Great Sacandaga Lake (BS)

[SSminnow]

SS minnow so how much money did you win with that 40 inch pike. splitting 50/50 ??

not a penny.  went right back down the hole!  money isn't worth having a bad reputation on the ice!  i don't even know if it would have placed, but that crap goes down way to much.  1 guy enters and 10 people fish under that one entry.  i don't fish for $, i fish for fun.  and on the 29th im fishing for a new wheeler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Johnny3Walleye]

not a penny.  went right back down the hole!  money isn't worth having a bad reputation on the ice!  i don't even know if it would have placed, but that crap goes down way to much.  1 guy enters and 10 people fish under that one entry.  i don't fish for $, i fish for fun.  and on the 29th im fishing for a new wheeler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That happened to a friend of mine once 5 or 6 years back.  He caught a 29 1/2 inch walleye and wasn't in the tournament because he didn't realize that it was lake wide.  A couple guys near him offered to enter it and split the money.  Of course he too refused because like you said its not worth losing your reputation but just as important its CHEATING!  I don't know why people have to ruin the fun with cheating in tournies.  Unfortunetly there is really no easy way to police it.
J3W

[o2rmk800]

with the state in a funk with the budget and economy the way it is I can't believe they don't have every Eco in the region and then some come to the challenge. then you would limit some cheating with 20/30 Eco's running around, plus make a few $$ in unreg./ uninsured and the various other mishaps. as long as you play by the rules shouldn't have any problems.  just  my thought, never cheated at a tourney, never been around someone that has cheated so no guilt felt here.


                steve

[eiderz]

Just curious, other than sneaking in a fish caught earlier/elsewhere or entering another guys fish, how do people cheat? Use too many lines, illegal bait? Why can't you fish inside your shanty, what would they get away with? Have done a bunch of icefishing for walleyes but the walleye challenge will be the first icefishing tournament ever for me, again just wondering.

[adkRoy]

Just curious, other than sneaking in a fish caught earlier/elsewhere or entering another guys fish, how do people cheat? Use too many lines, illegal bait? Why can't you fish inside your shanty, what would they get away with? Have done a bunch of icefishing for walleyes but the walleye challenge will be the first icefishing tournament ever for me, again just wondering.

If its a weight competition shove lead sinkers down the fishes mouth. If its a competition that you can have a frozen fish measured, you can catch it a head of time.  Or my personal favorite, if the fish are to be measured alive, go get the fish measured, come back, hand the fish off to your buddy so he can go get it measured, then you can tie for first and split the first/second prizes. I've not done this but have seen it done enough times that I got sick of contests and won't fish them any more.

[Johnny3Walleye]

Or my personal favorite, if the fish are to be measured alive, go get the fish measured, come back, hand the fish off to your buddy so he can go get it measured, then you can tie for first and split the first/second prizes. I've not done this but have seen it done enough times that I got sick of contests and won't fish them any more.

A lot of tournaments use a shaped hole punch and clip the tail fin.
J3W

[adkRoy]

A lot of tournaments use a shaped hole punch and clip the tail fin.
J3W

Not some of the smaller ones though. 

[eiderz]

I've heard of those tricks on open water tournaments with dead fish, but isn't the walleye challenge a live fish only tournament? I guess the clowns could shove a sinker down the throat of a live one. It also says in the rules that they keep and release any fish weighed, so there likely are no re-weighs.

[SSminnow]

If its a competition that you can have a frozen fish measured, you can catch it a head of time. 

the same people that tried to split with my cuz also have a tank to keep em alive for awhile.  the only tournys i get in are the eye challenge and food and fuel tourny.  lou gives away enuf good prizes for the entry to be worth it even with all the cheaters.

[SSminnow]

I've heard of those tricks on open water tournaments with dead fish, but isn't the walleye challenge a live fish only tournament? I guess the clowns could shove a sinker down the throat of a live one. It also says in the rules that they keep and release any fish weighed, so there likely are no re-weighs.

yes it is live only and they do release right at the weigh station.  the way i see the eye challenge, there are 8 hours to win $$ with a fish.  there would have to be a whole lot of cheating going on to not give everyone fishing an honest chance of winning at least one of the hours.

[eiderz]

Yeah, SS, all those prizes is why we're going, not the money. We have no illusions of catching the biggest or most fish, it's our first trip to the lake. With all the lucky draw stuff it keeps a fun day of fishing interesting.

[SSminnow]

Yeah, SS, all those prizes is why we're going, not the money. We have no illusions of catching the biggest or most fish, it's our first trip to the lake. With all the lucky draw stuff it keeps a fun day of fishing interesting.

that's how i look at it too.  i have a better chance of winning the drawing than i do a prize fish,  and i fish the lake every weekend.  hopefully it will not be 15 below zero this year.  last year was brutal

[sacandagakid]

they put the fish in water, so anything in its mouth like sinkers will come out,last year was the coldest day of the year,ur not kidding brutal

[o2rmk800]

the biggest thing with the eye tourney is the cheaters that catch eyes one hour and hold them for another when they will win money. i have seen this done and personally know who they were but how do you prove it. i got 2nd place the first year and was beat out by this jacka**, but i kept my mouth shut b/c i didn't want to have a problems later in life. they had someone checking weights at the station and calling them back via cell phone and turning them in the next hour. needless to say they one 2 hrs in a row and if anyone has info from the tourney 2 years ago you will be able to know who he was.


         steve

p.s. i think they should weight the fish and not publish them until the end. this may eliminate someone checking weights like this.

[SSminnow]

the biggest thing with the eye tourney is the cheaters that catch eyes one hour and hold them for another when they will win money. i have seen this done and personally know who they were but how do you prove it. i got 2nd place the first year and was beat out by this jacka**, but i kept my mouth shut b/c i didn't want to have a problems later in life. they had someone checking weights at the station and calling them back via cell phone and turning them in the next hour. needless to say they one 2 hrs in a row and if anyone has info from the tourney 2 years ago you will be able to know who he was.


         steve

p.s. i think they should weight the fish and not publish them until the end. this may eliminate someone checking weights like this.

  they do not post the weights of the walleye challenge until the hour is up.  they keep it on paper and unless you know the person with the clip board you can not find out.  i weighed in a couple last year, one was in the same hour the 2 biggest fish were caught, any other hour it would have won $$ but i had no idea which is how it should be. 
  the people you are talking about might have someone just hang out at the weigh station and keep their own log because they do weigh them out in front of whoever is there. 

[o2rmk800]

the first year they were pretty lax on giving out info, they told anyone that asked. didn't get any the last 2 years to enter so with that change in mind maybe its better.

[SSminnow]

i will be going out tomorrow until 8pm ish.  hopefully the fog won't roll in like last weekend.  i got lost on the lake on the way home and i only live a half mile from my shanty and also had one of my marker buckets run over that was a foot away from my tip up.  this time i can't even blame the snowmachine rider,  you couldn't see the shanty 10 yards away even with the lantern going.

[SSminnow]

didn't get any the last 2 years to enter so with that change in mind maybe its better.

are you already counting yourself out for this year?  this is only the 3rd yr right? or is my memory as bad as my back?  first yr was limited to 1000 and last yr was jumped up to 1500 entries.

[o2rmk800]

guess i tried to add a year in there. my bad. hopefully i can get a secret spot down before the challenge or i will have to hope for door prizes


steve

[SSminnow]

guess i tried to add a year in there. my bad. hopefully i can get a secret spot down before the challenge or i will have to hope for door prizes


steve

sometimes crap luck is the way to go as far as secret spots. my secret spot is only producing 16 inchers and under, hopefully they put on some weight in the next 2 weeks.  took me over an hour to find my bucket marking my honey hole, damn snow!

[Johnny3Walleye]

Think I am going to head out tomorrow for a early morning run, probably like 6:00am-10:00am.  The guys I fish with are heading up north for the day but I can't go because I have my niece's b-day party at 1:30pm.  If anyone wants to fish the morning run together shoot me a PM.
J3W

[o2rmk800]

would love to j3m but i got my eyes on a pop-up/ soon to shanty i have to go look at tomorrow morning.

[SSminnow]

Think I am going to head out tomorrow for a early morning run, probably like 6:00am-10:00am.  The guys I fish with are heading up north for the day but I can't go because I have my niece's b-day party at 1:30pm.  If anyone wants to fish the morning run together shoot me a PM.
J3W

ganna be a cold one out there in the am.  we are wimping out until 11ish and waiting for the sun to come up and fish till 8ish if i have enuf wood to keep the fire going.

[smarge42]

wondering what size minnows you guys that are catching waleyes on tipups are useing? i have been useing smalls on the lakes around me and getting perch but thinking i should go up a size when we go to the sac next weekend

[ratdog]

heading the the shack this am 4 try the new spot marked alot of fish there when we moved

[OGGYDOGGY]

i'll be out there, not getting in the tourny though.  probably stay saturday till sunday, i'm bringing my fire pit with me!  last year my cousin caught a 40" pike and was not in the tourny and had someone fishing next to us offer to enter it in their name and split any winnings 50/50.  you couldn't pay us enuf to associate our names with this group.   these people are accused of being "cheaters" every year.  i am sure they will have their name on the board this year also.  way to much cheating goes on for me to give them my $20, even though there is the chance of me still catching a monster also.

Amen to that .I still get in on the hopes that I can win legally or just win a prize, and why does it seem that all the drunks win the wheelers and sleds ? LOL Oh and I hope no river walleyes show up, The cheaters are very tricky and will do anything to win $$ , takes all the fun out of it.Cant they tell the diff. somehow between river eyes and sac. lake eyes?

[SSminnow]

Amen to that .I still get in on the hopes that I can win legally or just win a prize, and why does it seem that all the drunks win the wheelers and sleds ? LOL Oh and I hope no river walleyes show up, The cheaters are very tricky and will do anything to win $$ , takes all the fun out of it.Cant they tell the diff. somehow between river eyes and sac. lake eyes?

lou had that prob a few years back with a river eye.  wouldn't put it in his contest.  it was yellow and slimy, definetly not a sacandaga eye.  he also had a problem a couple years ago with someone entering a frozen fish even though the temps never went below 40 degrees that weekend.  i'm thinking of getting drunk off my rocker this year so i can win a wheeler!  that does seem to be the secret.  and you are right, you still have a chance to catch one to beat the cheaters, they have to catch a big one first to be able to cheat with!

[o2rmk800]

don't forget to take your truck out on the ice and get it stuck and burn the tranny out of it like the guy the first year.

[Johnny3Walleye]

he also had a problem a couple years ago with someone entering a frozen fish even though the temps never went below 40 degrees that weekend. 

I hate to beat a dead horse but I believe that Lou later realized he made a mistake with this "frozen fish" thing and paid the guy his $600 after sitting down and having a conversation with him.  The fish was not frozen like some people report.  Some of the scales had froze according to the scale sample thatwas reportedly done.  The people who only fished during the day claim the temp never got below freezing but if you fished during the night Friday night you would know that the temp. was well below freezing on the north end of the lake.  The guy entered it Saturday late morning.  I saw the fish Saturday morning before he entered it and I am not a biologist but no red flags went off in my head when I saw it.  My opinion knowing the guy who entered it from fishing near him on several occasions is that it was a legal fish and a set of unfortunate circumstances.  I think Lou was totally trying to do the right thing but may have made a mistake on this one.
J3W

[SSminnow]

he also had a problem a couple years ago with someone entering a frozen fish even though the temps never went below 40 degrees that weekend. 

I hate to beat a dead horse but I believe that Lou later realized he made a mistake with this "frozen fish" thing and paid the guy his $600 after sitting down and having a conversation with him.  The fish was not frozen like some people report.  Some of the scales had froze according to the scale sample thatwas reportedly done.  The people who only fished during the day claim the temp never got below freezing but if you fished during the night Friday night you would know that the temp. was well below freezing on the north end of the lake.  The guy entered it Saturday late morning.  I saw the fish Saturday morning before he entered it and I am not a biologist but no red flags went off in my head when I saw it.  My opinion knowing the guy who entered it from fishing near him on several occasions is that it was a legal fish and a set of unfortunate circumstances.  I think Lou was totally trying to do the right thing but may have made a mistake on this one.
J3W

not what happened at all.  Lou met him at a dunkin donuts and gave him his $20 entry fee back.  Lou said the fish made the frozen crackling noise when he laid it flat on the tape measure, said it was frozen on the inside and already thawed a little on the out.  he actually sent scales to some lab to have them tested somehow to see if it had been frozen and came back to be true.