Owasco Lake 6/21
Got out here with my buddy Terry to check in on the fishing starting just after 6:30 am. I’ve been wanting to get out here for awhile and was glad to hear that the improvements to the launch area were finally complete.
I’ve had a very “Cayuga-centric” year and I am enjoying it immensely. Driving all over the region fishing different Finger Lakes and other water bodies adds variety and can be a lot of fun, but after doing it for over 12 years as a full time guide it gets tiring. This year I am putting a lot less miles on my truck and boat. There’s also a lot less wear and tear on me. There are plenty of capable guides/charters in the region specializing in different species and lakes. When I started, there weren’t as many – at least that I knew of, so I was glad to offer trips on lakes that were a bit out of the way for me. So thus far this year it’s been mainly Cayuga and a little bit on Skaneateles for me. I still plan on doing a lot of guiding on Seneca Lake in the future, but with lake trout numbers/fishing still slow there, that’s a place that will have to wait. The DEC is constructing a public (State) launch on Otisco Lake. Once that’s complete, I will likely fish there a bit more often – mainly on my own recreationally – it is still a bit far for me to drive routinely to guide. Owasco is nearby and is a great lake and I plan on guiding here a lot more in the future.
We tried a couple hours of lake trout fishing in the AM on the north end of the lake. Fishing was alright. It’s not on a level with Cayuga by any means, but the fish are nice. We hooked and landed 3 trout this AM. All were clipped fish running 25″ to 26″.
We checked on smallmouth bass fishing and had some decent action. We missed/dropped some nice fish. We landed a few up to over 18″. Many smaller males were still on beds and we left them alone. I’d call it “good fishing” but only “fair catching.” Terry had a break-off from a northern pike on a fluke. I did some casting for pike and caught and released a 26″er on a spoon. We also caught some rockbass on tubes. Loads of perch were nearly everywhere in the shallows and even over deep water. We saw one nice perch go after an alewife a bunch of times before finally nailing it. A lot of the perch that are shallow are nice fish – 8″ to 11″ or better, so if you’re looking for a lot of fun and some great eating, this would be a great place to take your boat. Cayuga’s downlake perch fishing is usually hot now, but has been slow thus far this June. H2O was up to nearly 70 degrees today. Water level is high. Boat traffic was pretty much minimal (nearly non-existent today.)