Line counter reels

[slimshady]

How soon can we catch them on crankbaits?

Now. Is that early enough for you?

[sherman51]

Thanks Sherman. I'm going to research all of those models. Hey, I posted another question but got a little long winded. How soon can we catch them on crankbaits? I'm sure early April. Perhaps even March if good weather? Thanks again for the info.

the earliest I've fished on the western basin was the 1st week in May. we just trolled the deeper waters around the reefs. but I guess you might even catch them earlier. if I was going up that early I would plan on giving the reefs a try with heavy jigs and live minnows. then if I wasn't doing good after a while I would switch to cranks and troll them very slow maybe 1.5 or less depending on what they wanted. another thing about jigging you want to get a couple of bags to slow you down. but instead of getting drift bags I would get a set of good trolling bags that way you could also use them for trolling to get your speed down. trolling bags are made much better than drift bags and trolling bags have a place on the back end to tie it off to your boat which gives better boat control. without a kicker motor, it's almost impossible to get down slow enough to troll. but bags are a great alternative to a kicker if you don't have one.

[DW72]

Now is soon enough . I worry a little to get the boat out of winterization too early being an I/O. We had 40 below wind chill for a while here in western NY. I'll be there in March will be my plan. Always willing to share info if any of you wish. Thanks again!

[Cat Power]

We have had great luck with Okuma Coldwaters

[slimshady]

Now is soon enough . I worry a little to get the boat out of winterization too early being an I/O. We had 40 below wind chill for a while here in western NY. I'll be there in March will be my plan. Always willing to share info if any of you wish. Thanks again!

Yes, with an I/O you can’t get away with fishing right now unless you have indoor storage where it’s warm. If you wait until May to fish the Western Basin you are missing some amazing fishing!

[DW72]

Right on. I'll be there in March! Hey I received my new lures and they look great. Fast shipping too, thanks.

[cohoho]

Right on. I'll be there in March! Hey I received my new lures and they look great. Fast shipping too, thanks.

April 3rd - the 13th for the cast and crew of the Crooked Hook. Can't come soon enough!

[DW72]

It sure can't! I'll post what I do when I get out there. I'm still learning and appreciate what is posted here to help. It's about 5 hours away for me and I do a few 3 day trips per season. I get my fish but it takes quite a while sometimes. I think I need to better on quicker turns to get back on biting fish.and going all in with more rods once a lead is established that is working. I'm improving on bandit colors based on water clarity and cloud coverage. I haven't been very good at high fish in deeper water...like 25-30 fow. I assume they are schools of eyes between 6 and 12 feet down because they are big marks?? I may not be high enough. How high above the fish have you all had luck pulling the cranks? 1-3 feet or more? I've never caught crap above 12 feet down from the surface unless I was in shallower around H Can. I usually seem to de best between F and Green Island. Leads 55-100 feet back with bandits unassisted. Thank you for the feedback if someone doesn't mind!

[sherman51]

It sure can't! I'll post what I do when I get out there. I'm still learning and appreciate what is posted here to help. It's about 5 hours away for me and I do a few 3 day trips per season. I get my fish but it takes quite a while sometimes. I think I need to better on quicker turns to get back on biting fish.and going all in with more rods once a lead is established that is working. I'm improving on bandit colors based on water clarity and cloud coverage. I haven't been very good at high fish in deeper water...like 25-30 fow. I assume they are schools of eyes between 6 and 12 feet down because they are big marks?? I may not be high enough. How high above the fish have you all had luck pulling the cranks? 1-3 feet or more? I've never caught crap above 12 feet down from the surface unless I was in shallower around H Can. I usually seem to de best between F and Green Island. Leads 55-100 feet back with bandits unassisted. Thank you for the feedback if someone doesn't mind!

sometimes in the western basin, I've found it's better to just pull lines make a run-up, and troll back through. at most times I have found the fish will bite much better going in one direction over going the other way. I went with a friend that invited me to go out. the waves were coming out of the north. so we ran up a bit and trolled south. we got 18 of our 2-man limit and they just quit. we made a turn north and trolled north but never got the 1st fish on the way back out. we made our turn back south and had our other 6 fish and 2 more on the lines before we got all the lines back out. it doesn't hurt to try turning around but if the fish don't bite try running back out and go in your original direction.

[cohoho]

sometimes in the western basin, I've found it's better to just pull lines make a run-up, and troll back through. at most times I have found the fish will bite much better going in one direction over going the other way. I went with a friend that invited me to go out. the waves were coming out of the north. so we ran up a bit and trolled south. we got 18 of our 2-man limit and they just quit. we made a turn north and trolled north but never got the 1st fish on the way back out. we made our turn back south and had our other 6 fish and 2 more on the lines before we got all the lines back out. it doesn't hurt to try turning around but if the fish don't bite try running back out and go in your original direction.

this is so true. We do catch them both way sometimes but more times than not, we do better pulling lines and restarting the productive line again.