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King Davy

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Posts posted by King Davy

  1. Brian Sandy got the triple slam this year. No more kings, steelhead, and the exit of the domestic rainbow as a LO fish. They got an increase in Browns. I fought like crazy to not end the rainbows to no avail.

    My personal opinion and we’ll see, if bait fish have rebounded and from my time on the lake this year it seems so, like they did after the 1993 cut and build back up in early 2000 they’ll have an opportunity to increase stocking and hopefully put Sandy back on the schedule.

    Those of us that fish the tribs know Sandy has a huge following from all over the country and is a very busy port to fish the lake. It deserves to be considered a major asset port to the entire year round fishery


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  2. One last comment. I know one of the creel agents you spoke to. Known him since he was born. His dad and I taught him to fly fish and work the back of a trolling rig since he was seven. There isn’t a program that kid hasn’t mastered from fly and float fishing to rigger and junk rods.

    I also know how hard he’s worked to get his Fisheries Batchelor of Science degree. He’s worked as a steward for DEC USGS, and others the last four years. So while as a young Jedi he may not be as articulate as an older DEC tech he eats and sleeps this fishery. So let’s all hoist these kids up who paid some huge dues to get where they are.

    Finally they are there to collect data. The data that drives the decisions made by your regional managers. Charter and rec anglers need to spend the time providing the data. Especially our Capt’s. They realize most of you guys clean fish on the lake, but you can still (and I know many do) provide info on where your clients are from how many and what species were caught. While cleaning fish if you note a size length/ weight of the fish and maybe scrape a couple scales and put them in a plastic bag even more help.


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  3. As far as the fishery being compared to the early 2000’s. It’s had its ups and downs for sure. Steelhead in 2014 died off in maybe 70 percent of the adult population not from whirling, but rather a vitamin B deficiency from eating emaciated alewives that’s were in poor health out on the lake. So it was easily four years before we had any rebound of decent trib steelhead fishing. And truthfully as one who spends over 100 days a season fishing for them can I say that the 20/21 season looked to be the first more normal fishery.

    In 2017 to 2019 the lake fishery for K ing salmon on the lake in my opinion was nothing short of spectacular because we were not feeling the cuts until last year and much heavier this year. We have what I’ve experienced as bigger fish on average but not as successful numbers wise.

    This fishery as all do go through cycles. So the only thing to do……. Just keep fishing.


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  4. For Gambler, when they talked survival rates they are speaking about a larger pod of fish living through the smolt stage on their way to being true yearlings. So not looking at pen rearing success. In fact as you know they are releasing 100 percent of the kings in pens.

    Now I don’t disagree with you that Sandy was always a huge success and the fact that they have great stream access as these decisions also included as it should the entire depth and breath of the fishery meaning the fall trib fishery as well
    For salmon.

    With the stocking numbers down nearly 60 percent the strategy was to look at management plans to ensure the greatest survival.

    All should stay turned for the bait fish assessment which should be out shortly. If the bait rebounded then there will be considerations on increasing stocking and could put places like Sandy back on line.


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  5. I sat on the Stakeholder panel along with both charter boat captains, rec lake anglers and other trib stakeholders.

    Others may chime in. After several years of study on survival of stocked fish either in pens or direct stocked is that the highest survival rates was when larger groups of fish were stocked together in a particular location.

    Thus a survival management decision was made by the department to cutout smaller ports push the fish to larger rivers and stock a larger population of fish together.

    We did have a vote. One of the options was to keep stocking as it had been, and then two other options that grouped larger pods of fish at the larger ports.

    I spent my whole life from the 60’s fishing on or out of Sandy and truly hated to see it cut. But with the data provided by DEC on overall best survival the majority of stakeholders voted to the new plan hoping with such a heavy reduction in king salmon stocking we’d retain the highest survivor rates of kings.



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  6. Hey Tom , just finished fishing 10 days out of Wilson. We had a good week caught nothing but kings. We didn’t go all the way to the bar. Fished four mile, and down 4 to 6 miles out of port. There were a bunch of fish and bait all week in that 50 to 80 foot of water. We moved them pretty good until mid week, but then the boat traffic and high sun put them down.

    The last couple days we hunted the 200 to 250 depths and found a good class of fish many in the high teens low 20’s. We did finish in 10th place with a 24.10 salmon.

    Parked rigggers 100 to 120 down and divers out to 300 and had them snapping pretty good.


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  7. They just loaded the LL on Champlain. The LL are not only for fly fisherman. Many gear and float anglers catch them in the tribs, and many are caught in the lake.

    Having fished for them in many different places, LL salmon are truly happy in rivers. They enter as early as right now , I hooked a dime bright salmon in the Oak this past week that likely ran in with the better flush of water . There have been several caught on the Salmon river this month running in from the lake.

    They will enter all spring summer and fall when conditions are right. Last summer anglers fishing near the dam at the Oak caught some LL. They can tolerate water temps into the high 70’s.

    So this species can fill several nitches for a combination of both lake and river anglers.
    I’ve caught them trolling but in my humble opinion and my experience is they are made to be caught on rod and reel in a river where the angler is one on one with the fish without being pulled by the boat as well. Fish that I’ve experienced that have jumped high enough that I’m looking up at them. They are actually faster in the water than king salmon coupled with their acrobatics makes them a very worthy target.

    So the state and feds are working together to enhance this species for anglers to enjoy. At the same time they are not limiting any of the other species except for circumstances like bait fish issues the past three years. NYS has only been stocking 20k fish. With some added fish from Tunison who are experimenting with strains and sizes of fish through how long they hold them.

    In the end this study takes nothing away from the other species and provided though limited at the moment opportunity to catch another top level game fish.



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  8. That’s exactly the reason they passed on I Bay. But Tunison at Cornell are raising fish a little longer and bigger before release to where they may be less of a bait target.

     

    No matter where the fish are stocked they have to survive predators . 2019 to 2020 trib creel census results of LL caught at Oak Orchard creek from fall to spring was 2700+. They stock the Oak fish in the harbor just several 100 yards from the open lake.

     

    Last spring DEC stocked the entire salmon river group at the mouth of the river to see if they get a great return like the oak gets by not having the fish run the river to the lake. They could do the same thing at IBay.

     

    We have natural repo of king salmon and steelhead in irondequoit creek. This creek is of the highest quality of any of our local tribs.

     

    Lots of access all the way to Fishers NY with much more canopy keep waters cool including many springs that seep into the bed of this Trib.

     

    However since no more stocking of Kings or steelhead at Sandy and the ending of stocking domestic rainbows in LO may be their reasoning.

     

     

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  9. The penned fish are only an experiment being done this year at the lighthouse marina on the Salmon river. They are simply taking part of the stocking allotment of the salmon and penning them to see if they get a better return. So just part of original Adirondack stocking.

     

    Yes DEC has decided to put LL’s in Sandy. Many of us tried to push for irondequoit for the main reason of better habitat. Yes they did do a stocking in the 80’s and actually it was very successful and not sure why they backed off.

     

    The total cost of this experiment is less than 5 k for materials. Cobelskill college welds the pens up.

     

    There is a group of volunteers already in place to put the pens together and care for the fish. I simply can’t understand why there is so much negativity every time DEC is diving into more science. This was NOT a program that trib fishers came up with. This strictly is the program of Steve Hurst the bureau chief of fisheries.

     

    Some of you guys always run way off track and never truly have the story straight.

     

    DEC is working with USF&W to obtain more LL to try to work towards creating an annual sport fishery of this native species.

     

     

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  10. Sammygee I’ve been running around Alaska for the past 25 years. You have a better chance to actually king salmon fish if you fish out in Bristol Bay but then the Halibut experience isn’t as easily available.

    Kenai has the biggest kings on average along with the Kisseloff river that runs into the Kenai near Soldotna on the peninsula.

    The salmon fishery in Alaska is the most regulated fishery in the world. If the fish counters the Alaska Fish & Game department have in place at the mouth of the river are not showing enough fish have entered they shut the salmon fishing down immediately.

    The biggest risk for a fishing trip to Alaska is trying to get to fish Kenai Kings. In July you get huge runs of Sockeye and while not kings are real rockets for a fight on rod and reel.

    For my money Homer is the place to go out of for Halibut. The fleet of boats out of there are excellent. Plus it’s close to the Anchor river which gets a run if kings if you can fish them.

    Google Mark Glassmaker’s guided trips. He can provide the king fishing, halibut trips. And fly outs and he has excellent cabins right near the river. Mark is also deeply involved as a stakeholder in the King fishery management. He will have first hand knowledge of what is going on next year.


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  11. Gill they will still end up draining the canal for the season. Normally for safety and maintenance reasons.

     

    NYPA Met with Lake Ontario stakeholders who could describe the benefits of pulsing water through the streams connected to the canal. 18 Mile, Oak and Sandy would be the major beneficiaries. For this first go round they targeted Oak and Sandy.

     

    We can see the success of this effort especially this year with our drought situation that the pulse of water induced some really strong runs of fish earlier than would have ever happened this year. We are just now getting water levels back to normal with the past two weeks of rain.

     

    I can’t speak for further west of the Oak but from there to Sandy the angler usage has been heavy. A large portion of the anglers are from out of state. So we can assume there has been an uplift economically to Monroe and an Orleans county.

     

    During the meetings NYPA also discussed usage of the canal during the summer season with not only the western canal towns, but also the east side of Rochester to look at programs (summer kids and adult fishing derby’s, and other water related festivities) to get awareness of the canal as a resource for families to enjoy.

     

    DEC was also present and I and others raised the issue of PFR’s. If raising the popularity of the LO trib fishing works, access could become an issue. DEC stated they would be pursuing more PFR’s especially along Sandy since it runs a long way from the lake to Holly.

     

    This might also improve the late season near shore trolling if they Crank this up in Sept at the Oak and Olcott as well as the pier fishing.

     

    So just getting started but early results look positive.

     

     

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  12. Thanks for putting this up Jerry. Lindsay and I were asked to be involved with the panel of stakeholders who met with NYPA to discuss this a year ago August.

    The panel confirmed along with elected officials from Orleans County how impactful the trib fishery was to the area from a tourism aspect so they decided to enact this pulse to local streams. I can tell you from personal experience the past three weeks it’s brought fish in bunches, and with it lots of fisherman from all over the NE US. Oak and Sandy are very busy. And the fishing has been good.




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  13. Don’t know Lucky. Maybe just to make it easy from a date perspective. I fished the river today. Steelhead showing down low hanging around the horde of salmon spawning. Fished the upper fly later and lots of spawners up there on gravel.

    Upper river not real busy except for Ellis cove. Few cars at trestle and sportsman’s. DSR was busy but this week they lowered the number of anglers by 100. Lots of
    room to fish, got schooled by two big dime bright bows. Saw some others caught. Definitely transitioning from the salmon crowd to the serious
    Steelheaders.

    I do know the hatchery takes early eggs and some later arrival fish eggs, so that might be the reason the LFZ is still closed.

  14. In all fairness with the extreme drought we had and warm water, my concern wasn’t about could the fish get to the hatchery but how would they do health wise in low warm water. Luckily while we didn’t get the rain we needed, we did get many cool and cold nights that lowered water temps into the 60’s in Sept. and down into the 50’s the past two weeks.

     

    Many years they can’t start egg take the week of the Columbus Day because water temps remain above 60 degrees.

     

    So we were fortunate to get those cold overnight temps into the 30’s for many days up in the Salmon River watershed.

     

    I’ve spent over 20 days on the water the last five weeks and I’m surprised by the number of salmon I’ve seen on local small tribs as well as the Salmon river. I didn’t expect to see the numbers I’ve seen this year after three years of stocking cuts. However with three years 17-19 of high fall and spring water I truly think we have a much greater natural population of fish than I ever imagined.

     

    I hope DEC can get to their king clipping program next spring. I think now more than ever we need to truly understand what the impact is of wild fish so the state can understand if we are recovering the forage numbers to return to traditional stocking numbers.

     

    There are tons of salmon spawning in the lower salmon river. Way more than I think many of us expected to see. I haven’t been in the upper spawning gravel for a couple weeks, but would figure since so many fish made it to the hatchery it would be loaded as well.

     

    Certainly a much bigger run after the lower return last year. Including our local streams.

     

     

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  15. Here’s the unofficial word from the hatchery ( obviously they want to ...have to announce this) but from reliable sources sounds like they met their king salmon egg take in three days. No idea what the goal was (haven’t heard what that number is ) but they are finished

     

    Coho’s are next and they have a huge group of coho’s in the hatchery and expect to easily meet their egg take goals.

     

    Word from some acquaintances who worked the egg take they sampled some really nice big fish. And from the cohos I’ve caught and have seen caught we have a nice healthy group of fish that many believe are a little larger than usual.

     

    So despite the low water and heavy fishing pressure the hatchery experienced a solid run of kings and cohos and will be in the process of raising them for next season.

     

     

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  16. DavidA it’s unbelievable that the Salmon crowd historically has been the black eye of the fall trib fishery. It’s seems to have never gotten better. Although I truly see more ethical anglers these days. More for sure after the salmon season.

    I’ve been in meetings with Trib stakeholders and DEC to discuss the never ending failure of this type of behavior for decades. Law enforcement CO’s can and will hand out tickets for littering but of course they have to witness it first. It’s sadly a losing battle and I would be willing to bet most of these folks don’t throw their trash on their lawns or living rooms.

    In 1999 near when I got out of the lake guiding business and having been a river angler all my life, I decided I was going to get a group of the stakeholders together and we were going to put an end to this nonsense. We formed and international group (Canadians and US river fisherman) and our charter was to educate those poor souls who didn’t know how to or prove to those that didn’t care that a king salmon would bite a bait, lure, or fly and one didn’t need to snag them. This was five years after snagging had been outlawed.

    We met on a January snowy day at the Braddocks Bay hotel (many on here know the place). Carload of guys from Canada, and NY and we formed in this one meeting the Lake Ontario Steelhead Association. LOSA. A United international group.

    We had some of the top fly fishers ( one was on the US fly fishing team) some of the best gear guys from both shores float, and hardware guys, including one of the premier two hand casters in the country.

    For nearly 10 years we ran on the water seminars every spring up in the salmon river and had up to 60 participants per event working with our experts on all methods of trib fishing. The strategy was to teach as many as we could in hopes of them passing it on.

    We folded our group 10 years after the start up with simply an EPIC failure to meet our goals. We did lots of habitat work, stream clean ups, and took the proceeds from our seminars to push equipment back to DEC like office supplies printers copiers, gas cards for the technicians doing the trib creel census work, but as far as the big idea that we were going to fix the salmon season mess........ epic failure. KO’d.




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  17. Additionally I have spent the last 22 years fishing the most heavily regulated King Salmon fishery on the planet. Alaska. I’m sure some who read these pages have experienced what I’m talking about.

     

    You’ve saved your pennies for years to make that one trip of a life time to the Kenai where I’ve personally caught 50+ pound kings. You have a guide and a week of fishing the big river all lined up. You are excited beyond words. You board your 6 am flight out of Rochester arriving at Ted Stevens airport in Anchorage late afternoon and while you were in the air, they closed the king salmon fishery.

     

    That’s what happens to fisheries that depend on wild fish. (Like our Canadian brothers who depend heavily on wild reproduction of salmon and steelhead because they have the habitat on the north shore to produce a viable sport fishery) So why they shut down natel areas up these rivers, yet Not the entire river.

     

    And yes that’s why we absolutely need our hatchery system to be successful and nobody knows that more than the DEC. They monitor fish movement to the hatchery and water conditions with Brookfield every day, my friends at DEC are In countless meetings every week to assess the situation to include any and all emergency measures if needed.

     

    I doubt you scrutinize your dentist, surgeon, or airline pilot on how to do their job. These folks are scientists, let’s trust them to do their job first.

     

     

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  18. The thing with natural reproduction it can and has happened in any river or stream that male and female chinooks can find suitable spawning environments. But to date unless DEC has an annual scientific method/program to measure the success of Wild Vs Stocked yearly they won’t “over regulate” the Fall River fishery. And think about it ... it could spill over to the lake.

     

    If they clipped all stocked salmon every year (expensive, requires man power, and some what dangerous putting those little salmon through the trailer, yet much safer than doing the clipping by hand) And had a program like they do with involving anglers collecting coho noses etc. by having a trusted diary program where anglers are willing to participate and collect data on if every salmon they caught was clipped or not could they accurately put a number to wild vs stocked.

     

    That would involve all of us through the salmon fishing season lake and trib. Would be great right, think of the data that could be collected. And hard accurate data drives their decisions.

     

    You might ask how does regulation spill over on the lake. If DEC HAD to depend on wild stocks, there could be slot limits on kings. You could be under regulation to release all wild female salmon on the lake and tribs, salmon creel changes on both lake and tribs, closed seasons etc etc etc.

     

    Since we are no where near that, the state isn’t going to over regulate any part of the fishery. They had planned to start clipping hatchery fish again this spring but do to COVID-19 had to scrap those plans.

     

    Could this happen some day. Only if there was #1 enough budget money which we all know isn’t likely to happen in our seriously broke state, and increased man power which the DEC has failed to be able to hire (because of the YOY budget constraints).

     

    So we move on as we have. But if some of these programs could ever be launched with greater involvement with the stakeholders ( all of us), we’ll have to work together. Be great if we could get there now.

     

     

     

     

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  19. Whaler I lived at 7 Bayview Dr for a few years mid 80’s and also docked my boat at Burger Park. If you are a long time bay guy you must have known Eddie Burger.

     

    Started guiding when Pete Sheldon was running a boat out of his Bayview drive house.

     

    Scott is friends with my long time fishing buddy Gratson who I still fish with these days. Scott and his dad ran out of Sandy and had a boat near my friend Charlie Chick. Don’t know Scott at all but I know he’s been in the game a long time. And is respected by his peers. As far as Brian I know his wife very well as she used to work for my brother in law Dr Dan. She knows me best by my lousy teeth.

     

    I’ve been involved with both the lake and trib fishery since the late 60’s started by catching trout and salmon wading Russell Station as a teenager. Past president of the Western Lake Ontario Charter Boat Assoc, ( 22 years an active USCG licensed Capt.) and sat on the NYS sport Fishing Council. Was on staff and wrote a column for the Original Great lakes Fisherman mag and for seven years was the LO editor of New York Sportsman magazine.

     

    Having said all that, it doesn’t make me any more special than anybody else, but what all that activity did was get me a long time close to 35 year relationship with the DEC as they I guess, think I have a solid historical understanding of where we started... and find my input valid enough to involve me on our journey forward, along with other OG’s like Vince P and Bob S as a sounding board towards managing the fishery.

     

    I could care less if anybody on here likes me, but i don’t think it’s necessary to take personal shots at each other. It’s especially foolish if in the end we are all after the same thing a sound fishery. But that includes the entire landscape west to East open and trib waters. And I have definitely put my time in on fishing our waters. Meetings, seminars, workshops And on the water projects and have the respect of the guys running the show.

     

    It’s imperative that we achieve a sound year long fishery. You have to know that no matter how much lake guys or trib guys or both think one is more important than the other ... for the guys who manage it... it’s NOT. They have their eye on the target to have the whole program at the top of the game.

     

    So stating that NYS simply shuts down a marquee fishery, which by the way is now the busiest river in the US, and that those anglers have to step aside is disingenuous. No where on this board has anybody started a thread stating that lake guys should not catch steelhead because the tribs are managed for them.

     

    DEC knows better than anybody on this website what it takes to get their eggs. You have to trust they will make adjustments (and they have) if necessary to get fish to the hatchery. I got a report yesterday on how many salmon are at the hatchery right now. I’ll be happy to take your bets that they won’t be successful. And they have a plan B and it’s a solid plan.

     

    I’m involved in a bunch of programs with DEC to bolster the lake and inland trib fisheries. And have run projects with them and USF&W on our N.Y. waters to help improve the tribs that in the case of Lake Ontario has benefits to the open water fishery. Of course it’s not just me but a whole cast of stakeholders that work hard to make it better. These folks don’t just fish, they give back to the watershed like the 65,000 tress we’ve planted on the Salmon river in and around gravel spawning areas to reduce silt buildup for more successful spawning. I was personally a volunteer on the Oak, Sandy and Genny pen rearing for many years and now back involved with the Oak on steelhead.

     

    Many many stream cleanups to pick up after the slobs that unfortunately soil our river banks.

     

    Yankee Rick made a statement that the lake guys have had to pay the price never getting anything in return. And yes it’s tough to live through stocking reductions (like 1993 when salmon stocking was cut in half and not fully stocked again for over 7 years) and creel changes. BUT the trib community gave back two steelhead per man per day to the fishery back in 2004. And still 2 Vs 1 today and now two brown trout back to the lake per man per day. We weren’t forced to do that but realized to maintain the strength of the fishery for 12 months a year it was what was best overall. Especially for two species that got pressured on both the lake and the tribs essentially 12 months a year. We were forward thinking enough on what best benefits all. Not just rivers and streams.

     

    And the focus has to be for all, because that’s the page DEC is on... and will be forever. I suggest we all get in the same page.

     

    So Whaler Don’t Care if anybody likes me. But maybe you should know the person better before you judge them. I have an advantage with the long term relationship I have with the state. I see these threads going off the rails and I’m simply trying to make sure you have more up to date information.

     

    We have several documents you guys haven’t seen yet and it’s not our place to share them before DEC. For instance the 20+ rivers that get steelhead stocks that Gambler doesn’t think exists. If I share that I’ll make him look foolish. I wouldn’t do that on a public board. Don’t take my word for it ask one of the other panelists.

     

    If you folks are amped up so much that you want to take your shots, stop being keyboard cowboys, let’s meet for a drink and you can yell and scream all you want. I promise you I can give as good as I can get.

     

     

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  20. Yeah I fished out of two and three ports each year right till the middle sometimes to end of Oct. So I guess I should be honored that your old timer buddies felt they had to track my activity. But they weren’t docked next to me in Wilson or the Genny so they may have missed a few trips. Plus the six years I ran my boat out of Braddocks from my house on the bay. Either way thank god I was able to manage all that loss for 22 years.

     

    At the end of the day Gambler I don’t believe I’ve ever taken a personal shot at you or your tackle business. Too bad you don’t have the class to debate our thoughts and I guess differences without getting personal. Especially since you don’t know me and candidly I you.

     

    But I guess that’s your character.

     

     

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