Followed The Waves

Neat!  I've picked up a few very nice "incidental" smallies over the years out in deep water.  Seemed like they were a long way from home but they were out there.

Thanks Ray---it's been a while!  Are you still camping in the truck and running the old red Lund?  I can't believe what happened to Seneca while I was away.  Sad…

The fish all looked nice and healthy---no lamprey marks! 

Fished north of Sampson to the north end and back Saturday and managed five Lakers over 12 hours---all caught jigging out of the back of a 28 foot Carver.  Caught a couple of little ones (19" and 21"), 2 @ 25", and 1 @ 28" (looked like a nice wild fish).  I fished Sunday morning for a few hours north of Sampson and managed one @ 27".  Also had a few hits and lost a few after a short fight (typical jigging stuff) on both outings.  Still crappy fishing but Saturday was probably my best day since I got back on Seneca a year ago.
Also learned how to use the timer on my phone's camera for a selfie. 

Here's the 28 incher...

I cry on Nick's shoulder back at the marina and I hate to be that old guy living in the past, but I fished Seneca from 2003 until 2011 when I sold No Clue.  I used to keep a diary and reported about 350 fish a season---all vertically jigged up.  So far this season, I am up to FIVE fish and I've been on the water since April 4.  I am having good marks but from my interpretation on the TV, I think the fish I am seeing are small and for whatever reason, are less interested in a vertical presentation.  In this pic, you can see my jig dropping and a couple of lookers but it's pretty rare these days to see them firing off the bottom and intercepting the jig 20 feet from the bottom.  Back in the day, they'd come flying out of the mud and often chased the jig right to the boat.  I rarely jigged up a fish smaller than 24 inches so I'm hoping that what I am seeing on the TV are little guys who will grow up to be big guys.  A boy can dream…

VERY nice!  Thanks for sharing.

Nice!  I was going to check in and see how you did over the weekend.  My buddy had enough abuse on Saturday so we bailed out Sunday morning but conditions sure looked good.

A buddy and I fished the north end of Seneca Saturday from 8:30 AM until 6:30 PM, jigging for lake trout.  He was the lucky one---he had one hit.  I can't believe this is the same lake I fished from 2003-2011.  We had weekends where we jigged up over 50 nice lakers.  I've fished Seneca six weekends so far this year and managed three lake trout.  SAD!

RD, I was digging the moonrise too!

I got out Friday night for two or three hours and again Saturday afternoon for four hours for some jigging.  Managed one Laker Friday night and one Laker Saturday afternoon.  The one on Friday night was pretty chewed up from the lampreys.  Saturday's fish was pretty clean.  Both fish ran around 25 inches or so.  Tough fishing---these aren't the good ol' days but at least the sunset was nice!

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see if there’s any interest in doing it the weekend prior

For us long-distance commuters, that would be great! 

Yeah man!  Back on the water.  I bought an old Carver 28 footer last summer.  Not exactly a hard-core fishing boat but I can live on it for a few days.  No Clue was just sold again for the fourth time since I sold her in 2011.  Seneca certainly isn't the lake I left back then.  Fished 18 hours in the Derby and managed one fish.  Sad!

I hope you're well.  Let's see a good report!

I was looking for some answers a little while back and came across this article:  https://www.fltimes.com/news/something-s-fishy-seneca-lake-anglers-worried-about-lower-fish-count/article_ff95a77a-40b6-11e6-afb5-d3d339d2f86f.html

Couldn't get out till 1 Sunday.  Fished till 7 without a hit.  As of this morning, looks like a LL salmon is winning overall.  Tough fishing!

Ugh.  Fished from 6am to 6pm north of Sampson.  Managed a 4lb Laker and lost my tail.  Lots of good marks but just couldn't get them to go.  Clean boat was pretty as the fog burned off.  Waiting for the wind to die down before heading out.  Good luck to all!

Tail

Marks

Boat

Finished Seneca last weekend north of Sampson.  Had some decent marks but couldn't get them to grab it. 

I wish I could laugh out loud.  LOL...  Well, I can but I'm only laughing at myself.  I've been on a few times and it's been pretty tough so far but the water has been so cold.  This past weekend I was only hitting mid 40s on the surface in the morning and maybe high 40s by afternoon.  Been fishing north of Sampson.  Hopefully this warm blow out of the south will turn on the feed bags.

Any payout for the biggest skunk?  Wish I could make it but probably won't get to the lake until about noon on Friday.  Good luck to all!

Solunar Tables are looking good...

Woo hoo!  I'm looking forward to the Derby!  My first one since I sold No Clue in 2011. I will be fishing out of Sampson, so the weigh station at Stiver's won't be too inconvenient, in the unlikely event that I snag a big 'un.  But it seems kind of ridiculous for people fishing the south end of the lake to have to drive nearly 40 miles to weigh a fish.  While I understand that only potential money fish are encouraged to be weighed, wouldn't it make a lot more sense to have a weigh station at the Glen and maybe one or two in between the south and north ends?  Maybe Sampson Marina and on the east and Roy's on the west?  I think this would also help with the "social distancing" and reduce a lot of congestion.  Not knowing how the cookie will crumble, I'd be inclined to bring in anything over 7 pounds.  Anyone with me on this?

Joe

Nick, I'm Jonesin' for the north wall.  From the information I received from the marina though, it sounds as though I can sit in my boat in the marina all day long but not all night long.  It's illogical but I understand that it's the state's rule rather than our friends with Samsen.  I live too far away for a day trip.  Is anyone else in and are they really enforcing it?

Here's info I rec'd from SAMSEN (they manage Sampson and Seneca State Park marinas).  I can hang out all day on my boat in the marina but I can't hang out all night on my boat in the marina.  Sigh...

Thanks RB.  The marina officially opens on April 1.  Can't wait!

Nice! Encouraging good news for a change!  Hope to be fishing the north end of Seneca or out of Samson by next weekend or the weekend thereafter, depending on weather and lockdown status.  SAD!

I really didn’t get rigged up until mid-late August with permanently installed fish finders.  My Humminbird Helix 5 GPS Chirp Down Imaging unit ended up in the flybridge, so I can see a map of the bottom as I move around.  I ended up buying a Helix 5 basic sonar unit for the back of the boat where I fish.  I’ll attach a pic, showing my jig going up and down and a few lakers giving it a look.  I have no complaints other than not turning those lookers into hitters.  Looking forward to getting out this spring and spending some time getting reacquainted.  Seems like much tougher fishing than when I sold my last boat (No Clue) in 2011 but I’m aware of the lamprey situation.  Hopefully things will pick up this year and in future years.