maddog

From National Weather Service:

 SATURDAY
 Southwest winds 15 to 25 knots becoming west to
 30 knots. A chance of waterspouts. A chance of showers. Waves
 3 to 6 feet building to 6 to 9 feet. Waves occasionally around
 11 feet.

 SATURDAY NIGHT
 West winds to 30 knots becoming northwest and
 diminishing to 15 to 20 knots. A chance of waterspouts. A chance
 of showers. Waves 7 to 10 feet subsiding to 5 to 8 feet. Waves
 occasionally around 13 feet.

 SUNDAY
 West winds 15 to 20 knots diminishing to 10 to
 15 knots. A chance of waterspouts in the morning. A chance of
 showers in the morning. Waves 3 to 6 feet subsiding to 2 to
 4 feet.

Next weekend should be better. Can't be much worse can it?

We tried Cross Lake back in June for the first time ever. The southern end by the river and around the island was very muddy. The northern end wasn't too bad. We caught a number of decent SM and LM Bass, some pike and channel catfish.   

I think you're on the right track. Green Pumpkin and Smoke are both effective. For tubes we go small - 2 1/2 with 3/16 head and 6 or 8 lb fluorocarbon. The smaller tube, light line and a little heavier head allow the lure to get further away from the boat(very clear water). I'm from PA and usually get up there a few times a year when bass season opens in June. It's well worth the 4 hour trip if you want to catch big smallmouth. We've had winds from all different directions but something out of the west seems to be the most common. If you launch in Henderson Harbor, I would go just past Henchens and start at the point going all the way down to Westcott. They were there a few weeks ago anyway. If they're not there, you may want to try around the islands - Association, Gull, Bass. They generally move out of the bay come August.

Tex - You may want to stop off at Henchens Marina in the harbor to get the latest info. The first thing you will ask is why do I have to wear rubber boots to go in the store? That's because Lake Ontario is currently several feet above it's normal level causing massive flooding along the shoreline. Assuming you're fishing from a boat, keep an eye on the wind. It can be your best friend or your worst enemy. When it's dead calm, fishing can be tough because the fish can see the boat due to the water clarity which is extreme due to the zebra mussells. Using lighter line, smaller lures and longer casts can help. On the flip side, if there's too much wind you may not be able to get out. We've caught bass throughout the bay area in various depths but generally drifting with the wind at 7-10' has been pretty good for us. We do well with small tubes, Senko's, Stick-O's on clear calm days and spinner-baits on cloudy windy days. There are also some big Pike and Pickeral in the area so don't be surprised if you bit off a few times. Good Luck!  

We actually fished both of those lakes on the same day a few years ago at this time of year. If I remember correctly we got bigger fish from Lamoka but more fish from Waneta. Overall a decent day.  

CK and Todd - Thanks for your responses. It looks and sounds like as of now the launches are open but obviously it may be a little more challenging than usual to get the boat launched and retrieved. Much appreciated!  

Heading up to Henderson Harbor in 2 weeks and was wondering if there are any high water issues with the boat ramps in Henderson or Chaumont?

Congratulations Awesome Fish!

Wow definitely a freak. What is it 20" long by 20" wide?

Marking Fish but only 1 release. Very slow this year

We were out there Sat evening and Sun morning and evening. Nothing on Sat but 2 for 2 on Sun. 1 on a Dipsy out 270 over 120 and 1 on a rigger down 90 over 100. It was definitely slow compared to the last few years. Is it the heat? Are they running late or just slow year?

We were up 2 weeks ago in Oswego for a couple of days. We managed a few browns and didn't see or hear of a King being caught. Nothing at the cleaning station either.  Maybe there was a die-off due to the super cold winters the last 2 years?

Wow - Biggest Laker I've seen in a while. Awesome fish!

Awesome fish and a perfect picture. Can't beat that! Congrats!

I used to bass fish on Blind Sodus and did pretty good. Access was from the lake but the last time I was there, the inlet was filled in.

Last year was definitely late which was probably due to the cold winter. This winter may have been even colder than last.

That's good to hear. I've been fishing Fair Haven for years and noticed a drop off in the smallmouth numbers. Somebody mentioned it might be the Goby's eating the eggs.

Nice fish and video. That's not easy to do by yourself. Congratulations!

Fished Fair Haven Sunday. We got 1 small brown in tight to shore and a tiny steelhead 30 down over 250. Very slow for us.  

^{That's awesome! A picture says a thousand words. Pretty dark at 58' down...}

http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=NY

Awesome fish! To think that fish is back out growing bigger makes it even better!

I know exactly what you mean. My boat runs like crap on 10% ethanol. Here's a list of the gas stations in NY that sell real gas.

http://pure-gas.org/?stateprov=NY

Wow! Absolutely beautiful fish of a lifetime! Definitely need to get a blowup of the excellent picture too!

Good to know. My outboard runs terrible on 10% ethanol and it runs great on ethanol free. Real gas is becoming like gold. Here's a link to all the ethanol free gas stations. Just drill down to the area you are looking for. http://pure-gas.org/extensions/map.html