HB2

I'm not a  brainiac like some of you Einstein's out there but I do know one thing. 

If they aren't letting out the maximum amount of water when ever they can  in preparation for spring run off , they are lying to us and are full of **** , which I think is the case. 

But will it all make the fishing better ? 

Did I miss where they say that there is enough bait to sustain those numbers ? 

I'd like to see stocking numbers go up also , but not at the chance of crashing the system . 

Our DEC gets a gold star  from me  for pretty much everything they have done to maintain a world class fishery . Are they perfect , no . Nobody is . 

Didn't they over stock Lake Michigan a ways back and it took a long time to recover ? And I believe it has recovered from what I have read . 

4 hours ago, Tall Tails said:

.  Many Many of our large commercial jobs right now are coming at 30 to 40% over initial estimates.  Limited labor force to meet demand and cost of goods have driven huge price increases.  I know a lot of people are going to find it hard to believe but commercial construction in Central NY is off the Chart right now.   

You can thank Mr Davis and Mr Bacon for that . 

Sounds like a fancy way of saying **** flows down hill 

But will that make the fishing better ? 

They are great for minor speed adjustments  . 

They also seem to grab the water and hold the boat down so the wind doesn't push it around as much and things stay consistent , if that makes any sense . 

I guess you have to see what works with your boat . 

Donald Trump... of course ! 

2 hours ago, Bozeman Bob said:

  As far as helping or hindering the fishery , a certain Captain that post video reports on FB went into great detail about the water level and his belief was the higher level at this moment helps the fishery as new nutrients are added by virgin soil erosion.

This was what I wondered about . It was the original reason for my post . 

Great minds think alike !!

I think also the flushing out of wetlands brings nutrient rich water . 

But it's pure speculation on my part . 

So what does that have to do with the price of tea in China ? 

16 minutes ago, jimski2 said:

Today Lake Michigan Homes will be falling into the water as nine foot waves wash out the sand dunes the homes are built on. The demolition and cleanup costs are being burdened on the homeowners.


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 Did not know they regulated Lake Mich 

There are homes that have fallen  off the eroding bluffs at Fair Haven . Be for 2014 

At some point , some of us have to be responsible for where we decide to build. . And ask ourselves what could happen . 

As I have stated before , the crowds,are a necessary evil . 

Saw 17 cars at the Church road bridge last week 

Half the plates were out of state . 

I hate the crowds , but I don't blame the guys for coming 

This will ensure continued funding . 

The guys that come up need fish to catch  And the DEC  knows it . 

Thus  The reg  proposal . 

Also , part of the attraction and what makes this fishery great is the diversity of species. When the rod goes off or your float goes down , you never know what it is . 

Never had anyone on my boat complain about catching a steelhead or Atlantic . In fact   they are excited about it . As I am . 

Weather this bill passes or not really doesn't matter to me. I'm still going to do the things I want and be happy doing them . There are always fish to catch somewhere. I fish for fun and relaxation . 

DEC says  it's a,good idea to pass.So I am behind them . 

I will take a wait and see approach on future fishing forecasts. Have seen it bad when condition say it supposed to be good and  vice versa. Mother nature is in charge of things . So anything could happen . 

I just wish guys would act honorably  . That's what grinds me the most . 

And I saw,this,coming a ways back.    Long line methods of Copers ,cores and dipsey , are not good for C&R. And the recent study on Laker release .  it sounds like Lakers may be a target to get fish in the boat .

But 

We may  have a,few things going for us and there is hope  . 

All the green water I saw this Spring.  

And Natural reproduction of Kings . 

Keep your fingers crossed . 

I have found with the perch , I catch none or a few , then the next time I go I get one every cast . 

I fish off my seawall at Sandy quite  a,bit and can concur with the lack of fish . 

I use skein or mostly  small jigs under a float . 

In the last , let's say 8 times out I have had a total of 2 hits and had one on . 

Years past I have averaged 1 to 2 fish each time out . 

Maybe it's me not being able to get them to hit but it's been bad . 

Late October for about 2 weeks was good , the it died . 

Is anyone surprised about any of this ? 

Getting back, I hope the high water is good for the bottom of the food chain so there is more bait . 

I guess we will wait and see . 

A nice Case 6" folding knife next to a king gutpile 

A 10x Gore tex  jacket floating down the Oak ( fished the rest of the day and nobody came to find it ) 

Jigging bass off the Niagara bar,   A full 10 color , spinny and fly I use. 

A Dam Quick spinning combo off the ladders at the Oak 

About 6 +  boat bumpers 

Probably 75 + floats , some real nice ones the guys loose upstream. I got a nice collection . 

 Back in the beginning , a whole   bunch of J plugs and stickbaits before guys learned the dive rate to keep them off the bottom . I use to have a long Handle  small net on the boat when I was,combat fishing just for them .   

Last year was the third year I attended the Sandy creek pen meeting.  Decided when I bought our cottage to get involved  . Prior to that , I put money in the jars at the bait stores,. I guess I did not know what I was,getting into . I am there to work hard to do my part to ensure a good fishery ,which I enjoy .

I walked into the meeting and Sat down . I don't know most by name.  A man came in shortly after me I have never seen before and Sat down right next to me . Turned out it was Dave and his wife  . 

Rob started the meeting and shortly into it we were told that we would only be penning kings as the other pen that was on loan from the Oak ,would not be available  If it was to be used for steelhead . A protest of sorts by  The Oak guys. We were informed the reasoning was in protest to the proposed regs , which I knew nothing about.  A discussion was had and Dave explained to us the reasoning why for the proposal , and how the DEC was going to manage the fishery going forward . A back and forth was had, some over the pen at which time I asked and said " so this is being done to be vindictive? " it seemed many in the room supported the protest at which time I voiced I was not . 

I watched the state of the lake on line and Genny reps there said if the regs are passed they would not do steelhead either . 

This is my knowledge as I remember it . 

 Some are stating that if this passes they will box or kill every steelhead they catch . 

All I know is if I were head of the DEC and knew of the turmoil this was causing and the efforts of some to strongarm them in their decision making my new policy would be this : 

" We,have decided to keep all stocks at the hatchery for the full term and direct stock all until further notice . We appreciate the efforts of the volunteers but there has,been some confusion on the availability of the pens . 

All good points ,and they may be true . 

But 

These are we my observations : 

The water this year in my area this spring , early summer the water was as green as I have seen it since the 80s . I comment to a few others who said they noticed  it also . 

The king fishery has been lights out the past 2 years and average size was up this past year.  Like the mid 80s   

The year before last was the first high water . 

So maybe the high water has nothing to do with this and it is coincidental. 

Then again , maybe it's not . 

As I stated, let's wait and see. 

Weather or not plan 2014 is good for property owners , the lake shore line ,etc and if they should be letting out more water was not my point of this post . 

Any fertilizer that is applied to any lawns in the LO watershed is going to be washed into the lake by snow melt or rain. That doesn't matter  how high or low the lake is . Maybe the wetlands got "rinsed" by the high water and any retained chemicals  washed out into the lake , thus the green water. I all ways thought the wetlands,were a filter for the main lake . 

Use to be a lot of phosphates / etc way back when that caused a lot of plankton and the alwives to overpopulated the lake . Which is why we have the Salmon . Remember all the weeds back in the 60s  And  70s ?  The phosphates have since been removed . 

 When the zebras cleaned up the lake and took the bottom of the food chain away , some in Lake Erie considered pumping raw sewage into the lake to make up for it. And crap is certainly not modern fertilizer. 

We have had,winters with high temps and no snow  or ice cover and the lake has survived. I thought we get alwives die off when the lake gets to cold . 

This is all just speculation and maybe just " B.S. " 

Nobody knows for sure how all this stuff working together will affect the lakes ecosystem. 

I guess we all will have to wait and see . 

There is LOTSA 

And charter boat associations , or am I wrong . 

These to me are Special interest groups . 

Just sayin 

15 hours ago, GAMBLER said:

I believe the high water in 2017 and 2019 did not help the bait population at all. There were way less trips in April, May and some of June in 2017 and some missed trips in 2019 due to closed marinas, launches and docks. Less trips = less fish going home in coolers.


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Predator/ prey impact due to reduced trips  and a healthy  baitfish environment are two different conversations . 

I wonder about the latter. 

16 minutes ago, Sk8man said:

I think I am with Chinook 35 and Billy on this one. The 2014 thing appears to be a very poorly thought out decision and although the invasives were probably brought in by the shipping geniuses the lampreys seem to have a much more distant past 

On the contrary . 

I think this was well thought out . 

The profiteers used the enviromentalists to get the plan implemented for hydro and shipping interests . 

Without the enviromentalists , this plan would not have been passed .

And furthermore , if they had not done the Seaway project , there would be no alwives  , or am I wrong on this . 

And this board and the fish would  be non existent . 

I understand all that . 

But if you take the emotion out of it , is this high water improving the ecosystem ? 

I don't like what is going on damage wise either . 

But if this in fact is  the new normal as stated by the Gov . And if this is improving water quality bait fish wise . 

That part is a good thing . 

I want to know if the enviromentalists were right on their reasoning . 

To clarify 

I'm not a fan of policy and all the damage / etc of 2014 

And I think the enviromentalists  we're used by profiteers  to pass the law with ulterior motives for hydro power and shipping 

But is the high water maybe helping the LO ecosystem like the enviromentalists predicted ? 

Yes 

I'm not a fan either . 

 But the water sure was green this year . Maybe it's just a a coincidence . 

With the baitfish assessment not being great , there may be hope . 

With the high water this past year , I haven't seen green water like that since the early 90s  . 

Green water means healthy water . Good bottom of the food chain water . Like it use to be . 

So maybe the IJC  Is helping us out 

They did say the reason for implementing the 2014 plan was for environmental reasons . And maybe they are right . 

We can only hope . 

That being said , the water sure looks high for this time of year .