Tigerhunter

Otisco has some really nice fish in it but unfortunately I feel the same issue that was brought up in another recent thread has produced a lot of "unrealistic claims/sightings".

People that don't have experience with seeing and handling large fish tend to see a 30" fish and freak out because they are used to fishing for "smaller" fish. I feel that claims of 50" fish typically come from anglers that aren't fishing for Muskies. As you know, after seeing/handling some decent fish you are better able to judge size.

Anyways, I'm just stating what I personally feel from experience at the lake. Could there be a world record in there? Sure, there could be in any lake they are stocked, nobody knows what the biggest fish in the lake is and if it will ever be caught. I think it's a quality fishery but I am quite doubtful it will pump out a record, especially when you compare New York's average tiger catches to a state like Utah where they consistently catch mid-upper 40" tigers. I'm not saying that New York doesn't have them or there aren't many here because I know for a fact there are some really nice fish here.

I think 20 lb fish are plentiful around New York State but to hit that 30 lb mark, takes a serious jump in size, not only length but also girth. Then to hit a 40 lb fish..... I can only dream of that!!! The biggest fish I have caught was maybe around 25 lbs or so, and to experience a fish of that size was incredible. When I saw thy fish coming in and also when I was releasing it, I was in awe. I hadn't seen a fish that big and really had no idea how big it was. That being said, I haven't seen a fish nearly as girthy as that in otisco, are there some in there, I think so, but to add another 15 pounds on top of that, I would be shocked.

Don't get me wrong, I really hope I am wrong because it is my favorite lake and I've been fishing it for years and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. There are nice fish there but I personally don't think a world record will be coming out of there.

Unfortunately I can't help much in the trolling department but my best advice is to never give up, you can fish all day and not see anything and then all of a sudden when you are daydreaming- wham!

Also, I'm not sure how familiar you are with musky but it would be good to check out the sticky on releasing if you haven't. I believe it discusses common release tools, methods, all sorts of other good stuff.

Good luck!!!

That's one heck of a fish! What did it measure?

Great job guys! That is a THICK fish you got earlier in the week

We've gotten quite a few nice fish running 6-8" baits but this year has been way off for what we are used to there.

Even the bass were off somewhat, I would say the bass were above average this year but there were spots that you used to be able to sit on and get hit after hit with smallies and not even see a fish.

Fall tigers have been a little more tricky for us but we don't fish them as much and our normal spots are choked out with weeds so I'm not sure if that's a good observation or not.

It's only about 1/2 mile extra and there is plenty of room. I still use the marina but very time I wonder why.........

I've used both, I'm partial to the marina only because its closer to where I fish (not by much) but it's a tight turn around/launch and parking can be a pain. The campground is easier to launch but you have to travel a little farther in the boat, which may or may not matter to you.

Looks like they've been eating good, pretty chunky!

Good to see you getting some action and getting a pic of the sunbather is awesome!

Great pics!

The minimum was just raised within the last year from 30" to 36". I would have preferred higher too but I will take 36" over 30" any day. The sad part was/is the lack of education with some anglers.....this past winter we were talking to a few guys that setup in between our shanty and our tip ups (go figure) and we told them we caught a few small ones in the upper 20" category. They asked if we kept them and we explained the rules and how we are catch and release, not looking for a meal. They proceeded to tell us the day before they kept a few low 20"ers and they thought the rules were the same as pickerel.

As far as the measuring, I made a bump board out of a 1x6 and a 48" metal rule from Lowe's. they make folding plastic ones which are nice but a little pricey in my eyes for what it is (I understand the price behind it but I would rather buy more lures). The bump boards are probably the most accurate but you have to wet them first and you have to take the fish out of the water.

Also available are measuring sticks you hold next to them as your are releasing. Basically looks like a 1" piece of PVC marked up. I feel they aren't as accurate because you are potentially/hopefully 40-50" away from the nose where the measurement is being taken. I may go this route because as long as I'm within an inch it really doesn't matter to me and they take up next to no room.

I've also thought about making some sort of marking on the side of my boat where I could get a quick measure while releasing.

Good luck, hopefully they will start putting the feed bag on soon!

Nice tiger!

Awesome fish!!!

Thanks Chad, I am definitely in favor of that! We have been doing a whole lot of late night viewing of musky videos- it's never too soon to get them started right?

Congrats Chad- she a beauty!!!

That's a great pic-nice fish!

Yeah I hear ya- you can't help it that they occupy similar areas now. As far as releasing it sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what should be done, main points being and somebody correct me if I'm wrong here:

-don't overplay the fish

-never hold the fish vertically

-unhook them in the water if possible

-try to do water releases when the water is warm

-if a picture is necessary, have the camera all ready so you can snap the pic quick and return to the water

-when holding the fish waiting for it to take off don't pull it backwards and aim it into the waves if possible

-there are physical attributes such as color and etc. that let you know if they are over stressed but someone else will have to get into that because I don't know enough about it to write it

Good luck out there and maybe I will see ya when the water cools down some....btw- awesome fish guys!!!

Trevor

Once the water hits 80 degrees I will not even fish for them....it's just too tough on them and too hard for me to safely release them- I may lower it to somewhere between 75-78 just because I've caught enough to where I would rather focus on conservation now instead of catching tons of fish.

Very nice write up...any way to sticky that to the top?

Looks like my tiger time is probably going to decrease...

So what were the results?

We had a great opener, we saw a bunch of muskies but only landed one at 31". It was a beautiful day even with some technical difficulties with my boat-just glad to get out after a long 7+ month wait!

This will be out first time fishing at night, could you guys send me a PM with any tips or advice if you don't mind.... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hope to see you out there!

Thanks,

Trevor

Sol-we will see you out there Friday night, we are going to Otisco for the evening bite and then down to Waneta.