sad pic from lower

[John Pensyl]

I thought I had lost this picture from a few years ago but I found it last night on my old laptop while browsing through old pictures.  This is why I've always brought up the lower river power vista platform and incidental musky catches when the subject of signage and better education comes up.  Lots of muskies in that turbine water before the season and even throughout June some years.  Sadly I've seen many fish snagged by fisherman with poor ethics and even little kids who just don't know better.  Its been a few years but I used to fish that platform a ton in May and June and without exaggeration there would be multiple musky encounters every day down there.  Some incidental catches,  many just coming up on the flat passing through and becoming a target to the mass of excited overzealous anglers.  This was the only one I ever saw make it to a rope but definitely not the only one I've seen killed or injured down there.  I think it was 2007 when I caught a 47.5 on a shad rap down there and even though I released it I think back to how it was netted, laid on the metal grate and hot concrete and then splashed back into the river.  I doubt she lived, but I honestly didn't know any better and neither do the guys down there on a daily basis.  

That bass was probably 15-16 inches so you can see how big that skii was. 

[Scott McKee]

That hurts.  The really sad thing is I believe we were denied permission to display a "Know-the-difference" sign at the platform.  We had better try again, maybe with a few Niagara County politicians in our corner.  John, please bring up this subject at our next meeting in case I forget.  Awful image, but thank you for reminding me and the club about this problem.