeper and checking the screen for bait and fish. Once I found what I was looking for I set us down and we began fishing. It didn't take long to find the fish, but they were all condensed into a very tight area about the size of a football field. We began making loops through our spot and on every one of our first 7 or 8 trolls through the spot we picked up a fish or two. Eventually that pod of fish and bait began to move as more warm water piled in so we spent the last few hours looking for them. We boxed fish number 11 at about 10:30am and then it took us an agonizing 2.5 hours to get our final fish of the tournament. The last hour or so of that grind was especially painful as we all knew that the clock was beginning to work against us and we had lost our temp, bait, and fish yet again. I began pushing us out deeper and further West than we had been all day and we finally nabbed a 3 lb brown just before 1:00pm to wrap up our day. There were high-fives and congratulations all around the boat after that. Mission accomplished! Now all we had to do was go weigh in and see where we ended up.
On the way in I talked to a few of my friends who were fishing the event and found that most of them were having a hard time filling their boxes. That's no surprise as the conditions were especially tough Sunday. We knew that we were lucky have filled ours like we did. What I didn't know until the weigh-in was over was that we would be the only boat in the field to break the 200 point mark on Sunday - a fact that helped us leap over all but one team and landed us in second place. My friends Tom Burke and Andy Bliss from Cold Steel had just enough of a lead over us on Saturday that they were able to edge us out by less than a point for the win. Congratulations guys - you deserve it! While we would have loved to have taken the win this weekend, I have to be honest and tell you that we are all delighted with where we ended up. We stuck to our game plan of 12 fish each day and after Saturday's 16th place finish all we really wanted to accomplish on Sunday was to get our 12 fish and move up into the top 10. Finishing second was a most welcome surprise!
Pictured L-R with our catch from Sunday are: Tim Habecker, Bill Ruth, Rich Peaslee, Jay Harmon, Dan Feldman, and our observer Brendon Evans.
Final score board.
We used a simple 6 rod program all weekend long. We ran three riggers, two divers, and a leadcore down the chute - all pulling spoons. Our best spoons all weekend long were a Dreamweaver Super Slim Midnight Special, a Northern King Die Hard, and and regular Dreamweaver Lazer Glow Spook. Our Cannon downriggers accounted for close to 90% of our catch this weekend. The chute rod took the rest of the bites and for some reason our divers only took one shot over the weekend after being red hot on pre-fish Friday. Go figure. We fished 70 FOW on Saturday and 90-95 FOW on Sunday, and when we found 60 degree water with our new Cannon IntelliTroll we generally found bait and receptive fish. Best down speeds for us were 1.8-2.0mph on Saturday and quite a bit faster than that, 2.5-3.0mph, on Sunday. I gotta tell you that our new Daiwa Saltist reels were a decided advantage in fighting these browns this weekend. Their drags are super smooth and the high gear ratio really helped the guys keep tension on the fish.
I need to thank the following companies for the great products that they make because without them we couldn't accomplish our goals: Krenzer Marine , Cannon downriggers, Humminbird electronics, ValvTect Marine Fuel, Dreamweaver , Northern King , Sigg's Rigs , Daiwa , Flying Fisherman , Walker Deeper Divers , Pure Fishing , and Great Lakes Tackle Supply. You guys have been a pleasure to deal with and your products are simply the best out there!
That wraps up our tournament season and now we'll settle into the remainder of our charter season. Stay tuned here for more pictures and reports.
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Cannon® Strives for Performance Perfection with Introduction of New Electric Downriggers
We've been secretly testing them all season and have been dying to tell you about them and now we finally can! Believe me when I tell you this...the NEW 2011 Cannon downrigger line, introduced today at ICAST in Las Vegas, is going to blow away the competition! Here's the official press release and a sneak peak picture:
Racine, Wis. (July 2010) After reviewing years of input from longtime downrigger users, Cannon® is introducing a new line of electric downriggers that reset the standard for durability, speed, performance and ease of use.
“One of the most important things we do as a manufacturer is listen to the people who use our products,” Cannon Senior Product Manager Dave Maryanov said. “Based on feedback from fishermen, we’ve completely redesigned our electric downriggers and implemented a series of design enhancements that will make controlled depth fishing more productive.We’ve also kept the downrigger features that have made Cannon a trusted name for years.”
The design enhancements on Cannon’s new electric downriggers include such key features as an easy access spool. This allows anglers to easily change spools or fix tangled cable. All of the switches and plugs on the new downriggers have been repositioned for greater accessibility and better ergonomics. The boom end now allows for freer motion of the downrigger cable, helping to prevent it from jumping off the pulley.
A number of changes have been made to give the new electric Cannon downriggers even more durability. The new design consists of a one-piece frame that is 40 percent stronger than previous models. On the inside,the electronics are fully enclosed and protected while an O-ring gasket assures the housing is watertight. The re-engineered electric motor makes the new downriggers significantly quieter. The motor housing is a modular design that can be removed easily to allow easy access to components.
At 250 feet per minute, Cannon downriggers will continue to have the fastest cable retrieval rate on the water. Paired with the exclusive Short-Stop feature, which protects the boat from swinging weights by stopping the weight at the waterline, Cannon downriggers allow anglers to quickly and safely reset their lines.
Cannon electric downriggers feature several innovative technologies,beginning with PositiveIon Control (PIC). PIC counteracts the negative ions emitted by the boat with a fish-attracting field of positive ions.
Digi-Troll™ 5 and 10 series downriggers have a newly designed LCD keypad with easy-to-navigate menus, and Digi-Troll 10 features a screen that can be integrated with Cannon’s IntelliTroll™ speed, depth and temp sensor. In addition, the Digi-Troll 10 can store up to five preset depth settings. It can also be programmed to cycle between different depths or track bottom contours, all directly from the downrigger.
All Digi-Troll models are compatible with the CannonLink™Fishing System. This allows up to six Digi-Troll downriggers to be operated directly from select Humminbird® fishfinder models. Anglers can cycle the downrigger up and down, bottom track, raise and lower the weight, and adjust Positive Ion Control, all from their fishfinder screen.
Standard with all of the new Cannon electric downrigger models is are designed dual axis rod holder. A unique ratcheting system allows for quick angle changes of the rod. These innovative rod holders can be easily pulled into a vertical position. They also rotate a full 360degrees for added versatility.
Cannon electric downriggers are offered in three product lines: the Magnum, Digi-Troll 5 and Digi-Troll 10 series. The suggested retail prices for the 2010 Cannon downriggers range from $399.99 to $1,499.99.The new models will begin shipping to dealers this fall.
More information will be available soon on our website, cannondownriggers.com,or you can contact Cannon, P.O. Box 8129, Mankato, MN 56002, or call800-227-6433.
Johnson Outdoors Marine Electronics, Inc. consists of the Cannon,Minn Kota, Humminbird and Geonav brands. Cannon® is the leader in controlled-depth fishing and includes a full line of downrigger products and accessories. MinnKota® is the world’s leading manufacturer of electric trolling motors, as well as offers a complete line of shallow water anchors,battery chargers, trim tabs and marine accessories. Humminbird® is a leading innovator and manufacturer of fishfinders, fishfinder/GPS combo units, chartplotters and digital depth gauges. Geonav® develops and manufactures state-of-the-art integrated navigation systems and autopilots for blue-water fishing and cruising yachts.
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Fishing Report - Sodus Point July 5th, 2010
Today Tim, Jay, Gump and I fished for a few hours out of Sodus Point. We worked some way deep water looking for colder water and bigger fish than there has been inside the past few days. We found 42 degrees down 90' out over 350-600 FOW but only a few marks and those were down 300' or more. I ran a rigger out 350' for a good chunk of the morning but it never took a shot. We did OK out there but never lit them up - it was just a steady pick for us today. It sounded like the better bite was in 100-180 FOW this morning. Our 400' copper pulling a DW SS Midnight Special took several fish today, as did a NK Mixed Veggies fished off of our 90' rigger as a free slider. We also had the NK Die Hard, and DW SS Glow Frog take shots today. The Mixed Veggies took our biggest steelhead of the trip at just over 10 lbs:
A Green Double Crush Glow Spinny/Sigg's Green Hypnotist fished off of our 400' Diver took our biggest fish of the day, a 20 lb King that fought like he was a 35 lb'er.
It was mostly a spoon bite for us today. The fleas were terrible - maybe the worst I've ever seen - especially when we were fishing the inside, warmer water. Even though it wasn't fast & furious we still had a great time and are all looking forward to the Oswego Pro-Am this coming weekend.
We still have a few dates left for Salmon fishing this July & August. Give me a call at (607)592-9012 or email me at capt.bill@billyvsportfishing.com to book your 2010 Lake Ontario charter. Don't miss out on the fun!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
A Green Double Crush Glow Spinny/Sigg's Green Hypnotist fished off of our 400' Diver took our biggest fish of the day, a 20 lb King that fought like he was a 35 lb'er.
It was mostly a spoon bite for us today. The fleas were terrible - maybe the worst I've ever seen - especially when we were fishing the inside, warmer water. Even though it wasn't fast & furious we still had a great time and are all looking forward to the Oswego Pro-Am this coming weekend.
We still have a few dates left for Salmon fishing this July & August. Give me a call at (607)592-9012 or email me at capt.bill@billyvsportfishing.com to book your 2010 Lake Ontario charter. Don't miss out on the fun!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Family Fishing Report - June 27, 2010 Sodus Point
Today we took the kids out for a mid-day troll in front of Sodus Point. We got a late start and finally left the dock at Krenzer's at 11:30am and ran out to 150 FOW and set up. Right away we began hooking up with small Kings - lots of them - and they were perfect sizes for the boys to enjoy. It was a spoon bite for us and pretty much any spoon that we put in the water took fish for us today. The DW Superslim Da Shiznit, Green Alewife, Glow Frog, and Midnight Special all took fish as did the Northern King Sea Sick Waddler, Gold NBK, and Die Hard. It was a rigger bite for us today - 90-125' down. Best speeds for us were 2.8-3.1 mph on our Cannon IntelliTroll. Here's a few pics of the boys having fun with today's fish:
We never did get a major bite today, although we only gave it about 2 hours right in the middle of the afternoon - not exactly prime fishing hours! But the boys had a lot of fun and the fish & sun wore them out!
We'll be back out to give it a more serious shot next weekend and I'll be sure to post a report then too.
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
We never did get a major bite today, although we only gave it about 2 hours right in the middle of the afternoon - not exactly prime fishing hours! But the boys had a lot of fun and the fish & sun wore them out!
We'll be back out to give it a more serious shot next weekend and I'll be sure to post a report then too.
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Asian Carp Found in Chicago Area Waterway System
This is awful news for the Great Lakes and we need your help. Please sign the petition to close the Chicago Area Waterway and keep these massively destructive fish out of Lake Michigan. http://www.stopasiancarp.com/
By Dan Egan of the Journal Sentinel
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
By Dan Egan of the Journal Sentinel
A 19-pound Asian carp has been found near the shore of Lake Michigan, above a navigation lock that regional political leaders had been demanding the Army Corps slam shut to try to keep the invaders out of the world's largest freshwater system.
The fish confirms what DNA evidence had been telling fishery managers for months - that Asian carp had indeed breached an electric fish barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, considered the last line of defense for Lake Michigan.
The bighead - nearly 3 feet long - is the first actual Asian carp found above the barrier, despite weeks of netting on the canal system and a $1.5 million fish-poisoning program last month.
It was plucked Tuesday from Lake Calumet, about six miles downstream from Lake Michigan, by a commercial fisherman hired by the state of Illinois to do routine fish sampling in the area.
"We set out earlier this year on a fact finding mission and we have found what we were looking for," John Rogner, assistant director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, said in a news release Wednesday. "This is important evidence and the more information we have about where Asian carp are, the better chance we have of keeping them out of the Great Lakes."
The federal government said it has no intention to order shut two navigation locks in the area, something regional politicians outside Illinois have been demanding for months.
The plan is to continue "sampling actions" in Lake Calumet, which is north of the O'Brien lock, as well as other areas on the Chicago canal system. This will involve netting and electrofishing.
Biologists say a handful of fish making their way into Lake Michigan does not mean a self-sustaining population is going to get established. They say most initial invasions fail because the fish must find a suitable place to reproduce, then they must find each other and then their offspring must survive long enough to reproduce on their own. Then, of course, the cycle has to repeat itself. Over and over.
"We remain firmly committed to achieving our collective goal of preventing Asian carp from becoming established in Great Lakes waters," said Mike Weimer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assistant regional director of the fisheries and aquatic resources program.
Meanwhile, federal officials say they will do their best to keep it business-as-usual for the barges, tour boats and recreational boat owners who use the navigation locks to move between the waterways and Lake Michigan.
"The Army Corps of Engineers will continue to operate the locks and dams in the Chicago Area Waterway System for congressionally authorized purposes of navigation, water diversion and flood control," said Col. Vincent Quarles of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
'Worst fears' realized
Michigan Attorney General and gubernatorial hopeful Mike Cox said the find means that the region's "worst fears" have been realized, and he is considering further legal action.
The Republican led a coalition of Great Lakes states this year, including Wisconsin, in a push to reopen a decades-old U.S. Supreme Court lawsuit over of the operation of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
He wanted the court to order the locks shut, something the court declined to do.
"President Obama and the Army Corps of Engineers have simply refused to take the threat seriously," Cox's office said in a statement.
But the news came as a relief to an industry group that depends on the navigation locks, which Army Corps officials say were never designed to be used as fish barriers.
"As the government's own studies have shown, lock closure undermines the resources and regional support necessary to solve this problem, while doing nothing to protect the Great Lakes," said Mark Biel, executive director of the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois.
Not necessarily a breach
Biel also said the fish find doesn't necessarily prove there has been a breach at the electric fish barrier downstream on the Sanitary and Ship Canal, a sentiment echoed by Rogner of the Illinois DNR.
Rogner said in a Wednesday conference call with reporters that he is not convinced the fish made it to Lake Calumet on its own. He noted that in the past decade there were two occasions where Asian carp were found in Chicago lagoons, bodies of water not connected to Lake Michigan. Those fish likely were planted by individuals - live bighead were once commonly sold in Asian fish markets in the Chicago area.
Of course, Rogner said, it is also possible the fish somehow swam through the barrier; the Army Corps did not turn up the fish-shocking device to a level strong enough to repel all sizes of Asian carp until the middle of last year, when the first DNA tests indicated the fish were mustering in an area just below it.
Conservationists Wednesday said they weren't surprised by the news.
"The
(environmental) DNA has told us for months that the threat is real. It's
time to stop fighting about whether there's a problem and move on to
developing real solutions," said Thom Cmar of the Natural Resources
Defense Council. "Asian carp are like cockroaches. If you find one, you
likely have a much larger problem on your hands."
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Walker TripZ Diver
We have had the chance to mess around with the new Walker TripZ Divers in the past few weeks and we've been very impressed with them - especially when we were targeting Steelhead in the top 40 feet of water or so. They work a lot like a Jet Diver, but they release much like a Deeper Diver, so you fight the fish instead of the diver. We ran them off of planer boards and found them to be a great addition to our "junk" lines - short coppers, lead cores, and pencil weighted mono lines. They're definitely worth a look!
Click to see TripZInstructional Video by Lance Valentine's Walleye 101
Depth Charts for TripZ Divers
TripZSize 20 10 lbs mono
| Line Out (ft) | 20 | 45 | 85 | 115 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depth (ft) | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 |
TripZSize 30 30 lbs mono
| Line Out (ft) | 35 | 80 | 125 | 200 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depth (ft) | 10 | 15 | 20 | 30 |
TripzSize 40 30 lbs mono
| Line Out (ft) | 35 | 105 | 190 | 250 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depth (ft) | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 |
Colours Available
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
The "Be Cool" video
Enjoy!
It's Lake Ontario Pro-Am Series Time!
We're just a few days away from our first Pro-Am of the year and I couldn't be more excited. Our Billy V/Krenzer Marine tournament team will be in Wilson fishing the Niagara County Pro-Am from June 4-6, then we'll be in Point Breeze fishing the Orleans County Pro-Am from June 11-13. After that, we have a few weeks off before we head to the East end of the lake for the Oswego County and Wayne County Pro-Am's in July. We're really going to get after it this year and we have aspirations of winning an event and perhaps even coming home with the Challenge Cup when the series is done for the year. It'll take a consistent effort on our part every weekend in order to bring home a championship but our team has worked hard and put in the hours this spring so I have high hopes for us this season.
While we love competing against the best trout and salmon fishermen on the lake and just spending time fishing together as a team in these events, there's more to it than that for us. We love getting our entire crew together for a few weekends every year and we enjoy the camaraderie that we share with our fellow competitors. A big part of the fun is seeing all of the guys back at the dock and sharing stories from the day and just shooting the breeze together. There's a lot of excitement and pride involved in these events, and for me there's no better feeling than coming up on stage for the weigh-in knowing that we have a real good box of fish. Some of my most memorable days on the lake are those when we crushed the fish during a tournament and knew that we had a great box that was going to put us in contention. Conversely, some of my most painful memories are those days when everything went wrong and we just didn't stack up against the rest of the field. There's nothing more frustrating to me than seeing a bunch of other boats with big boxes of fish when our day didn't yield comparable results - that kind of thing eats at me all winter long! But then again, that's what motivates us - we want to win and we're willing to do what it takes in order to do so. Last place just isn't an option for us, so we try to learn as much as we possibly can during these tournaments. Whether it means learning a new technique or untangling the mysteries of a specific piece of water, the Pro-Am's offer its participants plenty of opportunities to improve as fishermen. For my money, one of the best parts of the Pro-Am's is that even though we're trying to beat every boat in the field, most of the guys are still our good friends and at the end of the day we all want to help each other improve. I can't even begin to tell you how much I've learned over the years from our competitors. If you've never fished one of these tournaments before I'd highly recommend it - they truly are a world-class event and the memories and friendships that you'll take away from them will last you a lifetime.
I guess that's about it for now. I need to get back to prepping gear for the weekend. I'll post results after the weekend - win, lose or draw!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Billy V/Krenzer Marine Tournament Team
Family fun in Wilson - Memorial Day weekend 2010
I took my family up to the Wilson Boatyard for our annual Memorial Day trip.We spent most of our time hanging out at the pool and lounging aroundthe docks with our friends but we made some time to troll too. We onlygave it a couple of hours but we managed to put some fish in the boatfor the kids, which is all we were after.
Here's my 7 year oldson William with his 20 lb King (Mom helped reel it in!):
And here's 5 year old Ben wrenching on his "meanfish":
And here's Shelley enjoying the sun and showing off her big fish:
We had a great time relaxing in Wilson this pastweekend. Now it's time to get after it in next weekend's Pro-Am!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
Here's my 7 year oldson William with his 20 lb King (Mom helped reel it in!):
And here's 5 year old Ben wrenching on his "meanfish":
And here's Shelley enjoying the sun and showing off her big fish:
We had a great time relaxing in Wilson this pastweekend. Now it's time to get after it in next weekend's Pro-Am!
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
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Fishing Report - May 22, 2010 - Wilson, NY
Today we were joined by Matt, Brian, Eric, and Tori for a half day trip out of Wilson. The fishing had been tough in the days leading up to our trip so I was hopeful that the Kings would cooperate for us today. We managed to hook up with a half dozen good fish and a handful of smaller fish, but we just couldn't hang onto the bigger fish - we had a bad case of the "drops" today - ugh! Even still, Tori managed to boat her first-ever Lake Ontario King and she did a great job playing it all the way to the net. Here she is with the big fish of the day:
That fish took a Dreamweaver Super Slim Midnight Special, which has undoubtedly been one of our hottest spoons this spring. Here's a shot of that spoon just in case you're wondering what it looks like:
While we only boated a handful of fish today and most of them were throwback dinks, we did manage to get the number of bites we were after and we had a ball playing several really big fish. We had three or four fish rip line and disappear after a lengthy run, we dropped a really good King right at the back of the boat, and we even had a plump steelhead wrap itself around our wire divers before it eventually got off. Sometimes that's just how fishing goes - Disappointing for sure, but we still had a great day out on the Big Pond with good friends.
Today's best rigs were the aforementioned Midnight Special fished off of a rigger down 45', the JV Cheerleader fished off of a Walker Deeper Diver out 180' on a .5 setting, a Green Dot Spinny/Sigg's Billy V Glow Ghost fly fished off of a Deeper Diver out 300' on a 2.5 setting. Best down speed was 2.8mph on our new Cannon IntelliTroll. Water temps were 49-54 degrees down 50' or so and we worked just West of Wilson in 120-220 FOW.
We've enjoyed our run of charters out of Wilson, but now my wife and kids get their chance to come up and get in on the fun. We'll be in Wilson for three days next weekend and I'm sure that we'll make some time to fish a bit, albeit at a more relaxed pace than when we're out with our charters. This is always one of my favorite weekends of the year because I get to share the amazing spring fishery that I love so much with the people who I love the most and who make it possible for me to pursue my passion. This is my way of thanking them for everything that they do for me, and I'm really looking forward to it. After this coming weekend we'll be fishing both of the West End Pro-Am's, then heading back to Krenzer's in Sodus Point for some much needed time off before we get back after it with the East End Pro-Am's. Stay tuned here for reports and pictures of our upcoming adventures!
I guess that's about it for now,
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
That fish took a Dreamweaver Super Slim Midnight Special, which has undoubtedly been one of our hottest spoons this spring. Here's a shot of that spoon just in case you're wondering what it looks like:
While we only boated a handful of fish today and most of them were throwback dinks, we did manage to get the number of bites we were after and we had a ball playing several really big fish. We had three or four fish rip line and disappear after a lengthy run, we dropped a really good King right at the back of the boat, and we even had a plump steelhead wrap itself around our wire divers before it eventually got off. Sometimes that's just how fishing goes - Disappointing for sure, but we still had a great day out on the Big Pond with good friends.
Today's best rigs were the aforementioned Midnight Special fished off of a rigger down 45', the JV Cheerleader fished off of a Walker Deeper Diver out 180' on a .5 setting, a Green Dot Spinny/Sigg's Billy V Glow Ghost fly fished off of a Deeper Diver out 300' on a 2.5 setting. Best down speed was 2.8mph on our new Cannon IntelliTroll. Water temps were 49-54 degrees down 50' or so and we worked just West of Wilson in 120-220 FOW.
We've enjoyed our run of charters out of Wilson, but now my wife and kids get their chance to come up and get in on the fun. We'll be in Wilson for three days next weekend and I'm sure that we'll make some time to fish a bit, albeit at a more relaxed pace than when we're out with our charters. This is always one of my favorite weekends of the year because I get to share the amazing spring fishery that I love so much with the people who I love the most and who make it possible for me to pursue my passion. This is my way of thanking them for everything that they do for me, and I'm really looking forward to it. After this coming weekend we'll be fishing both of the West End Pro-Am's, then heading back to Krenzer's in Sodus Point for some much needed time off before we get back after it with the East End Pro-Am's. Stay tuned here for reports and pictures of our upcoming adventures!
I guess that's about it for now,
Until Next Time,
Fish On!!
~Capt. Bill
