bulletbob

I fish Owego down to Barton..  It was all I ever needed for many years, and  I never moved around much.. I might have to  learn some new areas...  The guys that fished alongside me for years, are all gone, most just gave up.. I seldom see any fishermen any more except in the rocky bottom

Barton area, as the SMB fishing is very good in the late fall.. Only heard one guy say he caught a Walleye there this fall.. Most caught none, and for years they were caught regularly with bass, and then as it grew towards twilight the Walleyes would take over.. Lots of shorts, but they were there by the hundreds, for many years...  No longer, at least not for me... The river has had several massive floods since 2006, and the contour has changed.. Might be as simple as the areas I fish the most are simply no longer attractive to walleyes... bob

 Ok then. I guess its just my problem.. I DO use a boat at times, but it has not helped much in my case. past few years.. Never needed one years ago, shore fishing at dusk or dawn was always productive from mid sept onward, and then from early May into early June...

However as I said, we would catch dozens of shorts every single trip year after year, day and night... I have caught about 10 juveniles  total in the last  5 years.. The areas I fish and were historically really good, are totally devoid of fishermen these days as well, and as we know, where there are fish there are always fishermen.... Maybe next year... bob

All points are well taken of course, and I won't argue with any of them.. All are valid.. The susky is, was, and has always been a VERY lightly fished river here in NY state along most of its length, so I don't think its a problem of internet lurkers going and cleaning out  a spot...That DOES happen no doubt, in many waters,and its  a major problem.

 In any case, I put a call in to the DEC Region 7 in Cortland to ask a few questions, but big surprise, I got a voice mail and they never called back...I will report  back if I hear anything.. Meanwhile, looks like my days of Walleye fishing are at an end..... bob

Probably not the best place for this  post as there seems to be almost no mention of any Southern Tier fishing, but here it is anyway, looking for thoughts/opinions from  others.

 I have lived in Tioga County [Candor } since 1991.. 30 years this coming June...
 I have fished the Susquehanna for Walleyes every year since  the early 90's. I knew little about Walleyes then, being a salt water guy from NJ, but they responded well to techniques I used for decades in salt water...It was nothing to catch a dozen in an hours time from shore, Lots of shorts and juveniles I called "spikes" as I used to call juvenile Weakfish or Whiting in my salt water days...

Water was FULL of them, sometimes one every cast... Guys would be lined up, and everyone caught, every trip.. Some were kept to eat, but many were returned  as well... Then I noticed a slowdown as we got closer to around the year 2000... In the next 20 years, the fishing got slower and slower, each year showing less and less fishing success, and fewer and fewer people even fishing for them... This year I caught one very fat 28 incher in March, returned to the river of course, and I think one 9 inch spike.. Thats it,,, for the YEAR..
 I recall, that when a light was shined into the water as it got dark,  the bottom was paved with glowing eyeballs... Today, NONE show up.. The fish are simply gone..

 One thing thats a constant anywhere.. Where there are fish, there are fishermen.. These days, you see very few boats on the river, and only guys that do fish are Musky or SMB fishing.. I recall a sunny Sept afternoon in bright sun many years ago at a river "hot spot" I knew, catching 26 keeper sized Walleyes in about 2 hours, while standing on the same rock... This past year, I have caught none  at the same place .. all year...

Just wondering what could have happened?.. Its not pressure, because even in areas with very poor access, the fish simply are no longer there, and as long as I have been here in NY state, river has never had much pressure along much of its length.

 I am planning on contacting the DEC and asking them where this fishery has disappeared to.
 I really began to worry in earnest a fall season  about 20 years ago... That fall I caught ONE keeper Walleye, and FOUR Tiger Muskies as long as my leg while fishing for Walleyes in a 2month period... I am getting old I know, and maybe my lures and methods are outdated, but still, something is wrong... When there are fish, there are ALWAYS people trying to catch them.. No longer,- when I do fish the river for Walleyes these days, I am always alone, and the water  itself and the boat ramps that serve it are desolate... bob

  Be great if they can stay open.. Thats a tough business with more failures than success stories. I have seen dozens and dozens go under in too short a time. I wish them well,  and hope  they  make some money... bob

skinny is stiff with smb this time of year -they are everywhere in water 20 feet deep and under, mixed with nice perch and rock bass.. Last fall  when I was perch fishing  could not keep nice size bass off the hooks...just one after another

 For Smallmouths in fall, I personally think Keuka or Skaneateles are   better choices than Cayuga...Had good luck both lakes.

  Yes Cayuga has LMB at the north end but that entire area gets blasted hard year round by the bass boat crowds, tournament guys etc...

 It is not what it once was...

I know this response will draw anger from some, but I feel its the truth.. The NYSDEC, knows all about the lamprey problem in Seneca and Cayuga. They let it go until its totally out of control, and stocks are decimated before they do anything. Happens every few years to one lake or the other. Cayuga is doing well now, but several years back it was the same damn thing.. Lampreys out of control, and poor fishing..

The DEC seems to me to be laser focused on the Great Lakes Salmonids and not much else... Warm water fisheries and many  smaller trout venues, go without, or get a small sickly  bone once a year, with a few 7 inch trout thrown in in April, and done... Other states fishery programs do in  incredible work with minimal water resources compared to what we have in NY...

bottom pics look like baby sunnies or rock bass

Just an update.. Called all over the US, called locally in NY to boat  and marine parts shops, .. I located 3... 2 were in the possession of price gouging SOB's.. They wanted $150  for a  $30  plastic prop.. A third said they have it and would sell it at the correct price  $30.. After 2 months and 8 calls, to them, they said they no longer had it.. Totally disgusted, I took a shot and decided to try a generic multi brand  aluminum prop  that had good pics from lots of angles on amazon.. Cost a whopping $15,, SHIPPED!,,, Perfect fit... Seems a lot of modern very small 2/3/4 hp  outboards are using the same props  shaft designs,,,  The "help" I got from dealers was pretty bad, I suppose because it wasn't an expensive part.. My experiences with local marine dealers continues to be terrible, and I do better doing my own research, even though   its badly  flawed.... bob

 I always said that if I could consistently catch truly jumbo sunfish and/or Yellow Perch, thats all I would fish for... Love panfishing.
 I would REALLY like to find a lake or river that has good fishing for white perch. They seem scarce in this part of the state, but downstate NY, NJ, Conn, LI is loaded with them.. Have not seen one in close to 30 years since I moved to the FL Region...

We really need better protection for our panfish.. Limits are too  liberal IMHO, and commercial fishing should be stopped... Too much pressure these days, and its really showing in average size... This year was my worst ever as far as size is concerned.. Too many dinks.... bob

best insurance policy??? a kicker motor in good working order.. If you have a 17-18  footer even a 4 horse will get you back to port..Might take all day, but it sure beats paddling.. If you can afford a 23-24 footer, you can afford a  good 9.9 or 15 with a proper Hi thrust prop... saw a guy on another fishing forum swear his 32 footer makes  an honest 7.5 knots with a 9.9 Yamaha kicker with a high thrust prop... Luck favors the prepared.. If my kicker is not functional for whatever reason, the boat stays on the trailer... bob

  I use   either 1 oz or 1.5 oz white painted heads with white  bodies, various jigging spoons etc.
 

  The tackle/lures etc are not my problem there... I just can't find marks, and really don't know where to look... I typically  use that awful town launch in Scott, or the state launch at the north end...  If you can PM me with some depths to check, or a few general locations I would appreciate it.. I have done  well with jigs for  lakers at Cayuga/Seneca/Keuka over the years, but simply can't find them on Skinny... bob

 I have yet to catch a laker on skinny jigging myself...  I had one good one on and lost it halfway up last fall, but thats been it... I stick  to perch and bass there pretty much, as I don't troll.

I can't say why, but I just don't mark any concentrations of fish there the way I do on Cayuga/Seneca/Keuka... Guys catch them there, but personally for the life of me, I just never mark a lot of fish on Skaneateles..

 Guys catch  lakers there while  perch fishing all the time, even on worms, so its MY problem, not the lakes.. Haven't caught a Walleye there yet either.. 

Take the drive to Cayuga and jig there some early morning.. Its worth it when you hit them right. They are much bigger, and easier to find there... bob

 I cannot fathom that level of selfishness and  incivility toward another boater. I am not a "good person", I am a  wicked sinner  thats done very little good for other people in this world , yet I have towed many stranded boaters in to port  over the decades and witnessed personally the look of despair turn to a smile of relief, and heartfelt gratitude.  Same as most here I am sure, I have almost always been offered money, but would never consider taking it.. Some day soon it might be me out there looking for the kindness of a stranger.

 Its the least we could do for a fellow boater in distress. It is SCARY being stranded... Never been towed in but needed to be, and as  others have experienced, have gotten no help, because guys were  too busy  "fishing"...

  I never go out without a  backup motor of some sort, and never will, because I have felt that sick hopeless feeling of being stranded on the water, with no help in sight...  I would not wish it on anyone, and like most forum members here, will do what I can to prevent it from happening, even at the risk of missing some "fishing"... bob

6 hours ago, zipperboot said:

Try merc prop it works  

 Merc 2  HP prop??.... anyway, to all  that responded, my thanks...I did locate one on my own , a  NOS one at a very fair price.. $30 + 16$ shipping out on Long Island.. However the parts guy doesn't seem all that interested, saying he  is very busy, doesn't have time to dig it out   of "the boxes upstairs" etc.. I hate to keep calling, gonna try once more...  I also located 2 others, but one was $138+, and the other was $125+ over 4 times the dealer  price  at the time the  part was discontinued... I hate that crap... In any case, I think I have  enough info... If I can't find a prop, I'll sell the motor as a parts unit for whatever I can get, and buy another tiny motor that still has parts availability... bob

er umm you may have just replaced a perfectly good lower unit... If you just found some metal flakes on the magnet, and had water in  the oil, it might just have been a simple seal leak or even a cracked gasket on the filler or drain plug.. If the lower unit was quiet, with no grinding , howling noises, and shifted ok, it was probably just a bad seal. The magnets will always have some metal particles on them.. They are doing what they were designed to do. Your money of course, and your choice, but really why spend 4 times what you have to... It should have been looked at before being condemned as "bad"... Oil seals are a regular maintenance item, that will develop leaks from time . Simple fix for a marine mechanic.....

1996 Evinrude 2 HP.. Pretty simple right?... Totally and completely unavailable prop... They are obsolete, not available from  OMC, and are not made aftermarket, and I tried every prop shop I could find on the net as well as every used outboard parts dealer... Basically they all told me to junk an otherwise perfect, lightly used little motor.. Its  a polypropylene  plastic prop, and not repairable.. Backed the damn prop into a stump, and broke a blade off.

 I might be able to adapt some other 2 or 3 blade little prop from another brand if I can match up shaft size, or possible adapt a prop from an electric trolling motor in some way... What I need is a dealer, or  just local guy with a pile of small outboards, and piles of parts/ props etc...

   i would gladly pay a fair price if we can match something up...   the motor is used as a backup on my stout little Grumman 4.4 side console with 30 HP Johnson...  It moves the boat only 5-6 knots  , but if the main OB craps out, its 5,000 times better than rowing 5 miles back to the ramp... Anyone out there that might be able to help out, or know someone with a pile of small old OB parts and pieces?... If not I can only sell it as a  parts motor for $75 or something and buy another tiny little kicker thats not "obsolete".. NOT a fan of OMC since Bombardier bought them.... bob

5 hours ago, GAMBLER said:

Asian carp, Asian eels and Lampreys did not come here in ballast water.  But I do agree with you on the others.  

 I realize that,, The carp and eels were stocked on purpose, alewives came here after the canal system was built, and lampreys might have come  through the canal system, or might even be native, there is no  real definitive  answer, and there are different opinions... However, my admittedly   overly generalized rant is still valid, this  nasty invasive   crap is ruining these lakes..

Thanks.. I was going to launch at the south end  of the lake most likely. Might change my plans in the am... bob

 I  pass Forest Fishery in Homer on the way, but am  not sure if they still carry bait.. Their site no longer mentions it.. If not, are there any other local places to get a few dozen minnows?.. Taking my 7 YO grandson tp Skinny in my boat and have worms, but some live minnows will give him a better shot at something more sizeable than a rock bass, perch or pumpkinseed,,, bob

 Just one of the many curses brought upon the US by  "progress" and  world trade....  Yeah dumping ballast water from Eurasion ships was great thing for American waterways.. Fleas en mass  of various species, Zebras Quaggas, Gobies,  Asian Carp Asian Slime eels, Lampreys, hell even alewives, don't belong here,  but now we live with them...... bob

..Oh yeah forgot about tail or body hooked lakers.. a  7-8 pounder hooked in the tail can certainly spool someone with light tackle, its happened  seveal times to me while jigging,, Thought I had a lake record fish, and it turned out to be an above average plain old laker, hooked in the tail or body.... bob

 Could have been a sturgeon I suppose... More likely however- 1- Massive Carp in the 30-40 lb range.. They  are tough fighters in the 10 pound range.. At 20+  pounds in deep water?...  Near impossible for  jigging tackle..

 Best guess??.. Laker in the  35-40 inch 15-18 pound range.. They are out there... I have caught them in the10-11 pound range, and they don't come up off bottom easy in that weight range...  a soild 15 pounder on jigging tackle could spool you or break the line  depending on tackle and conditions

 Wild Card-  BIG Drum[sheepshead] in the 20-30 lb range..... bob

i have used  jb weld on worse cracks than that,, sanded them, painted the prop and never had an issue. they lasted  for years