HB2

3 hours ago, Tall Tails said:

  I used to throw Steelhead back even if I was fun fishing.  Not anymore they are going to get the bat between the eyes just like the legal sized useless Atlantic 

Now that's the spirit ! 

Nice to know we can count on you to do the right thing . 

As a matter of fact.......

Once you get out past 150 ft , the steelhead come into play .that being said , I caught a fair amount in less than 100 ft this year , so they are lake wide .  They hit the same things the Kings hit , or at least they do for me . I don't target them but I do catch them . Being a byproduct catch   really  doesn't matter . I don't target skippers , but I catch them . 

Also to say they are a drain on the bait pop and need to be harvested  is a weak argument at best . They are in the creek   1/4 to 1/2 their life span , not eating alwives. Kings and Lakers are the biggest eaters out there  by far . 

I don't think there is a good solution to this . The long line methods of today combined with the knowledge and success rate of today's anglers will tax the sportfish population . Lake catch and release survival rates using those methods compared to trib anglers  are not as,high a some might think . When I am fishing  around boats , I see fish floating .  

To compare trib and lake C & R is like comparing apples to oranges . 

Maybe the best solution is to put more steelhead in . 

Even if I used bags , I would still use my buckets for minor speed adjustment . 

I have a 16 ft alumacraft side console similar to yours . Here is my setup and I  love it . Very safe and efficient to deploy / adjust riggers . I like the board to sit on , or lean on . I do quite well out of it . Four screws and it comes off for bass and pike . 

I have tendonitis in my elbow for the last 6 weeks from all the kings I landed . 

No joke . 

18 minutes ago, jimski2 said:

Alaskan rules any Chinook taken out of the water is a catch and the angler fills out his report tag immediately. There is enough food for a family and the angler removes his pole and is finished for the day. If the fish is netted in the water it may be released from the net after the hook is released.


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Yeah , that would go over in this lake real big . 

The lake trout are a huge success  story . they use to grow faster in LO than any place in the world . The savior of the day many times for me and a lot others including charters . Even when king numbers were we high. 

So they put a bunch of Lakers in and there Is pushback because they will eat all the bait . 

Now we have to keep all the Steelhead to keep the bait population from exploding . 

Trib guys want bigger steelhead . And as a guy that does both , me too ! 

DEC put forth a plan to  try and do it . I say let them try .

And why do they stock less? Because the bottom of the food chain is less and can't sustain the bait fish  population to sustain the amount of stocks that once was and maintain the size of fish we want . See Michigan. Took 25 years to straighten that out . 

But you know that . 

One of the problems , if you can call it that ,  is we have become too  good at catching these fish . There are less fish than there,were 30 years ago but we know the when / where / what of how to get them . 

Trib wise , a,pin outfit in the right hands is deadly . Those fish C&R have a high percentage of survival . 

Look at the boats and equipment we have now . But some of the long line methods used are not conducive for C&R . Hook a fish on a rigger and you can get him in the boat fast . Dipsey , lead core or copper , not so much . They are supper or seagulls treats . 

The DEC has a tough job of balance to provide a,good  sustainable fishery to all that demand it . I don't envy them . I'm not going to be an armchair quarterback considering the fishery I love and live for . And how great it is . 

Also , as I recall didn't they say at the state of the lake that when they changed the trib limit on steelhead that numbers improved  ?  And that's their reasoning for the proposed change , thinking the same thing will happen ? 

Unfortunately there are a lot of financial interests in this fishery . That is what drives it . We all love to go but it  All comes down to dollars and cents . 

I'm sure when  it's time to divvy up funding  the higher ups  in the DEC have to justify what they are asking for . 

That's where the politics come in . Representatives from the LO shoreline counties fight for that funding to continue or improve the fishery to maintain the flow of licence sales ,yes out of state,  and sales tax revenues . And an awfully lot of that is from trib guys . The Pulaski region would be dead without it . 

Every bridge on Sandy has a bunch of out of state plates parked . I'm sure the Oak , 18 mile   the Salmon and every major trib is similar . I hate it, and we all know what's going on down there ,  but it's a good thing . A necessary  evil . 

Back when the whirling disease was going on , Ron at Orleans. OUTDOORS  said guys were staying home because there were no fish in the creek . And he was feeling it . 

The DEC is charged with making sure the fishery is good  . Their jobs kind of depend on it . I can't believe these guys are making a knee jerk decision on this . From what I hear from the state of the lake meeting and other stuff , they seem pretty smart about the fishery to me . 

2 hours ago, Trouthunter said:

Why does the DEC have to keep screwing with our fishery leave the dam thing alone mother nature will take care of things do not need hand in everything on this planet

If not for the DEC , we would not have this amazing fishery we now have .we would be fishing for bass and pike .  It's their job to manage it . So I say let them do it . They have maybe made some not so good decisions in the past but this fishery is less than 50 years old . So there is learning curve  for them . And the lakes ecosystem has changed dramatically in that time . 

They don't a great job . And I appreciate their efforts. 

I seem to recall somebody on here saying we would make a great 51 st state . 

Now who was that  ? 

As I said , great fishing under less than ideal circumstances . Courtesy of the DEC. 

But I must say I have landed 2 nicesteelhead this past week  . On hen maybe 11# . 

One nice buck maybe 13#  about 15 minutes ago . 

On 10/24/2019 at 8:05 AM, Yankee Troller said:

 

So, becasue they say it will help we should trust them? Do you know about the special interest group called in to help grease the DEC's palms on this?

Considering the fact that we have had spectacular fishing the past few years , and many more under less than ideal circumstances,  I do trust them . Especially when many on here were  MFing them for amounts of stocks etc. 

And it seems to me from my personal experience , steelhead numbers are down on amounts and size .and have been for years .  So let them try and fix that . 1 less fish to take seems like a small price to pay for bigger  and more fish later on.

It's not like the Steelhead or any of these fish other than Lakers , are exclusive to lake or trib . Everyone has a chance at them sometime during the year . 

And  if the Senator , if that's who still owns,it can get guys to pay 20 k to have brandy ,( I personally like bourbon ) and cigars a catch a fish or two , God bless him . 

I will miss this place 

My go to for hard to find items 

But all good things must sometime end 

I wish him well 

Was there a pay  off on this ? 

Do tell . 

I thought that the new limits were to be up to 2 ft higher and 1 ft lower . So what's the fear of letting to much water out ? After all ,this will help the wetlands and lake ecosystem. Which was why 2014 was passed in the first place . 

I wonder how much more revenue has come from the higher water levels from the hydro power ? 

I also would like to know if the maximum amount of water is being released now as it is higher than normal for this time of year . This would be a,good indicator of them being serious about the situation. 

At the DEC state of the lake meeting last year I listened to on line the DEC stated in an attempt to increase the Steelhead average size that this Reg change would be a good option . 

We have a world class fishery  . And the DEC are the ones mostly responsible for it  . So if they feel this will help , I say go for it . 

The wife and I went leaf peeping in the ADKS  ( the colors were fabulous ) . 

Stopped at the hatchery on the way back. 

Race way was full of kings with more trying to get in . Was quite a sight . 

I guess they are going to start taking eggs soon . 

Also there were lots of guys fishing and campers everywhere . Nice to see the area making money . 

Imperative that it is set up correctly . 

Use small boat tactics 

Use caution out there 

It can be as expensive as you want it to be 

You don't have to spend a lot to catch these fish 

Where and when is most important . 

On 10/1/2019 at 6:57 AM, Gator said:

 

 

As a scientist, I will tell you that you don't have to prove a negative correlation to determine absence of effect. The major point being, the salmon raised at the Caledonia hatchery didn't imprint on the Salmon River. Hence, the hypothesis was that the Salmon River wouldn't be their default destination and they would be more likely to be found elsewhere doing the dance of love. I'm not trying to be argumentative, just clarifying something where I've seen a flawed premise lead to confusion. It is  likely that it was not the imprinting when Caledonia was open that was impactful, it was the lack of imprinting that promoted a more random distribution during the spawn.

BINGO! 

My exact feelings about this said in a scientific way  about lack of returns to western basin streams . Even with  the pen efforts which do help , the fish still have the Salmon river water in their DNA . It's not that they imprint to Calidonia , its  that they don't imprint to the Salmon river . 

The off the mouth , pier , and stream fishery is subject to weather,water conditions even more so than the lake . 

Makes me wonder if a certain amount of fish roam the lake and when it's staging time home in on the river that they are in front of with the right conditions . We would never know this until each ports fish were marked differently . 

Return numbers may be down lake wide , but as for my home port , I'm not seeing it . Granted I've only been here 4 years , but it's been great this fall since labor day . 

And it never will be what it use to be .

The lake  in its current state can't handle that . 

Had a great year trolling the mouth of Sandy this year . Best year since I've been here . 

And skein fishing has been good also 

Water conditions are  key IMO . 

Gin clear water = not  many fish . 

The water was green the most productive days out . 

East winds scatter the fish and they don't come back till it straightens out . 

Just because guys don't catch fish doesn't mean they aren't out there . 

I went thru this same thing 

I had a 12 ft row boat / 5 horse . Nice boat but a pain to put in and out of the truck and set up each time 

When I started going to the ADKs I got a square  stern and put the 5 on that . Nice but small and unstable to stand up and fish which is what I like . 

I lucked into a 16 ft side console w/ 35 horse and love it . Easy to trailer and best you don't have to hand launch the boat  car top and put the motor on and off . Which takes a lot of time and effort .

I see a lot of 14 or 16  ft  tillers  for sale on Craig's list for not a lot of money . 

I love my 16 . It tows easy and goes on and off easy . 

I would have rather retrieved your rod and lost the fish for you . 

Love them older 47 hs . They are bullet proof.