Reports 8/14 – 8/18
Since the fun gar trip last Thursday it’s been back to lake trout on Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. Both lakes continue to fish very well with better numbers typically showing up on Cayuga and bigger fish showing up on Seneca. That being said, former clients of mine managed a 34″er on Cayuga recently and numbers can certainly be had on Seneca. Fish on both lakes are in good to excellent condition and are still feeding fairly heavily. Bonus fish are showing up on both lakes.
Overall the thermoclines on the lakes have been moving around. It’s a safe bet to say that the key depth range on both lakes has ranged from 70′ to 115′. The usual whites and chartreuses have worked well. AM bites have not been predictable. The wind and sun have been major factors. Fishing has been holding up fairly well throughout the day, which is the norm for this time of year.
8/14 AM: Guided John, Eric and Andy on Cayuga. Fishing was solid with decent numbers of lakers landed on both sides of the lake. Fun AM.
8/14 PM: Guided Mike, Bill and Riley for the afternoon. Another solid day with around 10 fish or so landed. The guys were having a slow start to their trip – having fished a couple days without much doing. They got back on track and had a stellar Saturday here.
8/15: Guided Cody and Chelsey for a 1/2 day AM out of Geneva. I thought that we’d surely get hammered by a thunderstorm but they stayed away despite the ominous feeling to the air. Great AM with some nice fish landed. Chelsey lost a giant first thing in the AM. Cody managed a nice rainbow trout around 16″ to 18″ that we released.
8/16: Guided Dominiek and his son Herbert for the full day out of Geneva. Very solid fishing on the day with around 18 fish landed if I remember right. Half of the fish were over 27″ long! Had some solid action to start in deeper water – around 115′. Then we found an area that fished well in around 85′. The heat was intense when the wind died. Humidity was also sweltering.
8/17: Guided Bill and his son Tim for 1/2 day AM on Seneca out of Geneva. Tougher bite today, but Bill managed a 31″er that we released. The guys each landed one other fish and each missed a few. The lake was choppy and it was their first time jigging. Fish were scattered from around 70′ out to 115′. Not easy fishing.
8/18: Guided longtime client Tony and his friend Peter for a full day on Cayuga. Steady pick throughout the day. Around 19 fish landed I believe. I got hammered by a thunderstorm after I dropped the guys off at Taughannock where I’d picked them up. The memorable quotes of the day from the guys just after I heard some distant thunder and a few minutes before the lightning, torrential rains and heavy winds:
1.) “I don’t see much of anything on the radar.”
2.) “That storm is still a ways away. I saw lightning but didn’t hear thunder.”
Ha ha. Best bet this time of the year is to get off of the water ASAP when you see dark clouds forming to your west. Yes, once in a while you’ll get the boat on the trailer and the storm will miss you or be quick and then the skies will clear for the rest of the day. It happens. But you may also get a very dangerous, scary, life-threatening storm. Play it safe! I have to be reminded of this once every few years.