bosco

I think they usually pull one set and then leave the other set in for a few weeks longer....if my memory serves me.

Had to work for them but got a two man limit last night ranging 18"-23". Blessing and a curse...5MPH limit and limited launch access means there's NO ONE out there. Beautiful calm night but I can't bounce from spot to spot at 5MPH.

Thanks. I went out again on Tuesday night and got blanked. I'll try again tomorrow and try and get a couple more nights out next week. Then I'm dragging the boat up to Lisbon on the St. Lawrence. Mix it up a little and try some heavy current river fishing.

I went snooping around Basil's a couple weeks ago and it looks like you need a pass code to get through a security gate to access the dock in order to launch. I tried to find someone to talk to and the little shop at the launch was open but there was no one to be found. I've been launching at Mayers but you need knee high boots (or preferably waders) to launch there. If you've got 2 people you're all set but you've still got to back WAY in. I got it launched, waded back to the drivers seat, closed my door and water splashed up on me. That's how high the water is. I asked them if I could pay in advance for a few launches because I usually launch after they're closed and they politely declined because they didn't know if they'd have to shut it down. The water is still rising and the dock is very feeble. Nonetheless, I picked up 3 on Sunday night. 19" 21' and 22".

Yes. I had to work a little to find them. It didn't turn on until 10:30 but then it was 3 fish on about 8 casts.

Blanked no more.

You'll need waders or a buddy to help launch if you put in at Mayer's.

Yup....and I'll go there. But I can leave my house, boat in tow, and be launched and fishing in 15 minutes under normal circumstances. Now it's a 15 minute drive all the way around the bay to the Webster launch plus a 5MPH turtle swim to my spots. Oh....I'll do it, but not without complaining a little. : )

And now the launch at the state marine park (north end) is closed.

Thanks man. All great tips. I'll keep working it. Eventually they come around to tried and true methods and locations. I see it as a sort of long game challenge though figuring out this particular body of water in terms of getting on the bite a little earlier in the year and staying on it later into the fall. I'm just grateful to be able to be out there for the challenge (and the reward).

I HATE trolling but that's what I figured as well so I slow trolled a diver on a hand line and worked up and down the drops. Saw a lot of hooks on the graph but no takers. I threw a slip bobber over the side while a tried some casting as well. Generally I like to keep bumping along with the electric motor to cover water so the bobber option isn't a first option for me unless I've got a great looking screen and want to stay put and throw a number of options at them. However, they just put a 5MPH restriction on the bay so that really hampers my ability to get from spot to spot with any kind of efficiency. I might just hang it up for another week or two....or trailer the boat to Otisco and troll in Justin's wake. That'll up my odds significantly, I'm sure

Yeah....that's why I like I-bay. It's my home water and it's a challenge. Very much an overlooked fishery but I like it that way. Only in the last 2 seasons did I every catch an eye under 18". 24"-26" is very common for me. But I have to work for them. Hence the night shifts all the time.

All these years I've thought it was Alewives but I've seen them posting signs at the launch about Cisco research the last couple seasons. The bait they've spit up in my livewell look like Alewives and I've foul hooked a few during the June spawn that I'm pretty sure are Alewives. I've been told that this the reason I-bay eyes need to be bled and extra care taken during cleaning...because they taste like the fish they eat if you don't.

Hey Justin. What kind of water temps. we're you seeing on Otisco? Sounds like Oneida had the hot bite this weekend...not surprising.

I'm still not sure if they're migrating. I think they're mostly year round resident fish. They're mostly stocked but I never hear of any taken through the ice. That's just the general pattern I've experienced. Last year was brutal though. I didn't get my first eye in the boat until after July 4th.

And also, it picks up again in July.

I go at night. And, yes...usually around the 3rd week in May it starts to pick up. Then it dies a couple weeks into June with what I think is an Alewife spawn. I'd say 50% of opening nights on I Bay I've gotten blanked. The other times I've gotten only 1 fish (but one was a 9 lber). I still try though. It's kind of an annual rite. Yesterday I was trying areas I'd never tried or even thought of trying. Hence, the gar. I think I got into a pocket they were spawning in.

Except for a couple long nose gar. Surface temps 50 at the North end and 54 at the South end