Seneca Lake out of Watkins Glen 10/18 PM
I headed out here this afternoon to do some scouting for potential upcoming trips. It was forecast to be a bluebird, sunny day with calm conditions to start with winds blowing lightly out of the north in the afternoon. The forecast was actually correct! I was happy not to be confronted with a 20 mph northerly on this monster lake. I have a few clients interested in northern pike (as am I!) and wanted to check on the weed situation. I scouted a lot of areas that traditionally provide good pike fishing this time of year. I wish I had some good news on the pike front, but I don’t. Milfoil is pretty much gone from the vast majority of this lake now. I will try to find out more, but usually when launching at the south end of this lake on the north wind, my trailer becomes covered in a green tangle of milfoil. There was none today. None on the south end flats, none up the lake in coves, none on the inside turns of points – zero! Water temp on top was 61 degrees.
I didn’t get a lot of fishing time today, but I did some manage to do some casting here and there for pike. I also tossed some green pumpkin (goby colored) tube jigs around, a blade bait and a dropshot. There is some good news – I definitely had some follows and a few hits from what appeared to be smallish landlocked salmon. A friend also nabbed a couple trolling today. Salmon prospects are very good here going into the winter season. I did catch one small (13″) bass dropshotting in around 30′ FOW. It was a healthy looking fish and fought well. I had another follow me in the same basic area.
My pike guiding will strictly be on Owasco Lake this fall/winter and next May/June. It’s unfortunate to see such poor pike fishing on Seneca and Cayuga Lakes. Cayuga’s north end is worth a try, but it’s mostly pickerel up there. So pike on Owasco and tigers on Otisco are pretty much what we have in the eastern Finger Lakes region for bigger toothies. Sodus Bay is a good fishery at times, but it is somewhat out of my guiding range. Conesus and Silver Lake are both worth fishing if out in the western Finger Lake region.
Last year around this time frame and going into the first two weeks in November, we had some superb late-season “drop-back” action on lake trout on Cayuga Lake. The great thing about this fishing is that these fish bite best on warm, sunny, calm days. If you’re looking for a trout fix before the cold sets in, now’s a great time to do it.
Colors are peaking here in the Central NY region now! Photos below! I also had a chance to try a fried chicken sandwich at the new Lucky Hare Brewpub at the south end of the lake. It was excellent and I highly recommend it. The owners are going to try to keep the pub open year-round, so it would be a good place to grab a bite to eat and cold beer after a day’s salmon casting out of Watkins Glen.