Owasco Lake 10/17
Guided Gordon for a brutal full day today. I emailed him regarding the conditions and he wanted to go for it, so we did. We had gusty north and west winds in the high teens mixed with some AM freezing rain and hail. Around 7 or 8 years ago we fished Skaneateles in similar conditions and had a banner day on rainbows. It wasn’t to be this time. We tried some pike and bass fishing without hits apart from perch. Loads of lakers and other fish were both on the north end flats (tons of bait) and lower lake points, but they were very negative. Some fish were chasing the jigs but nothing hit hard. Water temps are 60 but with this cold weather we should see 58 soon! The fish are around and will bite – today’s action was due to the weather, not any seasonal changes in activity.
BTW: The Cayuga Lake eggtake went very well this year. The crew finished up after 3 nights of gillnetting over 5 days. They lost one day due to a mechanical issue with their boat. Bycatch was minimal. The lakers were in excellent condition – fat and very few signs of lampreys. Top trout were around 33″ to 34″ and likely 13 to 14lbs. The guys didn’t notice many wild fish. I don’t think they will show up in the nets until 2016, since most of the wild ones were in the 24″ range and wouldn’t get caught in the nets until they get bigger. Cayuga Lake should provide superb fishing again next year and I expect good fall/winter/spring salmon and brown trout action.