ROAD TRIP

Sometimes we forget that Lake Erie is so big that a road trip is required just to get to where the big ones have traveled.  I jumped in the truck to meet up with my longtime fishing buddy Bob Henton and Field and Stream fishing editor Joe Cermele.  To say that we had a good time is an understatement. The first fish to make it into the boat was over 30'' and 10lbs. Fishing the deep waters of Pennsylvania meant using a combination of heavy snap weights, Dipsy Divers, and in-line weights... with both spinners and cranks. Cranks ruled early, with spinners dominating after the wind layed down and sun shined bright.

The day will run as an episode of "Hook Shots" on Field and Streams site in a few weeks.  The episode will make you cry with laughter...we were busting on each other all day.

Ross Robertson
www.bigwaterfishing.com

Icast Show---memories and a game changer

This year ICAST invaded Orlando for the annual biggest trade show in fishing. One of the first things I saw upon walking in was Bert's Custom Tackle's display board.  It brought back memories of doing a photo shoot over and over in 6' plus waves.

After looking at the literately thousands of new and new to me products I can honestly say that Humminbird and Minn-Kota stole the show. The new 360 Side Imaging is awesome.  I'm most ready to start using the new I-Pilot Link, this will literally allow you to use your Humminbird fish finder as a true autopilot. It will even allow you to follow a contour when a Lakemaster chip is used, plus or minus whatever you tell the unit.  Unbelievable stuff. You really need to take a look at this, its a true game changer.

If that wasn't enough Minn-Kota also came out with a battery charger that is unbelievable. I have been fortunate to have been field testing it for the last few months. While loaded with features to charge your faster without damaging your batteries, it also allows you to see each batteries charge level and charge each battery according to what it actually is. This allows you to select from wet cell, AGM, or gel style batteries. Just when you though it couldn't get any better.

bigwaterfishing.com

3 Days...3 Ports....MONSTER WALLEYES

Decided to switch things up a little and fish both the Central and Eastern basins to try out some new equipment and keep our deep water skills up to par.  End result was a pile of giant walleyes coming to the boat.  The giants we were catching around the islands in March and April have moved more than a 100 miles chasing smelt and other fatty baitfish the bigguns seem to like.

We used heavy in-lines on the boards and divers at the boat with silver streak harnesses for the most part.  Each day the best presentation for big ones was a little different.  Color seemed to make more of a difference than blade style on the harnesses. We caught them on colorado's, Indiana's, willows and hatchets equally well.

Gotta love Erie...land of the giants

Lots of Fish...Fishing w/ a Legend...and a Big Win!

The fishing, much like the recent weather has been super hot.  We have managed early limits each and every day for the last several weeks.

I managed to have my long time friend (& recently retired) legendary outdoor writer Steve Pollick as my "first mate" a few days ago.  He managed to take a fine photo and help us wrangle a 4 man limit in less than two hours.  It was really great to finally get to fish with Steve just "for fun", but he did notify me he was doing a writeup on the days events for Outdoor News. So much for retirement!

Lastly my good friend and often referred to as "bobber fisherman" by myself, Bruce Samson, just won the AIM event out of Lorain OH.  It was awesome to see him come in and win a trolling event solo against the big teams.  He was pulling Silver Streak harness' near the sand bar. The video link to his post win wrap up is below.

 http://www.aimfishing.com/View-Video/5163/Bruce-Doctor-Sonar-Samson-Wins-at-AIM-Lorain-OH

New Project...its Hot!

A project that has been in the works for a while is almost complete.  Bruce Samson and I have put together a DVD that is packed with trolling tips and tricks.  We even managed a true double with 10lb + eyes while filming for it.  Look for it to be on-line, in tackle shops and box stores fairly soon. Nothing else like it on the market!!!

bigwaterfishing.com

More Big Walleyes...New Lures...& a Lil Outdoor Life Action

The walleye fishing this week has been nothing short of amazing.  We are still pulling spinners with the walleyes switching up their color preference.  It's been a while since I've seen them this color sensitive.

Silver Streak UV blades have been really good on overcast days, while the Antifreeze Silver Streak blades have been good when its sunnier.  A new prototype Silver Streak blade blank has been REALLLLLL good.  Enough so that it will likely hit the shelves much sooner than expected. 

These boys can attest to the spinner thing

On a separate note, it was nice to open up the current issue of Outdoor Life and bring back memories of some giants we caught first thing this year  Gotta love Erie....Land of the Giants

I still have some open charter dates...get em while the getting is still good.  We will continue to have great fishing!

FLW follow up

It's been a month of non stop fishing...or should I say CATCHING.

I finished up okay at the FLW Tour with almost a 7lb average, but not enough for the big trophy.  Tough deal when you make the right decisions but don't land the ones you need. We were handling about 30 to 40 fish per day, but only a handful of the "weigh fish" we needed. Bitter Sweet!

Silver Streak has some newer UV and anti freeze blades that REALLY caught em good. Keep an eye out for them in the near future

A big thanks to all that helped out and for all of the people that make this possible for me

bigwaterfishing.com