BSmaster

People know I love to fish so I have been getting sound advice all spring on where the fish are biting. I give them sound advice right back. The fishing is good everywhere. enough said.

IMO

Excellent Fishing started accelerating in August, slowed a little in January and took right off again in February.

Good year to take somebody who doesn't fish a lot out to enjoy the sport. I do not think it will slow down again until July, and by slow, I mean it will still be good.

Try using a bait runner reel or opening up your drag....very possible the fish is picking up your bait, feeling tension and dropping it. If your not using Bait runner reels just loosen your drag so it's easy to peel line....the fish will pick the bait up and not feel any tension, then they will be less inclined to drop it.

I suggest using a smaller bobber. I go really light. It will only take an extra 1/8 - 3/8 oz to dip the bobber below the surface. Fresh shiners may be able to run it around and dip it below the surface but they won't forever. Once they tire of trying to drag it down is when you should get the hits.

I think it is cool, however, I also think it is risky. Is it a strong suggestion or a law not to feed the wild animals?

If that bear was in my back yard, I would already have the taxidermist ready to make my rug come fall. It is a wild bear - right? Or is it a fenced in pet?

Nice report... I am not much into trolling but your report is making me feel like I should be. Well done.

When I go out on my friends boat on the big lake I give him $50 for gas. He never asks for it and I had to ask his brother for an idea how much money he spent on gas for each trip. Its polite to offer. I would give him more if he needed more.

When I drive guys up to the tribs for salmon/trout pinning, I never ask for money and they always chip in or buy me lunch or something and I never ask them. Its polite. I appreciate it and if they didn't chip in I wouldn't feel slighted in any way. I give gas money to them when they drive. Its the way it should be.

The take a kid fishing or bucket list or down on your luck trip etc. This is always a noble thing to do as well. Like I said, nobody asks, its is just the polite thing to do. We all view it a little differently perhaps, but it is still about respect and appreciation.

I imagine with GA$ where it is, this will be a bigger issue/topic of conversation as summer pushes on. for me, I started taking my 8ft bass hound versus my 16ft smokercraft Deep-V because it was just me and I already discovered how much money I could save by not taking my bigger boat to lakes/rivers. 8ft doesn't work on everybody of water, but it does work on a lot more than you think, and it is way cheaper to use. I think guys are using Yaks more too, for same reason. But this also goes to explain why you should offer your buddy gas money when he takes you out onto the lake in his nice rig for a day of fishing.

Pics like that get my heart pumping... It has been a generous spring for bass fishing already... Doing really well on the smallies. Nothing over 3lbs yet but it is still early.

Keep those pics coming!

Worked down by the Conesus outlet today 4/28 and judging by the amount of water they were letting out I think the lake is back up to normal level

Tom

We had a timely rain. Fishing should be good for the opener. Thanks for the report Tom.

I'll wait til Armeggedon to try that. That and rat.

God save the Queen...

I actually seem to do very well between 9am and 1pm, usually limiting out no problem, even with high sun.

A post like that makes me want to get up on the bays, however, with a scheduled trip to the Hudson (stripers), 2 birthdays, communion, Mother's day, and the wife leaving on business (kid duty), I can not schedule a trip up there in May. I am already giving up my turkey tags. By the time I get up there it will be time to target bronzebacks. I will be somewhere south of Lake O for the opener, but I am excited just the same.

green pumpkin

Not a troller...

Jigs - tipped (with what? good question what are the eyes eating?) bounce them slowly. Slower the better...

Cranks, colors natural or perch. something that vibrates. size 3inches. Shallow at night deep runners in daytime.

What to look for? sudden change. Depth, Structure, mudline, current, shadow, temperature, etc...

I lower my expectations when the sun is on the water. I get more frustrated when the conditions seem perfect and the fish are not biting where I am casting. If they are not biting where you are fishing - gotta move. Keep moving until you get contact and then fish harder. Walleyes can be challenging but they can also be rewarding. Don't expect to follow routine and repeat success. I am still learning how to fish them successfully everytime - that sums up walleye fishing.

Good luck everybody!!! {countdown ticker is at 8 days 16hrs}

Joe

pap, there is a thread in the toothy section. A bunch of guys are heading for the bays on the 5th. I have no experience on the bays (eyes), however, I noticed a lot of change already this year with respect to how the walleyes are acting elsewhere. In a lot of places they were finished spawning before the rainbows. If the weather remains cool, I think they will hold in shallower water going for the easy meals. If it gets warm again like March, I think they will be going deep. Be prepared to do both.

Guys going by tradition may be disappointed this year. I have already changed my fishing habits to adapt to this warmer than usual winter/spring. I am waiting to see what the weather is going to do before I comitt to fishing anywhere specific on the 5th.

tight lines...

Joe

I caught one (Conesus) last year fishing for Gills. It looked like a golden shiner on steroids. I asked the fisheries for id help because I knew it wasn't a carp and I couldn't imagine a 2lb shiner (?). There response was Rudd and gave me a website for State agency in the midwest where they explained the background. I don't have that info anymore but basically it is identical to the golden shiner except for something like 17 (golden) 18 (rud) dorsal spines (numbers may be wrong). Invasive yes, but the reason they were put here is probably by bait fisherman. There slang name is Alabama Shiner. They are suppose to be plant eaters, but I caught mine on a beatle spin which reminds me - I watched an episode of Monsterfish where in NewZealand they stocked a fish that ate nuts in the Amazon and now it is a predator in its new ecosystem. I found it interesting because when it bit flesh it looked like a humans bite mark. To my knowledge, the DEC hasn't said to euthenize them (Rudd), but from now on, I will be giving them the goby treatment.

I was fishing this past summer (river) after dark with no moonlight and as I was leaving, turned on my head lamp and started walking through ~10 inches of water and almost stepped on one about 12 inches. I saw it because those eyes just light right up with a light on them. I think they are really sensitive to it so they probably won't feed with lights on them. I was told that you can use a high powered spotlight to spot them at night because of the glow... maybe thats why we call them eyes?

To answer Andre's question. I would like to fish at night but know it is crucial to have me be dark. I do not fish lakes at night because I haven't had the necessary time to put into knowing the lakes. I do it on the rivers ocassionally because they are much easier to analyze and remember. Like Gambler said, use a light for safety, but keep it out as much as possible.

"ex tank gunner marine"

relevance?

I (am) was trying to describe his temperment.

Good one...

A guy I work with took his wife and two young daughters to Virginia for vacation last week. He wants his 4 yr old and 6 yr old to enjoy the outdoors so he can spend time with them. Both of his girls have barbie fishing poles. He takes them fishing while on vacation. He casts the poles while his daughters are playing nearby. A game Warden shows up and said that he is guilty of fishing without a license. Mind you there are no adult fishing poles - the young overzealous officer claims that he was guilty since the kids were too far away from him to be fishing. So this ex tank gunner marine has to swallow this ticket. I find it hilarious (it didn't happen to me). The additional insult was that NY suspended his driver's license and this is how he found out about it.

Lesson for all people walking that fine line between right and wrong. Sometimes the law doesn't care about extenuating circumstances. I will be ribbing him as much as I can from now on. Yes, he is mad. He is writing to the judge.

I am going to V. beach this July. I plan on fishing. Should be interesting.

If anybody has any Virginia Beach fishing information, I would appreciate it. I have never been there before. I will be there with my 6 and 7 year old and we donated their toddler poles already.

Knowing the man made laws of the water are a requirement, but the physical laws of nature should never be ignored either. I am not taking any sides - I just want to make an analogy. If a guy gets hit by a truck walking across the street in a designed cross walk, That man dies and the truck driver loses everything. Two very different laws but one man is dead and the other is dead broke.

I take my 8 foot bass hound out on some pretty large watercraft water bodies and I am always on the look out because of physics. I still never get use to the look of astonishment from beach blond woman on a 40 foot yacht as they trudge past me in the no wake zone. Those boats don't scare me. It is the high powered motor boats. Are they gonna see me in time? That is why I care more about the law of physics. I am always looking. Big boats should be looking harder too, so they can keep their boat.

Tempers flare on the water, along the creek, and on the pier. That's people being people. Be safe everybody, smile, and say Hi, how ya doing?

This is excellent advice from Fish or Swim

There has always beens the odd jerk on the water and there always will be. Nothing you can do about it. Just the way it is. Try not to let it get to you.

I tend to avoid other boats like the plague.

The camera is good idea.

Whoa... I think I would wear a face shield before I stuck that with my filet knife. It looks like a balloon. Well, the red is pretty. Is it to be a mounter?

Congrats to the winner!

I have watched his tribute twice. Quite an impressive life. I always enjoyed his shows but watching this tribute really enhanced my feeling for his passion for the sea.

i wanna fish for bass in conesus before the pike opener, but i want to use a leader to prevent loosing lures. would DEC give a problem over that?...I mean....i'm fishing for bass, I can't help what bites.????

3 things wrong with your question.

1.) you posted on toothy fish section (which is closed season right now)

2.) you posted it under the thread name "Pike/Tiger Opener" (which is closed season right now)

3.) you want to know if it is OK to use a leader to prevent loss of lure(s). (bass don't require leaders)

There are a lot of fisherman getting pumped for May 5th (including me), so the thought of someone trying to circumvent the rules to get a headstart may be offensive to some, so I think you should have asked this question on the bass thread where you may have heard more constructive criticism.

To try to answer your question about legitimate bass fishing. You can catch and release Black bass with artificial lures. If you are obviously using a lure designated for pike/musky and/or have a robust leader, you may have an officer waiting for you when you pull your boat out. It is pretty easy to tell the difference between those that are knowingly doing the wrong thing and those who honestly do not know the rules. The DEC wirtes the ticket the same in both cases.

IMO I can not see how you can target bass with artificials this time of year in Consesus without expecting a lot of pike hook ups. I think Mostlymuskies is thinking the same thing.

You can catch pike on any bait that you would catch a bass on, however, if the DEC feels you are targetting toothy creatures out of season, I do not think your gray area argument will hold up. just retie another lure. Bass has a catch and release season, so you only need to release immediately. You do not need to move after you catch one. Artificial bait only! I wish they would require fewer hook points. I hate seeing dead fish from (most likely) inadvertent gill rakes from the other treble.

This excerpt is from the DEC website:

Catch and release means catching and immediately releasing the caught fish without harm. Measuring, weighing and photographing of the fish are permitted as long as the fish is not removed from the water for an extended period or handled in a manner that could cause it harm. Fish may not be placed in a bucket, tub, livewell, on a string or any other holding device.

If you catch a bass on the drift, the longer you keep him out of the water the harder it is for him to return to his nest and the more damage to his offspring.

Speechless...

I remember seeing the map for the new congressional district boundaries and I noticed that they extended up into the lake to the Canadian border. Maybe the town thinks they can control the lake.

One word...

JEALOUS

Every year, I plan to go "next year" to get a cooler full of perch and every year I read about it instead. My priorities are messed up.

Thanks for the report...