Seneca and Cayuga Reports 7/2 – 7/4
Lake trout action is generally good to excellent on both lakes. Fishing on Seneca was superb on 7/2 in the AM. This somewhat steady weather should keep the action decent at least through mid-week. Time will tell! Even slow “post frontal” days this time of year are usually good for at least a few fish. Anything is possible this year.
7/2 AM Seneca Lake out of Seneca Lake State Park: Guided Jacob and Rachael for a 1/2 day starting just after 6:15 am. A lot of people ask me when the best times are to fish for lake trout. In general, during the summer months an early start is always a great idea. Fishing is generally pretty good throughout the day (which is why I do full days and PM 1/2 days) but an early start can help pinpoint groups of fish, even if they start hitting well later. During the later part of the summer, through the fall, into the winter and then into the spring, the bites often start later in the AM. With the full moon on the 2nd, I decided an early start would be best (6 am.)
Fishing was slow during the first hour but then turned on. My party landed 23 lakers. That’s a great day number-wise, but not uncommon on a great lake at the right time. What made the fishing spectacular was the size of the fish. We landed 5 or 6 lakers that were in the 30″ to 32″ range! And all were well-fed fish likely running 10 to maybe 12lbs! I don’t know if I’ve ever had a day that good for trophy sized (for inland waters in NY) lakers! I actually apologized in advance to Jacob and Rachael, cause nothing we do in the future will likely top today! All the big ones were released unharmed (we never weigh lakers that will be released.) Fish were shallow – 45′ to 75′.
PM: My PM trip was with Doug and his two sons, Pete and Steve. The fishing wasn’t as hot as the AM bite, but it was still downright excellent. The guys landed around 15 or 16 fish, mostly in the 22″ to 27″ range. Overall we had 5 or 6 lampreys come up on the fish on the whole day, but most fish were in very fine condition. Most were wild.
7/3 AM Cayuga Lake out of Long Point: Guided Brian and his buddy Kevin for a 1/2 day. We were on the lake at 6:30 and avoided the gauntlet of boat traffic that started lining up just after noon. Fishing was excellent in shallow (again) with the guys landing their limit in about an hour! After that it was catch and release, though I had the guys keep two lakers for me. Fun day!
My buddy Mike’s mom has a great fish recipe that I love for any of the Finger Lake salmonids. Heat up a saute pan with olive oil, add a fillet or a few skinless pieces of fish, freshly sliced tomatoes, capers and some sliced olives. Garlic is optional. Sautee’ the fish on both sides and serve with the mixture of tomatoes et.al on top. It goes great with some steamed white rice on the side. Simple to prepare and simply fantastic.
7/4 AM Seneca Lake out of Seneca Lake State Park: Guided Ron and his son Nick for 1/2 day. We started around 6:30 am with way more wind than was forecast. The lake was choppy and the stacked warm water pushed the fish deep. We had fair action in 80′ to 90′ FOW. The guys managed to land 4 solid fish up to 29″ and probably 9lbs. Most boats left early due to the conditions. Tougher day, but the guys saw just what needed to be done in order to have some success despite the whitecaps and rolling lake. I love the remote controlled Minn-Kota Terrova trolling motor I have. That combined with a drift sock (used at times) turned what could have been a very difficult day into a somewhat productive one.