bulletbob

  Its due to the Round Goby, no question.. This year in Cayuga, I have caught ONE sunfish.. one... After several times trying.. Same last year... The Gobies eat everything in thier paths.. there is NO way any native fish can protect their nests or newly hatched young.. Go to a clear water area in Seneca or cayuga, a few feet deep, and drop a few worms in.. Instantly it is attacked with lighting speed from every direction by hundreds of Gobies.. not one or two, but hundreds.. Saw it myself several times last year.. Its only my opinion, and I hope I am wrong,  but I think Perch, Sunfish, Rock Bass, Pike, Pickerel , suckers, and Black Bass will be close to extinct in the Seneca/Cayuga complex in 10 years or less.. They simply can't compete, and can't protect their nests from the unrelenting attacks.. I have seen it on Youtube- a sunfish bravely trying to ward off hundreds of gobies from devouring its egss.. It simply could not do it.. If it turned to the left, the ones on the right would grab eggs until they were all gone... I am SO saddened by the fact that I can't even take my 3 year old grandson fishing on these lakes with a bobber and worm for sunnies, perch and rockies.. Tried several times, and we caught nothing but "those stupid Gobies" as my little grandson Landon calls them.

 Years ago i would stand on shore at cayuga and catch hundreds of fish with a tiny jig tipped with a little piece of worm, big massive Bluegills, foot long perch and rock bass, and so many big Smallmouths, you would get sick of looking at them.. I'll never see fishing like that again.. it started with the Zebras, and when the Gobies came, it was the end.. RIP Finger Lakes.. at least the ones that those wretched Gobies can get into... bob

Used to catch 12-14 inch rock bass in Cayuga regularly in spring/early summer for years,, One day I caught over 100 rockies of all sizes there.. Then about 7 years ago there was a huge die off of bass, pike, perch, sunnies, rock bass, suckers, bullheads, etc, and I never caught another rock bass in the lake.

 Not sure they even exist in Cayuga anymore.. Sunfish too.. The Gobies have decimated some of the panfish species in Cayuga from what I have seen... bob

bob, I was in a green crestiner, bait was all over, however we marked very few big fish

 

I usually do better when the lake is rough, it's hard to stay on them, but they bite better for me

 

I just had to work out a good process, 

 

I haven't had any luck in that area this year, normally we do very well there, next week we're going to launch at union springs try the other end

bob, I was in a green crestiner, bait was all over, however we marked very few big fish

 

I usually do better when the lake is rough, it's hard to stay on them, but they bite better for me

 

I just had to work out a good process, 

 

I haven't had any luck in that area this year, normally we do very well there, next week we're going to launch at union springs try the other end

 Lots of bait on the east side, but you are  right, not a lot on them from what I could see on my screen and I do have a good FF- Garmin 500C.. When I moved across the lake to the west side i saw more big marks on the bait  pods, and it was calm enough in the shelter of the coves to stay on them long enough to hook up twice.. I always run right across the lake right to the east side without even checking the west side.. I think I will break that habit for a while... bob

Alex, thanks for the reply, I feel like a pain in the butt asking so many questions, the last 4 years I've dealing with cancer and I now have a clean bill of health so it's now game on for Owasco fishing. I appreciate all the replies to my fishing questions from all you guys out there who have answered me. "Thanks" Gary

 GFO... sorry about  what you have been gong through past 4 years. That certainly cannot have been easy. Glad you are doing better, and I  wish you the very best in the future,, Now get out there and load the boat.. For MANY years to come!!.... bob

sounds like a fun day, and it's always good to avoid the skunk, we jigged from 6:00 to 1:00 Friday morning, from Meyers to AES

 

only landed 3 lakers, small, small, small  all 3 were 12""

 

but we had my buddies and my daughter and they had fun so it was a win

 While I am sorry you guys didn't do well, it makes me feel better knowing I wasn't the only one that found poor fishing in that area on friday.. I might have seen you guys out there as I was in the same area  from 6 till about 11, when I crossed over to the west side and lucked into those fish. There were several boats jigging that stretch . That steady south wind didn't help... Personally, I always have trouble and never do very well when there are whitecaps on the lake.

 Both fish I caught were on the lee side of Taughannock Point. The rainbow was caught north of the point as the  morning's south wind was dying down in fairly calm water, and then the wind instantly turned around  to the north at one point, and I went south of T point to again fish on the lee side.. It worked out.. There were fish and bait on both sides of the lake, it was just easier to stay on them for a while on the west side in the coves north and south of T point. I had my old 18 foot Starcraft, and it does not have a bow mounted trolling motor yet.. I should probably get one on there... bob

WTG Bob , I felt the same way when trolling with all the hardware down catch a lot of fish but not much fight.....2005 started asking questions about just a spoon program dialed one in over the next few years and lived and died by it , great fight from a 17" laker on this gear with just a spoon and slivers and browns AWESOME fight ....... then the last few years it got tough for my spoon program just too many fishless days so I went back to pulling hardware to boat some fish...... it great you are staying with it , think you guys will work out a program for the sliver fish also a bit at a time your off to a very good start now......NICE fish

 I have found a  deep water jigging  lure that I think will add a lot of silvers.. Jigging is great, but lets face it, its mostly lakers and once in a blue  moon you luck into a salmon, brown or rainbow, but still its 100 to 1... I will do some more experimenting, but don't want to say much right now, as there are just too many lurkers, and I prefer at this time to keep this within the community. If this works as  well as i thought when I discovered these lures and bought a few online, I will let the members here know what i found via PM... bob

Nice report Bob!! Good looking healthy fish!

 LL had lamprey marks.. rainbow had a  lamprey on but the bastard got off when I was finagling the grab around the gills.. That SOB eel is  lucky i forgot my net.. If I had it, and got that eel in the boat, it would be on the bottom  in about 5 pieces getting shredded by the goby hordes....

Really nice fish, Bob.  You will be happy to know I have a brand spanking jigging rig all set and ready to go.  Another arrow for the quiver.  Now to find some time to try it out... 

   The thing with jigging is this.. It can be  really tough when the fish are scattered... However, when you find concentrations, it can be more productive than trolling.. However, trollers usually catch more and more varied species than us jiggers.. It is a LOT more fun per fish however.. To me, trolling deep is boring,, Yes you catch fish, but with the  trolling tackle, and moving boat, It always felt to me like reeling up a wet blanket... I do like flatline trolling because you can stop the boat and play the fish.. Thats just me.. When I lived in NJ, I didn't troll in salt either, and sometimes if you didn't troll you went home fishless.. Once you get  a 10 fish day on jigs, you might get 2nd thjoughts about trolling...... maybe .... bob

 I  got out at dawn and fished HARD all morning.. Not a touch ..fished from Myers north to about 1 mile north of Taughannock on the east side, and about a mile north to a mile south on the west side.. Not even a touch from a laker.. Caught one perch about 9 inches on a big laker size jig... Disgusted, i was about to let my last  drop down at about 11:15.. Was  finishing up maybe 1/4 north of the park and was disgusted and ready to call it a day.. Saw a bait pod suspended maybe 30 feet down over 70.. Saw a nice arch above the bait and started reeling, not expecting anything.. Bang!.. nice 20+ inch rainbow  surfaces... oops,, NO net.. Left it home like a jackass, something I haven't done in decades.. Sometimes idiots get lucky, and I hand  boated it,,,  Fished another 1/2 hour without a touch, and again was about to head for the ramp.. Now I was south of the park in about 75 fow, and again saw a few slashes,, Reeled straight  up, and I got whacked hard.. Knew right away it was a really nice fish..  I got almost spooled a few times, as  i had to give ground or that 8 pound test would have broken.. After what seemed like 20 minutes, I  got her up, and I was sick over not having a net,, Big landlock , jumping, rolling, sounding right straight down every time I tried to hand boat her..  I got really lucky I guess, the hooks held, and after about 4 attempts, I had her exhausted and was able to grab her across the gills and get her in the boat.. 26 inches, big around as a football, and 8 pounds..   I haven't caught a keeper silver in several years while jigging lakers, most shorts, and follows ,,, i was positive I was destined to get the skunk, but as it turned out, I was happy with only 2 fish today... btw,  I have eaten Cayuga rainbow trout several times, and always thought they were terrible.. Nasty, rotten, oily, soft  and fishy.. This one was firm and very sweet to my surprise... It was as firm and mild as a perch... I wasn't expecting that..

Talked to other guys today  and it was slow  jigging for them as well..
. It was  nice to pull a rabbit out of the hat for a change.. lately, i have not done well in Cayuga...

Tried  some fishing for big Bluegills, Pumpkinseeds, and Perch with worms and mealworms, something I have loved to do for years.. Looks like that type of fishing is all over.. Cleaned out by Gobies instantly, even worse than last year.. Can't even take my 3 year old grandson fishing for sunnies due to the damn Gobies... Gonna start learning Cayuta Lake for panfish.. I hear its good there for perch, crappies, Sunnies, etc... bob

 I have been stuggling past few years, not just the past few trips.. Went out on Keuka in May, never had a hit, and caught one at cayuga about 3 week ago, had a few hits.. Troller on Cayuga did fantastic, so it was me, not the fish.. there are a lot of lakers out there, because the trollers are catching plenty, and some guys have great days jigging, but from what i gather, I am not the only one that doesn't seem to be catching as many as I did a few years ago... Might just be i am getting old, and don't set the hook as hard and fast as I did at one time.. At 62, that  hard and fast thing is  fading  away... bob

 Here in NY we are in compliance as long as  the user was born before 5/1/96.. No "safety certificate" needed for inland or coastal waters... Now, I want to salt water fish in NJ, and they want an approved boaters safety certificate... It weird because if I fish in Sandy Hook Bay, and launch in  Staten Island at Great Kills Park, I am legal.. However if I launch on the NJ side and fish in the exact same water, I am a criminal.. Makes NO sense... anyway, I called the NJ Marine Police, and was told that as long as I met the requirements in my home state for boating, I was fine... However all the guys on NJ fishing sites including boat safety course instructors told me I would get a ticket.. Here;s my questions.. Must I take whatever course is offered here in NY to fish NJ or Conn coastal waters??.. anyone know for sure?... bob

 The bigger the water the bigger the Sawbelly.. they can  grow to 10 inches in the Great lakes, and to about 15-16 max in the marine environment where  they originated. In the ocean,they have a lot more food, a lot more space, and a lot more critters that like to eat them.. Those massive schools of   Alewives  we see on our fish finders  would be decimated in minutes by a couple hundred bluefish, not to mention the stripers and weakfish that pick off whatever the blues don't get.. Actually  one good   size whale would do an even better job than the blues.. They love herring and herring like  fish.. Our local FL sawbellies, are the lucky ones.. bob

 Gobies.. The lake is infested with them these days, and from what I understand, all the predators are eating them.. Might change the habits of lakers a bit, not being forced to  stay close to the alewives.. I also wonder if the lakers might taste better  as time goes on, as they will be eating less of those little oily Alewives... bob

PS Bob. That Penn 309 I got from you? Loaded with 90 lb. wire, ready for bear..

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 Enjoy it in good heath hop.. That was a nice reel, I just would never have used it.. Too big for jigging lakers, too slow for salt water, and I don't troll with wire!..  lol.. bob

 Honestly, start using jigs.. Dirt cheap, and even on a slow day you'll get a few fish if you fish the marks.. On a good day, you might hook 2 dozen or more, all using a one handed bass sized rod 10 pound test...
 Few weeks ago an old timer that knew his stuff showed me some pics of his impressive catches... When he showed me his rig, I lost all interest.. A tuna rod as thick around as a cue stick, and a window sash weight at the business end of his meat rig.. He told me he was a meat fisherman, and didn't care about the sporting aspect   that much, he  just wanted fish flesh  and lots of it.
 Thats all good i suppose,  but I prefer a bit lighter and less troublesome type of fishing experience..  If gang hooks with salted  sawbellies, , cowbells,wire dipseys, meat rigs, electric downriggers, live sawbellies etc, are mandatory for  catching FL trout, I will get a bobber and worm and fish for bluegills,  it would be a lot more fun... bob

 That is absolutely awful.. Not to mention sickening, disgusting, putrid,stinking ,etc... bop

 I agree with our friend Hermit.. In 25 years of jigging Lakers i have caught 2 with plastics in the gut.. One  swallowed  a plastic worm, and one with a huge paddle tail swim grub. both from Seneca . These  lures do NOT get torn off very often.. lakers don't nibble on the tail of a jig, they swallow them  whole.. In my uneducated opinion, these lures were tossed after get scarred up, or replaced with a different color, or size.. Please, if you jig, take the discarded plastics off in the boat, and do not toss them overboard.. Lakers will snap them up... Obviously, they won't kill the fish, but I bet they  don't do it much good either... bob

 Don't forget, Walleye is closed...They are spawning right now, and personally, I would leave them be, but whatever... Their numbers in the river  seem to  be declining for  the past several years...

 I am not speaking of the past week or so, before the season closed.. More along the lines of thinking historically.. I moved to Candor from NJ in 1991, and started fishing the river then.. Honestly I knew nothing about Walleyes, being a salt water guy.. However, it was NO problem for many years getting a couple keepers and a dozen shorts on any evening I decided to go in the spring and fall into winter, and I knew nothing about the river...  many nights I would keep  a couple, or one, or none, and then start releasing nice fish because I knew they would always be there.. no problem for years.. If  it was slow on fri night, saturday would make up for it..  I think around 2011 or so, I really started noticing the changes.. Lot fewer spikes, and many nights without a hit, not only for myself, but for every one of the other "locals".. I am  no expert of course, just a guy that likes catching Walleyes on small plastic jigs, but It seems to me I noticed the downturn in numbers after the big floods we had, first in 2006, and then after the  2011 event , it was much worse...
Who knows??.. I am not gloom and doom.. Maybe in 8 weeks we will have the best spring  river walleye fishing we have seen in 25 years..  We can only hope.... bob

 Its only my opinion, but something  seems  amiss in the S River.. The walleyes are there, but past few  seasons, I have caught a lot less fish, in a lot more time.. I talk to a lot of fishermen in the stretch from Owego down to Barton, and the story  is always the same.. Just not seeing the numbers we used to..

 Seeing a lot fewer fishermen as well past 2-3 years.. The thing that worries me the most is the lack of small "spike" walleyes, less than about 10 inches.. I used to catch dozens of them some days... Got sick of looking at them.. Past 2 years i don't think I have seen more than maybe 2 or 3... maybe I'm all wet, and just going on the wrong days, or losing my modest angling skills, but boy, I used to catch 4 times the walleye I do nowadays.. past  couple years have been pretty tough, and if I get 1 or 2 in an early evening till dusk session or at dawn till 8 am, I consider it a good trip... Lots of skunks for myself and those around me past few years...  Water looks fine, don't know what happened.. If anything... bob
 

 Fresh water fishing pales in comparison to salt water... Stripers  grow  as big as Great Lakes salmon, and you don't need to troll for them..Jigging in 30 fow works fine, and they are  very abundant,, Blues too.. You can catch them right from shore by the multiple dozen on a good morning tide, and nothing in fresh water comes close to the brutal fight they put up.. A 10 pound blue will snap 20 lb test if your drag is too tight.. I don't miss living  in nj really.. I DO miss the ocean, bays and tidal rivers though.. We have some good fishing here, but once you fish salt water for a while, you realize  the mis match between fresh and salt species.. Salt water fish are bigger, stronger, faster, more abundant, much better eating, and easier to catch than their sweet water counterparts... bob

 use alternative baits such as shrimp, minnows, [dead or alive] and especially crayfish or leeches... Worms are good , but the sunnies tear them apart.. Crayfish and minnows  are deadly on bullheads, but almost no one uses them...

  If you guys would be so kind to answer a few more questions....  How about color choices  in  lets say the 25-50 foot range?.. After the fleas get fierce, I won't be doing any  trolling..  In mid summer  I typically jig for lakers, maybe fish   shallow water for perch, smallmouths, sunnies etc, or  often just fish salt water. So most of my trolling would be in water under 50-60 feet. [ I have good  color fish finders that can show me where to start as far as  lure depth].. When l fish Cayuga there  always seemed to be good numbers of fish under 60 feet all summer actually. Close to the sawbellies f course.

Are basic colors effective?.. Silver/Black, Gold, Chartreuse, Shad colors etc..?.. Also would appreciate a few   "getting started" colors  and sizes for spoons.. I have some, but most are probably beat, perhaps I can apply some prism tape, or buy a half dozen proven colors, its no biggie.. I just don't want a bunch of  stuff laying around thats only useful under very unusual  water/weather conditions  that I wouldn't understand anyway. Really just want to give myself a little better chance at catching a few silver fish this year as an option to laker jigging..
  If I won't be fishing deeper that say 60 feet, how light a ball can I use?.. 6 pounds?/.. lighter?...  I suck at trolling, please bear with me.!... bob

 First off, I am NOT much of  a troller.. Never was, never will be probably, but I want to  learn a little about it.. I bought 2 like new Canon mini downriggers at a yard sale for $1 each last year.. I   really have no interest in trolling any deeper than about 50 feet or so. I typically jig in deep water say  70+ feet..  I can figure out the riggers/releases etc, but I am not really set up right now with trolling spoons.. I had  boxes full of them in every color and style, and swapped most of them for salt water gear.. Over the years I have caught some nice browns and landlocks on flat lines in shallow water, in spring, which to me is more fun than deep trolling.. I have always used various stickbaits, and  have had some success over the years.. I can scare up a few trolling spoons , but the  variety is pretty overwhelming.. I may ask  for a few pointers for a half dozen "essentials" later on as the time gets closer..

Right now my question is this.. Are the stickbaits I have used in  the past at Cayuga  for salmon and browns in water under 20 feet an effective  lure when trolled say at 40-50 feet when the  "silver fish" start going deeper in June??.. I always see guys in the reports  talking about the hot new spoons they used and cleaned up with, but never see guys say.. "we killed them on a Silver/black Rapalas "..  Do these very effective shallow water trolling plugs suddenly become worthless when using downriggers??... I have them by the hundreds in every color and size, but if they don't catch fish when deep trolled, I will have to do what everyone  else does, and learn how to choose and use trolling spoons.. Any thoughts would be appreciated... bob

Reels have been spoken for.. A member here has first refusal.. If he does not want them, they will be re posted  here at a later date, with all the specifics... bob