Dumb Question

[John Kelley]

I traveled all the way from Eastern South Dakota, for work, but I towed my boat with me, because I knew I would be out here for two years.  That was from December 2011 to December of 2013.  I actually snuck back home in May of 2012 to grab my boat.  That was a 1200 mile trip, one way.  I fished the Finger lakes a couple of times, but soon concentrated my efforts on the Oak, and started spending every weekend at the Captain's Cove.  I made plenty of great friends, and caught salmon like I never dreamed of before!  I caught so many Kings, cohos, Lake trout, brown trout, and especially steelhead in two years, that I can't even keep an accurate count!!  I finally got my Tyee to the boat last summer, but had several of them on!  I took plenty of other new friends out and shared the joy of salmon fishing as well.  What really amazed me about Lake Ontario, being from the Midwest, is how we never hear of Lake Ontario back there.  If we hear about any salmon fishing in the media, like TV or magazines, it is almost always Lake Michigan, or the west coast.  I was completely blown away by the average size of the kings in Lake Ontario during the summer.  Before I ever fished Lake Ontario, I had caught the king bug out here on the Missouri river, where they actually stock Kings in Our biggest lake, Lake Oahe, and also the North Dakotans Lake Sakakawea.  These max out much smaller, and a 15 pound fish is a really good one.  I fished for them for about 5 years, and perfected my ways on them on the river, before I finally made my first trip to Lake Michigan.  Lake Michigan was a much better fishery, with a more diversified salmonids population, and I did fairly well here as well, soaking up all the information I could get while I was on my 4 day weekend trips.  The closest Lake Michigan port to me is still over a 10 hour  drive, and about 500 miles away from where I live.  Let me just say that Lake Michigan does not even come close to the salmon fishery of Lake Ontario, and I was amazed and awestruck by the fish swimming in your Great Lake. While I was out there I also got to fish Lake Erie for some perch and smallmouth, and can now say that I have caught fish in 4 of the 5 Great Lakes.  I am only missing Lake Huron.  Anyways, I want you New York people to know how great you have it with this fantastic salmon and trout fishery right on your doorstep!!  Those were the best two summers of my life, bar none, and I am doing what I can to find work out there, so I can move there myself, and never have to be far away from the greatest inland salmon fishery of them all!! I am missing the lake very badly right now, and am Jonesing for some screaming copper and steel line drags, and some downrigger rods getting torn off the releases!!  Tight lines everyone, and go catch those big, nasty salmon, so I can live vicariously through your stories on here!!  These Missouri river walleyes are boring the Hell out of me!! Thanks!!! 

Edited July 22, 2014 by John Kelley

[TileMan Dan]

Well said Mr Kelly. Just finished a 4 day trip and already trying to figure when i can get back up to Lake O.

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Mortigan]

I traveled all the way from Eastern South Dakota, for work, but I towed my boat with me, because I knew I would be out here for two years.  That was from December 2011 to December of 2013.  I actually snuck back home in May of 2012 to grab my boat.  That was a 1200 mile trip, one way.  I fished the Finger lakes a couple of times, but soon concentrated my efforts on the Oak, and started spending every weekend at the Captain's Cove.  I made plenty of great friends, and caught salmon like I never dreamed of before!  I caught so many Kings, cohos, Lake trout, brown trout, and especially steelhead in two years, that I can't even keep an accurate count!!  I finally got my Tyee to the boat last summer, but had several of them on!  I took plenty of other new friends out and shared the joy of salmon fishing as well.  What really amazed me about Lake Ontario, being from the Midwest, is how we never hear of Lake Ontario back there.  If we hear about any salmon fishing in the media, like TV or magazines, it is almost always Lake Michigan, or the west coast.  I was completely blown away by the average size of the kings in Lake Ontario during the summer.  Before I ever fished Lake Ontario, I had caught the king bug out here on the Missouri river, where they actually stock Kings in Our biggest lake, Lake Oahe, and also the North Dakotans Lake Sakakawea.  These max out much smaller, and a 15 pound fish is a really good one.  I fished for them for about 5 years, and perfected my ways on them on the river, before I finally made my first trip to Lake Michigan.  Lake Michigan was a much better fishery, with a more diversified salmonids population, and I did fairly well here as well, soaking up all the information I could get while I was on my 4 day weekend trips.  The closest Lake Michigan port to me is still over a 10 hour  drive, and about 500 miles away from where I live.  Let me just say that Lake Michigan does not even come close to the salmon fishery of Lake Ontario, and I was amazed and awestruck by the fish swimming in your Great Lake. While I was out there I also got to fish Lake Erie for some perch and smallmouth, and can now say that I have caught fish in 4 of the 5 Great Lakes.  I am only missing Lake Huron.  Anyways, I want you New York people to know how great you have it with this fantastic salmon and trout fishery right on your doorstep!!  Those were the best two summers of my life, bar none, and I am doing what I can to find work out there, so I can move there myself, and never have to be far away from the greatest inland salmon fishery of them all!! I am missing the lake very badly right now, and am Jonesing for some screaming copper and steel line drags, and some downrigger rods getting torn off the releases!!  Tight lines everyone, and go catch those big, nasty salmon, so I can live vicariously through your stories on here!!  These Missouri river walleyes are boring the Hell out of me!! Thanks!!! 

 

Well said, John but you forgot to include the boat you rescued in your Lake Ontario adventures.  You had a great couple of seasons!

[John Kelley]

Yeah, I got pretty spoiled for a couple of seasons, Mortigan!!LOL  I actually towed a sailboat in one night after dark, that was floundering by the break-wall, too, so two boat rescues in two seasons!!LOL That's nothing any other boater wouldn't have done.  I really miss the lake, and especially all of the friendly fishermen out there, that share information freely.  I come from the walleye fishing world, where everything is so secretive, and people get all bent out of shape if you share information, so this was really refreshing to me.  A world where I could share what I know, and also learn from others, without being harassed by my peers for giving out information!!  I have always been of the mind that "when everybody is catching fish, we are all enjoying our sport that much more!!

[TyeeTanic]

I live 1 mile from Lake O.  I also think I should be there all the time. LOL.

[John Kelley]

I live 1 mile from Lake O.  I also think I should be there all the time. LOL.

Haha, I concur!!LOL

[Willy-C]

I travel from Hooksett NH 6 hours and I like to go for 2 weeks at a time it helps offset the gas costs going for 2 weeks Im on my way for 2 more on July 19th . I would rather fis for 4-6 weeks a year atr the big O than the whole season in NH the big O is world class fishing not all that far away.

You from Hooksett too??

We may have crossed paths somewhere?

Sent from my iPad using Lake Ontario United

[eturc]

Come in from northern NH- 7-8 hour drive....

Longest travel time was from Stockholm Sweden..... Left there at 11am Stockholm time- landed in boston at 5pm.  Headed to my father's house and loaded up my stuff- hit the road at 10pm.  We were on that water at 6am the following morning.  I was dragging that day to say the least.

[Reel time II]

Also from NH , lakes region no less , but find us dragging the boat out to Ontario more and more every year , can't beat the fishery , the people are great , won't be long before we have another boat docked for the season at this rate , the big lake has us hooked !

[starcraftloaded]

I thought I traveled a ways to fish the big pond but I guess I should feel lucky, I'm about an hour and 1/2 from Henderson and about an hour and 45 from Oswego. I have fished almost every inland lake in my area either ice fishing or by boat and I just can't seem to want to Fish anywhere besides the big pond.

I was an exclusive walleye fisherman, don't get me wrong, I've fished for every species, starting fishing young, even spent a few years targeting a nys record Catfish but ended up fishing for walleye or nothing.

I would trailer to Henderson and troll all day and catch one or two 12lb walleye, mind you this was during the lull time of year when they seem to disappear, but I never gave up. Everyone else was fishing lakers, Browns or Bass, not me, walleye or nothing.

Then I discovered Kings, and I've caught a ton of them in the streams but when I started targeting them on the lake, I don't know what to say..... I'm not happy fishing for anything else, I'll fish Browns in April and walleyes til end of June, after that, I'm after Kings only,

Am I all alone??? Does anyone else avoid the marks that are browns or lakers and run an exclusive King pattern?

[jigstick]

I live in Pittsburgh PA and drive up to fish the eastern basin of Erie and out of Olcott at least every other weekend.  If it wasn't for the extreme liberal politics in NY, I would be looking to live in the greater Buffalo area just to be close to world class fishing on both lakes.

[Big Water]

500 mile round trip for me from State College PA and I'm up there almost every weekend from May until mid-September.  I made the mistake of bringing the boat up in early April this year and now I'm hooked on the Brown Trout fishing so my season just got extended by a month. 

[panfisher]

If U R into fishing of any or of many kinds......NY is the place to be. The politics are not the best or the worst...the fishing is great. The weather is not the best or the worst...the fishing is great. The scenery is not the best or the worst....the fishing is great. The license fees are not bad, given the quality of the fishing afforded. A NY fishing license will get one a fantastic choice of freshwater warm and cold water opportunities. And if you like saltwater fishing, around that place called the Big Apple, the fishing for many species can be awesome. I guess it's the variety of different water types, both lake, river, pond, creek, ocean....and big swaths of 2 Great Lakes......it's a fisherman's paradise. You can go to big or small, isolated or crowded......and catch all kinds of different fish. And then there are those Kings.....the KINGS.....and, if the winter is cold enough, a mess of perch and sunnies taste awful good off the ice........BTW, the hunting for deer and birds isn't too bad either (wish the state got back to the pheasants as in days of old....you couldn't walk through any old field anywhere without flushing dozens of them!).