Otisco Lake Angler diary results 2013

[justtracytrolling]

I recieved the angler diary results yesterday in the mail, and I thought Id share the result from Otisco Lake.  BTW the complete summary may viewed online at http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/27875.html. 

 

Last year we had 18 cooperators recording 210 trips which amounted to almost 1400 hours of fishing effort.  Cooperators caught a record 254 walleye  surpassing the 190 caught in 2000.  251 of those walleye were keepers and all but 12 were kept.  The avg fish caught was close to 23 inches.  The resulting catch rate was up 66% to .29 walleye per hour, and catch rates of .2 are considered very good with catch rates approaching .5 being excellent.  

 

The YOY (year of young) survival rate was 11.8% which is at a high since 2008 based on fall electrofishing, and the growth rate of 1.5 inch fingerlings stocked in june was good with the average fish being 7.1 inches in september.  

 

The lake is in great shape!!

 

There is alot more data and encourage everyone to check it out, and urge everyone to participate! 

 

justin

[315angler]

How many of those were from you? I see it says that something like 75% were from 2 cooperators

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[justtracytrolling]

Bout 150, but i take alot of people out. Believe me there is other guys that catch like i do they just dont tell anyone. Its a tough lake to be consistent on but there really is tons of walleye. Get ahold of me ill help you out.

Justin

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[johnnywalleye]

thanxs for sharing...and so long 4 now;john

[CaptainEyes]

It is nice to see a slight increase in number of participating diary anglers and  it would be nice to see a larger participation as  this only accounts for a real small percentage of the overall (walleye) take.  Guy's have been trolling the lake for years but keep it to themselves I also know 2guys who actually do well jigging and the diary also doesnt account for the 100's of homeowners around the lake who walk out on their deck at night and catch there fair share as well.  I hope the DEC  increase's stocking numbers as I have wittnessed a  substantial increase in the fishing pressure(past 5 year's) on this small lake (not sure if this site has anything to do with it) and I'm not sure I share the same setiment that there is a "ton" of walleyes in the lake.

 

The DEC stocks 44,000 fingelrings annually with a normal 1%-2% survival rate which means the majority of the year class is caught every year.  And according to the DEC there is very little if any natural reproduction on the lake so 44,000 is the number.  Now, with this past year of 11% survival rate (super good news)  what it means is that 2018-2019 should be banner years for walley fishing.  One thing about this lake is it does not give up its fish very easily I had my worst year ever Ice fishing on Otisco I hope spring/summer goes the other way.

[justtracytrolling]

All I know is that there is plenty of walleyes to catch and if you work at it the lake gives up plenty. I doubt we will see the stocking go up when there is so many mature fish and catch rates are up already. The lake seems in balance to me...not that that means a thing. I had nights last fall that we could have caught as many as we wanted, but we quit with fish biting and our limits.

Justin

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[CaptainEyes]

like they say 90% of the fish are caught by 10% of the fisherman which is a true statement.  However, I based my comment on the data provided by the DEC on stocked vs %that live vs total number taken yearly..  My concern with the increasing number of people fishing for walley is the sustainability based on the data.  I expected the catch rate to jump big time this past year due to the fact we are finally getting over the hump of 3yrs NO stocking.  Also, remeber that the NYDEC stating .2 an hour is good and .5 an hour is excellent is nothing more than  NY biologist throwing a number out there for people to drink the kool-aid.  If you compare other states catch rate you will see they are at 1 per hour or higher if we are not striving for sustainability and a catch rate compareable to those in other excellent walley fisheries than whats the point of keeping a diary?

[justtracytrolling]

You cant compare catch rates because there really isnt a fair sampling size...there just isnt enough anglers participating...plus like Brent said the numbers seem arbitrary. My feelings about the fishery are from my 30 years of fishing experience, and I had a 24 inch avg at 5lbs+ plus. How many other states have a walleye lake that produces like that...not counting the great lakes. Come out with me this year Brent and Ill show you how good it is! Dont get me wrong Id like more stocked also, but the lake really is fantastic. As long as the walleye are targeted and caught the state will continue stocking, and if we dont have any more holes in the stocking I think the lake has even more potential.

justin

[CaptainEyes]

I'm not debating your 30yrs of experience or personal avg walleye size or weight but, to answer your question many states and Canada have similar averages if not higher at rates of over 1fish per hour.  But this discussion is about sustainability on Otisco and I consider myself a conservationist and because the DEC is under funded and under manned I have very little faith in the fisheries and wildlife programs especially given the liberal season' and limits.  And, in Otisco's case the numbers of stocked vs caught and with the increasing number of lines in the water = the math just does not add up for sustainability the only caveat to that is if the lake continues to see a 11% plus survival rate of stocked fish but thats a huge if......

 

Justin I will take you up on the offer to go fishing with you I would like to see what other more succesful people are doing that I'm not..

 

Brent

[justtracytrolling]

I agree 100 per cent, but the problem i have is that we dont really KNOW exactly how many fish survive and we dont KNOW how many are taken so we really dont KNOW if we are can sustain long term. I can only guess based on what im told, and the quality of the fishing. Based on several long discussions with Ian Blackburn, I feel the lake is in good shape. I specifically asked if I was over harvesting in his opinion and he was very supportive of harvesting and open posting of my results. I will continue to work with the DEC and share my results, and if that means more fish are caught that's my intention. If everyone catches well they will continue to stock more and more as the return on the investment is tangible. Keep in mind i didnt catch that many walleye personally....the 25 people i took out did! The resource is being shared! That means 26 licenses were sold to catch 150 walleye. At least 10 people I took bought their FIRST license to go out with me.

Justin

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[ducks517]

It's like your twisting my arm to head down there and try out the fishing. I need to get down there to see what I can do. Just looked at my schedule to see about fishing in the tourney but have a graduation party that day. So it will have to be at another time. :/ But I will get down there this year. 

[Ronald Allen Sellers]

The reason they are so hard to catch is because of all the bait in that lake.

[justtracytrolling]

EXACTLY!  As you know it can be done tho!  If it was easy they would call it bass fishing...

[CaptainEyes]

Your a 100% right Justin, we dont know what we dont know and if  the hard questions are not asked we'll never know... Thankfully, this year we should know more with the anticipated 2014 full lake survey...

 

Good Luck Sat morning sounds like its gonna be cool and rainy!!

[justtracytrolling]

The full lake survey will be great to see!  

[muskiedreams]

Justin,

When I click on the link for the DEC report I get a message that says the page doesn't exist. I was interested in what the stats for Tigers were. I was able to find the 2012 report on the website. I wasn't sure if the diary study includes Tiges but I found out fron the 2012 report that it does.

[justtracytrolling]

The dec website should have the report...if you cant find it ill double check the hardcopy they mailed for the link...ill try to remember to bring it next weekend so if any of you muskie hunters wanna look when you come next week.

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[CaptainEyes]

Muskidreams pm me your email and I will send it to you

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