Big Water

Same here!!!!! No Ontario, No Erie, No Seneca.................I'm stuck with Kinzua or Raystown on a holiday weekend??????? Damn

rwtms, I started fishing Ontario this year and only have a 18.5' boat, but have lots of experience on Erie. I've got to say that I've had this boat in 5-6' waves on Erie and never felt like I was in serious danger. The real problem is traveling any distance when the waves get big. I never plan trips if they're calling for more than 1-3's since it takes a lot of the fun out of it. Stock up on Dramamine if you've never fished in rollers before. As mentioned, the depth and width of the boat matter a lot. It's also a good idea to have a kicker motor and a marine band radio. One warning, once you fish here, it spoils it for your regular haunts!!

Two weeks ago, I had one hit the diver at Ontario and cut the line to the spoon about 1" behind the knot. Didn't trip the dipsey and the line was 20# mono with a clean cut. I think I'll put some hooks on my dipseys from now on!!

WOW......I didn't see that coming since I don't follow NASCAR. Would another launch be better or would you recommend Cayuga? Seems like my timing is off again. What happened ????You give up on RAYSTOWN Hey Mark, Long time no hear. I PM'd you to see if you wanted to head to Ontario and didn't hear back from you, so I figured you were busy. I haven't given up on Raystown, but the pleasure bosters make me want to KILL. I also have lost enough hardware in that lake to stock a small store. You been doing good anywhere?

WOW......I didn't see that coming since I don't follow NASCAR. Would another launch be better or would you recommend Cayuga? Seems like my timing is off again.

I tried two posts that never showed up, so I'll try again!! I'm from PA and this whole NY scene is new to me. I like the stiffness of braid, so I'll probably go with 65# PP line if that helps. The tips on depth are much appreciated. I hope I don't have to reset the riggers too often because my electric downriggers aren't in yet (on order) and I'll be cranking by hand. I'm launching at Watkins Glen and was told that the area around the salt plant is good. Any recommendations on areas or presentations? Thx Doug

FF line?????? I'm running 30# PowerPro and flourocarbon leaders. Can the weed mats be seen so that I can avoid them? Is there any reason to stay in 70' or less of water up there? I'm assuming the fish are oriented more around temperature than structure so that I can troll anywhere in the thermocline. Should I pay more attention to bottom structure and troll the thermocline where it intersects the bottom? Thx

First year at the O also and I'll tell you it's addicting. I'm still having issues with Spin Doctors and have yet to land a fish on them. Tried various flasher/fly combinations and lead length to the flies, but no fish yet, only a few knock-offs. Once you get that first "viscous" hit and the line starts ripping, you'll be hooked too. Don't forget the sliders, cause they've done well by me. Last trip up a week ago, bright green spoons of various patterns did the trick.

Thanks MikeyP! I've sort of got used to the fleas this year at Ontario, unless I'm bringing in a salmon and they clog the line untill I can't reel any more. I've lost a number of nice fish that way. Hope to start to figure out Seneca because it's less than three hours from my place and I can do day trips right through late fall. Do people fish this lake year round since it doesn't freeze?

Hi folks, I'm heading to Seneca for the first time tomorrow and was wondering whether there is a site where I can get wave height. Ontario and Erie are supposed to get 4's and I figured Seneca would be a better bet, but I don't want to waste a trip. One other thing; are the grass mats that I read about floating around in the lake at random depths or are they mostly around the shores? Plans are to run riggers and dipseys w/ spoons and flasher/flys, but it seems like floating weed mats could be a real problem. Thanks, Doug

I'm getting the skippys off the hook quickly, handling very little and getting them back in the water quickly, but they're still going belly up. Any secret to reviving them? Tried swimming them back and forth, but that doesn't do the trick either. Is pulling them up from 50' to 80' down a death sentence? Seems like a waste of fish to release them. Thx Doug

Same problem here, so I'm assuming it's an acquired skill. Always get a few knock-offs but they aren't one tenth as productive as spoons or plugs. I get to the point where I think I'm wasting a line on them.

After a few days on the "O", I've decided to go to electric downriggers. Besides for the physical exertion, the time needed to reset the riggers is obviously going to be an issue, My question is; what are your recommendations for electric downriigers for an 18' boat? I've been looking at Cannon, Big John and Scotty and can't decide which will fit the bill. Scotty seem to be the cheapest, but are there down sides to their models? I'm looking for the most dependable and least cost downriggers for my situation. Any recommendations? Pros/Cons?

Right outside of the marina in 10' of water!

Been doing that with limited success. The real problem is when you're bringing in a fish and they ball up at the tip making it almost imposssible to real in. If wire reduces the problem, I'm willing to give it a try. You guys have a great fisherie up there and I'm looking forward to years of excellent fishing. Too bad it's 5 hours from my house. See you July 22-24.

You just answered my next question that I've been searching this forum for. FLEAS.........I saw that Andes pink line and a brand by Cabela's was supposed to help. If wire works, that's where I'm going. I spent wat too much time trying to get them off of my line last trip. If wire fixes that, I'm all over it. Thanks Tom!!!!!!

Thanks LongLine I realize I have a lot of learnin' to do and am having a blast. Since your talking up, I've got another question. I see a lot of folks run wire with dipsys. Since I can get down to 100+ feet with a magnum dipsy, is there another reason to run wire? Are these folks shooting for depths that can't be reached by a dipsy alone or is there something else going on? Since I've only got an 18' boat I've been using two riggers and two dipsy rods and was wondering if I need to add a wire rod in place of a dipsy. I'm also surprised at the strength of the currents in that lake. I don't have down speed on the balls, so I watch how far they are pulling back and have noticed that at times I can be doing 3 mph and the rigger wire is still going straight down. I try and adjust speed accordingly. It seems that trolling with/against/across the current yields different hit results too.

I've got to say, I'm glad I added Ontario to my regular stops. I made my third trip to Olcott on July 2nd and 3rd and can say I'm an expert at hooking fish! The problem is getting them in the boat. I'm seriously going 1 for 10 or less, but am starting to figure out the right drag settings and boat speed issues. Also not horsing them is helping. A third body in the boat would definitely help, because reeling and netting while my wife drives has been a challenge. Got several huge Steelhead this trip and a few small kings that went back to grow. Lost some fish that felt huge, but never got to see them. Anyway, after three trips I'm starting to notice something and wanted to bounce it off of you guys. When I hook up, I immediately mark a waypoint and have noticed that my hits are really clustered in a few areas outside of Olcott. Is it typical that a single area holds fish month after month while others don't? I realize that I pick up one or two outside of these areas, but with nowhere near the consistency. Maybe I just need to expand my trolls and find other hotspots, but I'm attracted to the "sure thing" which may not be good. Your thoughts??????

Lund SSS, Thanks for the welocme. I expected fishing to slow in the afternoon, but was amazed that they ALL left. Once I'm out, I'm there for the day but was starting to feel like a fool!!!!!!!!!! I've leaned a lot from searching here already. I was on the verge of going to snubbers because of all of the lost fish on braid, but the members talked me out of it. I've also learned to loosen the drag significantly. I was wondering how so many fish ran out 200-500 feet of line before you get them in. I'm somewhat familiar with big fish like musky or pike, but these salmon are in a different category. When I see others going 5 for 7 or 8 for 10, I knew I was doing something wrong because I'm more like 1 for 4. I'll see you guys at Ollcot this weekend to hone my skills.

Hi folks, I just found out about this forum and it looks like a great place to learn. I have hit the lake twice last month for the first time and love it. Nothing real big yet, but I've had some hits that about spun my boat around. I'll be back. I've got a couple of general question; 1) Both times I've been there, the boats were out till early afternoon and then the lake cleared off. I see in a lot of posts that people are fishing till noon or one o'clock and then calling it a day. Does fishing fall off drastically after noon or have they had enough for the day? I know I've yet to catch one later in the day and have had far fewer hits then. 2) How do you know when to run the lures close to the riggers (5-10') and when to stretch them back? Does it vary by time of day, time of year or just trial and error? Thanks, Doug