Yankee Troller

Good morning! First charter of the year!

Command post! #humminbird #moor #moorsubtroll #letsgetiton #lakeontario #lakeontario2014 #fishing #fishingcharter #trojanboats #trolling #tightlines #rochester #portofrochester #cantwaittotroll #charterboat #chicksdigit #crazyyankeesportfishing #yankeetroller

We're in now JWeehler!

Thanks guys!

Let the games begin! No April fools joke this time. Mother nature stalled us about 5 days this Spring, but we are in and ready to fish. 2014 Lake season starts this weekend!

Let's get it on! Season is under way!

These are always a bonus when fishing Lake Ontario. This Atlantic Salmon was a touch north of 12lbs.

This was me! Lol

Throw back Thursday! These big brownies were some of the first to come aboard the new Yankee Troller three seasons ago. Someone looks excited to have the opportunity the catch these!

Representing "Hump Day"

Man Candy Monday!

Some more video to pass the annoyingly long winter. Chinook Salmon triple on Lake Ontario www.youtube.com Fishing Chinook Salmon on Lake Ontario's Niagara Bar. Spring 2013. Tripled up on King Salmon.

It's Tank Tuesday again! Check out this silvery Summer King from the fertile western waters of Lake Ontario!

Although still a work in progress our new website is up and running. We will now have the ability to take all reservations and payments online. www.wilsonharborinvitational.com Also when registering for each of the events it will be necessary to access your email to confirm your registration and make payments. (similar to retrieving a forgotten password) WHI invitees will receive a password to access their account and make payments. Please call us if you would rather roll the old fashioned way. Wilson Harbor Invitational After receiving your invitation or to request one please visit the WHI tab where you will be able to create a profile and log in to make payments etc. As we get closer to May Tee shirt orders and dinner tickets will also be available here. Wilson Harbor Salmon Slam No invitation necessary open to all! By clicking the Salmon Slam tab you can check out the rules and register for the event. Please be advised an early bird prize of $300 will be drawn from all entries received by Feb 3rd 2014. Additionally you will be eligible for our daily drawings May 3rd- May 9th for some really awesome gear. 1 K a Day No Invitation necessary open to all! If your entry is received by Feb 3rd 2014 you are eligible for second place prize structure and our daily drawings May 3rd- May 9th brought to you by our sponsors on their respected day(s). A complete list of daily prizes will be available as sponsors come on board. Don’t miss out these will be some BIG prizes. All prizes for both the Salmon Slam and the 1 K will be awarded at our awards Banquet Sat May 10thwith over 400 people in attendance. Be advised there will be 2 weigh in facilities Wilson Boatyard in Wilson NY and Boat Doctors in Olcott NY open 9 am to 8pm each day of the event(s). We fully expect both facilities to have LIVE cameras to watch each fish come to the scales! Please keep in mind an SMS service will be available for up to the minute updates and weights along with a few surprises. The Salmon Slam and 1 K a day are for everyone! Combined with the LOC and you have the richest week of Salmon Fishing on the Great Lakes! If you have any questions or need clarity please dont hesitate to call 716-863-1001 or email [email protected].

We've used birds for about 5 seasons now. You can't go wrong with them! If you have any questions feel free to ask away! I am very familiar with them. We have three networked with each other and their Radar.

Our "inside" water never set up this Summer, so at the Oak we ran offshore 5-8 miles every day. In years past we could go a mile and set up and crush them until the lake flipped sometime in August, which is when the offshore bite excelled. We still had our numbers of fish this Summer, and the size was there. It just took more gas to get to them IF you could get out due to winds. This is why we fished offshore because that was the most stable water. The bait was also incredible out there!

After careful consideration by our WHI committee please take note of the following changes: For 2014 we will be allowing both King and Coho Salmon to be weighed in and count towards your Saturday score. This year there will also be a "rookie" class formed which will consist of any new team with no more than one former WHI veteran wishing to fish the 2014 event. (and yes these teams will compete for a secondary prize structure as well as the primary. Standby for the complete list of rules regarding this in the near future. Finally, being that its almost invite time please shoot us an email with your interest or updated contact info. [email protected]

August 5th - Fishing was tough today! We had a group of six out for a Bachelor party. We ended the day going 3 for 6. We were able to put two small Salmon in the boat and a Steelie. Fishing has rally come to a halt out on the big pond! August 6th - We headed out and had to weave through the boats doing harbor patrol. Too many for our liking, so we motored out to 100’ of water and set lines. The picture was amazing, but we never turned a rod, and as the sun came up the fish sunk to the bottom. We pointed the boat North and trolled out to the 26N line, and still not a rod moved. There was so much bait out there it’s no wonder the fish weren’t eating. We told our guys at 8am we were going to cut the trip short and finish at 10am because it wasn’t worth the effort. Talking with captains all over the lake it seemed the whole lake was shut down. Anyway, we pointed her South and got back into the 130’ range around 9:45, and the picture looked good so we leveled out. No sooner did we do that and our 300’ diver takes off with a Marv’s Big Fatty Stinger E-Chip/A-TOM-MIK Glow Blue Hijacker. We put that gal in the boat, and no sooner our 130’ Cannon downrigger fires and it’s on! This fish fell for a Stinger 2 Face E-Chip/A-TOM-MIK Glow Hammer. We stuck to the plan, and headed in with a happy crew under the tough conditions. They understood how tough it was out there, and were willing to give it a go in 2014 when the Lake is back on fire!

August 30th (Morning) – We left the harbor around 6am and headed offshore. We had a couple of kids on board, and figured 2yr olds and steelies were the best option even though it was only a half day trip! We set up at the 29N line and worked out to the 32N line with a decent pick of fish once we got past the 30 N line. I can’t say we hooked into a mature fish out there, but there were some to be had. Most of our pick was 2yr old Salmon and some nice Steelies. August 30th (Evening) – We did a little afternoon trip with some friends, and again figured offshore was the place to be. We set course for the 30N line and fished for a few hours. We ended up having half a dozen bites during the two hours we were out there. We hit a nice Coho, some Steelies, and a couple of 2yr old Chinook Salmon. Hot spoon of the night was a Stinger double crush glow. Another boat tipped us off about it earlier in the day, and it wasn’t down long before it started producing. August 31st – We had enough of the offshore thing, so we decide to stay inside. Not to mention the clients were in the derby and hounding us for a 40lb’er! We broke the pier heads and set up in 50’ of water. It didn’t take long and we were into them! Our HOT rig was a Stinger 2 Face E-chip/A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist on our Cannon fished at 50’. AS fast as we could get it down it would fire! Our diver also took a nice shot on a Legendary Smart Fish in Wionder Dot pulling an A-TOM-MIK Glow Blue Hammer. There was a point in the morning where the fly bite started to slow, and that’s when the Familiar Bite meat started to take it’s share of fish on our deep Cannon. We ended the day with 15 bites, two of which were Brown Trout, and some happy clients. Our big guy was around 26lbs, but most of the Salmon we landed were 15-20lbs. September 1st (Morning) – We had the same group, so we headed out to the same waters from the day before. We not only were derby fishing, but we were also fishing the last King of the Oak event. The bite was a lot slower, but it was for EVERYONE! We ended the day taking five King bites, but only landing 2 of them. We also took two Brown Trout, and a MONSTER Sheephead! LOL Our best rigs were a Marv’s Big Fatty Stinger E-chip/A-TOM-MIK Hijacker fly on a diver, Stinger 2 Face E-Chip/A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist on a diver, and a Dreamweaver Sea Sick Waddler Mag on our highest Cannon downrigger. We ended up third for the event, but we took the King of the Oak title after a tough 5 event schedule! September 1st (Evening) – We slid out for our afternoon trip totally stumped on what to do, but we headed back out to the waters we were in earlier. We rotted for most of the night until we made a turn out over 140’ of water, and there they were! Our screen lit up, and it wasn’t long until we were into them! In two hours we would go on to take four shots. Three came on a Marvs Big Fatty Stinger E-Chip/A-TOM-MIK Hijacker fly, and the fourth bite was on a Moonshine Green Shorts on our highest Cannon Downrigger. September 2nd – We started the morning in 40’ of water, but it was void of fish! So we slid out, and word on the radio was no one was getting them. On the way out our highest Cannon downrigger hooked up with a nice Coho on a Dreamweaver Sea Sick Waddler. Shortly after that we hit the 140’ mark from the night before and our Familiar Bite meat rig on our deep Cannon takes a shot. The rest of the day was slow! We had a shot on a Dreamweaver White on White Spin Doctor/A-TOM-MIK White Halo on our 400’ A-TOM-MIK copper, but it was a skippy! We made the decision to go try for some Lakers near Devil’s Nose, and it wouldn’t take long until we were into fish. Our Hammerhead cowbells stirred a King off the bottom, which took our Marvs Big Fatty Stinger E-Chip/A-TOM-MIK Hijacker fly on our 175’ wire, and shortly after that we were into a Laker on silver and blue Hammerhead Cowbells. One more Laker would find the deck of our boat and that would wrap up our Monday.

August 22nd (Afternoon) / 23rd (Morning) - We had a new group out with us, and after the last few weeks we figured it was going to be another stellar weekend of fishing. We set up offshore around the 28N line on the afternoon trip, and went at it with a few fish right off the bat. Fishing wasn’t like it had been, but we still got some bites. Familiar Bite meat was good on our deep A-TOM-MIK coppers, and on our deep Cannon downriggers. A stud for us on both of these trips was a Green Legendary Smartfish/A-TOM-MIK Ultra Green Glow fly. We fished this on a diver back 200-250’. The following morning we gave it a try on the inside. It was good for four matures, but the bite died for us after that. We pulled the plug on that water and headed offshore where we easily finished up our limit on the 28N-29N lines. A mix of Salmon and Steel out there took mainly a flasher/fly program. This group had a blast given the bumpy conditions they were faced with. I’m sure we’ll see them back! August 22nd (Afternoon) / 23rd (Morning) - Joe got hooked on Lake Ontario last year, so he decided to make a few trips up here this year. He fished with us earlier in May on the Niagara Bar, but this time he brought some co-workers up from Pittsburgh to show them our great resource! On the afternoon trip the inside waters were so hot it was boiling in there! A four man limit on matures in three hours, and a bonus domestic Rainbow thrown in on top of that. These guys went 13 for 13 on the sticks. Almost unheard of this time of year! A Stinger Magnum Yellow Tail on a 300 Copper was very consistent for us. Our Familiar Bite Meat rigs on our deepest Cannons was good as well as the Green Smartfish/A-TOM-MIK Ultra Glow Green, The following morning we were excited to get back out there. We set up in the same inside waters as the night before, and had rods going almost instantly. Our best depths were 70-85’ a few clicks West of port. It wasn’t nearly as good of a bite as the night before, but we took 15 shots throughout the whole trip. However, we had some solid fish in our catch. We broke the 30lb mark again this year with a 30.8lb brute that took a Green dot Stinger E-Chip/A-TOM-MIK Ultra Green Glow fly. We had a 28lb fish that took a Dreamweaver Lucky Charm Cut Plug on our 10 color. That plug was our hot bait of the morning on a 10 color and a 200 A-TOM-MIK Copper. Other baits were one and done. August 24th (Afternoon) / 25th (Morning) - We had another new group with us. Total newbies, so we were excited to get out on the afternoon trip seeing how HOT the afternoon was a day prior. Well, we zigged when we should have zagged! We went out and fished the same inside waters from the morning only to end with our very first SKUNK! No hits, no runs, no errors! God, that was a tough pill to swallow, but the few left in there had lock jaw, so we had a nice boat ride and watched the sun set on the horizon. I was shocked when these guys showed up the next morning ready to go! I think they could sense the frustration we had the night before, and knew it would never happen again! We gave the inside one last shot for about two hours in the morning before we pulled the plug and headed North the the 28N line. We didn’t get all the rods in the water when both Familiar Bite meat rigs on our Cannon out and downs fired with mature Salmon. One was at 75’ down and the other was at 100’ down. The bite went on from there, and we boated some nice Steelies, and a few more Kings for these guys. Our A-TOM-MIK copper took over when the riggers stopped firing. A 300 was going good with a Dreamweaver Green dot Spin Doctor/A-TOM-MIK Ultra Green Glow, and the 400 was going with a White Dreamweaver Spin Doctor/A-TOM-MIK White Halo. August 25th (Afternoon) - I figured this would be a fun trip! Just a father and son from Jersey. They saw pics from a friends trip, and booked with us right away. We ran out to the 27N line and set rods. We didn’t get all of the rods in and our Familiar Bite on our 100’ Cannon downrigger fired with a mature. The battle was on! We got that fish to the boat, and then it turned into a slow pick. A fish about every 45 minutes. The next two fish would come on a Diver out 300’ pulling a Stinger E-Chip Hammertime/A-TOM-MIK Glow Blue Hijacker fly. Our last hit of the night was a short strike on a 500’ A-TOM-MIK copper pulling a Familiar Bite meat rig. These guys are hooked for sure!

Thanks boys! It turned out good! I like the fish held that way. Plus it's easier for the clients.

August 15 (afternoon) & August 16th (Morning) - Marc Roberts saw the damage his brother did last year up on Ontario with us, so he had to come see what it was like for himself! We worked the 28-30N lines right out front and it turned into another CCTCD (Can’t Close the Cooler Day)! We ran our 8 rod set-up. Our Cannon downriggers probed the 70-125’ area, our divers were out 250-325’, and we ran three coppers from 400-600’ out. The meat bite coupled with the fly bite should be illegal right now! The Familiar Bite behind big meat paddles have been on fire the last few weekends fished on our deep coppers, and our deepest Cannon downrigger. Pair that with our A-TOM-MIK flies, and these Salmon don’t stand a chance! August 17th - The Maryland boys were back again this year, and this time they brought nice weather! We headed back out to the 28-30N line and worked the 10-12W line for an hour or two in the morning, but we found our area to the West on the 15-16W line late morning. The bites started to come fast, but we never did break 24lbs today. We ran our typical spread. The A-TOM-MIK coppers were on fire! A 400 and two 500 coppers gave us a lot of action! Dreamweaver’s Green dot Spin Doctors pulling an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist fly was good on the 400 copper, and Familiar Bite meat on both 500 coppers seemed to work well. Our divers were going from 275-325’ out. A Wonderbread Smartfish/A-TOM-MIK Glow Blue Hammer was on fire on one, while the other side had a Twinkie Meat rig. Our Cannons pulled rigs from 70-125’ down, and a Stinger E-Chip 2 face/A-TOM-MIK Ultra Green Glow was great once the sun came up. We were fishing the second to last leg of the King of the Oak tournament series, so we stayed out even after we boxed out. I’m pretty sure we hit 40 bites by 2pm, which might be one of the better days of 2013! August 17th (afternoon) - We went out with a new crew from Buffalo. These guys had caught the darkies in the stream, but wanted to experience the fresh fish swimming in Lake Ontario! After the morning we had I couldn’t wait to get back out there! We fished the same area we had been in the last few weeks. 28-30N and 14-17W was the ticket. Dominic (the kid) was the coolest little guy! He wanted to reel in every fish once he saw the first once come over the side. He even manhandled a 500 copper to land one of the fish he’s holding in the pictures above. Stinger’s 2 face E-Chip/A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist was very productive on our 90’ Cannon downrigger. Our Familiar Bite meat was also good on our 100’ Cannon downrigger. Wires were firing anywhere from 250-300’ out on a 2 setting with both A-TOM-MIK flies and Familiar Bite meat. I’m pretty sure the kid is hooked! August 18th - Another day with the Maryland boys, and another memorable day for the 2013 season! We FINALLY cracked the 30lb mark with a 30.08lb Chinook Salmon! The bite started slow like it did on Saturday morning, but picked up around 8 o’clock and we were headed in by noon with a 5 man limit! The 30lb Salmon was part of a quadruple! It took a Moonshine Carbon 14 on a 300’ A-TOM-MIK Copper rig, next to go was a wire diver out 200’ pulling a Legendary SmartFish Wonder dot/A-TOM-MIK Glow Blue Hammer, then the Familiar Bite went on the 90’ Cannon downrigger, and we ended with a Brown Trout on the 75’ Cannon downrigger pulling a Dreamweaver Sea Sick Waddler mupped. All that and no tangles! The wire diver out 200’ pulling a Legendary SmartFish Wonder dot/A-TOM-MIK Glow Blue Hammer took multiple fish for us, and so did Familiar Bite meat on our 500 A-TOM-MIK coppers and our deep Cannon downriggers. Our 400 A-TOM-MIK Copper was also good with a Dreamweaver Green Dot Spin Doctor.A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist. These guys got spoiled!

Thanks guys!

August 9th - Mark and his gang from Pennsylvania joined us for their second trip this year. There was no shortage of action on this trip, and these guys know how to have fun! We fished the 27-29N lines and 13-14W lines, and the screen was just loaded with bait and fish. Our typical charter spread went out consisting of our three Cannon downriggers, two wire divers, and three coppers. On our Cannons we mixed it up with Familiar bite meat on our deep rigger, and spoons and Dreamweaver/A-TOM-MIK combos on the other two. By the end of the trip is was a spoonless program. Dreamweaver’s green dot Spin Doctor/A-TOM-MIK Ultra Glow Green was a hot rig on the 400’ A-TOM-MIK copper, a white meat paddle with a glow head took a lot of shots on the 500’ A-TOM-MIK copper pulling Familiar Bite meat, and Moonshines Carbon 14 is still producing on the 300’ A-TOM-MIK copper. Wires were hot out 200-250’ on a 2 setting pulling flasher fly combos. In the morning a Wonderbread Smartfish/A-TOM-MIK Glow Blue Hammer was good, but when the sun came up a Dreamweaver Captain Valium Spin Doctor/A-TOM-MIK Mirage Lime Live took over. August 10th - Sam and his gang joined us for a third consecutive season, and this one was by far the best bite they’ve seen! We headed out into a nasty NW wind with waves pushing 4-6’, but hey…..that’s why we have a Trojan 10 Meter! Even in the nastiest of conditions we can still be somewhat comfortable out on Lady O. She calmed down by the end of the trip, which made the day much nicer. We headed out to the 28N line and the 13-14W line, and the fish and bait were still there! Our first 6 Salmon we hooked found a way to throw the hook, and I would have to say it was contributed from two factors. The weather wasn’t helping any, and the fact that the Salmon are transforming into their Fall colors. This makes their mouths harden up, and it can be much harder to get a hook into. Our spread consisted of three Cannon downriggers, two wires, and three A-TOM-MIK coppers (300’, 400’, and a 500’ section). Familiar Bite meat was by far the hot ticket in the morning on our 100’ Cannon downrigger, and our 500’ A-TOM-MIK Copper. However, our hook up percentage was terrible! Our Green Dot Dreamweaver Spin Doctor/A-TOM-MIK Ultra Glow Green fly was smoking on the 400 A-TOM-MIK Copper, and a Stinger 2 Face E-Chip/A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist fly was good on a 85’ Cannon downrigger. August 10th/11th - The DiPrimo gang was back again for their second season, and this was much better than the mid September trip they had last year. It was almost one of this years best trips for big guys and numbers! They fished with us Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. By the end of the day on Sunday I think every one in the gang was wore out! There were times where as fast as we could get the rig down it would fire! White seemed to be the color of the day! We had an 8†white double crush glow Dreamweaver Spin Doctor/A-TOM-MIK White Halo going really good on a 400’ A-TOM-MIK Copper. We duplicated that on our diver with a 10†version, and that was going out at 250’ on a 2 setting. Our 100’ Cannon downrigger was smoking with a Frog meat rig in the morning, and a Golden Retriever meat rig was good when the sun was high running Familiar Bites herring strips. A Stinger E-Chip 2 Face/A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist was also good on a 90’ Cannon downrigger. Our Grizzly cooler was filled to the brim with tails sticking out well before noon, but we played catch and release until the trip was done. It was that much fun! August 11th - One of my favorite tips of the season! The fishing was HOT right off the bat, and a Father/Son group made some AWESOME memories! We headed back out to the 28N line and a few clicks further West on the 16/17 West line. We put out our typical charter spread, but I think we could have gotten away with a simple five rod spread. Every time we’d hook into a Salmon we’d slow the boat down and let the kids do battle with Lady O’s bounty! Our biggest guy of the trip was a 28lb Chinook, and when it hit the deck the boys eyes lit up! That fish took a White meat rig with Familiar Bite herring strips on our 100’ Cannon downrigger. Our White Dreamweaver Spin Doctor/A-TOM-MIK Halo combos were still taking fish on our 400’ A-TOM-MIK Copper, adn on our 250’ wire. The Stinger 2 Face E-Chip was also good pulling an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist on a 90’ Cannon downrigger. We kept enough for the grills, and released the younger 2yr old Salmon so they could be caught next year. These boys will be talking about this trip until they come back next year!