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 Very simple, very tasty and elegant recipe, that cuts the  skunk of Lakers, but is GREAT on anything  that swims..

  Take a few tablespoons of CHUNKY salsa.. Mild or medium, not hot.. put in a small pot or skillet..
 Add a  tablespoon of capers, a few tablespoons of chopped black olives, kalamata work best,  a squeeze of FRESH lemon juice, a small splash of white wine, and a bit of olive oil or butter.. Heat for a few minutes to blend flavors.
  Cook your fish as you like, but I broil or saute them in a bit of butter and olive oil with this sauce.

 I like to put the fish on a  bowl of  hot rice, and pour the sauce over all of it.. It is  absolutely great, works with any fish, and the olives, capers, and lemon  cut the gaminess of any strong fish.. Try this one you'll love it.. If you don't like olives, you can add a bit of chopped onion , some chopped mushrooms  a  bit of sauteed garlic or all of the above.. I would NOT add raw garlic to this, its too overpowering... bob

 T

 I dunno.. looks  really good, but  usually not that big a fan of fried lake trout.. They are a bit soft and gamey for my taste when using a breading.. The milk and paprika would probably purge some of the laker skunkiness, so thats    a nice idea  I might give a go.. Tried milk alone in the past and wasn't that inpressed, but it did help some..
 Looks like the 'red stuff" might be ketchup, but I would bet its cocktail sauce, which is another really good idea. I have used it in the past on fried breaded fish and it works great... Might try again soaking the fillets in milk and see what happens.. your plate of fried lakers DOES look good !

 Good enough to make me want to try again with frying them  golden brown again instead of baking/broiling/grilling etc... bob

 Leaf springs are a tough one.. they can look fabulous, clean tight and strong, and snap at any time leaving you  in the middle of nowhere with a mess, or they can look rusty and shot to hell and be good to go forever..  I typically oil and grease mine, to try and keep the rust down, try my best to keep rust  and wear  to a minimum, but I too have had them break en route, and yes, it SUCKS!.. bob

 got a few pics of one of them....

 I like them smoked, but you could smoke your  socks and drawers and they would taste good.
.. Other than that they are inconsistent.. Some are less nasty than others, and here and there, i get one i actually almost enjoy.. They are NOT my favorite fish to eat, but i make sure i eat whatever i kill, so some go home..
 People HATE bluefish, as they are strong and gamey.. However after decades of eating  lakers from  fresh water and blues from salt, I can say for certain that lake trout are stronger gamier and nastier than even a bluefish...  Thats saying something.. If I  could consistently catch good size panfish  year round, i would take  no lake trout home, unless they were bleeding bad.. Some aren't too bad eating , but the really bad ones are just plain awful... bob

BIG Bullheads!

 Went fishing for sunnies with my 4 YO grandson today.. He LOVES fishing with papa.. We were getting a few pumpkinseeds with worms, no great shakes.

 At one point, I put a rod out with a little bottom rig, no bobber, hoping to get a perch or big bluegill for him..

  I saw the rod tip dance, and like any good grandpa, handed it to him.. He was fast to a really good fish, and the little UL rod was doubled right over..
 It was a massive Bullhead, probably close to 16-17 inches and over 3 pounds.. He has no idea how to play a fish and was just reeling his little heart out at light speed, and the 4 lb test broke..
 Not long after I hooked another, that went 14 inches, and about 1 3/4 pounds..  This one I landed myself, and he got mad..
Then we hooked another and lost it.. Finally as we were about to leave at 3 pm,  I hooked one last one, and he insisted on reeling it up.. This time everything held, and I grabbed the rod as he got the fish near shore, , just  to be sure he didn't break it off..
 It was a 15 inch 2 1/4 pounder... No big deal really, but its  been a long time since I have seen bullheads this size, no less 4 of them, during mid day in  late June.

 I have a feeling this very small  lake might have  super bullhead fishing under the right conditions.. I just wasn't expecting them when and where we were fishing.. I can't post  location here, too many lurkers.. PM  only... bob
 

 forgot to mention.. If you fish in the dark [ or close to dark/with live sawbellies, you will catch walleyes for sure if you can locate them... bob

 If you are fishing mid day in clear weather, good luck..  I have my best Walleye fishing in very low light conditions.. I know they can be caught during the day, but personally I would  fishing hard at false dawn and fish till maybe 10, or i would start at 6 PM into the night hours, ... I have never had a lot of luck with them during the day.. Some guys do  I guess , but not me, and I have been fishing for them for 26 years.   The bite window on Walleyes can be amazingly short.. Not long ago, I caught 9 keeper size walleyes standing  on the same rock between 6 and 7 am, was getting hits, hookups, left and right.. They shut off like a light switch at 7:15, and not another hit.. Next day, caught 5 from about 6 to 6:45, and then again, shut off completely.. Try putting some time in before first light, and after dark...bob

 I  and my kids when they were young used to catch big Bluegills/Pumpkinseeds, and some nice Perch and Rock Bass right off shore at sampson during the summer.. Right at the launch ramp lot there is a row of rocks and a long iron breakwater.. We used to fish a worm about 6 feet under a bobber, and always  caught nice size panfish and a bass now and then.. If you get some minnows, you might get a bass or pike/pickerel as well...bob

 Blind jigging??.. Yikes.. Thats a tough one!,,, You need a good FF, unless you get lucky I suppose.. Lots of times you will see nothing on bottom, but then see your jig dropping[a thin line going from surface to the bottom on the screen], and then a big thick line that intersects with the line on the screen  from the jig.. Thats shows that there are lakers on bottom, even though there is no bait around.. If you are  catching any lakers at all fishing blind, you deserve a lot of credit.. thats tough fishing for most, unless one is VERY  familiar with the area he  is fishing.. If you want SMB, you might want to try Skaneateles or Keuka.. Cayuga has had a few big die offs of SMB as has Seneca, and they are depleted pretty badly.. Its been years since I have caught a good size SMB or even a  good size rock bass[ they died off with the SMB], and I used to catch them by the dozen every trip.. No more, the numbers are way down, and I no longer even try cayuga for SMB... bob

 Got  2   jigging around  Long Point  one day  last week, and a nice perch as well on a small jig in shallow water.. Other guys I saw jigging  out there did roughly the same, 5 fish for 3 guys.. It has been a bit slow for me personally, but I haven't been skunked yet... I dunno a few years ago, I could sometimes do at least almost respectable numbers compared to some mediocre  trollers, but lately most trollers are  out catching me by at least 5, and  probably closer to 10 to 1.... I am just not getting the numbers, getting the hits and follows, or seeing the life out there I am used to..

 I have not been seeing big numbers of fish or   lots of bait thus far on my trips to cayuga.. The boat I have been using is my 14 footer, and it doesn't have a top end color FF on it, just a cheaper Lowrance  X4 Pro B&W unit  with 250 watts.. The units I have on my other 2 boats, a 15 foot open skiff and an 18 Starcraft [all old junkers] have much better 500 watt Garmin color units.. Next trip I plan on using one of my  old tubs that has a good FF on it.. Judging by my  mediocre  numbers thus far this year, I am  either  not fishing where the bait and fish are, or I just plain suck... or both!.. In any case, I   should be doing better.. I  suppose i feel a bit better knowing that  some others that jig aren't mopping up either.  I will bet there are a few that are however...bob

 This is done in an odd way,   and might be a bit confusing, but it might answer some questions concerning what the  future management plans for the lake are.. One thing is for certain, Keuka has changed, and NOT for the better... bob

https://www.keukalakeassociation.org/pdf/post/pdf181_pdf.pdf

 Doesn't matter, they are all great..  I love fishing for big sunnies, great fighters, and the only  better eating fish in fresh water is a perch...
 I  used to catch tons of huge sunnies in cayuga lake with a little ultra lite, and a tiny jig with a bit of worm, or just a small  baited hook and  bobber the size of a grape.. Now with the advent of gobies, i haven't caught sunfish in cayuga in several years.. some guys might know where they are, but at the south end of the lake, i haven't caught a sunny or rock bass in years... So sad... btw, I have seen bluegills that have pumpkinseed markings as well.. i think they interbreed at times.. bob

A  Walleye would   not eat any more than a similar sized laker would eat.. They would have to share the sawbellies with the salmonids.. You might have a few less lakers, but I doubt it would be a problem.. The Walleyes would suspend and key on the sawbellies, like everything else in the Finger lakes..

 Walleyes are big eaters, but I sincerely doubt they could out compete the Salmonids.. If anything, they would come out the losers... bob

 er umm, they look like Pumpkinseeds to me...

On 6/14/2017 at 7:54 AM, Sk8man said:

I think a basic consideration is the type of habitat a particular lake might provide walleyes  as a viable place to feed, seek shelter, and spawn. The larger deeper Finger lakes such as Seneca, Cayuga, and Canandaigua seem to be far from ideal conditions in this regard in terms of water temperature profiles and relative absence of  supportive bottom structure and shallows. They and perch are by far the best freshwater fish to eat.

 With all due respect I disagree.. The waters of Cayuga has some walleyes, and they are massive.. I have seen them come out of Fall Creek during the month of April trout fishing. They are caught every year by guys fishing for rainbows, right by the black iron bridge.. Massive , all 10 lbs +....They would provide good fishing in Cayuga .. They  would spawn in the feeder streams,or shallow rocky areas in the lake, and exactly like the salmonids , and the SMB do, they would simply alter their natural penchant for bottom structure ,and would key on the Sawbellies... Actually with the goby population boom, they would have a spectacular alternative food source besides the sawbellies...

We'll never see it however..

the DEC doesn't want them there, just like they  don't want Pike in cayuga in any numbers,, We used to watch them capture Pike in some sort of stationary nets at the South end of cayuga  in spring, and kill them.. Not every year, and not in several years, but I am an eyewitness to it happening. Personally, I think the fingers that contain good sawbelly populations  could have spectacular Walleye fishing, but the DEC is geared for trout, and thats what we'll have to be content with..  bob

 Panfishing has been good there, but man the pressure this little lake gets is enormous..  I only fish weekdays, and every time I have gone there, there are  boats covering the lake, all of them fishing!.. i would hate to see what it looks like on a saturday or sunday.... bob

 Glen... check your PM..
bob

2 hours ago, relentless said:

May have to worry more about VHS. Saw an articlr that says its in cayuga, it had a picture of an infected fish. One of the lakers I caught last weekend had the same sore on it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Lake Ontario United mobile app
 

 Most of the mass die offs I have seen in Cayuga over the last 25 years were not salmonids...  SMB, Rock Bass, Pike, Pickerel, Sunnies,  Perch,Bullheads, Suckers. Also seen the bottom covered a few times with dead  crayfish and most recently with dead  Gobies. Those are the fish I have seen in big numbers wash up dead a few times.. I have yet to see a large die off of trout or salmon in Cayuga, maybe  someone else here has at some point... bob

FREE Minn Kota Autopilot trolling motor!

 OK, don't get too excited, Its an older one, and it has an issue,,  The motor itself, speeds, switches ,etc all work fine, smooth and quiet, I used it a week ago,, however this is of course   electric  steer, NOT cable.. The electric  steering section  does not work.. It could be the foot control switch, the circuit board in the foot control, the wiring or the servo motor that  turns left and right.. it looks good cosmetically, but sat for many years unused, so  it might just need to be freed up or something..  I do know parts are readily available, and are priced reasonably from what i understand.. I  have a couple other trolling motors that are hand or cable controlled, and I will just use them the rare times I use an electric trolling motor... It actually looks pretty good too..  12 V 36 lbs thrust.. The price is right on this one guys, if you can use it and can drive to Candor you are welcome to it.. it is off the boat, and ready to be taken away... bob

 maybe ALL the damn gobies will die.. We can only hope...

 The fish are still there on the east side by lake source cooling plant.. Couple young guys today  were catching browns , salmon and pike  fishing from shore  off the rocks there with bobber rigs  and  live sawbellies.. Sometimes the fish  just want real meat.... bob

41 minutes ago, lily said:

I understand your points just trying to use what I already have. The motor right now sits on a older mirror craft that is not much more than a row boat and will troll all day without loading up. I want to keep motor because I will use that boat in smaller water. Like I said before I know it's not perfect but financially a new 15 to 20 hp is out of the question. I thought if I could troll with the little boat at around 2 mph at a idle I should actually be working the motor a little harder on a bigger boat wich in theory should be better for the 2 stroke. As far as brackets go was going to fabricate them my self. I don't know just like the idea of having the second motor for the just incase times and also save the hours on the main motor. Thank you for your response just don't know what the best options are. The main motor I have a trolling plate on and also have bags but the insurance of having a second means of propulsion is a good idea.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T337A using Lake Ontario United mobile app
 

 If you like that motor, and it idles down low enough to troll without loading up, than really you are golden as far as operation... The only question now is the actual mount for the swim platform.. If you have the capability to fabricate something good and stout, why not?... There are   maniacs out there with boats your size with twin 175's on the transom.. You should be fine as long as your  platform mount is good and strong... bob

 A couple points  of concern.. First,  most swim platform mounts are rated for 20 HP max.
 There may be some I am not aware of rated higher, but I have my doubts...
 I understand the weight differential between a 20 HP 4 stroke is not that much, but there is a huge power differential.

 Personally, i wouldn't go that much over rating, but its not my setup,  I don't know it,and you know  do of course.
 Second, a 35 as a trolling motor??... Again, its only personal opinion, but thats overkill.. If you run it at idle, you might be ok as far as speed, but typically older 2 strokes get cranky when idled for long periods, and start loading up and fouling plugs, stalling etc,,,
 I would think a nice 15 or 20 max would be a better way to go.. Have  you considered selling your 35??.. either that, or swap it straight across for a clean 15 or 20... best of lick no matter what you decide... bob

 boy that would be  big kicker.. I suppose if the mount you  wind up using is stout enough, and the transom is sound you will be ok.. That 35  is a lot of kicker, but if you have it, trust it, and can mount it securely it will be fine. Personally I would  go with a 15 HP  2 stroke with high torque prop.. Are you wanting to use the 35 for power and speed,or simply because you have it on hand???...You are correct   in the fact that 35 won't weigh much more than a modern 20 HP 4 stroke