Sk8man

When the lampreys were very prevalent on Seneca and I used to winter fish for trout in my little white Whaler in the dead of winter the lampreys would attach themselves to the back of my boat....the way I discovered it was that they kept messing around under my transducer and showing up on the screen as moving objects. I kept a long very sharp filet knife at the back of the boat just for them....

The numbers of lakers and the size of them being caught is probably a function of many things such as: they may represent strong year classes in the past (many years ago in the case of the big ones) where the survival rate was very good in given years for whatever reason. Lake trout do not spawn in the streams as many trout species do so they may be less susceptible to the various predation forces operating there as well as diseases and chemical contaminants etc.. They also have a varied diet....much more so than some of the other varieties such as salmon and rainbows. I've found small sunfish, perch, and smallmouth bass inside them along with various bugs etc. over the years in addition to alewives and shiners (and in the past smelt). Once they are up to size they can compete with larger predators in the shallows also (especially in the Spring) without fear. They may be stronger genetically. When you add these things to those already mentioned it could add up to greater general populations of them avaailable. The thing I wonder about is are juveniles being caught frequently too? If not it could be a bad omen for the future because these big ones are the spawners....

I always have a sharp pair of scissors in the boat for that very reason I 've always figured 2 halves are better than a whole in that case....

Not sure yet ....small trolling motor issues.... Good luck if you fish it... Les

Not every fish near the bait is a trout either...the smallmouths get their share as well as others....stick with it in any case....best of luck. Les P.S. let us know how the charter goes....

The fish seem to still be in the 40-70 ft range along with concentrations of bait (usually by this time the bait breaks up and moves out deeper as do the fish and apparently they haven't moved out to the deeper water yet on Seneca or Canandaigua. Many folks are having a hard time getting the trout to hit though and it may be because they are chowing down pretty good at night with the available moonlight and with the bait in shallower they don't have to work hard or expend energy to get food so they aren't chasing lures etc. Just my "armchair" view....I'd keep trying in that depth range and hopefully you'll get some takers, and don't be surprised if you connect with browns in there too..

:smile: Ed....yeah I'll try to keep my ego under control....I have you as my role model

Early morning and late evening when the light levels are down....

Sure beats the 4.89 I paid recently in Canandaigua

It sounds as though there is something really wrong with the unit or the software. I'd contact them for instructions and send it back to them. For that kind of money you deserve to have them make it right.....seems that a lot of folks are having problems with that particular unit (or software). Good luck with it. Hope you did it through VISA or other credit card so worst case scenario you could have them go after Lowrance if they screw you around....Lowrance sure doesn't seem to be the same company (quality control wise ) as it was before they were taken over (or bought out)....

Wow! Thanks you made my day

Thanks Guff. You are exactly right... my buddy Jim lives out that way and we get it there. As usual you are right on target with your information bud. Good luck with the jigging...

I think Nautitroller is on the right track about the feeding phases and it could be an explanation of why the trout are still hanging with/near the bait in the early AM but won't hit on these other Finger lakes as well.