LongLine

Well, you could call it the “Billy Ben Fishing Coâ€. That would probably make both boys happy, indicate fishing is your favorite pastime as well as saying you are available as a charter. You might even attract some clientele from somewhat southern geography. The down side: Yankee Trl’r might refer to you as the “Hill†Billy. On the other hand if you simply called it “Billy Ben Fishingâ€, every one in the Marina, upon seeing your boat docked there, would know that you have Been Fishing in addition to keeping the boys happy. Another alternative might be “Billy Fishing Ben†or the inverse “Ben Fishing Billy†however that might get you in trouble with the law regards sibling cruelty legislation. H.I.H. (Happiness in Habaneros)

Hey, remember EXXON. The company that claimed Katrina was going to put it out of business. 39.what BILLION $ profit in 2006? Highest of any corporation in history. That's profit not sales. BTW still at 2.37 for the "cheap" stuff.

In case you're keeping score: At the ball: 1st choice - Black's; 2nd choice - Black's As a stacker: 1st choice - Black's; 2nd choice - Black's On a coated cable at the ball: 1st choice - Black's, 2nd choice - Black's On planner board wire: (nope not black's) rubberized alligator clip on a gizmo bent like a paper clip. (I don't know know the name of it but you can buy a six-pk of them) Hmmm... guess this guy is sold on Black's. Yup. (& with no affiliation) The secret is put them on you cable (get rid of the wire thingy); release the tension after your done fishing and don't store them in direct sunlight when you're not fishing. Bought 5 of them well over 10 years ago & one is still in the package in the bottom of my tackle box somewhere.

I fish from an 18 ft’r with 2 manual swivel downriggers mounted on a removable board. I was looking at a replacement rod holder but couldn’t find one, reasonably priced, that I trusted with the “thumper†so I built one in my basement. Then I decided why not start all over & put a little front extension on it for a recessed scale. Yes it’s hinged. (5/16†rod) This way the rigger is outside of the boat & I can swivel/lock the rigger parallel to the boat, set a stacker without reaching (& falling overboard) or denting the hull. At the dock they hinge up out of the way. I fiqure I only spent $85-90 on it of which the majority was for stainless screws/nuts. (I had the scale & rigger mounts)

I'm wondering how the shrimp invasion will affect the perch population. Will it totally explode?

Noticed the prices as I drove home tonight. Down to $2.37/gal for the cheap stuff. (87 oct'n). This is the lowest in my area the last few years. I appreciate that someone is trying to develop alternate energy fuels and I really hope somebody makes a break-thru pretty soon however cost will always be the determining factor. Not only the cost of the fuel but the cost of a new car, boat engine, lawn mower, stove, hot water heater, furnace, etc that will run on the stuff. On the good news front, they're going to start building a couple ethanol plants around here in the next few months. Gov't will then require it be added. The bad news - Gas Co's going to raise prices to add it just as they raised prices to not put the lead in.

Should have said it differently. That $2.39 is the lowest it's gone to in Rochester.

These three things have had the largest impact on recent gasoline prices. No offence but the 4th, in Rochester NY, is the Monroe County Gas Dealers Assoc. Tonight's fill-up in Rochester NY at $2.49/gal for 89 Oct'n. 87 Oct'n was $2.39/gal. They sure raise it a lot faster than they drop it.

I put this on another board & thought it might be useful to some here: "Here’s an interesting article from the west coast by LeeRoy Wisener on preventing your fishing buddies from leaning overboard and "calling Ralph" i.e. sea sickness cures/prevention. http://www.wisnersinc.com/Fishing%20Info/AvoidSeasickness.html Some say a screaming drag will do the trick but the only guaranteed cure that I ever found for friends was to have them hug the biggest tree they could find."

Not to mention that the Monroe County Gas Dealers Assoc (a.k.a. Rochester) managed to keep gas prices from going below $2.45/gal all year on the highway. (Highest in state other than NYC) No wonder a lot of people around Rochester decided to putt-the-canal rather than cruise the open lake.

Not sure where to put this post so Mike please move as appropriate: FWIW - Just received this in mail today. Moor is having their once a year factory sale:

If winter ever arrives, Erie most likely if any do. A good portion of Superior might. Shoreline of Michigan & Huron possible. But no way will Ontario freeze over. Check out the temperature transects on this site: http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/ Ontario is very warm. Looks like 4 or 5 degrees warmer than other Lakes, all the way to the bottom except the most NE section. Kind of interesting watching this site over time to see the warming/cooling trends.

Happy New Year Billy & to all. Let's hope the Lake temps don't go goofy again.

Ok guys, Dv8oR got me curious. What’s the story behind the screen name you go by, or the name you’ve chosen for your boat? I'll start – “LongLine†has nothing to do with commercial swordfishing for me. (Also I believe it’s illegal in NYS.) The first salmon I caught in Lake Ontario back in the 70’s happened to be on a surface line that was over 150 yds back. Hence it was a long way back there, i.e. on the longline. To this day, one of my lines is usually way back there. (I’ve also been told it sometimes describes some of my posts/stories) So what's the scoop? Why'd you pick that name?

Tim - Very cool & very creative. I was thinking the Dv8 being a twist of Dv-it but the capital R threw me off.

Happy New Year Tim, Mike & everyone. BTW what was Dv8oR stand for????

S’G’ – It’ll help eliminate out-of-temp water. They’re also great for down speed control. I run a Sub-T and “won’t leave home without itâ€. FWIW Moor should be having an on-line sale of parts in another month or so.(cable, probes etc - they don't sell entire unit online though) Tip #1: Go to the online sites & read all that the manufacturers have to say about them before purchasing one. They have their manuals etc online. Tip #2: Run cables direct to battery (through their own fuses) not through terminals or switches that other electronics use.

Merry Christmas to all

From one LL to another - Thanx

Wanted: Pictured below are two release clips. I’m looking for about a doz of the upper (smaller ones) The lower clip is the small Scotty Trolling Snap and is too big for what I need. These metal clips are part of the original releases made by Yellow-Bird. and haven’t been made for a while. This clip could go on a planner board tow line or downrigger cable as a stacker. Attached to it was a retainer pin into which a plastic “donut†would fit. The fishing line would go through the donut and be pulled out when a fish hit it. If any of you guys have some lying around in an old tackle box and want to sell them for a reasonable amount, please send PM. Thanx, Tom B. (LongLine)

I’ve tried many releases but I always return to Black’s. Probably because I like to pop the line loose & let the lure flutter up while I’m cranking in the cable and then have no hassle resetting them exactly where they were. (or maybe it’s just that I’ve been running them for so many yrs that mastering the other brands is impossible with my motor skills) Anyways, the only problem with them on a coated cable is that they may spin and wear bare spots on the cable, hence may cause a loss of signal. Here’s my solution for the 150Lb-coated cable: It’s a short piece of spray tube from a can of WD-40. The diameter fits the cable perfectly. (Note: tubes from other spray cans are different sizes – usually too small) The release holes were enlarged ever so slightly. The tube is held in place by crimping the wire holding portion of a wire connector. The crimp also prevents the release from sliding up the cable. The release can spin all it wants and will not wear into the cable coating. The result is no loss of signal. This year, I upsized to the 210 Lb coated cable. Unfortunately the WD-40 tube has too small of a diameter and is virtually impossible to ream out. The solution is to use a piece of insulation from 12 AWG stranded copper electrical wire. I’ve had both down over 100 ft & have not lost signal.

Tort - If like my mine, she won't know the difference between any of them and won't really want to stand in the tackle aisle reading the packages. My advice is to tell her "a bunch of spoons in the neighborhood of 3-4" long, mostly silver, some green, some orange, some blue and some combinations thereof, but don't forget GLOW." (you're bound to get some good ones) Tom B. (LongLine)

DD - I agree. There's not much that can be moved by ship that can't be moved by truck or rail. What's disheartening is to see an article - like down about 10-12 articles - where cargo ships into Lackawanda (Buffalo) have gone up 4X in last yr and they brag about employing 40 or so jobs in a town of a couple million. Fishing on the Gr Lks puts more $ into the economy than "40 jobs." Feds should have reguired UV & other ballast treatments 10 yrs ago rather than let it get like this! And people wonder how the VHS got in?????

Hit Man - Just playing - I do however prefer spoons over the others as I generally fish with pretty light line for a Big-O troller. (8-10 Lb). Favorite being a Bloody Blk/Silvr R&R w/glo ladr. In general, "if it don't glo, it don't go" (in the water)