Odds and Ends moving towards March
Updates to this website have pretty much been completed. I’m hoping that the site will run smoothly moving forward. In general, I’ve been very happy with this WordPress site. I did update the lakes and species pages taking into account the 2024 season. Most updates on the species pages were for fish we actively target – lake trout, northern pike, salmon and so forth. I didn’t have much to add to some of the other species like bluegills, gar and so on. At some point in the past, my bowfin page disappeared, so I’ll probably have to try to catch a ‘fin in 2025 so I have a new photo. I haven’t been able to locate my old bowfin photos. I will also add “Lake Sturgeon” eventually, and although they are illegal to target, they are a certainly a fish that deserve a write-up!
I dropped off my fishing diaries to Region 7 Fisheries back in early January. I’m not going to go on about being a diary cooperator, but keep in mind that every bit of data helps paint a more accurate vision of the fishery for our fishery managers. You can’t expect great decisions without accurate data! I’ll leave it at that.
Lake trout stocking on Cayuga Lake is scheduled to be cut by around 33% this year. I think this is a good move, given that our lake trout population is immense and is clearly keeping down our salmon and brown trout populations. There’s enough food out there to feed these lakers, but they are the most canaballistic of the trout/salmon species in our lakes and they consume a lot of freshly stocked/hatched salmonids – including young lake trout. Owasco Lake laker stocking has been cut substantially over the past decade or more, and the lake trout catch rates remain very good, PLUS we have a terrific rainbow trout fishery and the browns seem to be doing better every year. We’ll see how things play out, but it will be a good 5 or 6 years before the changes will even be noticeable. I think cormorants also play a role in the salmon/trout issues on Cayuga Lake, but there isn’t much that can be done about them given that they are federally protected. Anyways, Keuka Lake is a great example of what can happen when a lake trout population remains unchecked, but I digress.
I am keeping an eye on the weather and should be ready to roll with my 2020 Crestliner in early March. I want to see a warm up for a few days in the forecast before I pull that boat out of storage. My 2013 boat runs great and is my favorite winter boat, but I believe that one of the hoses (perhaps a livewell hose) cracked, so I wound up taking on a lot of water during my last two trips. The hull seems to be in fine shape – the bilge had been as dry as could be until my last two trips on Seneca Lake. The most logical answer is that some water wound up freezing in one of the hoses or connections. It happens and I’m surprised it didn’t happen earlier given how much winter fishing I’ve done in the past.
If you’re looking for a salmon trip or a lake trout jigging trip, now’s a great time to reserve your date. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, we move the date or you get your deposit back. That’s my no-risk approach to booking trips!