GAMBLER

Do you troll with cowbells and spin n glos? I would be willing to send you some Gambler Rigs. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Do you lake trout fish Andy? Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

That is a step in the right direction. The only issue is, once the snaggers learn the Genny is being targeted, they will move on to the next remote trib.

Go to the Genesee River and see how many licensed fishermen are down there. The illegal fishermen out number legit fishermen by far. For years, the DEC was writing tickets and they would get thrown away by the City Court. This is a huge problem. Fishing without licenses, using snag hooks, night fishing, taking over the limit, and discarding carcasses on the bank are just some of the violations that go on down there.

Here you go Lucky13. https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/lou2017hilights.pdf

Lake Michigan salmon have rebounded. They are catching 30 - 40lb fish for the first time in years. They are not having the huge numbers of kings hit the deck like the past. They cut Lake Michigan stocking by 50% a couple years ago. With two very strong year classes of alewife and a stocking cut already, things should start to right themselves in Lake O. We also have to remember, the two hard winters with horrible YOY alewife survival has had a huge impact on the size of the Kings for those year classes. They started life out with limited food small enough for them to eat. If you look back at the state of the lake meeting minutes, you will see the size for the kings we are seeing as adults now is down. The year class of 2 year olds this season (1 year old jacks last year) is right at the historical average. Next years three year olds should be back on track.

For years, the finger has been pointed at the Lake guys and charter captains. Trib fishing stressed fish from spawning has to be part of the issue. Like you, I fish both the tribs and the lake. I see guys using 4lb. line on a pin rod and fighting a steelhead to exhaustion. This happens over and over and over again. I don't care what the water temp is, it can't be good.

Food is an issue but you can't over look the fact that these fish get hammered in the tribs. Steelhead caught over and over again get stressed. Twenty years ago, steelhead fishing on the tribs was not nearly as popular. I used to fish the Genesee River in the fall and after the salmon died off, it was a ghost town compared to what it is now. Everyone says lakers eat a ton of gobies. Since the gobie invasion, I have cut up a ton of lakers yet I find way more alewife than gobies in them. The only time I find more gobies than alewife is in April / early may before the bait comes in shore.

Didn't the survey also say more steelhead were killed on the Tribs compared to the lake? The C&R beating these fish take in the tribs has to take a toll.

I hate hearing stories like this hopefully everyone is OK.

Season is winding down. Companies don’t want to sit on inventory. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Anyone notice the cohos this year are smaller and less abundant than last season? I wonder why? Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

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Run them closer to the bottom. I find cowbells work best when fished within 5' of the bottom.