GAMBLER

Getting the second buck tag was seamless. I reported my doe through the app and a new tag appeared immediately along with a new doe tag. I'm glad the process is easy. I was wondering how smooth it would be.

Hunted with Gator this evening and filled a doe tag and acquired my second buck tag. One sit, one down. Great start to the 2026 season!

Not necessarily true. Their condition has not declined enough to make a huge difference. Seeing that the average alewife weighed 32.8 grams in 2024, they are not in bad condition compared to the historical weights. 1997 - 2023 the weights were 28.0 grams to 35.9 grams. The 2024 weight puts them just above middle of the road. If kings are eating age 1 alewife, they will have to eat more alewife. It will all equal out in the wash. Remember, if alewife are stressed, they carry more thiaminase. The more they carry, the less have to be eaten by kings to make a difference. Seeing that their condition is not horrible, I would suspect they aren't too stressed and levels are not too high.

I have heard those things. They also stopped a lot of commercial salmon pens in estuaries of rivers. There was a huge issue with disease and sea lice decimating salmon populations of multiple species of salmon. A biomass issue on Lake Ontario is not an issue. The trawls have proven that. I read on the thiamine issue and levels of Thianamase fluctuate in alewives depending on how stressed they are. If they are stressed, the levels go up to insure their survival. Nature is crazy how it works. Too bad man has screwed a lot of things up for the worse.

When dealing with state agencies, you have to prove it's a problem until you are blue in the face. I'm happy to see there is finally movement on a push to get legislation in place to do something about the problem. If I have to take a minute to report them and it helps, I will gladly help. I will also get my duck stamp and take up cormorant hunting if they make a season for them. For cormorants to be showing up where I saw them shows there is a real problem.

I reported the ones I saw. It took a minute. IF you want them gone, why wouldn't you do it? Sitting here complaining about it took more time than it would to document them.

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Reinvigorates America’s Hunting Heritage – The White House

There was a group of cormorants on the pond at Hickory Ridge campground in Holley this weekend. It's a 10 acre pond..........

The DEC does not want to do this. They do not want to alter the strain of kings in Lake Ontario right now. The strain we have has adapted to the thiamine issue enough that natural reproduction is flourishing. I said it before, Triploid kings. It would give us big king sterile kings that wouldn't alter the current genetics, and we could still have numbers of kings to catch. It's a win win.

Many theories on this too. Biggest fished killed before hitting the spawning grounds, and hatcheries are two theories I have heard.

Natural reproduction = less fish to be raised = less money the DEC has to spend to have a great fishery. Making changes = spending more money....... We all know this state cares more about downstate give aways before upstate outdoor recreation.

This year, I didn't see any boxes full of giant kings........ Most barely broke 20lbs for the tournaments. Take the Sandy Creek shootout results. Not one team out of the 40+or- teams weighed in a 5 fish box over 100lbs. That's not even a 20lb average. only a couple teams topped 90lbs......

There have been tournaments before the issue started. There was more pressure on the king population in the 80's. I wonder when the survival rate of naturally reproduced kings started to increase? I'd be willing to bet it is around the time size started to decline.

Some but, they are managed for the lake. Without coolers being filled, alewife populations wouldn't be kept in check. The stocking numbers are set expecting a certain amount being taken out of the system. The salmon creel limit is the same in the lake as it is in the river at 3. They are spread out in TRILLIONS of gallons of water and they make a choice to eat a lure on the lake. They aren't stuffed into shallow narrow runs and easy pickings for lifters and snaggers,,,,, Low water years, the biggest kings get ripped out long before hitting the upper parts of the Salmon River. A true 4 year old king has a better chance getting roped on a tributary than it has being put in a cooler on the lake (unless it spawns on the Garnaska). My point is, they are managed for the lake. IF that is true, manage them for the lake. Steelhead are managed for the tribs and restrictions were put on the creel limit and minimum size in the lake. Do we have size and creel restrictions for kings on the tributary with the biggest production of wild fish in NY? Should we? If we depend on natural reproduction to keep the salmon fishery managed for the lake going, we should. If it's a trib that doesn't support natural reproduction ie Genessee River, Sandy, Oak Orchard,ect, go ahead and leave it at 3.

It completely makes sense. The Garnaska has a natural reproducing population of kings and the tributary is closed to fishing for the majority of the spawn. This would allow the biggest to reproduce without being yanked out before being able to spawn. A lot of the big kings caught on the lake are caught on the North shore. Hmmm. If the lake is truly managed for the lake and we depend on natural reproduction more and more, how come kings are allowed to be yanked off their spawning beds and roped on South Shore tributaries that support natural reproduction? I know, I know, the Salmon River salmon run supports the local economy. But managing for the lake should mean managing for the lake........

The baitfish population has been way higher the past couple of years compared to 10-15 years ago. Fish were bigger back then with less bait.

I received the actual number of Atlantics stocked since 1983 from Mr. Legard from the DEC. The DEC has stocked over 100,000 Atlantics 25 times from 1983-2025. They have exceeded 150,000 5 times and 200,000 2 times. Here is the list provided by the DEC.

In the past, they didn't want to bring in new genetics because they didn't want to mess with the current strain that has adapted to naturally reproducing in Lake Ontario. They could do Triploid salmon. They are sterile so they wouldn't mess with the genetics. Stock a percentage of the kings stocked as triploids. We could have numbers of kings AND some giants lingering around. We were told for years that the salmon size was down due to the bait biomass being smaller. The last couple of years, the biomass has been way up. By the logic of what we have been told for years, we should have giant kings again. I'm with you 100%. Something needs to be done.

TTT

Good luck this season Rob!

Good stuff Manny!

Would the Atlantics stocked in Lake Ontario have the instincts to return to Salt? I doubt it seeing that they are a different strain. Anything is possible. but there are a lot of obstacles in their way to make the voyage.

Dave, Isn't there room at the Powder Mill Hatchery now that they will not be stocking browns in Irondequoit creek from the Hatchery?

Dave, We agree!!!! Lol.