Got out here on my own for around 4 hours this afternoon. The lake level is low, but not as low as it was last year at times. The surface temperature was around 67 degrees. These cold nights won't cool the lake much with daytime highs getting into the upper-70s and low-80s. After this coming Tuesday, the 7th, we will be looking at forecast highs in the low 60s and lows getting into the upper 30s and 40s. That's when we'll see some real cooling!
My targets today were walleye and smallmouth bass. I wound up having a good afternoon despite the high sun and changing wind. Once the wind would die down, my bite would also slow. I worked blade-baits and picked up a chunky bullhead(!) along with a 16.5" walleye. The drop-shot was the ticket today and I landed a bunch of smallmouth bass to 15" and a 22.5" walleye. Trollers I talked to landed some bass and two walleyes as well. I also caught a couple of good sized rockbass. Mixed bag fishing is underway on Skaneateles Lake now, that's for sure. Parking for solo cars is also allowed after the 14th or 15th of October, although mid-week and on cold days, it isn't enforced this time of year. There were only around 7 trailers in the lot when I launched, so fishing pressure has been light. Leaves are starting to change but we are a couple weeks away from the peak.
