Keuka Lake out of Branchport 11/2 midday
Guided Dave and his son Jeffrey starting at 10 am at Keuka Lake State Park. Conditions featured overcast, threatening skies and light winds. From November onwards through May, I rarely find a need to run far from the park. Plenty of fish are within a couple miles of the park and they are generally cooperative. That was the case for us.
The guys had done some jigging on their own before but wanted a few more tips. Within short order we figured out a few things that really helped their success. The guys landed 6 or 7 fish in about 2.5 hours before rain started moving in. They had a few things they wanted to get done in the afternoon, so we wrapped things up early. None of the fish landed had spawned yet and some still were feeding actively. Bait is still around on Keuka Lake. We had our best action from around 85′ out to 105′ (on the Branchport Arm.)
BTW, Angling Zone friend Mark L. called me up yesterday and told me that lakers they caught in the spring on Keuka had some smelt in their stomachs. He’s positive. If that’s the case, it’s certainly news to me. I have seen some sculpins in laker stomachs and word is from the DEC that the Keuka fish are eating a lot of sculpins, at least the smaller, younger lake trout. I’ll keep my eyes open for smelt, but I have never found one in a laker stomach here thus far.