Fishtails

It's a total adrenaline rush, isn't it ? Great going on landing them both and the pig laker as well

I have always been a hopeless optimistic, so this thread is killing me because you all make such great points. Vince, Davey, Chad and some others - you guys are spitting out views I never even thought about. This is GREAT stuff, though I admit all this info I apparently lacked has me feeling a little lake dumb at the moment So as I let this all process, my optimism for Lake O fishing next season is beginning to wane. Are you kidding me right now ? That's not how I want to spend my off season I spend every winter PUMPED for the following spring like a little kid looking forward to Christmas. I witnessed all the same things the rest of you did this year. I did NOT know about the YOY alewives and now catching all those 1 yr old salmon makes much more sense. That year class obviously took a big hit this season and are in all likelihood not in great shape going into the winter. The 2 yr old class of Chinooks helped fill a void as we searched for mature kings and after a great spring they started to vaporize. Steelhead were also sparse this season and that was apparent from the OOO right on through the season from one end of the lake to the other. IMO, Steelhead survival was sub par as I found them extra difficult to revive with many going belly upon release despite my efforts to revive. I contributed this to the deep temps we experienced this season pushing the fish deeper and lengthening the battle once hooked. I did not cull a single steelhead this season, though I may have killed many. The brown trout saved me this season and I became much more efficient at catching them and that's what I personally took away from the 2015 season. I even targeted lake trout a couple times this season. Like many I was forced out of necessity to fish a different species and new waters this season and now I have that experience and knowledge moving forward. That my friends is what I live for. Being forced out of a comfort zone to explore new adventures. The old when life gives you lemons theory. I am not putting bass rods on the boat just yet, but I do see the next couple years as a potential grind and the experiences gained over these past two seasons will certainly pay dividends. I never had a skunk on my boat this season (or last season for that matter), though I did have a raccoon once . Lake Ontario ALWAYS has something to offer and perhaps seasons like this are necessary to teach us to diversify. I just hope I'm not forced to fish lake trout next year, or the bass rods might become a reality. Keep up the awesome thread my friends, this is the best read on LOU in years !!

Unless an individual joins LOU they won't be able to view this thread. Perhaps it should be moved to open lake discussion? This has been a truly educational topic. Thanks to all who have contributed.

That is awesome. I still remember my first king well! That's what it's all about right there Long live the king !!

I tend to agree with Rich. It's kinda funny how opinions differ on something like marking fish. Lol. I marked a crazy amount of what I felt to be kings last time out, while guys in the same port said they had blank screens. I have total faith in my ff. However getting them to bite was a **** ! We will know soon enough. Fish or not, it was a great season because I can never get enough of this lake Sent from my SM-G900V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Chad, the bait was here during the Pro Am in Sodus thick as it was all year,. It was piled up in the brown trout waters. Can't remember seeing more bait than I did this year. In the end, maybe we needed a couple years like this ? I had a west coast buddy who fished with me. He said on the Pacific side they are happy with one salmon. Two or three is very exciting to them. He caught 11 with me and couldn't understand why I kept trolling while battling a fish. Lol. He thought we were spoiled and greedy. He may have been right. Sent from my SM-G900V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Sorry to hear that Nick !! That sux but that chit happens to us who don't live life in the easy chair with the remote in our hands. My season ended similar last weekend when I busted up my high speed fairing block loading the boat on the trailer myself. Good luck with repairs. Hope it's not anything serious.

Sounds like a fun day ! Bout time you fess up Nick, you're kinda digging the browns, aren't you. I expect I'll be seeing your boat inside a lot more next season. Lol Sent from my SM-G900V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

That's it, was just gonna say not red as we think of in more traditional color tones, but a bright orange red. That's a rig I love to run on my thumper rod down the chute late in the season. It's a killer ! Sent from my SM-G900V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Awesome (insert sarcasm), please tell how the Coast Guard handles this situation .

Nice fish Nick !! Great to see your Dad get some action. ! You have any 00 coho dodgers ? They work also this time of year. Just make the fly leader longer that you would for coho and use a full size green fly. Sent from my SM-G900V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Get it Nick !! Nice going Tim !! If ya don't have a red skateboard pulling a green fly out in Aug/Sept. you aren't really fishing stagers lol. I recall that being one of the first things I learned back when I had a seasonal slip in Oswego. Definitely a rig that gets a lot of water time and puts staging kings in the cooler !!!

I think you are right my friend, Some guys are nailing them fairly good east though. Just not everyone.

Some guys I know are hitting them hard in Mexico and Oswego. Troll east maybe and fish where the fish are ? lol Let's face it, the Salmon, Genny, Oswego, and the Niagara rivers are going to draw the majority of the staging fish this time of year. LOVE Sodus and proud to call it my new summer home away from home but it's as if the Salmon took the alternate route to their destination this season. But.....only takes one so good luck this weekend !! Wish I was there.

Nice ! Hey, that fish you are calling a skip was an Atlantic Sent from my SM-G900V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Probably kings. Good luck and piss em off because staging kings are not generally going to feed, but they'll gladly kill something just because it deserves no better fate. Lol Sent from my SM-G900V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Nice ! Sent from my SM-G900V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Great report Eddie. Andy is a good dude ! Your experience pretty much sums it up with the fishing right now . Can't catch them if you don't go out and try. I wish I was on the water instead of working

Good luck Les. Hope you get a few As you do, I remember years when fishing was much easier, but did we have this much bait lake wide those years ? I can't answer that. Simple logic would support that even a fraction less food in the system would make fishing easier and raise angler harvest rates. Too many alewives in the system right now IMO, but that's just my opinion and the wife has said half the time I'm clueless and the other half of the time I'm sleeping Either way, last time out I took this pic of the screen I was fishing in Sodus and I had the same screen all day until around 2pm. Then I lost it until it came back around 6:30 pm. It's bait with fish in the bait having a buffet. That pic was taken at 12:30 in the afternoon. Many bait pods were much larger and my screen was rarely blank. Hopefully all hell breaks loose soon. Good luck out there tomorrow Nick !! They either moved out just a little or more likely they are laying on the bottom. They will tolerate warm water right now, but I wouldn't expect them to do much short of laying on the bottom except before the sun pops up. I can't comment on if any have run the black, but I know there have been small runs in the Salmon river.

Absolutely agree Nick, I was in no way referring to your reports OR suggesting we as a whole should not report bad days as well as good days. IMO reports should reflect current trends and conditions without bias and with integrity and honesty. If it's tough, it's tough and we all want to know that so it's great you and others are willing to report both the good AND the bad. What I AM saying is I see a lot of good folks blaming the DEC, etc suggesting the fish should be here and therefore something is amiss......as if the fish run by a date on a calender. None of us really know exactly what the heck is going on but the one thing most of the better fishermen all agree with is that the fish population lake wide is healthy! Those numbers will likely be confirmed sometime this fall.

It's spotty, but fish are being caught. Not by everyone and those catching have a good day followed by a bad day. Plenty of fish are "being marked" but it's far from easy as has been the case in other ports as well. With that being said, it can turn on at any given moment and by the time you read the report it's over so ya gotta be out there and give it a go. If your boat is up to it, adults are still being caught in 600 fow along with younger year classes and that water is easier to keep rods moving. The inside stuff of 150 and in will hold plenty of matures but they have been a tough bite for many and it's best very early. Once the sun comes up you really need to work hard on those inside fish and you may endure long periods without a hit but just keep changing stuff out and work it but don't leave them once you find them. Have fun !!