muskiedreams

Must be a pocket post

I just got my Waneta and Lamoka Lakes angler diary and results from 2016 back from Region 8 DEC. I want to thank those of you who participated in the angler diary study last year and for that matter, all who have participated in angler diary studies across the state. We all need to do what we can to help keep our NY fisheries healthy. The information is valuable to the DEC biologists in many ways. The diary study is easy to do and the feedback you will get on the results is reward enough for the little bit of time it takes to fill out the diary. For those of you who fish Waneta and Lamoka and have not yet participated, I urge you to do so, even if you only fish there one or two days of the year. See below for info to order a diary. The more data there is in the study, the better. The program is in danger of being terminated if participation doesn't increase. The diaries also support the Region 8 case for continuing stocking in Waneta. Also, since the trap net survey the DEC conducted this May that included Lamoka Lake, did not turn up any muskies in Lamoka Lake, any documented proof of muskies there will help with their current evaluation in consideration of a possible new stocking program in Lamoka. The preliminary trap netting results for Waneta Lake was good. And even though the diary study only returned 6 angler results, the catch rates and size results were better than the previous two years of the program. TO ORDER A DIARY FOR WANETA and LAMOKA LAKES, CONESUS LAKE or OTHER REGION 8 WATERS WITH DIARY STUDIES CALL 585-226-2466 Please consider joining the Diary Club. I know there are a lot more of you who fish these waters. Good luck this weekend and this year and, of course, please handle your muskies carefully. THANKS

Yes the state limit is 36" to keep a fish. The tournament is "catch and release" and for that, the minimum to enter in the points system is 30" which is worth 4 points. For every inch above that, another point is added (33" is 7 pts. and 35" is 9 pts. and so on). Since they are being released, fish under 36" (down to 30") are accepted and it is legal because they are released. If we used the legal size limit, the likelihood of no fish entered would be high. The same could be true at the Chautauqua tournament. Since the legal size for purebred muskies is 40", it is possible that there would be no, or very few, fish large enough to enter if we used the 40" state limit for the minimum size to enter. These size limits for the tournaments are for the purpose of the "catch and release only" tournament and not to be confused with the state size limit for harvest. We understand that there is some confusion, especially in regard to Otisco Lake, since the size limit there is higher than other tiger musky waters in the state. There are exceptions for some waters that have both tigers and purebred muskies so you should check those regions for exceptions. We are currently working on trying to get signs installed in key locations on Otisco lake to inform anglers of the special size regulation as well as proper release practices.

No they can't. There is no dam above the falls. There is a dam on the US side of the river that diverts water through the power generating station and around the falls. So they can only divert water around the falls. You can take a boat from Lake Erie down the river to where the power plant is. The Welland River, slightly further down on the Canadian side, is about as far as boats are allowed. Past there it becomes rapids and rocks. You don't want to lose motor power there.

Zach. I sent you a PM.

The rules have been revised from what is on the website with the change to teams rather than individual. The entry fee hasn't changed which is still $25 each for members and $35 for non-members. the same points system will be used. The changes are: *No limit of anglers on boat but all have to be entered. *Limit of 6 lines (baits) in the water per boat. Separate lines used only to tether boards or dipsy divers don't count. *Points of all fish caught by all team members are added together. *There will be an optional, winner take all, big fish pool which is $5 each to enter. All team members on the boat must be entered to qualify. Teams rules are for boats. If you are a shore angler, check with tournament director, Zach. Also, check with Zach about any special rules or exceptions regarding children.

Some of them are oblivious. Sometimes they even wave. Sometimes I wave back but most of my fingers are not visible (and it isn't ). Or sometimes they slow down off of plane to where they are producing maximum wake, thinking they are being courteous. Or you get one on each side going in opposite directions and their wakes converge on you.

A long time ago, I asked the owner and chef at a fishing lodge in Hay Bay Off the Bay of Quinte how he prepared and cooked the walleye he served at the lodge. He told me the most important thing is to trim off everything that is not white meat. That includes the skin, lateral line, fat layer, any dark meat and any of the silver inner skin. Having a very sharp filet knife helps make trimming easy. He would dip in an egg and milk mixture and then in cracker crumbs, then fry it in a pan with oil about 1/4 to1/2 inch deep. I use canola oil and it comes out good. I have done it with walleye from Hay Bay, I Bay, Conesus and Oneida Lake. They were all good but I think those from Oneida were best.

The forecast I saw yesterday said it is going to be 85* on Wed. and 78* on Thurs before the tourney, and sunny both days. Hopefully that will help bring up water temps, especially if the trend continues into Sat. Last year I think there was about 25 to 30 anglers. I have no idea if there will be more anglers this year. For food, last year we didn't even use half of what you brought last year. Quite a few people didn't stick around for the cookout. The rest of the meat was kept frozen and was enough for the Chautauqua tourney. There is some difficulty to come up with enough freezer space between us. So, old man, I would say that if you bring half of what you brought last time (burgers, dogs, sausage), it should be enough. Also, there was someone else that said they were going to bring some venison sausage.

Are you talking about using a portable tank and putting in a T after the squeeze bulb? If so that definitely will not work. On a boat with a built in tank, you can put a T in the fuel line to split off to two separate lines which each have a bulb and the appropriate quick connector for each motor. Since each line has a bulb with a check valve, there should be no problem as long as the check valves are working properly. You can't do it if one motor requires pre-mixed gas and the other one doesn't.

2nd that. Also maybe emerging weeds adjacent to drop offs.

My setup has been the same since 1996. I bought the boat used and the dealer added a new 15hp 4 stroke kicker on a bracket. The main motor is 2 stroke with oil injection. The fuel line has a T and I have squeeze bulbs on the hoses going to the motors. I have never had a problem. I squeeze the bulb on each motor before the first time of the trip I start each one. After that, I can switch between trolling and running as many times as I want. When trolling in the river, if I get a line snagged on bottom, I can start the main motor to bring the boat upstream (to hopefully release the snag) without stopping the kicker. I just put the kicker in neutral.

Here is a link to the plant survey Cornell conducted in 2016. http://www.lamokawaneta.com/Documents/PlantStudy16.pdf I think the blackened locations are the locations that they surveyed (via rake toss) in which Eurasian watermilfoil was found.

2017 Waneta/Lamoka Lakes Herbicide Treatment Good news for this year!! There will be no treatment in Waneta Lake this year and for Lamoka Lake, only a very small area in the southwest corner will be treated. The majority of the treatment will be in Mud Creek and Mill Pond below the south end of the lake. Click on this link for the treatment plan map. It sounds like they are actually getting control over the eurasian watermilfoil. They did not have to treat Waneta Lake last year and there was visible signs of desirable aquatic vegetation returning. Since the plant survey conducted by Cornell University in 2016 revealed very little eurasian watermilfoil they will not treat Waneta Lake this year. They also detected very little in the majority of Lamoka Lake. Please do your part to make sure you are not bringing any weeds to the lakes when you launch there. Hopefully things will continue to improve there.