Kirtley Howe

I keep hearing the pros say that rising water is always better than falling water....and on tidal waters I totally agree. Fish in tidal waters are programmed to eat on a rising tide. BUT (you knew that was coming)...in non-tidal rivers, and most natural lakes I often find that fishing is better when they are falling or have fallen and have stabilized. My reasoning on this is that falling (or low) water levels concentrate the fish into specific and predictable places where as rising or high stabile water conditions tend to scatter fish over wider areas, making them harder to locate. With falling or low water levels, I just look for deep areas within the shallow surroundings. But deep is a relative term. A 16" trough or channel in an area of 6" water is "deep". Likewise, a 10' hole in an area of average depth of 3' is also "deep". Anyway, I just look for deep spots and find the fish. Yes, other things bear on this also. Oxygen levels, baitfish concentrations, cover, structure, etc all play a part, but the low or falling water reduces the necessary search areas. Your thoughts?

Everyone seems to be ignoring my questions. I didn't want brand names, though I do appreciate the answers and suggestions. I wanted to know what material was best for braid and why. I did get some good answers about number of strands (let us not argue about semantics), but still not much on my other questions. Any more thoughts out there? Thanks.

My thoughts are 1) I like both, so I watch both when I can, especially in the winter when it is 0 degrees F outside. 2) I actually prefer MLF because it is more like how I often fish....new lake, no practice, minimal knowledge of the body of water, and I want to catch as many as I can most of the time. 3) I think MLF treat the fish better over-all, and most likely have lower delayed mortality. I also like that MLF has (overall) lower entry fees for the anglers, and a better (again, my opinion) pay out system.

I admit to having limited experience with braided line. So far, I am not very fond of it. The braids I have used have been 4 strand. I see some brands have more (6, or even 8 strands), and a couple are advertised as being "fused". My questions are 1) Are more strands better? 2) What is the best material for a braid to be made from, and why? 3) Are "fused" braided lines better than regular stranded braided lines, and if so, how and why? I am not really looking for advice on what brand to buy. I am really looking for advice on the type of braid to buy, and why you recommend that type. Assume, for the sake of argument that money is no object (yeah, like that is really a thing). Thanks!

I like skirts that are short and tight....on my wife. (Pease don't delete my account!)

A fresh set of sparkpugs for my outboard motor. A jump box for if my starting battery dies.

I bring a bag and clean up my trash. I bring a large garbage bag to clean up all the other trash. Seriously....it only takes a few minutes of my time to clean up an area, and often if others see me cleaning stuff up, they do too. That is a win in my book.

Hello and welcome from Owego, NY. I have fished Sacandaga Lake several times. My sister and her husband have cottage on the lake (it belongs to his family but they have use of it) and I have been there during summer months. Love the lake and would fish it more but it is about 4 hours from where I live, and I only have access when they are there. Anyway, welcome aboard.

For sure.

Since it is going to be -4 F here, with winds up to 20 mph, and up to 7 inches of snow over the next few days, I think I will pass on fishing. Oh....only very thin ice on the river and local ponds, so ice fishing is pretty much out of the question.

I went to my doctor today for a check up. She said I was drinking too much coffee, and it was bad for my health. I told her if I drank any less, it would be bad for HER health. She thinks I have a bad attitude.

Tackle Warehouse sells a "Bob's Machine Shop pedestal hole cover" for $29.99. Made from aluminum, o-ring seal so it is just about water tight.

Chemung river. Many farm ponds. Catatonk Creek (runs from Candor to Owego). East and West Branch of Owego Creek. Cayuga Lake. Otsego Lake. Seneca Lake. Fall Creek (tributary to Cayuga Lake). Salmon River near Pulaski NY. Just about any body of water that has fish in it. And my sister and her husband have a cottage (actually owned by his family) on Sacandaga Lake, and I have fished that several times.

Did your shoulder get a bit sore from shooting 40 rounds? I really like my rifle, but after about 20 rounds I begin to like it a lot less. It is amazingly accurate for a saddle gun, and the stopping power is really good.

I have seen pros use power poles with great regularity when fishing, especially around a large piece of cover or structure, and when sight fishing for bedding bass.

My father had a saying...."If you are going to own a gun, you should be accurate with it."

Just a couple of observations. 1) I have been on Cayuga Lake when MLF was having a tournament there, and also when other organizations have had them. Almost all of the pros were very courteous and pleasant. None of them crowed me in any way, and the only time one got close to me he asked if he could fish around me. I had no problem with that. The only problem I had at all was that at the end of the fishing day many of the pros blasted back to the launch site at the same time. Since Cayuga is a narrow (less the 3 miles at the widest point, and a lot less in many areas) the combined wake was pretty bad for those of us who were in small boats. 2)In general, the larger the recreational boat the more entitled the owners seem to feel. I have never had much problem with people who own 25 foot or smaller boats, but the ones larger than that have practically run me over when I was anchored and fishing and have cut me off at the launch ramp. 3) The worst problem I have had when bank fishing was while fishing Fall Creek (a tributary to Cayuga Lake). This is a fairly small creek. The local rowing club uses it for their practice. I have no problem with that. I DO have a problem when the rowers and their chase boat (motorboat) Insist on stopping at the exact spot I am fishing, and the motorboat would idle around in circles right on top of that spot. At first, I thought it was because I had just been unlucky enough to park myself at their normal turn around spot. No problem I thought....I will just move a hundred feet downstream. Guess what happened? The next time they came toward me, their turn around spot "just happened" to be exactly where I was NOW fishing. I politely asked the person in the chase boat if it was really necessary for them to do the turn around right where I was fishing, especially since I had already moved once to give them plenty of room. The response I got is unprintable here. I kept my temper, and tried to be the bigger person, and left. I see no point in getting dragged down to that level, and I don't need that kind of stress in my life. There will always be another day and another spot.

I watch the pros, and listen to what they say,,,,but I am more interested in the tackle they actually use. If I see Ott Defoe us a specific rod and reel combo fishing a technique I use or am considering using I may well go check out that combo at the store. Will I buy it? Maybe, maybe not. But it does give me a starting point on the type of set up I am looking for. Another example that came up recently for me was when a pro was talking about the advantage of a very high speed (8.1:1) casting reel for certain presentations. I went and checked out the reel he was recommending and quickly decided it was way out of my price range for a reel I would only use occasionally for a certain presentation. So I went on-line and bough one of those 35 dollar Chinese knock offs. I was surprised by two things. The first was that the $35 reel was actually very nice...smooth, well made, and fit my hand well when I palmed it. The second was how seldom I actually used it over the course of a year. I don't regret buying the reel....but I sure would have been upset if I had spent the $200 for the one the pro recommended. Did the pro influence my buying decision? You bet. But maybe not in the way his sponser had hoped

Common By catches....Walleye, Musky, Tiger Musky, Pike, Rock Bass, Sunfish and Bluegill, occasional Crappie, Creek Chubs (up to 14"), Carp, Bullhead, Catfish, Horn Dace (ever heard of them?), Bowfin, very seldom a Sheepshead.

Fishing the Susquehanna River near Owego NY today. Air temperature was 40-50 degrees, mix of clouds and sun, not much wind. Water temperature was 36 degrees. Caught 3 smallmouth on tubes, between 1 1/2 lbs and 3 lbs 2 oz. Pretty slow day, but still successful, and a great way to finish out the year. Happy New Year to all.

Since this is out of character for him (you said you always got along pretty well), I would try asking him what is going on in his life. assuming you are close enough to talk to him about personal matters. Could be problems at home (divorce, illness in family, problems with the kids, money problems). Any of those things could result in the behavior you mentioned. Could be he could use someone to talk to.

Hollow wall toggle bolts. Drill holes in the racks of appropriate size for the bolts. Place rack where you want it, and mark hole placement on boat. Drill a hole in the boat hull big enough to get the toggle through. Coat bottom of the rack with marine goop. Insert bolt through the rack, and screw toggles part way onto bolts. Coat toggles with marine goop and insert in holes in hull. Push rack down to seat it on hull. Lift up on screw head and tighten toggle against the hull. As the toggle tightens against the hull, it will pull the bolt down tight. Put a light coating of marine goop on the bolt head. Let sit for 24 hours. When the marine goop sets, you will be able to mount just about anything you want on the track. The rack will most likely fail before the mounting does. Toggle bolts are available in a variety of sizes and lengths at any hardware store and are very inexpensive. I have never done this on a Kayak (never owned one) but have mounted many things on boats where I did not have access to the back using this technique. If done right, the mount is waterproof.

I rake no more tackle with me than I can carry if I was bank fishing. Rods and reels however are whole 'nother matter. I always take way more rods and reels than I really need.

There are too many variables on any given day to make a blanket statement. The big advantage of being in a boat is the ability to cover much more water than a bank fisherman. On the other hand, a bank fisherman can fish waters a boat cannot get to, and a bank fisherman will often fish an area much more completely than a boat fisherman would. As a general rule though, I would think the advantage goes to the boat fisherman.

You can easily drown in three feet or less of water. Likely? No----but if the rules state you must be wearing a life jacket while in a boat, then the fish and game guy was just doing his job.