The very first time I visited Salmon Country about 30 yrs ago we wound up staying at Rainbow Shores.The accommodations back then were so bad that we told them you should pay us to stay here,I won't bore you with the details.This was in spring and I trailored my 18' open bow ski boat up there to catch Browns and what ever.Did n't know squat but wound up buying planer boards and some lures and we caught a bunch of fish off Selkirk and Sandy Pond,mostly Browns  and some Lakers and one or two Rainbows.Get this I did n't even know the SR existed as we came to fish the lake.Of course as time went on that changed
Since then after awhile I ate there several times and found the food to be very good,have n't been there in awhile as I don't fish that area anymore.

please excuse the crappy phone pics as the lens has been broken for about a year now but you'll get the idea:
This is what we have seen here and there all season:

Thing is, you'll notice there are NO hooks (salmon) anywhere around the bait balls.. Frustrating..
 
This is what we found in and around 90 fow but it was a 1 off.. It should look like this everywhere right now but don't.

 
This is what we have been consistently good at.. 73deg. surface temp in 140fow:
 

Gerry your probably right but what else is a boy to do when the fishing is lousy .. Having fun is what its all about for me..
Off topic but, this is the band that played at our 30th anniversary.. I coulda, shoulda went to the county fair Friday night to see them play instead of the Great Lake.. Hind sight 20/20 .. Will say however we did find some great players both fri-night and sat afternoon on the shores of the Great Lake Ontario but I miss these guys , Acoustic Rye:
 
 

Great Lake Adventure Final Report 9/12-13/2015
Man , where did the summer go huh ?  Seems the days drag, the weekends are far to short , the weeks click off and the years fly by.. What the heck.. 1980 on the SR was light years ago, 2015 on the Great lake was a blur..
So now for the fishing report:
Tied up at home Friday so headed to Lake 7am sat morning.. Hit rain by Herkimer .. Hit Altmar around 11ish to visit some friends before the crew arrived around 12:30.. Great time shooting the breeze and sharing stories..
I stopped at Mexico point before jumping on the Mae and the Lake was UGLY !!! Figured NO way we were fishing this weekend.. Crew came to dock on queue and we settled in to maybe a sightseeing last weekend in Oswego county .. Hit our favorite chicken shack for lunch and things seemed to calm a bit on shore.. After lunch I said "lets go look at the point" and it looked fishy !!
Out we went with 1/4 tank of fuel straight to the SR..  Set up in 60 fow and marked fish, trolled another 20 mins to 80 fow and rod slammed up/down then pulsed .. FISH ON !!!
It was the best fighting fish of the season.. It was the biggest sheet show also , lol.. End result, broken in 1/2 rod, fish hand lined in net..  With that on board we trolled another 20 mins looking at gas gauge now on E , conditions building and raining harder we headed back to port..  It was a fitting end to the season, rough seas (caught that big brown), Broken Rod (tossed tons of gear over all year) and MY only salmon on the last ride of the Great Lake Ontario..
After the lines were tied and the fish was cleaned we went sight seeing, well local hanging..  Great food, great folks at the Altmar Hotel.. Oh and I cant even see the pool balls.. lol
 
Sunday am:
Humm, light rain, cool temps and a boat to load.. Took my last stop to the R&R for coffee & fresh doughnuts at 7am.. Messed around gathering & closing everything up for the trip home.. Crew rolled out about 8:30-9am and we just sat on the boat , nobody wanted to leave..
Finally we headed down the creek to Mexico point to load her up. I get to the launch in a huge blow and throw the boat in reverse to adjust and then back in forward and , its still going backwards.. I try neutral and still going backwards, try forward and still going backwards.. In a slight panic I back up to dock and secure the boat then shut her down, load and have an uneventful trip home.. Upon inspection today the outdrive gears are shot.. Some lucky it happened at the launch at the end of season..  Lessons, thoughts learned ..
Ah well, she will be ready for the Mighty Muddy Hudson when them stripers come..
She treated me well from April until Sept EVERY single week..
Until next season, The Daisy Mae Rests ...
 
Pic's later:(
 

Oh boy , Fichy told you stories about me , and you still want to fish together , lol .. Always a great time fishing with Charlie . I'm ALWAYS in awe at his skill , knowledge and determination :)
Looking forward to sharing some water with you folks . My only shot at salmon will be thurs 10-1 until I leave sat or sun.
Really would like to get into some steel before the hardwater sets in too.. Oct -Nov are tight windows for myself .
Sorry to hear about the foot and hope it doesn't keep you down for long .
As for the Mae, well I watched some YouTube on how to remove the outdrive and it " seems " pretty simple and straight forward. I got a boat mechanic that said he would rebuild it good as new for a very fair low cost .
Now it's time to get that boating outta my head and start tying chitty flies again :)

My boat was pure joy for a number of years exploring and fishing coves, coast, shoals and reefs  and a mile or so out along the Ct coast for Blues, Bass and Black fish.
Chasing schools of bait with gamefish slashing through and Gulls working hard overhead is a thrill in the fishing world rarely found elsewhere.
Finding Bunker in the waters along shore being pushed right onto the sand by Blues and casting to the sand and retrieving back into the waters for instant hard hits was a thing memories are made of.
 Remarkable sunrises and sunsets while flying to and from fishing grounds are still in my memory banks.
All that (and more) said, it was not a hard thing to eventually sell the boat and buy a place in Pulaski for river fishing.
Lugging it back and forth to marinas or launches with mechanical issues manifesting at the launch destroying expected days off shore now turned into "issue" days were commonplace and not enjoyable.
Boats occasionally  become holes in the water you throw money into.
Some do it for their forever and some -like me- do it for 15 or 20 years and move on-treasuring the good times and seeking new adventures while ya still can.
Now the Pulaski place is becoming 'a yard too far' and its time to scale back but the memories are worth the time, costs and effort.
Ya only make this trip once so don't stop till they throw dirt on ya.

Promised you pics..
Last 2 I have of the great lake adventure:
On my way to town:

 
The Dark horse but geesh, a fish is a fish :).. Had a blast on this adventure!!