Got out here at about 1 pm and was fishing by 1:30. The DEC Operations Crew were prepping the area for the dock installations, which they told me should be done by next week. A few days after that, the dock will go in at Otisco Lake. It was a beautiful day and only one other rig was in the parking lot. Most perch fishermen are clearly working Cayuga Lake and likely Owasco Lake.
The lake level is high. It is at full-pool and then some, and water is still running in at a good pace via all the intermittent tributaries. I knew that with 36 degree water and a fairly low trout/salmon population, I'd have to fish hard to catch anything today. Trout are really one of the only species in freshwater that we have in our lakes that are shallow and active with water temperatures this cold. Bass are mostly deep as are panfish. Perch certainly can offer some good opportunities this time of year, but many are also deep. Pickerel season is closed and they would be spawning. Walleyes are also in spawn mode and can be pretty neutral from what I've read and heard. Given that Skaneateles Lake is one of the only waterways in NY that anglers can target walleyes when the season is closed, it's clearly not a time-window that law-abiding anglers would historically be aware of their patterns in, i.e., anglers aren't going to have much experience fishing walleyes in late-March and April.
I had a slow start to my day. I worked hair-jigs from around 10' to 20' of water, hoping for trout or whatever else might hit (walleyes are always welcome.) In the "old days" here, a hair-jig in March would often provide great action on rainbow trout, which were usually shallow either spawning or feeding. These days, the jigs aren't as productive due to the walleyes devouring most of the rainbow trout and salmon. After working shallow, it was time to work a blade-bait and cover the 20' to nearly 50' zone. I like taking a logical approach to fish location, and in cold water, this one/two punch can be effective.
I finally got a good grab in around 18' of water on a deep shelf! The fish fought good, pulling hard but didn't jump. I slipped the net under a wild 24.5" post-spawn (aka "drop-back") female rainbow trout! Deja Vu! It's nice to see a few of them hanging on. I took a quick photo and let her go. I had another hit in the same basic area and landed a healthy looking, hard-fighting (wild) lake trout that was over 21". I had a tough time getting it to lay still for a photo, but it did. That was it on the day. I fished just under 4 hours. I expect fishing here to improve after a week or two of warm water temperatures. Once we hit the low-40s, we should see more fish active in shallower water. Late-April/Early May fishing is downright excellent here!
It was still a beautiful day to be out and I had most of the lake to myself, and it was quiet. Anybody who has followed this website for awhile knows how much I love getting out on this lake both early, and late in the season. I knew I could have caught a lot more fish on Seneca Lake today, but the setting here is just spectacular! It's like driving to the Adirondacks, Colorado, Alaska or Canada - without having to drive all that way. Even a no-fish day would have been enjoyable today for me, but catching fish always beats not catching them!
