jpiatkowski

I went out of Olcott on Sunday as well.  3 hours. I got nothing but some nice sunshine.  And a nice afternoon with my sister.  Spoons.  Rapalas.  Nothing.  I spoke with one person who got 1.  I wonder why the water was so muddy?  Muddy on shore.  Muddy all the way as far as I fished.  That went out to 60 FOW. 

I do not live near Oneida, but I would tend to think that Oneida wouldn't bee TOO bad since the water level can be somewhat controlled by the Erie Canal that runs through it.

Any thoughts??

So I went out to 450 fow.  Got our 1st King on a home-painted Bloody Nose before we had all our lines set.  Unfortunately, we only got one more King.  But boy was it beautiful out there!!

I tried 120-300 fow on Saturday and barely marked anything once I got past 200'. And not a single hit.   Looks like I might start at 500+ today if conditions allow.

I'm planning a trip to Olcott this afternoon and was just wondering if anyone was still going out to 350+ fow?  I am more interested in catching (and releasing) shiny salmon than staging kings.  But....I will go where the fish are.  Just hoping for a good report offshore.

Any thoughts??

Courtesy goes a long way.  Great to hear a good story!!

I have to wait for the waves to settle down a bit.  Waves 1' or less is ideal.  We'll see when that is in the forecast.

iPilot controls the boat steering with GPS.  I was on a straight course with the wind partially at my back.  Most boats heading due north.  This boat turned due east on a collision course.  He changed course.  I then had to turn west to avoid him.

Any semi-skilled fisherman can hook, fight, and land a fish solo.

Went right out to 400'.  No fooling around.  60' down temp was 46.  Perfect.  trolled north and as soon as I hit 440 fow it was on.  Conditions were rough for me on my 16' boat fishing solo today.  Winds and chop were an issue.  Landed 7 between 440-480 fow in about 2.5 hours of actual fishing time.  Not one single hit on a spoon today.  Nothing over 18 lbs.  Great day for me.  The bonus was landing a king right in front of a charter boat hat had cut me off.  That makes 3 times in a row that I let paying customers on a charter boat watch me pull in a nice king as their captain cut me off. 

1 steelhead and 3 Kings.

i have my best luck at 46-47 degree water.  Today I went 50-55 degrees because there was so much bait there.

I saw bait high this morning, so I fished 50-55 degree water mostly.  50-55' down.  That's warm water for me.  Boated 4.  Lost 2.  2 knock-offs.  My best fish was as I trolled back to port.  100 fow at 9:30am.

And I'm guessing the fleas are good today.  Ice cold water drives them out, right?  

The lake had DEFINITELY flipped.  46 degrees on the surface EVERYWHERE inside 300 fow.  The lake has just recovered quickly.

Tuesday morning was not as good.  Then I heard there was an earthquake early Tuesday morning.  Plus a full moon all night.

The "Big Red Barn" is about 3 miles west of Olcott.  That is just a guess.  It is a landmark that can be seen from the water.  If you are out in a boat, from east to west, you will see the Somerset smoke stack, the microwave tower, Olcott water tower, then the big red barn.

Netting is tough, but getting the fish back in the water quickly is usually the toughest aspect.  I don't plan to keep any fish, so I REALLY try to release the fish as quickly as possible.  I hate it when the hook(s) get buried in there.  Decreases the chance of survival.

Began solo run setting up in front of port at 6:30 am in 120 fow on a north troll.  Forecast was pretty accurate.  Winds out of the SSW  about 5-10.  Waves about 1'.  I started early to get some fishing in before the waves reached 2'.  I have a 16' Tracker, so 2' is my limit.  Generally speaking.  Temp was 47 degrees 70' down.

When I hit 190 fow I headed due west into the waves and wind.  As I approached the Big Red Barn....BAM!!!!  Line starts thumping and ripping a little line off the rigger.  10 minutes later I released a 20#(ish) King for another to catch.  I reset my rigger and before I could sit down....BAM!!!!  Rigger released and line was thumping again.  This time the 25#(ish) King was a little harder to net.  Took me 3 tries.  I think I need a bigger net.

I turned and headed east to ride the waves and make my return to port a little easier.  Waves and wind had picked up as forecasted.  No hit until I approached Olcott.  Released a skippy.  At 8:30 it was time to head in.

So ended up 3/3 with a couple knock-offs.  All Spin Dr/FF hits.  All rigger bites.  No spoon bites.  No diver bites.  Green is my productive color.

Sounds like you need a new net man.

Nice job!!  I am hoping to get out when conditions allow.  Were you working the bottom?

I started to use the stairway only to discover that there is a gate that is chained and locked 20' from the bottom.

Awesome!!  I wasn't aware that Youngstown has free launching.

If the Fort Niagara launches are not usable, which launch is everyone using to fish out at the green can?

Does anyone know if the launches at Fort Niagara are up and running?  I would sure like to get out to the green can and see if those Lakers are hungry.

I currently use a 5" Lowrance DSI and like everything about it except the fact that there is no sonar on this unit.  I am looking at buying the Lowrance Hook 7.  I see LOTS of negative comments.  Most involve slow recovery rate and poor screen when over 7 mph.  Can anyone tell me something good about this unit (Other than cheap price)?  Have you had any problems?  Is it a good unit?