The Great Lakes are home to one of the finest salmon and trout fisheries in the world, drawing anglers from every corner of the country — and beyond. For many, it’s not just about catching fish; it’s about the culture, the family traditions, and the constant learning that comes with chasing salmon, trout, and steelhead across these vast waters.

On Episode 243 of the Great Lakes Fishing Podcast, presented by Fish Hawk Electronics, host Chris Larsen and co-host Captain Matt Yablonsky sat down with two experienced captains to talk about fishing, family, boats, and the ever-changing waters of Lake Ontario.

From the Port of Rochester to Oak Orchard, Captains Dan DeGeorge of Double D Sport Fishing and Richard Hajecki of Crazy Yankee Sport Fishing offered their perspective on what makes the Great Lakes so special — and why technology like Fish Hawk has become indispensable to their programs.

Captain Dan DeGeorge: Building a Charter Business Out of Passion

Captain Dan DeGeorge of Double D Sport Fishing runs out of the Port of Rochester, New York, from April through September. While he’s been chartering for just three years, his passion for Great Lakes fishing goes back decades.

“I’ve been professionally chartering for three years, but I’ve been fishing the Great Lakes and doing this stuff since the early to mid-80s,” Dan explained.

Like many anglers, his story began at the shoreline. “I just had a drive for fishing, and I started fishing off the piers and catching these fish. They were prevalent in Lake Ontario, and it just grew from there, getting a boat and initially working my way up.”

When asked whether he had a mentor, Dan credited his own persistence: “I was self-taught as far as fishing and hunting. It was just a drive and something I loved to do. My father and my family were really into it. It was just a passion I had.”

That passion translated into years of trial and error, study, and time on the water. “Back in my day, it was magazines we were reading. Now there’s social media, YouTube, that kind of stuff. Getting out there, trial and error, and going on fishing charters with captains is where you’ll glean much of the information. It will bring your learning curve way up when you can see it hands-on. There are no secrets to this — you come out on a trip, and we’ll explain what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and what the process is.”

The Rochester Fishery

For Dan, the Port of Rochester is a special place to fish.

“It’s a great port. There’s a lot to offer. We have great brown trout fishing in the spring and summer. We are centrally located. We have it all there — steelhead, salmon, and a good fishery in summer,” he said.

There is one tradeoff, however: “We’ve got to run a bit further than some of these other ports because we’re in the basin. That would be our only downfall. It’s not to the other fishermen or customers. It’s just that we have to run a little further and spend more on gas. But the guys are all good, and we’re going to take you out and bring you where the fish are.”

That means in the spring, he may be fishing as shallow as 6 to 12 feet for browns. Later in the year, he could be out in the depths chasing summer kings. “We just follow where the fish are,” he said.

A Well-Rigged Boat

Every charter captain knows their boat is their most important tool, and Dan is proud of his.

“I am running a 27-foot Tiara Pursuit fully rigged with Fish Hawk. I can’t say enough about it; I love it. And the Cannon Optimum downriggers: everything’s all Bluetooth. You don’t have to look at the front of the boat anymore. It’s all right there. So, it’s a well-set-up ride. It handles the water well and is working out really well.”

The Fish Hawk Electronics system is key for his summer salmon program, especially when targeting kings offshore.

“I’ll be going offshore at that time of year and probably running four riggers. I just run two divers. I don’t do the double divers, but I’ll run my coppers off my boards, and that’s my spread. We’ll cover the water column to find the temperature, obviously with the Fish Hawk, and see where things are. And I’ll run a lot of meat programs with paddles, stuff off the divers, and stuff off the copper. Spoons have been hot for the past few years, so I don’t sleep on those, either.”

The “Flood the Zone” Philosophy

When it comes to lures, Dan doesn’t overthink it.

“I don’t have an allegiance to anyone in particular. I use what’s working. Jonathan over at Route 18 Tackle has been putting out some really nice patterns and spoons. I’ve been running a lot of his stuff and still using some Dream Weavers and Michigan Stingers and whatnot.

I am more of the mindset that if fish are hitting something, I will flood the zone. I’ve been known to have four of the same rigs out there. They’re telling me what they want. If the baby wants to eat peas, I won’t try to feed it carrots. I’m going to put some more peas out there. It’s been my motto.”

Captain Matt Yablonsky, co-hosting the interview, agreed: “If they want it, feed it to them. Why try this and that? If that one keeps going, give it to them. Keep it simple. Don’t make them eat a fly if they want a spoon.”

Fishing Alone

Some of Dan’s favorite days on the water come when he’s fishing solo.

“Being out, especially offshore, fishing out there, hooking into a 20-odd pound King by yourself, fighting it, getting gear out of the way, and netting that fish by yourself. I live for that stuff,” he said.

It’s not easy, but he has developed systems. “Typically, when I’m fishing by myself, unless there’s just a super copper bite going on, I won’t run the coppers. It’ll be either a one-diver and two-riggers spread or a one-rigger and a two-diver spread. The tricky part is when they’re on that diver rod, and I run probably too long of leads off of my divers than I should, and it’s a lot of playing the fish and hand lining and having the net ready and set up.”

Why Temperature Is Everything

One of the recurring themes in the interview was the importance of water temperature — and why Fish Hawk products are so critical.

“There’s no cut-and-dry answer,” Dan explained when asked where he finds temperature. “It’s going to depend on the wind and what’s going on, as well as how deep offshore we are. We could be 70 feet down, or we could be 110 feet down. It just fluctuates, and that’s where your product is valuable to what we do: it lets us know.”

Chris Larsen added that for beginners, the Fish Hawk TD is an affordable entry point: “If you’re just getting started and you don’t have the money to invest in a full system, check out the Fish Hawk TD, because that will give you that temperature data. You can drop it down and bring it back up, and you have that data at your fingertips. It will cost you a fraction of what a regular system will cost. But it gets you in the zone to determine what that temperature is.”

As Captain Matt Yablonsky emphasized: “We live and die by the temperature of the water.”

Captain Richard Hajecki: From Rochester to Oak Orchard

After Dan left the stage, the podcast welcomed Captain Richard Hajecki of Crazy Yankee Sport Fishing. Like Dan, Richard grew up fishing out of Rochester, but most of his season is now spent at Oak Orchard.

“We started our season in Rochester in December, and we will fish all winter out of Rochester right into April,” he said. “Then, right before our first tournament in St. Catharines, we’re hanging out in Rochester, catching whatever Rochester will give up. Most of the time, it’s brown trout. In the last few years, we’ve had quite a salmon bite in early April, so that’s where we start our season.”

But when the salmon season picks up, Richard shifts to Oak Orchard — and for good reason.

“I just fell in love with the Oak when we were younger. The fishing was always great. The biggest thing that pulled us into the Oak was the amount of available fishing information. There was a page called At the Oak Forever, where a couple would put up fishing reports, listen to the VHF every day, and then grab reports off the guys chatting on the VHF radio. It was easy to go there and figure out where to fish when we were just weekend warriors with our father. Then, over time, we fell in love with the Oak.”

Why Oak Orchard Stands Out

According to Richard, Oak Orchard offers consistency that few other ports can match.

“You’ve got quick access to deep water. You’re fishing the tail end of the Niagara River water, which is very fertile. It’s just a consistent fishery that’s got great fishing from April right through September/October. There’s usually salmon around. If there’s no salmon, you can always fall back on brown trout and lake trout. Getting offshore to play with some steelhead is always an option, especially later in the season.”

That consistency extends to big fish. “We catch the tail end of that Niagara River water throughout the summer. It’s got that green color to it. And then the fact that we’ve got deep water very close by. We can go three or four miles and be into 300 feet of water. When you get into the summertime, July and into August, the winds are blowing that thermocline up and down consistently. If you do have to get to colder water offshore, it’s very easy to get there, whereas in other ports, trying to get to 500–600 feet of water can be quite the haul. I think that’s why the fishing is so consistent there.”

Boats and the Crazy Yankee Fleet

For Richard, boats have always been part of his family’s fishing identity. Over the years, the Crazy Yankee fleet has evolved, from a Trojan to his current Tiara and a new Smoker Craft Phantom.

“The Tiara is a great boat. Man, it gets up and goes,” he laughed. “It’s a great platform. The cabin’s awesome, and that was a big thing for me because I’ve got a five-year-old who will be six later this year, and he really enjoys sleeping on the boat. I look forward to doing more of that in the next few years; hanging out with him and spending the weekends in the boat with the family. That was a huge thing for me, but the room in the back of that 36 is absolutely amazing. With the fantastic fishing we had this year, getting four guys shoulder-to-shoulder fighting fish, there’s still room for my brother and I to slide in there and keep the guys in fish.”

On his Smoker Craft Phantom, Richard enjoys a versatile setup for winter fishing. “I love fishing in the winter. The fishing is fantastic, and I have the lake to myself, so I don’t have to worry about running into people.”

Family and Fishing

One of the most heartfelt parts of Richard’s interview came when he spoke about his son.

“Family is very important to me. I can’t explain it. I have dinner with my in-laws and parents four to five times a week. I like that family atmosphere, and I want my son to be around that. My son absolutely loves the boat. We’ll sit in the boat in the garage and hang out, and he’ll play with different things. It’s awesome.”

Richard is careful not to overwhelm his son with fishing, though. “I also don’t want to overburden him with my passion, so I try to give it to him in little spurts. My hope is that he loves it as much as I do, but like I said, I don’t want to burn him out on it. So, I take him out every so often. He caught his first bass all by himself this summer, which was probably one of the top moments of my life.”

Boats, Buyers, and the Future

In addition to running charters, Richard spends much of his off-season working boat shows and talking to buyers. He believes now is a good time to shop.

When asked what to look for in a trolling boat, Richard stressed that the best choice depends on the angler. “When it comes down to what kind of boat somebody wants, it really comes down to how they fish. And what I’ve found selling fish boats is that everybody fishes differently, even if they fish for the exact same fish you do. So rather than telling them how their boat needs to be or what they need in their boat, I try to listen to what they want or how they will use the boat. That’s really the biggest thing.”

The Role of Technology

Whether running a Tiara or a multi-purpose aluminum boat, both captains agreed that technology is the great equalizer. Tools like Fish Hawk Electronics help shorten the learning curve, make time on the water more productive, and allow anglers to focus on the fun of catching fish.

As Captain Matt Yablonsky put it simply: “We live and die by the temperature of the water.”

On the Great Lakes, that’s as true today as it ever was. 

The conversations with Captains Dan DeGeorge and Richard Hajecki revealed more than just fishing tactics. They spoke to the heart of what makes Great Lakes fishing unique: a mix of passion, persistence, openness, and technology.

From Dan’s solo battles with 20-pound kings offshore of Rochester to Richard’s family weekends aboard his Tiara at Oak Orchard, both captains exemplify what it means to live life on the water.

And through it all, one theme came up again and again: finding the right temperature is everything — and Fish Hawk Electronics is the tool that makes it possible.

Whether you’re a seasoned charter captain or just starting out, that lesson holds true. On the Great Lakes, knowing the water column is the difference between guessing and catching.