Skaneateles Lake 10/31 PM

Reports

Got out here on my own for around 3.5 hours today.  I wasn’t sure if I was going to hit the water today – the winds looked like they could go either way; NWS was calling for gusts of 28 mph out of the south this afternoon.  I knew that when I pulled up to the launch, I might be dealing with Skaneateles ocean instead of lake!  Fortunately the winds had a strong westerly tinge and the lake was fairly calm on the west shore.  The water level here is low – no two ways about it.  Only a couple boat trailers were parked at the state launch.  Water temp was around 58.  I’d say it’s 5 to 10 degrees warmer than what I normally see this time of year heading into November.

I spent 2 hours fishing areas I don’t fish often at all.  I try to keep my mindset fresh and try to approach the lake – even if it’s one I’ve guided successfully for 20 years, with an open mind.  I did mark a new waypoint today that should come in handy in the future when I have strong west winds.  The smallmouth fishing in my tried and true areas was borderline stupid fishing today.  It was hit after hit after hit, but the only drawback was that the smallmouths were running 10″ to 13″ for the most part.  I did manage to catch a couple 14″ers and one nice 17.5″er as it was getting darker out.  No walleyes today.  I had a few rockbass and a couple good perch (to 13″.)  No sign of trout or salmon either.  There was a fair amount of leaves in the water, but it wasn’t too much of an issue.  Tube jigs did the trick for me today with the bladebait doing better once the sun started getting low.  I didn’t throw any jerkbaits today, although I brought the set-ups and it would’ve been a great choice.  I much prefer to deal with single hooks if fish are chomping jigs and stickbaits.  Triple-hooked smallmouths are a royal pain in the butt!  If you enjoy lots of action and are not worried about trophy fish or just want to up your jig or bladebait skills, this lake at this point in time is a great call.

Saturday remains open as does Election Day.  After that, we’re looking at the 9th – 30th (the rest of the month) being available.

Low water levels on Skaneateles Lake!