Bigfoot

Region 7 has diaries for the tribs, apparently Region 8 does not.

There are separate diary programs for lake and trib fishers. Also, the lake diary programs are divided into warm and cold water fisheries.

I was told that DEC quit stocking them in Owasco because they didn't show up in the angler diaries and they failed to find them when they did electroshocking in the tribs after Thanksgiving. However, a dedicated fly fishing friend of mine found them during Christmas break and had the trib to himself until the January 1st stream closure. He reported many fish in the 20lb range, and a few much bigger.......I suppose if he were a lifter he would have dragged a few home and word would have gotten back to DEC, but he's not like that. I have seen him pass up shots at giant tom turkeys simply because the bird that responded to the call was not the one he was after.

Firearms hunting is allowed in that portion of Lansing within the focus area, not allowed in the Village of Lansing. Cayuga Heights has spent a lot of money trapping and sterilizing deer, a big waste (IMHO) of money. Deer control is mostly achieved by automobile. Cornell tried sterilization and gave up on it. They obtained nuisance permits last Winter and quietly took out something like 48 deer via bow hunting while students were away. (Many shot at night with spot lights).The students were really upset when they found out and the University administration reportedly received over 10,000 complaints. To my knowledge, Ithaca has done nothing to address it's deer problem. My observation is that killing as many deer as possible around the problem area does nothing to alleviate the problem, it just makes the hunting suck in the surrounding area.

Details are on the DEC website under "Tompkins County Deer Management Focus Area". http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/82382.html Season: January 10-31. Limit 2 antlerless deer per DAY. Note: rifles are not allowed in Tompkins County.

First of all, it is sad to see (not to mention outright annoying) that every DEC announcement is an unpaid political advertisement for Cuomo. When did the DEC become the governors whore? Secondly, I am totally opposed to the current smelt regulations. The proposed change on Cayuga and Owasco will remove protection for rainbow trout that run in the fall and over winter in many small tribs- lethargic in the ice cold water they are easy targets for "sportsmen" in the dead of winter. In fact, this is a tried and true way to get fresh spawn for the April 1st opener. If the DEC is serious about improving rainbow populations in the Finger Lakes, the need to review their short sighted smelt regs. Do smelt really run in January and February? No need for a year round season. No need to be in the streams disturbing the trout then. Close the smelt season until Spring and protect the rainbows. Third, the lower part of Fall Creek used to be closed in the middle of Spring to protect spawning "Black Bass". Now were told that that isn't necessary, yet people complain that the fishing isn't what it used to be. When the DEC realizes that their sturgeon are spawning in Fall Creek ( as I recall one weighing 106 pounds was caught there in the early 1900's) will they ban fishing there? Thanks to you guys for posting and thanks for reading my rant.

I've heard that there is a small, dedicated group of locals that really clean up there after dark. Oh, and I should mention that they are tight lipped about there success/tactics. I've also read that Cayuta has a high sawbelly population resulting in well fed fat walleyes that just aren't very hungry.

Cayuta Lake (371 acres) in Schuyler County was the subject of an angler survey during 2012 and 2013. Survey results indicate a walleye catch rate of only 0.1 per hour, significantly lower than the DEC's goal of 0.25 per hour. DEC hopes to improve this situation by increasing walleye fingerling stockings to 20 per acre every other year. The lake will continue to be managed as a trophy fishery, with an 18 inch size limit on 'eyes.

The Field and Streams store in Horseheads had a mother lode of .22 and bulk pistol ammo this afternoon- stuff I haven't seen on the shelves in a long time- in any of the stores mentioned in this thread. I also bought a hang on tree stand (that I really don't need), just because the price was right. Also, there were 45 people in line waiting to check out, ( 8 registers were open)so I would say that they were busy with a capital B. Didn't bother to check out the whole store, I'll go back after the crowds die down.

DEC wouldn't be to happy about salt stations in your woods, otherwise, it's a really clever idea. A recent study in Connecticut showed that young ticks feed on mostly mice, older ticks need a larger animal like deer. The study indicated that the best way to control ticks/Lyme in suburban settings is to control the deer population. I will be making it a point to fill my DM permits this Fall!