Skaneateles Lake 4/30
Had Dan K. up for the full-day today. Dan’s been booking a trip or two a year with me since I started and I always look forward to taking out this S. Carolina resident. The first time he booked a trip we dealt with severe T-Storms. Ditto our second trip. The last two were good, but today we had “stormbringer Dan” delivering high winds! 😉
As was the case last time I was out on Skaneateles, by the afternoon we were the only boat on the lake (or the only trailer at the State Launch.) It was nasty with sustained 15 to 20 mph S. winds and higher gusts. H2O is cold – around 41 lakewide. We started up N. with a bass and rock bass. We shot all the way to the south end and Dan landed a good pickerel and more smallmouths. A large rainbow or LL Salmon followed in his X-rap but didn’t hit it. More smallmouths followed, then Dan nailed a gorgeous 26″ Skaneateles Lake trout. For this lake, that’s a very good fish – not as big as the occasional 30″+ trophies the lake coughs up every year, but much bigger than the usual 15″ to 19″ fish that ply this lake. Dan also caught a 19″ laker. As we worked up the lake, he caught more quality smallmouths and 4 very nice perch – a 15″ 1lbs 8oz fish and a couple 14″ 1lb 6 oz fish and one 12″ fish. This lake contains some beautiful perch. Fish were caught on tube jigs. The method I use is tricky, but Dan had it dialed in around halfway through the trip. The wind made things much more complicated. Boat control required 2 driftbags and my 82lb thrust trolling motor. We stayed deeper for the perch and bass. We didn’t see any rainbows, but we’re pretty sure Dan missed on in shallow. They are around!