RWR1775

Got 1 jack king in 40 FOW about 6:15 PM and had a swing and miss while releasing 1st one. Just east of Olcott. Green Dreamweaver with black spots and emerald shiner Procure on it. Swing and miss was Carbon 14 spoon. Lots of bait west of Olcott in 50 - 70 FOW centered about 30' down. Speed was 2.5 GPS running baits 25 - 35' down. I'll be back at it Sunday morning. Was my first time trolling in the Fall there after being a pier guy for nearly 40 years in Olcott. Not happy with the rocks along the piers and don't t see them as needed. P.S. Plan on weed covered trailer and boat after launch and retrieve. Tight Lines

4/4: Fished both sides of creek in 10 - 16 FOW between 8:45 - 10:30 with no luck. Certainly no mudline to be found. Water to east was very clear and only slight color to the west. I was the only boat fishing shallow for almost the entire time. The few other boats out were much deeper. I ran out to those depths (75 - 90 FOW) and still caught nothing, although found an area slightly West of the mouth where the bottom was covered with fish. No takers as I said. Understand that with the gear I have I could only run baits 60' down max. at even minimum trout/salmon speeds. Talked to a couple of guys at the launch who went 14 for 20 something on lakers. They said they ran baits 40' down over 50 FOW. Finding clear water was mentioned as key. The one gentleman even gave me one of the spoons they used (mostly green with some black dots), and wow was it big. If you are that person, thanks so much, and as I said I will pay it forward. Very classy and above the call. 4/5: Thanks to the info. from the guys the day before I headed east from the creek mouth in 50 - 60 FOW. Now I can't say I ever encountered clear water but eventually did hit a double on lakers. For the day (9:15 - 1 PM lines in) sent 4/5 on lakers, all of which were solid size. The one lost fish was probably the biggest and I was barely gaining any ground on him. Four fish came on spoons, two on wonderbread and two on a mostly green silver streak. These were caught with baits at 40 - 50' down, mostly the former. One fish was on a Maglip 35' down ( NFL color). Speed was 1.9 - 2.1 over ground. Surface temp was 39.3. Interestingly I did not get anything on the spoon the guy gave me the day before. Tight Lines

Thanks!

How were you running the spoons? Lightly weighted and shallow, off riggers, other? Just wondering if fish came high, mid, or deep for 15 FOW. Tight Lines

Just two small browns for me today. Both came from the warmest water from directly in front of the piers to east end of Krull Park ( or a little beyond). Surface temps in 12 - 20 FOW were from 37.3 at 10:30 to 39+ by 2:30. Both were on Maglip 3.5 (one in Goby pattern and the other in Mad Clown). Made one pass in 35 - 45 FOW looking for lakers with no results (maybe they are even deeper at this point). Water west of Olcott was gin clear. I could read a newspaper on bottom in 20 FOW. Tight Lines

Really sorry to see that happen to anyone. I was lucky enough to have an alarm go off year before last on Chautauqua to tell me something was up. Impeller in that case too on my 115 Merc 4s. Hope nothing was ruined but a day of fishing.

Great insight Gill-T. Thanks!

Thanks Gill-T. Makes sense. I looked at the lake temp. map and saw the warmer was toward the center. Snow chilled runoff and cooler nights keeping shallower nearshore water colder early on I guess. I presume a little rain and runoff/ creek outflow would help pull fish in? Or perhaps it is really just about the shallows being warmer earlier (eventually). Looking to learn. Have lived here all my life but only had a decent sized boat for past 6 years. All this Ontario trolling is new to me. Have always been a fall pier guy (which I enjoyed alot), but have started to get much more into trolling and this spring nearshore bite has me stoked. Something new and it extends the season. Tight Lines

So as I read this, when trolling with my 115 outboard at 2 - 3 mph I would not need my lanyard attached to me. However at high speeds up on plane the lanyard must be attached. Does this seem correct? Would not effect trolling.

Sunday will be my opener. I have fished the spring bite for just the past two years and I love it. Its a great way to get an early start on the year. This will be two weeks earlier than previously for me. Any tips for the March action that is different than April and May? See you on the water.