Seneca Lake out of Watkins Glen 6/1
Guided Anthony and his son Jimmy for pike for the full day. Conditions looked to be pretty good all day long, with light winds, overcast (and sometimes rainy skies) and nice water temperatures in the low 60s. Baitfish (alewives) are EVERYWHERE! Wow is this lake full of bait. Judging from my nights walleye fishing on Conesus Lake over the past 15 years or so, I know that pike will feed at night when alewives move in. Is this why pike fishing can sometimes get tough in early June? Either way, the fishing was pretty good today.
We fished around Watkins Glen and North. We encountered pike in 5 to 6 areas. Jimmy had the hot hand with a spoon – landing 8 fish. Tony landed one, but had some nice follows from some good ones. He also landed a mega-perch on a 1 ounce Daredevle! Fish also followed swimbaits and jerkbaits. Spinnerbaits would be another good option now. No great sizes on the pike, but no hammer-handles either- all ranged from around 24″ to 27″, maybe 28″. I believe we’ll see some good pike fishing over the next few years on this lake. Expect some bigger fish too. We saw 2 other boats on the water all day long! Can’t beat it! I’ll likely chase pike here another couple weeks or so. By July it’ll be trout and maybe some bass.