BSmaster

Went fishing yesterday for walleye.  Absolutely pounded the bass.  This little guy needed some help and I was rewarded with a few floating stick baits.  My shiner is down its mouth, the treble of the larger bait was lodged just behind its gill plate.  The other bait was hanging off the first one.  This is a change for me.  Usually, I lose this stuff.  Yeah me!

Joe

Les, your report reminds me of my fishing partner.  I put up with a lot but he is knowledgeable (sometimes he is right) and he is the one of the few that fishes as hard as I do.  I call him my uncle Si.  He always has a story.

Joe

Nice fish.  best fish was 38.

Water is low at the Chemung side too.  It is high enough for them to move.  I just do not think they are yet.  Bass fishing is still pretty good so the temps for walleye aren't quite low enough yet. 

Pap = Erie Canal  - East of Rochester.

Joe

been getting skunked on the river.  Not sure why.

I like it.  I fish alone on an 8 ft bass hound.  Maybe I can mount it up front.

I would like to say that those fish are beautiful.  Nice.

Good thread.  Got some chuckles out of it.

I pulled a nice spinning bass rod out of the river this fall.  I looked at the power pro braid and knew right away.  Carp fisherman didn't secure his fishin rod properly.  I thought I could save the reel but upon closer scrutiny, this is just a decoration now.

I took a guy from work fishing this spring.  He kept missing fish.  I finally had enough and looked at him and said.  "Do you know that another word for crappie is paper mouth?"  Next time the bobber drops stop thinking about steelhead and just reel it in smoothly."  That's when the pail started to fill. 

Definitely river walleyes.  Nice catch.

I do not normally put too much stock into the lunar cycle, however, the harvest moon we had last month had the fish hitting everything.  From my recollection, it was the same last year and I think I will have to reserve some me time for next year's.  I like the moon because I can see better not because I think the fishing is better.  Not disagreeing -just my personal opinion.

I saw the moon last night and was a little disappointed that I had no time to fish this weekend.

Joe

I looked it up.  It is 1hr40min from corning to Otisco lake for me.  I would pull the hammer except when I factor driving thru Ithaca and Cortland, I change my mind.  It is 1hr to Conesus.  I do that occasionally.  I can get to the river in 5minutes.  This has more appeal to me and gives my wife more peace of mind that I am close.  I have spent enough time on Conesus that I kinda get a feel for what guys are reporting.  I would like to have the same experience on Otisco so I can relate better but something else has to give.  Turkey season opens Saturday and I haven't gotten any of the stands ready yet for gun season.  For now I will just read the reports...

Joe

Justin, I look forward to the Conesus experiment.  I hope it works out well.  Lots of Pike in Conesus and the bullheads are some of the most aggressive that I have ever seen.

Joe

I busted the tip off my rod the other night in the toon!

 Time to go shopping.....again. for an f18(s) and a new casting rod!

 

If you keep at it...you should be able to get an 8lbr.

 

Tim

Tim, if it is just the tip, save it.  Put a replacement on it.  It happens to me quite often with vehicles and their closing parts.  Rod will still work.

Joe

I would say that's a pretty good reason not to eat them.

I agree.

That's why I don't eat tilapia.

I remember that smell in Corning when I was a kid  .  Farmers, Industry, Municipilaties - they were all guilty.  Rivers never cleared up - even in the summer.  Now, they can run as clear as the finger lakes.  I know very little about the East side.  I wanted to come down to Vestal and try some fishing.  It sounds like I may be disappointed.

Joe

My apologies to some folks I didn't post pictures of.  I got a new phone earlier this year and lost many of the earlier pics.

This hapened to me and I do not know if it will work for you or not but I took the SD card from the old phone and put it in the new phone and all of the pics were there.

Joe

Picked up the largest small mouth I have ever caught Sunday and it came from my favorite fishing hole as a teenager. 

20 inch length

12 inch girth

Tioga River, Lindley, NY

Sorry about the pic - It was hard fitting it into a selfy.  I know this is not a huge smally for the lakes and big rivers, but the river this was caught from doesn't produce many bigger than this.  It is hard to get a small boat down this river in the summer.

Thanks Justin.  This is very encouraging.

That's awesome. 

Greg,

Great job on the eyes I know how lonely it is out there when you cant catch a fish for days when you are after the big girls. If it was easy they wouldnt taste so good, and they'd call it bass fishing. You earned them for sure! Good work!

Justin

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

I second that. 

Wow!  700 dollars in gas // 10 days // 4 weeks and you kept at it.  Usually people make one long day of it and then claim the fishery is broken.  I am glad to see you stuck at it and it paid off.

Joe

I have to learn to be a little early or a little late but right now I am right on time and I paid for it on Sunday.  First time for everything.

Intention that morning was not to jig for bass but was to go get some perch but the lake was rough so we switched.  I went with the heaviest weight in the bag because of the wind so it made the missed hook set a big missile.  Gamakatsu hooks are sharp.  My hook set was straight up so it came sailing out of the water right at me and the reflex was not to move out of the way but to put my arm up.  I think the lesson is that high noon hook sets are bad.  I am gonna try 12.05 next time.

Joe

Feel like jumping in the truck but I am way too busy.  Good catch!

Brent, (no hostility on my end) is there substantial natural reproduction on Otisco?  I honestly do not know.  I know that it is minimal on Conesus.  Could make the argument that the two lakes are similar.  Maybe they are completely different animals.  I haven't seen Otisco up close.  I have no idea.  I stand by my opinion of a put and take fishery but i am willing to debate keep and eat.  I don't see him up the creek in April with a big salmon net or keeping a few dozen juvies, so to me I am ok with keeping a limit for dinner fare.  I like reading his trip reports and seeing his catch.  Before you can eat it, you have to kill it.  Sorry.  What worried me when I first saw his thread name was "this" A discussion on ethics.  Really?  That is what bothers me.  He has done nothing illegal (that I know of) and yet there is all of this judgement.  He had a banner day in what has been mostly a banner year.  I am happy for him.  All of this judgement is why I do not post banner days.  I catch walleye and keep them when they are legal.  I tend to let the smaller ones go even if they meet the legal length.  My fish - my choice.  (my 2 pennies)

Joe

Good catch Justin.  I would keep them too.  I prefer 20-25 inchers. I would probably let the bass go.  Too cheap to get it mounted and kinda big for eating.  I don't know Tim.  Keep posting fish trips.

Put and take fish have to be put and they have to be taken or why bother?  One of the reasons they stopped stocking hybrid stripers in NY is because the catch rate was too low.  The biggest reason they don't is the cost to do so was too much.

Joe

Last week they were hitting everything.  I got two skunks the last two nights.

I saw the first pic.  Hey!  that's my spot!  Haha.  I mean I like it there too. 

I was going to get a boga to help me control the fish from hurting themselves flopping around.  I got the rubber net (big improvement) and it seems that with all that teeth a boga would help calm them down some.  I didn't think about it possibly hurting the fish.  I thought it would come in useful with the 18-20 inch chains.  They are small enough that it is hard to subdue them and big enough to get you with gill plates (or the business end).  I got a few nicks this year.  Not a fan.