Reports

Guided Kathy and her (just turned) 14 year-old son Blake for a 1/2 day trip getting underway around 7:45 am.  Blake was hoping to get into some pike today but he was open to whatever was biting best.  The day didn’t appear to be a good pike day on paper, but the conditions were pretty good for them in the morning, so we gave the northerns a couple hours.  No luck on the pike, although quite a few perch were shallow and followed in our pike lures for what it’s worth.  Blake did a good job with the casting and lure presentation but the fish just weren’t too active.  Water temperatures ran around 58 on top.

It is prime time for lake trout on Owasco Lake so we gave that a try.  In short order, Kathy hooked and landed a beauty – a fat 30″ fish, which she tried to hold for a photo but couldn’t, so I helped with that!  After Blake landed his first one, I asked him whether he wanted to try for smallmouths and pike again, but he wanted to stick with the lake trout.  He landed another 4 fish for a total of a half-dozen solid lakers for a half of a half day.  The bite windows were short but solid.

Pike fishing should generally be good now throughout the region.  Like walleyes, pike favor low-light conditions.  Fishing for them on sunny, cloudless days is generally tough with occasional exceptions.  In the Finger Lakes, we have plenty of fishing options and I’ve built my guide service on maximizing available opportunities.