Guided Dave for a short 1/2 day starting just after 1:15 pm and finishing up around 4:30. Dave has a dog at home he didn't want to leave for long, plus he just wanted to get out for a few hours. We had great conditions with a south wind around 10 to 15 mph (forecast was for 5 to 10 mph, but you always want to double that for Watkins Glen.) We tried a bunch of areas for salmon via casting (spinning gear.) I have some favorite late-season areas on Seneca and Cayuga Lake that have held up for decades as solid salmon areas. Once we got into one of them, we were in business. Dave had a good hit below the boat and then a follow from a good fish. Eventually he hooked up with a nice clean 19" salmon on a stickbait and we were good. Another maybe 1/2 dozen grabs and short hookups followed before we called it a day. These fish are still very fly-fishable! Water temps ranged from 44 to 54 degrees. Dave kept his fish and it was full of alewives. Angling Zone friend Pete trolled up some lakers and a nice salmon in around 100' of water! The salmon was down 70' and eating alewives, so you just never know this time of year!
Seneca Lake out of Watkins Glen 5/1 PM
19" Solid Clean Seneca Lake landlocked salmon
My availability remains very good for May and onwards. Pike/walleye/tiger musky season is now open. I expect the lake trout fishing to finally get on track with next week's steady weather. Salmon fishing should continue at least through mid-May given the cold water temperatures. I also expect good mixed-bag fishing on Skaneateles Lake.