Seneca Lake 10/4 + 10/5
Watkins 10/4 AM: Did a 1/2-day trip with Jodi and James. Pike fishing was very good in the AM with a half dozen decent fish landed. Many of the smaller (25″) pike are showing signs of stress or something. Some fish have what looks to be abrasions on them and are thin. One pickerel was also caught. The action was best early and in the fog; things slowed up by 10 am.
10/4 PM: Did a PM trip with Trent and Ed from Cornell. Action started out very slow with nothing to show for the first couple hours. We had a hit or two and Trent had some follows from some “silvery fish” that I didn’t see- maybe juvenile salmon or rainbows. To their credit, the guys kept fishing hard and stayed with “the program”. Action picked up late in the trip and at least 1/2 dozen nice pike to 32″ were landed. A bunch were missed/lost as well. Swim baits and a Rat-L Trap did the trick. Lots of boat traffic out of Watkins – probably due to the nice weather! It’s downright gorgeous out there! The great evening bite was a sign of things to come….
10/5 out of Sampson: We got a late start today as Barry and his daughter Julie misjudged the time of arrival. Fishing started out good with Barry having a follow from a very nice pike over 32″. Action was decent in the AM with at least 1/2 dozen fish landed. We tried some laker jigging with a few hits but nothing special. Plenty of bait and some fish were in 80′ to 110′. Better jigging could probably be had earlier in the day or downlake. The PM pike bite was fantastic. We had a bunch of doubles and another dozen or more fish landed (we stopped counting.) The fish were all quality – mostly 29″ to 32″ well-fed healthy pike. As usual, we released nearly all fish – keeping a few smaller fish for the table. Best action was from around 8′ to 15′ or so. Swimbaits dominated! Lunker City Shakers with the 1/2 oz. Sworming Hornet jig/spinners have been terrific. Water temps are at 62. In my opinion, that’s the upper threshold water temp for super pike action in the Finger Lakes. Fish are fighting great too – terrific surges and some surface acrobatics! It was Barry’s birthday and the lake gave us a great present! Combine the active pike with the great foliage and it’s heaven on earth for fishermen in the Finger Lakes right now!