walnut109

Lets not panic, but certainly a change for the lake. Quite surprised by the numbers of small walleye netted. I suspect walleye have inhabited the lake in very small numbers for a long time and were possibly native as the watershed is part of the Great Lakes System. I highly doubt an illegal casual dumping of fish created a viable spawning population. DEC has tried to re-establish walleye populations in many lakes throughout the state with very limited success and has abandoned many lakes that previously supported walleye populations. As a long time walleye fingerling stocking cooperator, I have a pretty good handle on the walleye program in NYS. Establishing a self-sustaining walleye population is not an easy task. Based upon recent DEC Skaneateles diary cooperator summaries, the warmwater fishery has boomed. Also, the average numbers of rainbows harvested has decreased, but the average size increased substantially. Fishing the lake forty years ago, I do not recall catching a sunfish, largemouth or pickerel. Skaneateles is not the same as it was in the 70's and 80's. Weed growth is a major factor for warmwater species to thrive and it looks to have increased this summer based upon my observations. The link below regarding milfoil removal was laughable at the time but is now sad. Really $ 2 million and a patch sits right at the end of the State launch dock. It was such a waste of time and money by ideological bureaucrats and do-gooders. Ultimately, I think the walleye will have little impact upon the Skaneateles coldwater fishery, as it has already changed. I really enjoy the rainbow fishing in Skaneateles. Its still a great fishery and a beautiful lake. Walleye or Trout? I'll take either as long as they're biting and tasty. http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/09/a_skaneateles_lake_success_story_the_milfoil_removal_project.html

Skan 8/27/17 Fished today for LLS and RT. Very slow. First shutout in two years.

Fortunately, I have enough warmwater fish in the freezer for our use. Really enjoy the RT and LLS from Skan, both the fight and on the grill. Fished in front of the State launch and off Mandana. The fish are there, just feeding on small perch, which appear to be in very large numbers. Hopefully the bite will pick up by Labor Day.. Recreational boat traffic was very light yesterday, but we left at 10:00. There was a bass club tournament as 6 or 7 boats all left the launch at the same time. The lake is beautiful and you can't blame people for wanting to enjoy it.

Skan 8-12-17 Fished 5:30 to 9:30. One small laker is all. Saw no other boats trolling for trout. Slow!!!

Sounds like you had a good day fishing. Lakers are taken jigging, but I like to troll. I would try a bit deeper next time. We catch them anywhere from 50' deep early to 90' deep mid morning. Not unusual to graph fish over 120'. The laker bite has been slower than normal for us this year. As far as water clarity, last year you could easily see down to 25 feet. This year excessive rain has the lake a bit cloudy, and unfortunately increased runoff will lead to more weed growth. The lake has changed a bit over the last 40 years I have fished it. A great place to fish and enjoy the day.

Skan 7-3-17 Fished 5:30 to 11:00 today. A few boats trolling. 2 keeper RT and 1 small LT. Lake is clearer, but still some floating material. Graphed quite a few fish, but could not trigger the bite.

Skaneateles 7-15-17 Fished this morning from 5:30 to 9:00. Tough bite, but caught one laker and one rainbow. Water was slightly cloudy to very cloudy due to recent rain. Lake is very high as well.

Our focus was on LLS and RT. Graphed some at 35-40 but could not get them to hit. Lakers were anywhere from 60 to 100. Found most fish on the contour. Very few marks in deeper water. Graphed lots of lakers.

Skaneateles 6-30-17 Fished out of state launch this morning from 5:30 AM until 9:00 AM. Graphed fish, but pretty slow with only 3 small lakers caught. Nobody else fishing and only three trailers at launch when we left. Water surface temp was 66.5. Water is a bit cloudy for Skaneateles and we were collecting a bit of algae on our lines.

Trolled from 7 to 11 today out of Dean's Cove. One 19 inch landlocked and one 14 inch rainbow. A bit slow, but a nice day. Did not graph much.

Surface trolled for rainbows on Wednesday morning with little success. One small laker after switching to a dipsy diver setup. Surface temp is 49.5. The supermoon may have played a part in the poor fishing.

Glad you got into some fish. That's what the forum is about.

Fish should be anywhere in the lake, but since we launch at the state boat launch we typically stay between the launch and Mandana. Our most productive speeds have been over 2 and under 3. Lakers will liker it slower.

Also, our most productive water has been between 125 to 165 feet deep.

We have been out nearly once a week since 7/1. We have caught RT, LT and a few LLS pretty consistently, but have not seen many other's raising a net. Lots of schools of small perch right now. Smaller spoons work best and early morning is the only time we have been out. Riggers set at 65 feet has been a good start for us. After 9:00 AM has been slow, but LT can be had over 100 feet after that. Speed can be critical also. Fluorocarbon leader is a must. The fish are there. Good luck.

Fished out of Fair Haven this morning 6:00 to 9:00. Graphed some fish from 90 to 120 over 150 to 220 FOW but no takers on spoons. Same for our companion boat that was fishing dodgers/flies. We did not see any boats land a fish. Hopefully they turned on later in the morning for the guys that stayed out.