Reel Doc

If the gf made it through that she's the best keeper of the day.....next trip she better get dibs on the first hit of the day.

I'm thinking if we can't catch Browns on Cayuga then take the short drive to Ontario.

What were water temps like out there? Hovering around 40 Sunday at Sodus

Thanks for the great pictures. Hopefully he doesn't try to eat the fish. I had a client about 10 years ago who was an avid ice fisherman on the North end of Cayuga lake. Any pike or pickerel they caught he would promptly amputate the head and chew it like rawhide. Of course, the owner asks me during the appointment, "Is that ok if he eats the heads Doc?" I think my answer was sure if he chews it well, but don't let him kiss you good night until he brushes his teeth.....

Nicely done. I figured someone was fishing out of Taughannock yesterday as the lake looked calm. Was there much traffic at the launch?

Sorry to hear you lost a good friend. Just added this gal as a pup last Summer. She's always willing to go.

After numerous hands on tutorials with Chowder the past several years, and spot on boat upgrades this Winter by L&M I felt ready to get the call up from Triple A Cayuga to Major League Ontario. Probably not the best morning to choose for the first effort as the weather wasn't pleasant, but I went in with minimal expectations and figured at least some reconnaissance around Sodus would be worthwhile for the future. Had my four legged first mate along but had to promise her an Apres Fishing Field Romp! It was nearly 8:30 by the time we passed the lighthouse, turned West, and set lines. Water temps in 15-25 FOW were steady between 39.5 and 40.5. Kept speeds mostly between 2.2&2.5. For over an hour had steady fires, 2 good fish and the rest small. Second half of the trip slowed down with only a couple little ones but the East wind kept building so pulled lines before 11 and headed in. Needless to say I was ecstatic with some action despite the conditions and considering it was my first at bat it was great to avoid the strike out.

Awesome!!

Doesn't get any better than that!! If your son is willing to fish in March wait until the warmer weather!!

Go to Taughannock....your best bet

Agreed!!

Looking good. I wondered if you were there when I docked midday but didn't want to start yelling "Hey Doc", especially with the current climate in the country. I was pulling out the White Wellcraft with the dark green pickup around noon. Found salmon until the sun burned through then had a good time with this Northern. First one I've caught on Cayuga.

NP Pretty stout West wind here today but forecast says it will ease up somewhat for tomorrow. You'll know at the launch how to handle it but might find hugging the West shore will give a smoother ride than the East side. Be sure to let us know how you do. Tight lines!!

Well, since I'm a rookie to shallow water trolling I looked back at old posts on this site for Spring fishing and picked up a couple of Bay Rat short shallow divers, S3's, and long shallow divers. Sunday only used the shorts and S3's as they did the job. Seriously sharp trebles too as while taking a treble out from a snarky salmon the second treble on the lure managed to gore my thumb. Definitely a faster wake up call than my coffee. One of those, "Damn, I hate when that happens", moments. Swedish Fish, I'm not sure it matters what direction you go just stay shallow and fish should find you. For me the lines off the big board out to the side of the boat outperformed the chute line at least 3 to 1.....but as mentioned above, first time fishing in such shallow water since my college days casting from the discharge at Milliken. Good luck Saturday.

Nice catch, and with all those hits/catches certainly loads of fun with constant action! If memory serves, you were boxing out with Browns and Pike this time last year. Have you changed techniques or is the lake fished out of Browns and Pike?!

Funny you say that as there were 3 trailers in the lot when I got there and I passed 2 boats on the East side early on then didn't see anyone until I went back to the dock. By then easily 15 rigs there. I'm guessing you all went to the South end?? Anybody find Browns?

Late night working with the horses so didn't get on the water until after 8. Went out of Taughannock and focused on running stickbaits off a big board in shallow water. Never tried this before but with the new autopilot working I was relying on it to keep the boat from getting grounded. Well, it worked out as while setting the first line it was barely 50 feet behind the boat and the first salmon of the day slammed it. Ran Bay Rats in greens and blacks in 20fow or less and 20 minutes after the first had a double. The second fish was a good one as the drag was singing but unfortunately was gone before I got to it. Did half a dozen circles around the hot spot and pulled in fish every time, some nice salmon and a couple sturdy lake trout. One of the salmon had a big lamprey mark, first one I've seen on a Cayuga fish in quite a while. Hoping it was a rare find. The sun came out around 10:30 and the bite shut off but already had plenty for dinner, released a few, and made it home by noon so could enjoy a nice afternoon with my wife. A perfect Sunday all the way around!!

That's incredible!! Thanks for sharing

I agree but maybe they worked a larger opening in the ice. When I was a kid I ice fished with family on Lake Memphremagog in Northern Vermont. They would have a long rectangular opening in the ice along 2 sides of the shanty so 2-3 people could fish on both sides. Main Target was perch and smelt but when a trout, salmon or pike got on you had a chance to bring it up. Toughest part I remember was they would scoot back and forth across the bottom of the opening and get off as the ice was 2-3 feet thick.

Sounds like your boat is a totally different setup from mine. If you are serious about that kind of upgrade just send out a PM to Hank, L&M is his handle on here. I'm sure he'll help you sort out possible options that could work.

Lowrance Outboard Hydraulic sku 11748-001 coupled with Lowrance HDS live. The HDS units have a rebate right now, check their website to see when it ends

When it had slipped back the entire boat was that distance back on the trailer so the outboards hung off the back end of the trailer. All that weight would cause even more slide back when taking the boat out of the water. A couple times last summer when disconnecting from the truck the front end of the trailer would pop up a foot in the air. Thankful I never had to take it very far as a disaster waiting to happen. However, after leaving it with Hank I now know how to get to Lake Ontario so longer trips might start to happen soon.