chinook35

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 

I just saw on the news that Micron in Clay NY will require 17,000,000 gallons of water per day from lake O  . That’s 119,000,000 gallons per month  

I can’t help but wonder if this amount of draw will affect the water levels on the lake 

the embayments

like N and S Sandy ponds , Sodus bay , Henderson harbor etc. 

the hundreds of boat launches along the lake shore and the St Lawrence seaway  The seaway may need to keep the locks open to maintain a safe depth for ships to transit. 
it remains to be seen what effect this will have on the lake 

119,000,000 gallons of water per month seems like a huge draw 

There is good ice fishing in Henderson harbor , you can walk out from the public launch or ride snowmobile/ 4 wheeler   As for salmonids  , not so much. Perch , northern pike , occasional walleye are the main fish available in the harbor. 
the trout and salmon stay mainly on the lake where suitable ice is not found 

The alewife ( mooneye) dieoff  this past summer is reminiscent of the 50’s -60’s and early 70’s , before the salmonid stocking 

my family has owned cottages on both the N and S Sandy ponds   I grew up on Lake Ontario during summers 

back then the alewives would die off EVERY summer and be ankle deep on the shore   We would rake them up and burn them 

Could it be that there is not enough sticking to keep the mooneye population low enough to prevent the annual dieoff ? 

On 9/23/2025 at 5:46 PM, Gill-T said:

We all like to play general manager of our sports teams so I will play lake manager and be thinking with the alewife die off this year, I would like to see what the alewife survey shows before agreeing to stocking increases from current level (let’s hope there will be a survey). 

On 8/19/2025 at 11:44 AM, GAMBLER said:

I feel that same way.  Seeing dead alewife all over the surface and all over the bottom (on camera) was a little concerning.  

I can’t help but remember the die offs in the 50’s -60’s -70’s   Our camp on the lake side of Sandy Pond had “ mooneyes “ ankle deep in the beaches. We would rake them into piles and burn them 

That was before the introduction of the Pacific salmon 

Can this die off be an effect of salmon stocking being cut back ? 
I realize that the yearly die off is a natural occurrence, but it was almost non existent for many years after the salmon introduction 

One less cormorant. Yay 😀 

4 hours ago, Gregger300 said:

Agreed. July 4th weekend I did pretty well on browns in 80-90 fow out in front of the buoy line between the red building and the main stack. Mostly spoons on riggers down into 60 degree water.

Good luck.

😂 

the “red” building is the Fitzpatrick nuclear power plant , the “main stack “ is the cooling tower for Nine Mile II nuclear power plant  

Go inside the bouy line ( exclusion zone for the nukes ) and watch the CG arrive to ticket you ( if you don’t get shot first ) 

ok fun time over 

browns will be where 60 ° water meets the bottom 

they love structure 

tight lines

Little early for that neck of the woods 

Many people have been asking about the cause of the alewife fish die off along the shore.  I checked with the lead Aquatic Biologist for Region 6 at the DEC and received the following reply:

"There has been an ongoing alewife die off in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River this spring. We have one of the biggest year classes of alewife produced in a while and they went into the winter a bit slender (due to prey limitations). They then had to try to make it through a tough winter and headed into spawning a bit stressed. We've seen this before. It's a natural thing like you said, and yes we haven't seen this in quite a few years. Nothing to be alarmed of, just a little stinky."

Ron Fisher, ELODC (Eastern Lake Ontario Dune Coalition) Landowners Committee Chair
 

an little addendum:  you are early for salmon on the eastern shore. This time of year target LT in 150 ‘ of water 

the silvers historically show up in Mexico bay around the 2 nd week of July migrating eastward from the Niagara region 

I just read your post again and 5/10 off bottom is too high for Lakers.  I run  my ball right into the bottom and bring it up 1-2 ft  

Many people have been asking about the cause of the alewife fish die off along the shore.  I checked with the lead Aquatic Biologist for Region 6 at the DEC and received the following reply:

"There has been an ongoing alewife die off in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River this spring. We have one of the biggest year classes of alewife produced in a while and they went into the winter a bit slender (due to prey limitations). They then had to try to make it through a tough winter and headed into spawning a bit stressed. We've seen this before. It's a natural thing like you said, and yes we haven't seen this in quite a few years. Nothing to be alarmed of, just a little stinky."

Ron Fisher, ELODC (Eastern Lake Ontario Dune Coalition) Landowners Committee Chair

Must be the alewife population is in decent shape.  Haven’t seen big die offs in years 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/public-safety-and-emergencies/health-and-safety-alerts/dec-explains-surplus-of-dead-fish-found-along-lake-ontario-shoreline/ar-AA1GxoKm?ocid=BingNewsSerp

This is something we may need to monitor as to its effect on fishing and lake access 

Great memories! 
trolling Oswego harbor in a 14’ Mirrocraft , Downeaster rod holders clamped to the gunnels , Garcia 300 reels on spinning rods 6# test line and repalas or rebels 

then Riviera downriggers , high tech then , and our first downtemp attempt , Combinator from Advance NC . 
getting in line for Mexico point launch and hoping  there was still parking available when you finally got past the booth  . Got turned away more than once  

Then the cut bait revolution in the 80’s 

Rhys Davis herring strips 6 to a tub for $4.95

Never been another cut bait that could come close to RD for quality 

The ESLO derby drew fisherpeople from all over . The launches had license plates from virtually every state 

I started fishing Lake O in the late 70’s and have an encyclopedia of memories ( good and bad ) 

every trip was an adventure 

2 hours ago, Pete Collin said:

I got boat checked this week.  The DEC officer met me at the dock.  I was actually glad to see him because it was windy, I was alone,  and he grabbed my bowline for me.  We ran through the checklist of things I was supposed to have on board.  He asked if I had a horn.  I said "Sure!", and pressed the middle of the steering wheel.   Nothing, there was no horn button there.  I realized that I never needed to hit the horn before, so never looked for it.  I looked and felt around.  "Geez, on my last boat the button was here!"  I've got a fairly nice Lund, felt like there should have been a horn.  But not knowing where it is is just as bad as not having one.  I had to concede.  Then he asked me for flares.  I was sure I had them, but unsure of which of the many compartments they were stashed.  Warden says, "Are they expired?"  I said, "They expire?"  The packet of 4 was factory sealed.  I had to rip it open to read the expiration date on one of the flares.  2016.  Whoops. I asked if I could light one to see if it worked, and if it did, would I be off the hook?   He said he wouldn't ticket me, just buy some new flares.  Fair enough.  When asked if I took the safety course, I said yes, fumbled though my phone for the email of certification, and he just said, "I believe you."  Fair enough.  When asked for a license, I told him I bought it on my phone, how would I show that to him?  I looked for the email from the DEC from last year.  But I do a lot of dealings with the DEC, there were just too many to sort through!  I asked if I could just give him my name, he looked it up, and found my license that way.  So in the end I was fine but had to shop for flares, plus some kind of horn or whistle.  In my garage, I played with the console a bit.  Discovered that a tiny red button that looked like a circuit breaker triggered the horn.  Son of a gun.  Why wouldn't Lund put that in the middle of the steering wheel like god intended?

Anyway, I found the officer to be professional and fair.  He could have cited me if he wanted to be a stickler, but didn't.  I never go in for bashing the DEC.  They're just people trying to do their jobs like everyone else.

That’s one of the reasons for the certificate. Way too many people on the water that don’t know the safety requirements and the rules of the road. It’s hard to comply with the rules if you don’t know them 

Bump