Senaca Lake help for this Friday 6/20

[Fishbowl836]

I am looking to get some information on fishing Seneca Lake this Friday.  I have been trolling Cayuga Lake hard for the last three weeks and I am not doing very well.  It is probably something I am doing but I am so frustrated that I need to try something different.  I usually fly fish the south end around the dish charge at clute park for salmon and browns in the early spring but have never been trolling on the lake before.  My plan is to use the same program that I used in the spring on Cayuga Lake.  In-Line boards with sticks and spoons off the riggers.  I am assuming the water is a little cooler then Cayuga and the fish should be in the 10 to 30 FOW.  I am thinking about going out of Lodi Point and fishing the north and south of the point around the launch area.  Or should I launch down on the south end of the lake and fish that area?  This is going to be one of those pay your dues type trips which I don’t mind doing I just would like some help getting started.  Thanks in advance for all your help.    

 

Fishbowl836

[DoghouseII]

June - August, north of Myers Point and around Taughannock State Park is where you want to be on Cayuga. The south end always gets hard after May.

[ERABBIT]

Any reason you have not posted any fishing reports , or have I just not looked in the right spot ?

[justtracytrolling]

Those of us who share a lot like to read too!

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[Hookedup]

I had 57 deg down 45 the other day witch is where I like to get bows. It was 67 to 68 on top OK for browns but not much else. I'd start running a summer program top down to 130. I wouldn't plan on setting the world on fire in shallow with flat lines. We had lots of warm water dumped in lake last three days so lake should be setting up good.

[reeldilemma33]

On north end I had 52-55 degrees 25 ft down. Id run suttons (38) I haven't done great either. My biggest problem is to much tackle lol I have a hard time knowing how far back you run spoons off riggers. Never really had much luck. Peanuts and spin doctors.... Whole nother story lol it's also difficult setting up rigs for Seneca then the next weekend going to sodus and setting up for big fish. Getting my license in mail so hopefully just stickin to seneca once I get business rollin

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[reeldilemma33]

Good luck and share info like most of us do not just when ya need help will make your requests answered at a much faster pace... Lol

Good luck!

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[ray koziatek]

Sean is a great fisherman who doesnt expect anything in return,his advise is pretty much "Golden"..AS you know Seneca is a easy lake to fish,I can't ever remember getting skunked (from a boat) in the past 30 years .. BUT I was lucky enuf to be taught by a couple good trollers from day 1...who were as good as any charter back in those days..but as ya know their ain't no majic to it.. just watch yer 3 s's...Also don't get to caught up on Suttons yes they do work and back in their day in the 60's they had a good rap , but with the stuff we have to fish with now you would be foolish to spend much time running them,in a mixed spread.Wish I could play friday I feel like eatin a couple fresh fish..

[Keep'n it Reel]

Sean is a great fisherman who doesnt expect anything in return,his advise is pretty much "Golden"..AS you know Seneca is a easy lake to fish,I can't ever remember getting skunked (from a boat) in the past 30 years .. BUT I was lucky enuf to be taught by a couple good trollers from day 1...who were as good as any charter back in those days..but as ya know their ain't no majic to it.. just watch yer 3 s's...Also don't get to caught up on Suttons yes they do work and back in their day in the 60's they had a good rap , but with the stuff we have to fish with now you would be foolish to spend much time running them,in a mixed spread.Wish I could play friday I feel like eatin a couple fresh fish..

i think saying it is a easy lake to fish is wrong! It can be ruthless and cold hearted at times!!!! I have seen many 60 and 75+++ fish days but I have also seen the opposite one fish two fish no fish blue fish!!!!!!! And maybe try the shill ones first thing but as Sean said don't waste much time in there bring coppers cores and wires and play out side to! I will be on the lake this evening after work I will try to post what I find!!

Joe

[ERABBIT]

Sean is a great fisherman who doesnt expect anything in return,his advise is pretty much "Golden"..AS you know Seneca is a easy lake to fish,I can't ever remember getting skunked (from a boat) in the past 30 years .. BUT I was lucky enuf to be taught by a couple good trollers from day 1...who were as good as any charter back in those days..but as ya know their ain't no majic to it.. just watch yer 3 s's...Also don't get to caught up on Suttons yes they do work and back in their day in the 60's they had a good rap , but with the stuff we have to fish with now you would be foolish to spend much time running them,in a mixed spread.Wish I could play friday I feel like eatin a couple fresh fish..

Ray I'll have a open seat next week ,  if you want to join me......

[Zebedee]

Sean and Ray have both helped my fishing on Seneca.  I'd heed their advice!

[Sk8man]

After spending much of my life fishing Seneca Lake (mainly since the 1950's) I have to agree with Joe on this one.  Seneca Lake has become a great trout and perch fishery in the past couple decades but back in the 1970's it often took about 4 hrs or more to catch a legal trout (according to the DEC diaries I kept). It is a very big deep lake and for people unfamiliar with it especially it can be very challenging. I think Ray is also correct in that if you fish it frequently and get a feel for the target species habits and live locally so that you are privy to local information from friends and tackle shop folks etc. you have a decided advantage in being successful fishing it. Also back in previous times the "southenders" often stayed pretty much at the south end and the northenders stayed pretty much at the north end and the folks in the Dresden/Sampson/Lodi locales fished mostly in their own part of the lake (within a few miles) so they gained intensive firsthand knowledge of their defined areas. Fishing on Seneca has in some ways come full circle from the early and mid 1900's when my grandfather was out there jerking copper and trolling from a row boat. He used the first Sutton spoons (see pic) way back then as well as Geneva spoons (pic) and a few years ago I caught fish on them for old times sake...and they still work. My point is that all the new fancy equipment doesn't guarantee fish and you can troll for hours out there without a hit if you don't know what you are doing and don't use the right setups for the conditions and seasons. Most of the new equipment and lure types and colors catch even more fishermen than fish...they work but you still need to know how to use them out there. Fishbowl- I sent you a PM yesterday.

[letsfish2day]

Cool spoons never seen them with the treble in the middle...I was brought up on Suttons and Miller's...Ive tried others and always go back to the old reliables...a shame they are so hard to come by...I recently purchased some great lakes spoons similar to Suttons and Miller's and lookforward to try them this weekend....I guess its the old saying use what works for you

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[Iron Duke]

After spending much of my life fishing Seneca Lake (mainly since the 1950's) I have to agree with Joe on this one. Seneca Lake has become a great trout and perch fishery in the past couple decades but back in the 1970's it often took about 4 hrs or more to catch a legal trout (according to the DEC diaries I kept). It is a very big deep lake and for people unfamiliar with it especially it can be very challenging. I think Ray is also correct in that if you fish it frequently and get a feel for the target species habits and live locally so that you are privy to local information from friends and tackle shop folks etc. you have a decided advantage in being successful fishing it. Also back in previous times the "southenders" often stayed pretty much at the south end and the northenders stayed pretty much at the north end and the folks in the Dresden/Sampson/Lodi locales fished mostly in their own part of the lake (within a few miles) so they gained intensive firsthand knowledge of their defined areas. Fishing on Seneca has in some ways come full circle from the early and mid 1900's when my grandfather was out there jerking copper and trolling from a row boat. He used the first Sutton spoons (see pic) way back then as well as Geneva spoons (pic) and a few years ago I caught fish on them for old times sake...and they still work. My point is that all the new fancy equipment doesn't guarantee fish and you can troll for hours out there without a hit if you don't know what you are doing and don't use the right setups for the conditions and seasons. Most of the new equipment and lure types and colors catch even more fishermen than fish...they work but you still need to know how to use them out there. Fishbowl- I sent you a PM yesterday.

One very wise fisherman once told me " If you can catch fish in Seneca Lake you can catch fish in any lake" and I believe that to be very true.. Seneca is a challenging lake but like everything else if you put your time in (many years) its rewards can be endless. ..

Mike

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Edited June 19, 2014 by Iron Duke

[Hookedup]

I have noticed some changes on Seneca just over the past couple years. I'm sure a few years from now DEC will notice the same things. First more young browns and bows that look good. Without question we have less Lakers in Seneca over the last year or two. The mornings of 100 Lakers are over. With the electronics we have now days it doesn't make it hard to see the amount of Lakers is now down which I think was the goal. This promotes the Salmon, Bows, and Browns but for the beginner they can be much harder to catch than Lakers. I've also not had any small young Lakers put in the boat like in the past but have had many small lamprey. So will see what kind of a hit they take in the next couple years. None of this has to do with the above post, just my opinion on what's happening on the water. I'm with Ray on the Sutton's they catch fish but I can't run them in my program I fish to fast. If you run Riggs and can slow down they will put fish in the boat. Sean

[Sk8man]

As always Sean's info is right in the bullseye and he is a very good example of what happens when you spend intensive time out there paying attention to detail and fully incorporate those details into your strategies and setups. It is information you can "take to the bank".  The point about Sutton's being "speed sensitive" is worth noting....very true and I don't mix them with my other faster stuff unless it is on purpose (to cover radical changes in range of  trolling speeds) I also believe Mike's "advice" comment is totally valid and it is a belief I've held too for many years.

Edited June 19, 2014 by Sk8man

[Dick]

launched from clute tuesday at 11:00am and was amazed at the mud, and debri from catherene. huge plume out in the lake!

trolled north past panted rocks useing FLTs. saw fish on bottom at 93 ft. water temp was all over the place from the runoff.

crossed to the salt plant and went north over 93 to 200 ft zig zaging for an hour. lures at 70,55,40,20, 15 ft. some fish all up and down.

no pattern. finaly went back up to 1st point north of salt plant and switch to my goto sutton spoons. slowed down to 1.8 over 70 ft, and got

a good brown 40ft down as i was fighiing him and taking off leaders, a land locked hit the lure above the brown and was mostly in the air.

He left with my spoon and i landed the brown. about 7lbs. getting late wind picked up so trolled South 140-190ft south of salt point bait pods,

and fish marks all most solid down to 40ft. peetered out south of the Tiki. had two hits nobody home. off the lake by 4:30. 1 brown bad sunburn!

lots of wood just outside the mud plume, poor idiot in the speed boat!

Good luck!! Dick B.

[Keep'n it Reel]

I can not argue with a single thing that has been said in this post all great info, and all great fisherman i have had the pleasure of fishing with some! All seem to be saying the same stuff what works for one may not work for others! And mike I was told the same thing a few years ago!!

[reeldilemma33]

After spending much of my life fishing Seneca Lake (mainly since the 1950's) I have to agree with Joe on this one. Seneca Lake has become a great trout and perch fishery in the past couple decades but back in the 1970's it often took about 4 hrs or more to catch a legal trout (according to the DEC diaries I kept). It is a very big deep lake and for people unfamiliar with it especially it can be very challenging. I think Ray is also correct in that if you fish it frequently and get a feel for the target species habits and live locally so that you are privy to local information from friends and tackle shop folks etc. you have a decided advantage in being successful fishing it. Also back in previous times the "southenders" often stayed pretty much at the south end and the northenders stayed pretty much at the north end and the folks in the Dresden/Sampson/Lodi locales fished mostly in their own part of the lake (within a few miles) so they gained intensive firsthand knowledge of their defined areas. Fishing on Seneca has in some ways come full circle from the early and mid 1900's when my grandfather was out there jerking copper and trolling from a row boat. He used the first Sutton spoons (see pic) way back then as well as Geneva spoons (pic) and a few years ago I caught fish on them for old times sake...and they still work. My point is that all the new fancy equipment doesn't guarantee fish and you can troll for hours out there without a hit if you don't know what you are doing and don't use the right setups for the conditions and seasons. Most of the new equipment and lure types and colors catch even more fishermen than fish...they work but you still need to know how to use them out there. Fishbowl- I sent you a PM yesterday.

Les you are book of knowledge...

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[reeldilemma33]

I wasn't saying he has to use suttons I was just stating what would be easiest. You can pick them up (suttons) in downtown naples still or even Roy's marina in geneva. Pretty simple yet effective.

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[Sk8man]

My fishing buddies have said I am a wealth of BS too   Thanks John

[reeldilemma33]

And agreed what works for some doesn't work for other but don't be shy on experimenting

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[Hookedup]

For the original poster or anyone I'll be out mid day Friday give me a call on 68 or go to my website and call my cell I'll hook you up with info if I'm out. Kids have a half day so they will be going to fishing school when they get home.

[justtracytrolling]

I have noticed some changes on Seneca just over the past couple years. I'm sure a few years from now DEC will notice the same things. First more young browns and bows that look good. Without question we have less Lakers in Seneca over the last year or two. The mornings of 100 Lakers are over. With the electronics we have now days it doesn't make it hard to see the amount of Lakers is now down which I think was the goal. This promotes the Salmon, Bows, and Browns but for the beginner they can be much harder to catch than Lakers. I've also not had any small young Lakers put in the boat like in the past but have had many small lamprey. So will see what kind of a hit they take in the next couple years. None of this has to do with the above post, just my opinion on what's happening on the water. I'm with Ray on the Sutton's they catch fish but I can't run them in my program I fish to fast. If you run Riggs and can slow down they will put fish in the boat. Sean

Sean,

Ive noticed that the next-generation seems to be trolling faster. I know I troll extremely fast for eyes compared to almost anyone. I believe it weeds out smaller fish and "trash" fish as well as the fact you can fish more water. Just wondered if that was your reasoning?

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[Hookedup]

I start at my speed and if I'm getting fish I'll kick it up and keep trucking. Now if things slow down will slow down. I work a lot of 120 to 130 ft contour lines so I get some tight S turns in that will let you know what they want. A week ago on a two boat trip with Nick things were slow but both boats put fish in the boat and the ones we got were at turbo speed halling Butt on turns. I am also fishing for a mixed bag on my trips and I need quantity. If I was in the lake trout derby early season fishing i would add a slow program in for deep pig Lakers. Now threw summer you can usually get those piggs running fast out deep under suspended bait. This is when I like to cover some water!

Edited June 19, 2014 by Hookedup