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Getting better?... where?... This post was originally about an entire species that has vanished from an immense watershed... It morphed into a general discussion about how great NY state fishing is.. I can't speak for every water in the state, but can for waters I have fished for 33 years now.. You are mentioning a pocket of life in a small section of a 40 mile long lake as fishing better than ever,,, I'l accept that... However, as stated, the fish populations are way down in most other areas of the lake compared to the pre mussel/goby invasion. The south and mid sections of Cayuga had tons of fishermen fishing for bass, pike, panfish as well as trout... They are gone mostly because there just aren't that many fish left to catch.. Yes, trout/salmon trolling is fine, and will be as long as the fish have plenty to eat.. They will be fine with alewives and gobies being plentiful.. No problem with stocked salmonids.. However, if you REALLY think the warm water fisheries in Cayuga are "better than ever" lake wide, we must be discussing 2 different lakes... The Gobies have severely impacted bass and all other nest raimembers of the sunfish family, as well as yellow perch, and probably and other fish that spawns in rocky, pebbly,broken areas. Try watching a video.. they are relentless nest raiders that no fish can keep out for very long....

Walleyeboyz - Michigan Stingers (green tuxedo, black tuxedo, white, alewife) are solid in the Spring on 15 lb or 20 lb line. In my 8 or so years fishing the bar (mostly Canadian side) I find that stick baits may be hot very early in the season, but not every year nor every trip.

Very true, my wife runs the boat while I run the set-up. I tell her to Crazy Ivan, and she turns the boat to speed up and slow down lures . Triggering those followers for sure. I also fish northern Quebec, a few hours above Manawaki. Walleye and pike. I fish western NY for Muskies.

I just think as fisherman it’s easy to complain about how “it’s not like it used to be”…the reality is though it’s kinda our job to adapt to keep putting fish on the bank. The environment isn’t going to quit changing regardless if you think global warming is a hoax. And the fishing in NY is absolutely incredible right now….and I think on a whole getting better.

Thank you!

I can’t stress enough to occasionally jerk the rod or give it a steady pull then drop back motion during mid-troll. You’ll grab those followers that otherwise may not strike a steadily moving lure. I learned this trolling spinnerbaits and bucktails for pike and muskies in Ottawa.

Gill-T i completely agree with you, I can't tell how many times we have to deviate our course because someone is not paying attention or think they own the lake. Being aware of your surroundings in important, and everyone is happy. We have had guys cut across our lines, cut them, and take our lures. really ticks me off. So, troll east/ west, when hooked up Hopefully get hooked up) get the fish out to deeper water. GOT IT!! Thanks

The main thing I see newbs get in trouble with while fishing the bar.. - trolling North/South when everyone else is trolling East/West. - trying to troll with junk lines and planer boards on the crowded stretch of water from Canadian border to Red Buoy Can - not realizing the water depth at drop off near red can goes from 60’ to 150’ in 100 yards - walleye guys thinking they are among walleye trollers and think the can cut across the back of someone’s boat when everyone has dipsys out. - not having a designated driver. Texting or not paying attention will get you in trouble. - not pulling off the drop off when fighting a fish ( head North away from the pack when hooked up) There will be more room and less trouble in waters East of the red can

I ran a third quart of oil through the crankcase today to make sure all of the gas/oil mixture was out and filled it with good oil. Fired it up and ran it for 10 minutes on almost half throttle with muffs on. Checked the oil after and was perfectly clean and level didn’t change. I’ll run it on the lake this weekend but for now it seems replacing the thermostat did the trick. Thanks everyone for all the input. If anything changes over the weekend I will post it to help anyone in the future with the same problem.

thanks for the reply. We are the typical weekend warriors. Would like to give it a shot and see what happens. Not expecting to kill it, but would be nice to catch at least 1 or 2. Thanks again

With the south Chatham spooler, does it hold enough tension to get it spooled pretty tight?

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