Reel Doc

It is saying a lot about climate change when the ice is sketchy at Magog. Did some ice fishing up there in the 70's and ice was 3 plus feet thick!! Fond memories as a young teen catching perch and smelt in a solid wood shanty in below zero temps. The wood stove kept us warm and the stories from the adults kept us laughing all day. Enjoy that free time in retirement to get out on the water. I look forward to the luxury of choosing to fish on calm days rather than hoping all week for nice weekend weather.

Wanted to get one last trip out of Taughannock before the lake rises and the boat won't fit under the bridge. Good timing to get out today as lake is up nearly 2 feet since last trip. Made it under with a solid 6 inches to spare. Weather forecast was spot on for strong winds so the game plan was fish tight to the West shore. Started about a mile North of the Boy Scout camp and went South for the morning. Lakers started things off hitting downrigger spoons, then some decent sized Landlocked Salmon followed suit. Marked some groups of fish several times but it was not a day to go Crazy Ivan as the wind was too strong. Lines on the board were quiet until a Brown took a stick off the 2 color. The clouds broke up and the late morning sun seemed to shut off the bite, but we considered the morning a success, even if my first mate slept for most of the trip......

Those Connecticut lakes are right at the top of New Hampshire so I suspect nice scenic fishing there. Never been but spent time a little West of there fishing with relatives in Northern Vermont streams and beaver made ponds for wild brook trout. Also a few trips on Memphremagog. New England states do have some nice freshwater fisheries and then there are always ocean spots nearby too. Thanks for reaching out with some info. Post us a pic next time you hook up with one of those New Hampshire Landlocked salmon.

Being a UConn alum, I know you had quite a drive to get up to Ontario. Glad to hear your persistence paid off in some fish AND you made it back to Port safely. Where are there landlocks in NorthEast Connecticut?

Don't you all get a little nervous adding another knot and create another line change? When the wire curls start from rod break downs I figure it's a signal that it's time to cut back a few feet of wire and retie to the terminal swivel.

Email sent. Let me know if not received or unable to open the pdf

Attaching the summary of results for Cayuga. If anyone is interested in the entire report, send me an email address and I'll forward the entire 40 plus page document. It includes results for Cayuga, Owasco, Skaneateles, and Otisco. I encourage everyone who fishes the Fingerlakes to become an angler cooperator. It isn't hard to do and the data becomes more accurate if additional anglers make reports.

Agreed Cayuga fish look and act healthy. Have only noticed one old lamprey mark on a fish caught this Winter. Only challenge this Winter has been finding Browns and Landlocked Salmon of any size or any quantity. Lake trout numbers seem strong and in the past year the number of smaller fish with no fin clips, (16-20 inches) that have made it into the boat has risen from very rare to one of every 8-10 fish that size. Perhaps some naturally hatched fish are surviving, or someone at the hatchery forgot to clip a couple batches.....

Great start to the morning as moved out under the bridge at Taughannock. Lake level is up almost a foot since last week so the typical March draw up is underway. Started in skinny water similar to last week, but after 90 minutes of trolling had just one hit from an undersized Brown that grabbed a spoon off the rigger. An hour later and nothing else happening. Fishing with my first mate Frankie today. It's our custom to share fresh berries, (Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries) with every fish caught, so after getting only one strawberry over half the morning, she was giving me dirty looks. Time to switch to plan B. Pulled in the Big board, headed for the middle of the lake, dropped the Balls to 100 plus and sent out a Dipsey with a fly. Thank goodness for plan B, as a bunch of lake trout were happy to provide some entertainment and Frankie had plenty of berries so I'm not in her doghouse!!

That's a great view from the office!

Yup

BTW, While cleaning one of the lake trout, found an 8 inch perch in it's stomach. The laker barely measured 21 inches. I thought that was quite a meal for a fish that size

After surviving his first trolling trip in January, (see Cayuga 1/15), Roderick joined me for a second go at it. Turned out to be a very pleasant morning on the water starting with no lines no waiting at the dock. As mentioned in the Long Pt thread, lake is similar level to previous years so no problem getting out, just trim up the motor. Tried the South end first and marked fish but only 1 Laker to show for our efforts. Meandered North on the East side and picked away with a number of 3-5 lb class lake trout along with 2 Browns and a landlocked that were under 20 inches. Stickbaits on Flatlines, 1 and 2 colors took fish and rigger with a copper backed Stinger brought 4 to the net Finished the trip by crossing to the West side and dropping the riggers down past 100 in the middle of the lake. The 26 inch Laker in the photo, (have to work on fish photo positioning!) was biggest of the day and gave Roderick a stout and different style fight compared to those caught in the skinny water. Might just make a troller out of him yet!! Surface water temps were consistently 40-41 all morning. Can't think of a better way to spend a weekend morning!!

Handline in 600 feet of copper? That's a chore on a reel!! God bless you.

Why single strand copper vs the woven? Would think the later would be easier on the hands and less likely to snap. Thanks for that video, but also agree that initial hit and classic laker head shake would give your hands and arms some tingles......I'm thinking I for one need to stick to a rod and reel.

Now that would be the video all of us would love to see!!

Les, do you have a U-Tube video to show us how this is done? Looks like there's no handle to reel in the line. Need strong hands and fingers for sure. A freshwater version of Old man and the Sea!!

Have a 1 color and a 2 color core on Penn Rival 20LW reels carrying long 10lb Flouro leaders and braid backing. The 1 Color is on an 8 foot Great Lakes rod and the 2 color has an 8&1/2 foot Eliminator rod, both rated medium 12-20lb line. Great setups off boards, especially if the weather dictates a little more depth than a flat line can deliver. $90 for the pair located in Seneca Falls