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Seneca perch


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Billy the perch fishing on Seneca was terrible for all the folks I know and at best "spotty" for whatever reason compared with years past.  When one of my buddies put the camera down in 60 ft of water you couldn't even make out anything on bottom other than it being TOTALLY covered in mussels. They may be running out of places to feed and spawn because of it.

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Mike I'm not sure that is actually the case but if so it may be because of differences in the bottom composition. Seneca has many more rocky and pebble areas and not so much mud/silt a least from what I have experienced and there may be less for them to adhere or cling to down there.

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I think your right about the bottom composition. Cayuga has more sand where Seneca has more rock. Would make sense, more surface area the cleaner the lake. Less spawning grounds since they literally cover everything including each other...

Seems to me the answer could be in the larva form before the shell becomes hard... all this talk about gmo stuff.., when should introduce genetics to the species that then ultimately cause larva to be sterile, or softer shells so they can be consumed. Just a thought...

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I'll point out too that a year and a half ago, every boat in the world was hammering the schools off Sampson, with many, many limits going home in coolers. It was a massacre, and it lasted a long time. 

 

I'll hazard a guess that the population took a hit.

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I'll point out too that a year and a half ago, every boat in the world was hammering the schools off Sampson, with many, many limits going home in coolers. It was a massacre, and it lasted a long time.

I'll hazard a guess that the population took a hit.

Think you hit one of the nails on the head. I don't fish their much since I've never caught much but last year sounded like craziness in Ovid... People release that if you take all the spawning fish... their won't be anymore right?

Back to Les' topic on perch fishing... 50 per person is a lot of fish...

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The last couple years during the ice fishing season it was hard to see any ice between  the shelters and people in the marina as well causing a number of human problems (e.g. fights etc.). I spent about 15 minutes there last winter and left shaking my head in disbelief.  The present mentality of fishing perch as though they are an infinite herd that constantly magically replentishes itself as fish leave for people's bucket is taking its toll. These fish (perch) are particularly vulnerable to extermination and depletion because of their schooling behavior. This concept of vulnerability appears to have been recognized with respect to crappies (25 limit) but perch remain vulnerable as there are a lot of people that take in excess of the 50 and also take multiple limits with little to no intervention by law enforcement because they are understaffed or busy with more pressing matters elsewhere and this has been going on for years. Human greed is destroying our society and this is just one more example.

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Lake Erie had the same problem this year.  Perch were scattered & hard to find.  Last yr & other years, boats were coming in with limit catches.  A lot of guys were also throwing back anything less than 9".  There were so many fish thrown back in that the seagulls quit feeding on them.  Too many floating on the water.

Me?...I keep everything from deep water.  Pain in the butt to clean but it's a waste to just let 'em die.

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10-4 smeltz. Any perch with it's air bladder coming out it's mouth is keeper. You should've seen the circus @ sampson last winter. I read about the highlights in the paper. I was guilty of a few limits, but a 2oz. sinker cast into your boat when you're 150 yards off the wall? Maybe 20 years from now it will be comical to my nephew when he's never seen a seneca slob. Please tell the neighbors next door that don't get out of their pj's to go to the Walmart for big sinkers for their man's big noodle rod. It takes 15 to 20 years to grow a perch over 2lbs in the FL. Please respect your (our) fishery and report abusers. Makes me almost puke, like going past the baby clothes @ wallys seeing who's breeding. Sorry for the rant, seneca perch are beautiful if you have never seen one.

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Fished yesterday from the boat for the first time. Skunked. The 2 old guys I took love perch fishing we had fun. Seems we marked fish around weed beds around 14-16 fow. We use to fish the wall at sampson probably still will. A bit of chaos but met many nice guys who were not gluttons.

I know I still suck woulda been nice to see the old timers get a fish or two. But ill be back. Met some nice guys up there. I only fish for what I'd like to eat. Definatly not into filling bucket after bucket.

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The interesting thing to me is the fact that Seneca Lake has many many good places to fish for perch but people crowd one another in the same old seasonal haunts creating problems instead of doing their "homework" and looking around for the perch. I laugh when I see it ice fishing as well when just because there are a few huts clustered together folks figure they are hammering them when often it is just that those people are too lazy to move around and look for the fish. With that said Seneca has been tough this year for most of the guys open water fishing I know but the great thing about this area is that there are other lakes to try within reasonable distances and despite the focus on Seneca there are jumbos in Cayuga, Keuka, and Canandaigua and in that order so instead of jumping at the more "familiar" places folks should be exploring other places and discovering  "honey holes" less traveled. I've had the "followers" cast sinkers into my boat and the "nudgers" crowd me at places like Sampson and it certainly takes a lot of joy out of the fishing and for no good reason.

Edited by Sk8man
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I understand. I'm new to seneca since its only an hour drive. Covered as much water as we could. I only know a few spts so far.... but hopefully will continue to learn.... I do admit some real tools out there.especially for us we don't know what we r doin but a boat thought we did lol

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Old commercial gill-net fishermen have told me that the great lakes and surrounding waters are changing...and not for the better. The fish are changing their habits too as former forage species decline and new ones appear. They adapt and the fisherman must adapt also.

 

 

Cheers, DocWet 

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Ray I'm well aware of that and friends are currently working on a proposal to deal with it and hopefully the guys on here will be supportive of it.

Edited by Sk8man
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