spring trolling

[motoman]

whats good to troll with in the spring for salmon and do you search for the temps the same way as you would in the summer or fall ? not really sure where too start out ,in the past i have just run planner bourds with stick baits in th 15 to 30ft of water and cought browns and a bow here and there ! is this too early for this ,lol jonny

[jimski2]

In the spring, it's not what you fish with, but where the best water temperatures are. The earliest kings are caught in the warmer waters west of Port Dahlousie. After Lake Erie clears of ice, the warmer waters from Ohio blow down the lake and flow out onto the Niagara Bar and they turn on there. Sometimes the Genesee River warms up early and there is good fishing in that warmer water plume off of Irondequoit Bay. Look at the Lake Temperature Charts. Sometimes you'll find good fishing off a roadside ditch that flows into the lake after a hot spring day.

I like J-13 Rapalas in close off the boards because they float up in the shallow waters when you turn or stop the boat. When the sun comes up, like after 8:00 AM, move to deeper waters out to almost 50 foot of water. The best thing is the sideplaners to get your lures away from the boat and out where the fish go when your boat spooks them.

[motoman]

that sounds like what i have been doing but never picked up any spring salmon here in rochester ! off the planers but ive always went west out of the river ! and i never catch fish inbetween the river and bay but as soon as we get in front of the bay outlet thing seem too get going ,maybe thats the water you are talking about ! thx for the reply

[Yankee Troller]

Usually in May the Kings will show up off Rochester. Its different every year. I remember 3-4 years back where the King fishing iff Rochester was almost as good as the bar action, but that was onlt for a week or so. When I used to fish Rochester exclusively May would be when the Kings started to show up some. But, we wouldnt catch them pounding the shore. You had to look deeper for them.

One Spring ESLO (the last ESLO spring derby when they switched the spring from 4 days to two weekends) We took a pair of 22lb fish in front of the Genny. If it would have stayed a 4 day derby we would have had grand prize and first place. If I remember correctly a captain from the Genny was leading the Spring LOC this past year for quite some time.

[ray koziatek]

ray ray will put ya on some spring fish,one more big deer with the muzzy and ill be on seneca chasing yhe fishies.ill have my son post a photo of the gun buck i got,not a smasher but a pretty good woods buck 5.5yr old

[motoman]

Usually in May the Kings will show up off Rochester. Its different every year. I remember 3-4 years back where the King fishing iff Rochester was almost as good as the bar action, but that was onlt for a week or so. When I used to fish Rochester exclusively May would be when the Kings started to show up some. But, we wouldnt catch them pounding the shore. You had to look deeper for them.

One Spring ESLO (the last ESLO spring derby when they switched the spring from 4 days to two weekends) We took a pair of 22lb fish in front of the Genny. If it would have stayed a 4 day derby we would have had grand prize and first place. If I remember correctly a captain from the Genny was leading the Spring LOC this past year for quite some time.

... yankee i know how you feel ,been on the bourd back in the 80s but bumped off everytime , used too win all kinds of stuff with the tickets they used too hand out when you turned your fish in! ,door prizes kept me going lol , well i hope you got some gas cash .and thx for the info

[motoman]

ray ray will put ya on some spring fish,one more big deer with the muzzy and ill be on seneca chasing yhe fishies.ill have my son post a photo of the gun buck i got,not a smasher but a pretty good woods buck 5.5yr old

crazy ray you fishing the spring derby ? sounds like people go west ! whats your take , are they all down there pooled up infront of the big river !

[Blue Knight]

What I was told 30 years ago & I've heard it many times that both the American & Canadian salmon stock congregate on the Niagara bar in the Spring & as the water starts to warm up they start to move. The Canadian fish go clockwise & the American fish counter clockwise. I always fished off Hamilton harbour & Dalhousie when I had the smaller boat I could trailer. Now I've got a 20 footer I'll be going back to the same.

[muskybob]

ray ray will put ya on some spring fish,one more big deer with the muzzy and ill be on seneca chasing yhe fishies.ill have my son post a photo of the gun buck i got,not a smasher but a pretty good woods buck 5.5yr old

Mmmmm, venison jerky snacks on the boat for the spring season, ol buddy, ol pal?

[Storm Warning II]

Did anybody catch many if any Kings actually on the Bar this spring?

We caught all our Kings off the ledge in at least 180'. 180 to 200 fow was the hottest for us all May last year especially about 3 miles east of the red can.

[Yankee Troller]

We never traveled to the bar after the the first weekend of the Spring Derby. There were kings in front of Wilson the whole month.

[FISHINMAN]

Muskybob not sure of the "Venison Jerky" but I am sure that there will be a short, little, crazy, "BUFFY JERKY" out there

[muskybob]

Muskybob not sure of the "Venison Jerky" but I am sure that there will be a short, little, crazy, "BUFFY JERKY" out there

You got that right Tom

[motoman]

lol poor ray ray , he"s kind of built like a pro westler , you know the guys they have come in that go up agianst the big dogs and take a hell of a beating , ray this could be your now thing , get some of that fish slime you dip the lures it & rub it all over , you could win ! or atleast get payed once , GAS MONEY for the boat .

[ray koziatek]

yea i go west mostly get cohos and toms favorite, lakers .they fight like a waterloged stick in that cold water.(lakers)got a couple more days in the woods then after the hollydays ill look under my boat cover.probly just hit seneca till the ice is out at the oak or olcott gotta go the woods are calling

[The Scottsman]

Motoman,

The past 2 years king action has been good out of Rochester. Start out early from the genny and go west. First couple of weeks in May are good. Drop the riggers and use a 50-60 foot set back with NK28's Purple/Black has been a hit. Speeds in the range of 2.2-2.4 work well also.When you are infront of russel station look for smoke from the stacks.This shows that warm water in being let out to the lake. Turn and troll south till you are in 15-20 foot,adjust the riggs accordingly. at this point set out some stick baits that dive arount 5 foot or so,turn and go east then north again. Do this for a while till the Action stops.Then head to 70-80 foot. or go for breakfast. Of course its hit or miss some times but Iv hade good luck with my boat and on my buddy's doing this. If nothing hits shorten the leads to 10-20 feet. or speed up or down a bit. Somtimes this makes all the difference. Good luck. Chris.

[motoman]

sound like what we were doing this fall at least the tracks ! thanks for all the info guys