Reports

Got out yesterday with my friend Shahab for some salmon fishing with the fly-rods. Conditions were harsh to say the least. Winds on Seneca Lake started at around 10 to 15 mph out of the south then cranked up to a sustained 20 to 25 mph, with higher gusts. I’ve never seen the south end of the lake so rough – and that’s with south winds. Water temps ranged from around 39 to 46 or so up Catherine’s Ck/Canal. We fished hard for hours and Shahab had one hit and I fouled one carp (on a jig – which I threw for 1/2 hour.) Things weren’t looking good, but we tried one last area and managed to get some follows from salmon ranging from 15″ to 20″. We each landed a salmon and Shahab also landed a 30″ pike. The catching wasn’t great but given the brutal conditions it was one of the most satisfying days I’d had on the water in recent memory. “Never give up!”

Today was the first guide trip of the season and it couldn’t have been a nicer day. Gary met me at the launch at 9 am and I had him start working the northern portions of the lake. Most of Gary’s fly-fishing had been stream fishing so we spent the day working on casting. By the end of the day Gary was getting some good casts in; he was throwing some nice loops. The fish Gods were good to us from the get-go and Gary landed a couple nice rainbows within the first 90 minutes of fishing. We found some salmon further down the lake and Gary managed to catch his first landlock. A few other fish were missed. I talked to a couple fishermen (Hey Ralph!) at the launch -both trollers and casters,and both reported very good to excellent fishing for rainbows and salmon. Perch are also hitting well. Water temps ranged from 37 to the low/mid 40s.

carp landlocked salmon Northern Pike Seneca Lake Skaneateles Lake