Skaneateles Lake 11/4
Guided the Hermans today for around 6 hours. It was chilly out with 5 to 10 mph north winds to start. By our quitting time around 2 pm the winds were in the 8 to 12 mph plus range. Water temps are 4 to 5 degrees warmer than usual for early November – they range from 54 to 55 degrees.
We worked the mid-depths – 15′ to 25′ of water. Hair jigs produced a couple lake trout in the 17″ to 18.5″ range, some decent perch, a smallmouth and a rainbow around 17″ long before we called it a day. The fishing can be tricky, but the Hermans did a good job getting a feel for it. They missed a fair number of hits. One nice trout followed in a stickbait – it may have been a big male rainbow.
Shore fishermen with worms and marshmallows report slower fishing this week with the warmer nearshore temps. There are rainbows within casting range of shore. Docks are still in.
I was going to fish for awhile after my trip, but after I launched my boat I noticed my passenger side inner-bearing seal had blown out, so I spent 45 minutes swapping hubs. Not my idea of fun, but carrying spare hubs with pre-greased bearing already installed makes trailering a boat much more relaxing and less aggravating when there’s a bearing problem. It’s much easier to swap out a hub than it is to re-do bearings!