Seneca Lake out of Watkins Glen 11/1
Just terrific fishing this morning out on Seneca. My first cast got me a decent pike around 24″. It was a yin-yangy type of morning. I found out I’d grabbed the wrong fly rod, so it was gear fishing for pike and bass. The first northern hit my X-rap and had the front hook in its mouth. I held it with my hand over its gill plate. The rear hook was hanging by my hand. I knew the fish would start going nuts as I desperately searched for my jaw spreader and baker hookout. It went nuts and I was smart enough to drop the pike before I had to take a trip to the hospital. 2 hooks went into my jeans. So that was ok. My 3rd or 4th cast yielded a nice smallmouth, with around 8 or 9 of his buddies following him in! Just great fishing. I hooked a bunch more pike including a couple 8 to 10lbers. One largemouth and one pickerel rounded out the day.
Pike are all around the lake. Most fish are small – around 18″ to 24″. Smallmouths are all over as well – from at least Glenora south. I caught bass in 12′ to 45′ of water today. Some on tubes, most on jerkbaits. H2O is around 51.