chinook35

48 minutes ago, HB2 said:

King eggs hatch December ish . So that gives them 5 months and in good temps to grow a bit . Predators aren't going to get them all . We have a good flood in the spring and some of the fry might get flushed down to the lake . So a small percentage might survive . Some years might be better than others . 

 

I don't think some of you guys give mother nature a whole lot of credit for her survival instincts and desires. Ive seen them spawning in drainage ditches . We aren't talking about a cutthroat trout here . 

 

They took our kings away to give to destination tribs where returns were low due to stocking cuts etc . And there was a lot of crying from those businesses to increase the stocking numbers . The king fishing was bad for a while as I remember . And I think they are trying to engineer certain tribs for certain species. 

 

I know they increase the stocking numbers but not to the extent of the great fishing we have now . We have the Canadians to thank for that . 

The DEC has reduced king stocking over the years because NY state and the DEC regard king/coho salmon as invasive species ( which they are ) 

the push for years has been reestablishing native species LT , Cisco , Atlantic salmon 

this has had very poor results .

What we seem to overlook is that the pacific salmon were introduced in the ‘70’s to help control the alewife ( mooneye) population  , that was a resounding success. The sport fishery , in my opinion was a bonus , but not the focus. And it still isn’t as far as NY state is concerned 

8 hours ago, 13owhunter said:

 

 

I have pretty good luck most of the time.  Id say I land between 8 and 9 out of 10 pretty consistently.  Harder to get tight to a fish when fishing deep especially when downriggers and planer boards are involved.  Rotating flashers also lead to slack in the line by design.  Salmon also have hard mouths especially as the season gets later so good hooks are important.  I like double single hooks myself.

I totally agree that hooks must be very sharp  I use trebles on cut bait rigs 

the Gamagatsu 2x strong are my go to

I’ve had single strength hops straighten out on a big salmon  Another point is always use hooks that are welded shanks. An unwelded hook can let the line slip between the shanks and that gives the salmon a lot of leverage to throw the hook. Ask me how I know 😂 

With cut bait rigs  , especially Twinkie rigs with attractors , an 8” FLASHER is not big enough to impart action to the rig. 

18 hours ago, Lucky D said:

I was reading fishing posts ant wondering why salmon seen to be able to not stay hooked on a cutbait rig and paddle,Are they possibly grabbing a teaser instead of the meat.

 

Maybe you need a shorter paddle lmao 

On 7/31/2026 at 11:06 AM, spoonfed-1 said:

Yup. x2

I’ve been fishing Lake O for many years and I can say that finding a day that is calm enough to jig in 150 FOW ( anchoring is out of the question) is going to be tough.  With any kind of wind ( most of the time ) you will be trolling that jig anyway 😆 

Hope they dint mind that the cheeks are missing.  Good chunk of meat there 

It’s the nature of the beast. Lake O has fluctuations of water level. We should be used to it  at least the ones who have fished this lake for many years. I’ve waded through ankle deep water at Mexico Pt many times and at Henderson I’ve had the boat actually floating on the dock.  I guess what I’m trying to say is  ADAPT 

12 hours ago, rolmops said:

Somebody in the DEC might just have read this thread.

Be careful what you wish for ! 
not the first launch underwater and won’t be the last. 

43 minutes ago, BRsnow said:

I think you caught up on a tree and missing the forest .

HB2 is correct. The tippet ( leader) is the weakest link in your chain. I always patched in 150’ of 30# big game when the fleas showed up 

as far as normal main line , strength dictates the # test you use. If you are dragging a cut bait rig behind a 13” flasher , you will donate a lot of tackle to the lake gods if you go less than 20# line.  If you’re washing spoons you can get away with 12-15 # 

I have used 20# Ande for years on all my presentations. Saves a lot of work 

Sold

Bump

5 hours ago, Sundaze said:

Go to Little Sodus Bay and fish with a Stabiki  rig for Alewives.  In and hour or so you will have enough for the season.   Fillet them, many folks just use the side with the spine, salt them or brine them. Cheap and fun to do.they are still in spawning.  Will probably we there another week

I’ve used alewives that I’ve brined and filleted 

I’ve  bought fresh sardines and done the same 

tried squid 🦑 cut into pennants 

tried smelt cut into pennants and brined 

been there done that 

sometimes they all work 

but never with the success I had with Rhys - Davis cut bait 

one thing I forgot to mention is this new method of A and B fillets. 😆 

just a way to get more out of a bait

I believe the scale side out is the only way  

I use the meat out side for the Brad’s cut plugs 

The WM in Watertown is closing too

i bought many items from that store and the Manager , Ted was the best

Their prices and shipping policy were their demise 

a large company like WM was surely  able to buy in quantities large enough to get a large discount, yet their prices remained much higher than most retail outlets. 
I will miss them 

New in package 

Cannon retro-ease weight retriever 

$10

local pick up in Watertown area 

shipping not available 

3 hours ago, GAMBLER said:

Cut bait prices are up due to the Herring regulations.  The herring fishing industry has been regulated tighter the last couple of years causing a supply issue.  Supply is down, demand is up so the prices are up.  

The VHS epidemic in the late 90’s put a huge bottle neck in the cut bait market 

I used Rhys-Davis cut bait for years ( $4.95 for 6 pennants ) there has never been another cut bait that comes close to that product 

I bought and used Rigged SFC bait and found it usable and the best value out there 

most of the cut bait I’ve tried over the years is soft , doesn’t fit the bait heads without trimming , and definitely not top quality 

times change and not always for  the better 

I’ve used the cut plugs with mixed success. Tried soaking the included sponge in sardine oil , but found stuffing the compartment with either cut bait pieces or canned sardines worked the best   Some days they work 

And you wonder why participation in the fishery is declining ? 
it is being priced beyond most people’s means 

On 5/30/2026 at 2:51 PM, whaler1 said:

I texted with the owner a few years ago. Told me it was $65 a foot and if that didn’t work not to bother him. 

1 hour ago, whaler1 said:

And I thought listening to the VHF in the late 80’s early 90’s was annoying……

You had a vhf ? 

Salmonoid fishing on Lake O has a huge learning curve. Not like throwing a jig and slip bobber for perch 

Most people don’t have the time to be able to learn 

then there’s the fickle weather 

for years I fished a 19’ cuddy and spend a lot of time at the launch watching the waves crash over the breakwall before going to breakfast 

people that travel long distances to fish get discovered when they are only able to get out 3 days of a week long trip

it is a fishery that I will always revere , but as I get older I like simpler better 

then there are your fishing partners. My man passed 2 years ago and I haven’t found any one to fill his shoes 

some are along for the ride   Can’t rig , can’t steer the boat and have a problem kicking in for fuel ⛽️ 

nothing like having the newbie steer while you set the spread  , only to have him do a tight 180 and tangle everything. Start over 😂 

I started fishing the salmonoids on Lake O in the late ‘70’s 

things were much simpler then and more fun

small boats dragging drop sinkers or if you were lucky a couple of Riviera downriggers 

thumper rods with 1# balls dragging Luhr-Jensen dodgers with squid ( hoochies ) or little cleo spoons 

lowrance flasher depth finders , then paper graphs 

some of the guys got into Loran for position   No such thing as GPS then

cut bait was a great introduction 

caught several tons of fish dragging flashers / twinkies and Rhys -Davis cut bait 

NOW 

chartplotters , military grade sonar , auto pilots for setting trolling patterns, downriggers that do everything but chose the lure for you , down temp , speed and light , planer boards that allow you to have a 300’+ wide boat to let people dodge, trolling spoon selection in the thousand range ,it goes on and on with new , hot products coming out daily 

the only thing lacking is the ability to pay for all this stuff 

I will always love trolling on Lake O , but a lot of the fun is gone 

maybe that is the reason for the decline in participation in both fishing and the derbies 

The DEC stated publicly a few years ago that their focus was on re establishing native species to Lake O

The “ invasive “ pacific salmon were to be put on a back burner 

 I can see a time where the pacific salmon are left to natural production only and in time the end of that fishery 

I totally agree with that the requirement to not be able to fish solo seems like a big money grab 

lie detector tests are required and sworn statements should be enough. 
there are a number of rules and limitations that have turned me off to the LOC derbies. Seems like it’s turned into a big money maker for the promoter 

1 hour ago, SusanJames said:

The requirement to have at least two people on the boat prohibits me from entering as I fish almost exclusively solo in my little 15' aluminum. I realize the odds of ever placing are slim to none for me but I would enter just the same. Obviously the science behind the bigger fish being where they are and the limits of my equipment mean my odds are low but there is always that one in a million chance...worse case scenario, I might stumble into a big brown and I'm having a blast fishing anyways so what more could I ask for. 

Memories 

I fished the old ESLO derbies for many years starting in the late ‘70’s 

the LOC can’t start to compare 

We would look out over the water from our camp on Sandy pond and try and count the navigation lights on the boats long before dawn. Hundreds of boats in Mexico bay 

lines from Mexico pt boat launch all the way out to rt 104 

fish in the high 30 lb class were common. 
the costs have made salmon fishing out of reach for many people 

Cormorants are a very wary bird 

getting them In shotgun range consistently would be a challenge. 
I believe the only way to make a dent in the population is to do what the charter captains out of Henderson did in the ‘80’s 

they surrounded  their nesting island ( little Galoo) and had a turkey shoot 

some went to jail over it , but it brought attention to the problem 

the DEC had a program to oil the eggs so they wouldn’t hatch. That program needs to be re established 

they have spread to all the inland lakes in central NY. Oneida is full of the critters   Something needs to be done and soon