Rough Rider
03-14-2002, 06:29 PM
Saw you mention fishing Henderson Harbor once and I'm curious as to how you did there. I have fished this area maybe 5 times and have had some success running harness crawler rigs behind downriggers in spring but would like to try other options as far as trolling goes.Have been using leadcore last 2 years but have not tried it at Henderson,actually Black River Basin.
stevefellegy
03-15-2002, 06:40 AM
Hey Rough Rider,
lol Your "handle", immediately reminds me of Lake Ontario.
I fished out of Henderson Harbor in, I think, in '94. We were there for the NAWA championship event. I was in a severe car crash earlier that summer and had to skip one of the qualifying events and did not qualify to compete. BUT...I was there to help a couple teammates figure things out.
Like any of the Great Lakes, finding walleyes was the key. There has been too many waves over the bow since then for me to remember details about where we found them(I have notes and maps buried in a file), but we did. We fished them with #8 silver hammered Indiana spinner blades on worm harnesses on three-way rigs. Like eastern Erie, the water was VERY clear and we had to fish with in-line Off- Shore boards. The fish were BIG. 8lb.-10lb. average.
Two little stories from that trip...
I was wearing a neck brace and broken rib protection. Dale Stroschein asked me one day to ride with him. Now, knowing Dale's on the water driving antics, I warned him of my condition. The waves were 6- 10ft. that day. Using his jackplate, the long ride to the fishy grounds was pretty nice, all things considered. But then it happened....An outdoor writer, there to take photo's for various companies,including Ranger, waved us down from another pro boat. He asked Dale if he would stage a few shots of high speed running. My broken body cringed. If you know Dale, you can envsion him salivating
at the thought of driving his Ranger airborne. I said PLEASE...but it went unheard. We reared back a few hundred yards from the camera. Dale played with the jackplate. I held my breath. The big billboards you see along hiways showing an airborne Ranger were created moments later. If I would have had any physical ability left after that episode to kill Dale, that would have been his last act.lol
The "Don King Act".....
As I said, I was there to help a couple teammates. To make a long story short, (hard for me, I know...), we located what surely was the potential winning school of big walleyes. 8lb. to 10lb. average. Most of the field was struggling so I knew what we had. I filled out deposit slips immediately.
So, on the first day of the tournament, more nervous with anticipation than I went through in the delivery room when my rug rats were born, I watched the team head out. I paced all day, hoping the coaching in practice had sunk in. So...they weigh in. One had 1 fish, the other was skunked!!! Back at the motel room, the silence was deafening as raingear and clothes were hung up to dry. Battered fishing tackle needed tlc. I finally couldn't take anymore. I asked, "what happened?" They explained that after reaching the school we had found in practice, and fishing for a half hour without a bite, they moved miles away where the 'rumor mill' had placed the rest of the field. Being a Bobby Knight fan, my coaching rage led to pillows and shoes flying in all directions. Seelhoff cowered in the bathroom and Bruno ran faster than he had ever run as a major league baseball player. My long graying hair was fluffed, ( like Don King, the boxing promoter), in all directions as fire flew from my cussing voice box. And the next two days showed the affects. Top five finishes and comeback awards, (even after next to nothing the first day) soothed my wounds slightly. But that was only more of an unacceptable sign, how we had the win locked up and blew it.
They remind me of the 'Don King act' every time we talk. I remind them how we beat ourselves in that event....
fisherman
03-15-2002, 11:17 AM
Steve, you're stories are killin' me.lol Sure glad you are on W.C. to provide some real humor and a lot of expert advice.
If you are ever down in Iowa pheasant hunting and run out of friends and roosters to shoot, give me a shout.
Bill Daniels
fisherman
03-15-2002, 11:19 AM
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you would shoot you're friends!!lol..