Seneca/Sampson 10/9
Just terrific pike fishing all morning on Seneca Lake with Dan and Aaron. Fish were in and outside of the weededges in roughly 10′ to 24′ of water. We stayed north of Sampson for the pike, but they are everywhere from Geneva to Watkins Glen! Best lures were spinnerbaits and jig/spinners with swimbaits. Bass jigs with trailers also worked pretty well (yes, I read “In-Fishermen” ;-). We stayed with the single hook stuff (No stickbaits) and were able to do well with the catch and release fishing. The fish are running from around 22″ to 27″ with most around 25″. A pickerel or two were hooked along with a nice pumpkinseed that had some beautiful colors. Color didn’t matter on the lures. The pike aren’t fat but they are nice fish – not dinks!
Some wild storms came through around 2 pm and we got off the lake as we heard them approaching. Glad we left when we did! It got nasty out there. My guys hooked a few decent bass as well, landing a small smallmouth. We tried laker jigging but didn’t have the time. We marked fish in around 100′ to 110′ south of Sampson. We were the only boat in the parking lot at the park. Never saw another fishing boat out on the water. My last trip with Dan was last year in July and we were also driven off the water due to storms. Next time we get a drought, I’m calling Dan up and telling him to book a trip!