Second Chance 22

You're right- we should have taken a picture. I thought of parking them in with my rig, but we left before they did, so that wouldn't have worked.... my other ideas weren't civil so I resisted my less than legal impulses...... As far as the repair/replacement of the north end launch is concerned, I have no idea how or why that launch was picked by Parks and Recreation for upgrade. There are several other state launches in the Finger Lakes that are in much more dire need of repair (Sampson comes to mind). Also, I know that state construction projects are budgeted years in advance, so the money might have approved by a prior administration ( Spitzer planned an spending alot of money on much needed State Park repairs) For what it is worth, that stinger actually takes more lakers than bows.

Also fished on Sunday morning. Launched at 5:30 when there were only two rigs in the parking area. Ran North to my not so secret hot spot..... Ran a spoon program. Went 19 for 21. Catch included 15 'bows, 2 browns and 2 lakers. The two fish that we lost were bruisers.... Finished second out of 10 FLTA boats participating and tied with the Iron Duke crew for third place in the year long standings. Tied with them for the second year in a row- who could imagine that we would fish dead even over the last 20 club events..... A HUGE thumbs down to the person that parked there bass rig sideways in the parking area- taking up 4 badly needed parking spaces. (others had to park on the road, and who knows how many just gave up and left due to lack of parking).

Effective tomorrow, Saturday October 1st, the boat launch at Allen Treman state marine park on Cayuga Inlet will be closed for the season to help prevent the spread of the invasive plant hydrilla. The city of Ithaca has asked that all boats refrain from using Cayuga Inlet for any purpose. Hydrilla forms dense matts with vine like runners up to 25 feet in length- it's far worse than the (horrible) weeds we already have. As always, it is imperative that boaters remove all vegetation from our boats and trailers each and every time we fish.

Mike, we ran 3 rods off of downriggers (no cheaters) and 3 rig rods. Since you only had 17 lures in the water and we had 18, it's no wonder we beat you! (our seven pound 'bow didn't hurt either). I'm not sure if this 3 rod rule is a blessing or a curse- it's alot of extra work. See you on Keuka- farm pond home of the two pounders.

This DEC report should answer many of your questions. http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_ ... klad10.pdf Short answer is that there are too many lakers.

While the tournament is headquartered in Seneca Falls, the announced launch point is Cayuga Lake State Park. Walmart Bass League entries are limited to 200 boaters and 200 co-anglers. I don't think the launch at Cayuga Lake State Park can accomodate 200 trucks and trailers- overflow will probably start (6AM) from Dean's Cove. Most of the bass pros launch around 4:30 and sit in the way for the maximum amount of time. ARGGGG! I expect 99% of the boats will run dead North- I've seen it before. Up near the causeway will probably be a madhouse, the rest of the lake will hardly notice the bassers. Anyone wishing to fish the Red Cross out of Dean's would be smart to launch at O dark thirty- or after the bass missles leave at 6AM.

Red Cross rule number four states that "No pre-fishing before contest starts are allowed." Does anyone know their definition of pre-fishing? An hour? A day? Last year? Please help. ( I know I'm not the only one with this question). Thanks.

This derby is NOT on all of the Finger Lakes. Seneca, Cayuga and Keuka may be fished as well as the Chemung River, Cayuta Lake and Waneta/Lamoka.

The proposed changes can be viewed on the DEC website at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/73762.html The website provides instructions on how to submit input and quick email links to easily submit comments online. Deadline for public comment is June 24, 2011.

Yes, there was a good run of rainbows in the Catherine Creek this year- first year in recent years that the weather was cold enough to hold the main run in the creek until after April 1st. Best run in forty years? no way- not even close. Seneca is suffering from elevated lamprey numbers- the wounding rate is quite high, especially for fish on the South end. Look at some of the Seneca fishing reports from last March- some of the landlocks have holes in them the size of silver dollars. Hopefully the new lamprey weir near the "power plant" in Montour will block future lamprey migrations. If the weir proves effective, upstream lampride treatments will in time be unnecessary. Our dear friend Obama slashed funding for the lampride program (for the entire Great Lakes, Finger Lakes and Lake Champlain) starting in 2012. This years treatment may be the last treatment for who nows how long.

I used to have this problem. Stinger scorpian stock hooks are junk.The bigger the fish, the more likely you are to lose it with a stock hook. Replace them with a quality hook such as the Owner "super needle point" stinger treble (ST-36BC) in size 4. Your percentage of fish hooked and landed on scorpians will soar.

I run my rigs like Sk8man describes with a few subtle differences. I don't run any wire, my entire main line is at least 30lb. mono. You need this strength to deal with the large weed pods found on the Finger Lakes. Also, if you are lucky enough to hook say three 8 pound lakers at once, you will be glad to have the 30lb. line. You need the larger diameter to deal with fleas. I have tried braid, absolutely no luck- it finds its way into the spring clips and causes horrible tangles. I quit using bead chains several years ago. Small barrels swivels are stronger and last far longer. It's not fun losing several lures at once because your bead chain breaks. The barrel swivels need to be small enough to fit through your rod guides and also the "leveler" on your reel. My leaders are high quality fluoro. A Penn 309 is way to small and lacks the capacity needed to spool enough line. The Penn 49 doesn't have the "guts" to stand up to this kind of fishing- I have a couple of broken ones that anyone can have for parts if they are interested. I use Penn 320 or 340 GTI's for my rigs. (clickers don't hold up, but otherwise they work OK). As Sk8man mentions, it is real important to evenly space your leaders, so that you can return your rig to the desired exact depth. Also, if I am running multiple rigs, they are set at different depths to better cover the water column. I know people who can "feel" the lake bottom their weights- I'm not in their class. As our lakes are getting clearer, any technique that gets your lures away from the boat works better than running them close. Some people run their Seth Green rigs off of floats. I have also seen them run off of outriggers and Otter boards. Hope this helps.

Thanks.

The folks at the National Lake Trout Derby want to know what you think. Please take the online survey at: http://www.laketroutderby.org I have been trying to get them to change the 6 AM Saturday start time for several years now (without success). I think it should be earlier. Dawn is around 5AM and almost everyone is out there and fishing before 6 AM. (There has been some talk of DQing anyone who fishes on Saturday before the official start time). Things will not change unless you voice your opinion. Anyway, please take the survey. Thanks.

Bump

Brian had his best day ever on the lake (numbers wise) boating 64 lakers. He found Sawbellies inshore and spawning near Gold Seal and the lakers were stacked up there. On a sad note, Ron Youngs died last week due to an aneurism.

We too caught our fish from the bluff south. Went 7 for 7 on lakers. Any color michigan stinger worked, as long as it had white/green glow tape on it.

It's always nice to read a great report. Just one question. Long Point is in Cayuga County and the Sheriff has closed the Cayuga County lake waters to boating. Why were you out there?

Trolling? Jigging? How deep did you find the fish?

Your absolutely right that many things have impacted the ecosystems of our lakes during the last 15 years of so. None of our lakes are as productive, especially in terms of forage, as they used to be. Walleyes would depend on the same limited forage base that trout do. As far as jumping to conclusions goes, please read the angler diary summary reports for Owasco Lake. You will see that my opinions reflect the writings of fisheries biologists that know a whole lot more about this than I do.

You gents that would like to see walleyes in Cayuga need to be d*mned careful what you ask for. Walleyes destroyed the rainbow and brown fishery in Owasco and their wholesale introduction into Cayuga would probably produce the same results. So if you don't want to catch landlocks, rainbows and browns; feel free to stock walleyes.

88, the reason you don't see any adult (spawners) lampreys killed by the lampricide is because they all die after spawning anyway. The treatments are in later in summer after the spawning run. The lampricide is designed to kill the young lampreys which live in the stream mud for years before going to the lake to do their damage. I was told that DEC tried to dip up thousands of dead and dying lampreys after the last treatment in the canal to prevent other wildlife from eating them, but you can probably appreciate how hard that would be to do before the gulls got any of them. And you are right, its not good for the gulls to eat them. It will be interesting to see if the lamprey barrier installed last fall on Catherine Creek blocks the lamprey spawning run this year.

Cayuga Inlet has not been treated in years. A diesel fuel spill their killed just about everything there about 10 years ago. I have been told that DEC now removes the lampreys at the Inlet fishway when they return to spawn. On Seneca, Catherine Creek will be treated this Summer.

Just a reminder that use of life jackets is mandatory until May 1st on watercraft less than 21 foot in length. I spoke with 15 to 20 boaters (mostly perch fishermen) at the Canandaigua Marine Park on Sunday who were totally ignorant of this requirement.

The boaters were Robert MacIntosh, Paul MacIntosh and Carl Burley. Their small flat bottomed boat started taking on water. Their bilge pump didn't work. Their main boat motor quit. While trying to manuever with their trolling motor they hit a wave wrong and capsized. Robert climbed up on the hull of the overturned craft- the other two when to shore. Robert was observed by passersby who reported the incident to the Sheriffs Department. The Sheriffs Patrol rescued Robert from the craft and the other two from shore where they had been located by the State Police clinging to rocks. They were treated at Schuyler Hospital and released. Thank God their life jackets worked!!!!