NitroMusky

hey Bob how'd ya do out there today? I was eyeing a similar plan as you for tomorrow given the great weather. But that's out: the wife commandeered me for family time since I'm hittin Chaut for a 3 day-er next weekend. hopefully the cool weather will get those ski's fired up for us.

if you're thinking about Georgian, consider the Kawarthas too for part of the trip if you want to move around a bit from day to day etc. since its relatively close to there. I know of a bunch of folks that make treks specifically there from the states. different than the big water of Georgian or the river fishing in Ottawa. a bit smaller lakes and shallower, probably more like our chautauqua with a more irregular shoreline: more structure to help find the fish...bunch of guides there too... good luck!

Thanks alot. thats a relief! i'll sleep easy and fish early!

Anyone out there today? if so, are the docks still in at the launch? supposedly out 'mid sept' according to the sign, but they were there last weekend and now its well past the mid part. just decided to go tomorrow; looking to go at first light, but will be alone and haven't had the pleasure of having to work it with no dock and no partner...oh well, there s first for everything and we'll see if tomorrows a first... BTW- if anyone's interested in joining me for some AM pike action reply to this note. Cheers Brad

haven't been on Port Bay, but FWIW, I would suspect they are dying back good now. If what I've seen on the shallower lakes over the past week (Waneta and Conesus) approximates Port bay at all, there are only a couple species of weeds that are still thriving at this point now that the water temps are dropping through the 60s and diminished sun due to the angle and shorter days. seems to be castable now in anything deeper than 6 ft if the water is stained, as there are some nice defined weed patches and clear lanes for casting around. hope that helps a bit at least... oh and the esox bite is definitely picking up...pike esp now. good luck!

I was on chaut a week after the opener- late june. weeds came in great as always (they have to harvest them there). will be there next weekend as my musky charter got postponed from last weekend. will let you know how the weeds look. bosco you lucky dog! shoot me a pm. would love to know where/how you got yours as my first day will be unguided. we got skunked there the first go-round... waneta and another lake just east of chaut that I can't recall offhand get stockings from the chaut hatchery. the big boys should be coming shallow as the water cools so casting will be good. heard erie/river skis have been small the past couple years. as muskybob said, st law for bigguns. chaut has good sized ones too. the susquehanna river in northern PA is good too but not sure where exactly to send you. tight lines- C&R only!!!

hey SinDale sorry, got no updates for you. hit honeoye instead for a bunch of dink bass. at least my buddy saw some good action- 2 on consecutive casts even. similar situation to conesus though, mostly ratty looking weeds but there were some areas the weeds are still looking good and producing. I would suspect the fall patterns will be in full effect while you're there as the fish are starting to run deeper already in some area, so plan accordingly. trolling a bit deeper off the drop offs might be a good plan over casting. I will be on chautauqua next weekend for a guided musky 'lesson' so I wont see you. good luck on your first conesus outing. let us know how you do.

Gambler, have you been out there recently? I'd be interested in your findings, because it was stranglely quiet there this past weekend when I was there at the noth end- saw nothing, heard nothing. Got to the southern end and saw a lot of activity (broken water) and did pick up a pike there myself. not sayin' I doubt you, my expereince was just a lot different than that. maybe the patterns were just different than I was expecting, who knows.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_ ... elkmap.pdf this is the only map I've seen (you probably have it too) We tried the north end last weekend and per the topic of this thread, the weeds were pretty barren at the north end (not even baitfish) so I'm not sure that the pike and hybrids will be lurking there either if theres nothing to attack. The very south end saw a lot more activity for us, so if you start north dont stay there too long if nothings happening, and head south. thinking about conesus myself for tomorrow; weighing the prospects of numbers on honeoye vs potential for size on conesus since my buddy needs a few catches to boost his ego...he's been skunked too many times this year... If I end up there and you see me, swing by...we'll be doing the same slime-er routine as you and I will try to zero you in on a few spots that I know of. Tan/white Nitro 188 F/S

I can certainly say the bigguns are in there. we didn't catch many shallow, but my partner and I each picked up a whopper-easily in that 5-6 lb range (my best of the year for sure-and they're back in there for someone else) we just didn't get many others like we expected and wasn't sure if the bite was just off or the fish weren't there in numbers. I was just trying to understand the nuance between not attracting fish (poor weed fills) and actually repelling fish as the weeds decay (if they in fact are already). in either case the result is the same- not a 'bite issue' its a location thing. I'll have to change strategy and go even deeper next time thanks

hey JS- try this: http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/fish ... tisco_Lake

they're definitely wern't many LMs in the shallows amongst the weeds. between that and the less-than vibrant green, and sometimes turned (like fall foliage) weeds made me think maybe it was pushing the bass away. any speculation???

we were out on conesus sunday and it appeared that the weeds were looking a little suspect. I'm not too good at reading those things, but the going was tough there that morning for us (we only picked up a few bass) and the other folks we saw out there in the shallows. Just wondering if the die back is happening already and if that could have contributed... anyone else out there recently have a take on the weed situation?

the folks I saw on the st ditch were near the bridge. I assume they just parked along the road there. I believe its plainville rd. just google map it and you should be able to find it. if you are able to make your way to where the st ditch and river meet back up you should see some good action. good luck!

I'm not familiar with all the nuanced spots, but generally speaking you're in a great locale. the Seneca river is great for the warm water species. I believe (though I cant find where I saw it) that NYS has easements on 1 or both sides of bridges for fishing. I did see some folks fishing from shore along the state ditch just east of cross lake while i was there too. otherwise the river in the city of Oswego has great access (but I think its a bit more than 20 miles...)

sure, but where is 'local'?

sure, but where is 'local'?

cant speak to the lake itself for the eyes, but I was just out there 10 days ago and saw a guy pull an eye in from the state ditch. trolling a crank. he did say that they are less common in the ditch this time of year but I do know that's a spot to seek them out, as that article would suggest. I'm not a walleye hunter (NitroWalleye??? Nah) but if they aren't typically in the ditch this time of year they have to go somewhere, right? so maybe the deeper water of the lake is the bite now- they cant just pack up and walk away so somewhere between the lake, river and ditch you'll find 'em. you'd probably know better than I their patterns. personally thats one of my favorite areas. you have a lot of species and a lot of water types (lake, river, backwater and some good structure along the banks) so it never gets boring. just dont try to navigate through the weeds where the river reconnects with the ditch if you have any bigger than a rowboat. I found out the hard way- nearly marooned in the middle of it I'm lucky its just muck and not rocky or my new prop would have been toast. should still be a path cut through the weeds for you though! PM me if you want any other info happy hunting

I fished it once or twice as a kid. I recall one time picking up 5 pike in a 1/2 hour there, as it started drizzling rain. sort of like shooting fish in a barrel in that 'lake' though . the pike were smallish (all the same size- maybe 1-2 ft)so I suspect they were stocked and that was 20ish year ago, so who knows whether they're big ones in there now, or they're all fished out. It once was, so if ya got no other options ya might as well try, right? yes thats the only fishable water there.

My initial thought when I heard 'no gobies' was that it could be a good or very bad thing. i'm no expert, but IMHO if the gobies had decimated their foodsource and moved on or died off, then its either a very bad sign for the SM #s, or could be that the gobies exploded in population on the SM Fry and overpopulated and are now dying back, meaning that maybe we have yet to see what will eventually become some sort of equalibrium in #s between the two and we're just expereincing a 'new phase' in getting to that point as gobies die back and SM #s then begin to return. Some many other things have come along that made everyone think the sky is falling, but in reality the fishery has been remarkably resilient. Sometimes a change is just that: a change. Not good or bad in the long run, but just a different paradigm. (think zebra mussels for instance)

Sorry this is so late...somehow missed this post the first time around. I'm an avid, not expert muskie fisherman and haven't been up that way yet (this fall!!!), but try to run one line in the propwash about 10-15 feet back. unlike most specifies, a lot of guys consider boats a "muskie attractor" good luck!!!

Hey Bosco, I was just out at Chautauqua a couple weeks ago for the muskies. This is my first year in seach of the elusive toothy critter. Despite a lot of research we didn't do well- I think the storms that moved through on our way there shut things down (we also got BLASTED on the water by the massive storm that moved through upstate a few Sundays ago). We did raise a couple though. Here's what I found and learned in researching the lake. best spots in the N basin are typically just off the weedlines. S Basin is more turbid so they fish like 2 different lakes tactics-wise. We stayed north except for some trolling in the S basin. I've heard a lot of the bite is around moonset. make sure you're in a prime spot at that time. not sure if you're equipped to troll, but thats the usual way for the suspended boys out there. Good luck out there. I just sent in my deposit for a Sept guided trip there to really learn the waters and get some tips and then spend the following day out in my own rig. I'm totally psyched. Sent you a PM too. Let me know if you have other Qs: lodging etc. Also- If you're boat's been in Ontario or other VHS waters be sure to clean the boat/trailer w 25% bleach solution. VHS there would shut down the breeding program there, Waneta and a couple others. I want to hear how you do! Also always looking for other true Muskie Junkies to go to Waneta/Otisco/Chaut etc

I read that article too. So I tried the river to Jacks reef and the lake extensively on opening day for pike/tigers. limited action- picked up one 30inch Northern in the lake near the river, but other than that we turned our attention to the shallows for some great bass action. I have heard similar conflicting stories too. I think it has to do with the migratory abilites of these rivers to help move the fish around alot. They could be in the river, the lake or even back to cayuga. not like some of the creek fed lakes that basically hold the fish captive to that body of water. I heard once that most/all of the tigers released into Cross move out through the river and seldom do any stay put makes locating them more difficult. I wonder why that would be any different than, say oneida lake/river. relative size of the lake mabye? heres the link to the ESPN story and hotspot map http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/fish ... enecaRiver

yes, get a Camera!! We have a digital that we keep on the boat just so we never forget it. never know when you'll catch a whopper and that would suck if you couldn't snap a few with you grinnin' beside it. I-bay even has an occasional muskie and yes I would absolutely throw back my fish-of-a-lifetime if its a muskie .

Looks like a whole slew of Cayuga!!! Is the fishing there that much better or does it just have a preponderance of lines in the water? I was going to pop over to Canadaigua later this week due to its proximity to me, but the trout bite seems to be on at Cayuga. maybe I should go the extra miles... whatcha think?