Capt Vince Pierleoni

Congrats Rob!

Sadly I heard of more of this yesterday than ever before. Just more of the deterioration of society. Less people willing to give permission, careless acts committed on public, and private tracts becoming too costly for most are all contributing to good people leaving the pursuit.

Please tell Pops congrats for me. That property acquisition sure has worked out for you and the fam.

Super cool buck! I love the unique ones. Tell Hunter Congrats!

I know it doesn’t always line up with your trawl findings but all species seem to be having no problem finding and eating giant, old alewives(wasted fish flesh?) . We have for weeks had some fouling of our lines by impaling alewives. Guys are encountering these extra large alewives at spawning sites as well Of course we are seeing other age classes of alewives but it seems like an uptick in the extremely large population. Stay well and get some rod time in for yourself. Lady O is heavy with 2 yr olds this year but the fight in the fish is extraordinary now that they are in full blown Summer pattern.

2012 was amazing. Not only the non winter but the 2 yr old yr class was the result of the largest wild hatch of Chinook the Lake has seen. 2018 was also very good due to strong survival of the 2yr old age class.

Agreed. 2 yr old Kings will dominate and be healthy. I had a 10lb returning “Jack” from last Sept aged by DEC because I was suspicious by it build that it was only a 1.5 yr old. Sure enough it came back at 1.5 yrs old! As for Kings feasting on that big alewife year class- lets hope so. It will even out the age structure and give this years alewife crop a shot at better survival. If not for King predation on alewife, this biomass would be a mess.

Looks like Yankee got into mixed age classes. Fish that have spawned will hold their spawning colors right into Spring. Males usually have more vivid coloring than the females. Some very nice specimens there.

Looks like an immature Atlantic.

I remember responding to his inquiries to moving his boat west temporarily several years ago. As it usually seemed to be the case, he was concerned about getting his visiting friends or family on fish. So sorry for this loss. Our deepest condolences to his family and close friends.

Rob I was late to the cellular game but Spypoint has a very economical plan for running a bunch of cams. I tried a couple of Tactacam reveals behind the house and pic quality is superior but not enough to get me to switch when running a bunch.

Good luck in Ohio Rob

Great thread and amazing ending for a father and daughter! Congrats to you and Mal !

There's two situations when he smiles ear to ear non stop 1) when he's taking our money at a tourney due to a high placing 2) When he's sitting in an all inclusive with his bride by his side and a drink in his hand. All other days they come out begrudgingly.

"Less is more" again this season Rob! Great buck!

Congrats to all who scored on legit trophies today. We are definitely seeing the hey day of NY whitetail hunting now as it pertains to antler beam health.

Agree! I dropped my archery buck head off at my taxidermist for a euro. He said he's had more 2.5 yr old bucks come in for mounts than ever and they are huge.

I recognize him from the tourney scene. For those of you that knew him and to family please accept our condolences. Rest in peace angler.

This is a common fallacy. 30 lbers were never "average". I fished a heavy schedule starting in 1985 and the best season we had for 30lb kings was 1989 with two dozen landed. Most of those were 30-32lbs and I was big on accurate scales as I've always been into record keeping. If we are being honest, no matter where we come in on which side of the debate is the size of age 3 Chinooks has changed very little over the course of 40 yrs. What HAS changed is the age structure of the mature Chinook population. The original strain of Chinook planted was predominantly represented by fish maturing at 3 1/2 years old. There was always some "jacks", males maturing at 1 1/2 years old, some males and females maturing in their 2nd year at 2 1/2 yrs old, and a small percentage maturing at 4 1/2 years old that usually resulted in exceptionally large specimens. Today, with the necessary movement towards using holding pens(due to the exploding number of predators at stocking sites) we are seeing a large uptick in Chinooks maturing in their 2nd year as 2.5 yr olds, usually 12-17lbs. I believe this is due to the protection and fast start by regular high quality feedings. It is the opinion of many that the vastly increased survival and the action they provide anglers is well worth the trade off. Now, this isn't ALL of the fish from any pen, just an increased number. 3.5 and 4.5 yr old Chinooks still contribute but in much smaller percentages because the intelligent angling pressure on both the NY southshore and the Ontario Canada Northshore has DRAMATICALLY increased. Everyone wants to target Kings(Chinooks) everyday, all season whenever they are even remotely within boating range. Networking and online information is at an all time high, the fleet on Lake Ontario has changed incredibly with large ocean built sportfishing vessels and modern trailerable rigs with large 4 stroke outboards capable of long ranges. Electronics are better than ever, line is better than ever, hooks are better than ever--the pressure on Chinook is in a completely different realm than it was in the "discovery years" in the 80's. Daily targeting of Chinook April--September did not happen back then. So what does this mean to this conversation? It stands to reason that "the fleet" is cropping off Chinook that may be destined to become mature at 3.5 or 4.5 years old--well before that. There is no right or wrong with this--more people are enjoying the fishery with greater competence than ever before--it just is what it is. Out sized specimens can still exist but with a greater proportion maturing earlier due to fast growth or adaptation coupled with the intense pressure now on any potential older maturing Chinooks it is the new normal. Some suggest cutting stocking to produce bigger fish but the fishery wouldnt result in bigger fish because of extra bait per fish. It would result in bigger fish if the action was slow enough to make many hang it up, seeking other fishing opportunities elsewhere. This would leave that tiny population of potential "30 lbers" to survive their 1st year, 2nd year, and ultimately their 3rd or 4th Summer to reach their ultimate size. Again, in our current fishery, this woulld still remain a small percentage that would even have the potential. Many if left unharvested would still mature in their 2nd year. The Lake is a tale of two strains of Chinook. The natural strain is adapted to our Lake and trib environment. This population experiences wild swings as some hatches are great and others poor. The majority of these fish originate from the Salmon river and Eastern tribs. Early in their life they are caught all over the lake. From mid Summer on any maturing fish will be in the Eastern end of Lake Ontario. Anglers fishing the central and Western end of the South shore are dependent on stocked fish to provide a returning fishery of Chinook. With todays intense pressure on Salmon lakewide, and predation by warmwater predator fish and Cormorants at release sites, this number has become much less significant. This is the new normal. For anglers relying on stocked sites for their returns, the best course of action is to provide the best pen projects possible along with preventing cormorants from eating the released fingerling Chinooks before they are done smolting. Yes, of course another approach is to bump up stocking numbers to provide a higher escapement rate for the released fingerlings.