the fish are still here guys. tackle and technique are a big thing you need to look at and be willing to change, the lake is definitely changing every year so the fish must transition along with it. keep in mind the water is much more clear than it was a few years ago which is a advantage for the fish. they can see and smell much better. i do agree that numbers are not as good as they used to be but i dont think they are as bad as people think. i would also like to ad that i see a huge number of people keeping large numbers of illegal fish, such as fish way under size, out of season especially spawning season, and limits. i was fishing a spot this past spring early april and there was 2 guys next to me who had 2 buckets full of smallies i would say at least 40 fish and not 1 of them was close to legal size, not that it even mattered considering it was april. now days it seems any where i go there is always at least 1 person with illegal size or limits of fish. we could definitely benefit from having much more dec officers to be able to assist with this problem. i have called many times about people doing **** like this and from what i gather we just dont have the number of officers we should or the resources to help. not the dec officers fault but the greedy higher ups that would rather put the $$ in there pockets. same problem in the fall with the salmon, in the fall you can check just about any stream or river and there are people snagging fish and large numbers of them. i rarely fall fish anymore just cause i cant stand tosee whats happening. i encourage everyone to take a walk down to the genesee river lower falls this september or october and look how many people are snagging or keeping more than their limit. i can promise you need more than 2 hands!!