Waneta Lake 11/20 + Owasco Lake 11/21

Fishing is top-notch throughout the region.  Water temperatures have dropped into the 40s.  Lake levels remain low.

Waneta Lake 11/20:  Got back out here with Mark for a full day starting just after 8 am.  We had sunnier conditions than what we were hoping for and had seen on the forecasts but it didn't seem to bother the muskies.   The lake level here is at the typical November low.  We kicked up a bit of mud but didn't ding the prop.  I have Mark sit up on the bow of the boat when we go through the channel.  That helps keep the stern level.  Bonefishing guides have clients sit up front when they run their flats boats in skinny water and it makes a huge difference.

Within our first hour of fishing, Mark wound up nabbing a solid 33" thick bodied musky on a fly.

During the middle part of the AM, Mark switched over to gear in order for us to cover some water more quickly and give his casting arm a break. His lure got crushed by a BIG fish in fairly short order!  We both made sure we had no issues when I netted the fish.  We were able to get some good shots of the 44"er!  It was a beast and not easy for Mark to hold as you can see from the two photos!

Owasco Lake out of Emerson Park 11/21 AM:  I had trolling motor battery issues over my past two trips with Mark.  I had enough battery power to do our trips but was nearly out by the end of the day.  Because I don't rely heavily on my trolling motors like a bass pro would, I tend not to notice when the power wears down.  It happens subtly and gradually.  Knowing I needed to purchase new batteries, my buddy Mike suggested with fish Owasco Lake in his Lund today.  That would allow me to go to Bass Pro Shops afterwards and purchase new batteries.  I found what I needed there and was able to swap them out late today, so I'm good to go for another 3 years - which is what I get out of batteries with the amount of use I put on them.

Mike's gotten pretty heavily into the great perch fishing on this lake over the past year.  The fish tend not to be as big as Skaneateles or Seneca Lake perch, but they are plentiful and not too hard to find.  He's had his best luck early, so we met at 7 am.  Using assorted plastics, we were able to catch a nice bunch of perch during our half day on the water.  I kept fish that were just over 8" and up.  He goes with 9"ers.  We probably had 35 to 40 keepers on the day.  I wanted to keep about 21 perch and lo and behold (without counting during the day) that's what I wound up with.  By the time I get set up to fillet them and get cleaned up, around 20 to 25 perch take me about an hour to process.  The fish we caught were munching on juvenile rock bass of all things!

We had great pike conditions and spent a couple hours chasing northerns on my favorite shelf on the lake.  We caught and released four beauties today.  Mike had a 24" and two 31"ers.  I lost a fish around 25" and landed a 37" beauty!

My availability remains the same as my last post.  The whole key to late-fall fishing is the weather!  Now's the time for landlocked salmon (Seneca, Cayuga, Skaneateles) fishing and great inshore lake trout fishing on Cayuga.  I love the pickerel fishing on Cayuga's north end.  I can combine that with nearshore lake trout casting for a great full day of fun on the water.  Bonus pike are available up north as well.