Reports

Guided Robert here for a full day getting underway just before 11 am.  I enjoy having the “extra hour” later in the day, which happens with Daylight Savings Time.  If I need to travel through Ithaca, say on the way back from Seneca or Keuka Lakes at daylight’s end, I don’t hit the traffic rush.  Today was Long Point, so it wasn’t a concern.  Water levels are similar to what they were last week.  No problems launching the boat today.  Water surface temps are at 38.8 degrees.

Robert landed 5 nice lakers today, running from 26″ to over 28″ long.  Fish are starting to put on some weight.  I cleaned 10 lake trout last week and didn’t notice any bait in their stomachs; today the three fish I cleaned were full of various sizes of alewives.  Fishing was not easy for us today.  We had a flurry of activity around noon to maybe 1 pm in deep water – around 170′ to 180′.  Apart from that, it was a fish here and a fish there.  Lots of areas weren’t showing much.  Robert probably dropped another half-dozen hookups today, which happens.  He’s taken the techniques we use here and applied them around the Catskill Reservoirs and has scored on some beautiful brown trout and lakers.  A lot of people didn’t think he’d do well with plastics out there, but a fish is a fish.  They don’t know where they are and nobody told them that downstate trout aren’t supposed to hit plastics!

The best of the springtime DEEP bite is yet to come.  Seeing fish full of bait was a great sign today.  Some big lakers were also crashing bait or doing something on the surface today.  A few loons are also around and we even saw an early midge or two, not that I’m looking forward to being “painted” with midges.  But at least spring is in the air somewhere!

Dates are booking fast.  My early bookings are strong for April through May.  If you’re waiting for nice weather, best bet is to take a chance and book a date, rather than be left out.  Dates can always be postponed due to inclement weather, but I can’t book people on days that are already booked!

Pike/pickerel/Tiger Musky/walleye seasons close this Wednesday.  As usual, the focus here will be on lake trout and landlocked salmon.  Cayuga/Seneca and Keuka Lakes depending on what you want are my picks.  Once the launch re-opens at Skaneateles Lake, mixed-bag early casting is a fun option.  We usually encounter some nice perch, a few bass and various trout species.  Walleyes are in season there year-round and I’ve had some luck with them this time of year too.  Owasco Lake has never been a great early-season lake trout lake for me – and given how close it is to Cayuga Lake, Cayuga is a much better bet.