Sk8man

I'm familiar with good techs at the north end of the lake but not the south end maybe some of the Watkins Glen area folks could help out with that info.

I fully agree with you Bob I was just expanding on it for the benefit of folks perhapps unfamiliar with the situation.

One of the disturbing things is that many of the lampreys seen attached to the fish are not the maximum size either and that means that they escaped earlier treatments and have a considerable life span left to do damage as they are past the "vulnerable" stage exploited by treatment. Seneca's problems are complex though and not just a function of ONE factor. The lampreys are additional serious stressors to the lake and its problematic fishery but the invasives, blue algae blooms, disappearance of vital food sources (e.g. zooplankton, and phytoplankton) for the young of various species, covering of the traditional spawning beds by Zebras and Quaggas, various pollutants entering the watersheds, large fluctuations in bait availability, etc.are wreaking havoc on Seneca and also to various degrees on many of the other Finger Lakes. You put all these stressors together and you end up with what we now have going on and I don't believe the DEC or anyone else for that matter has a clue about how to deal with correcting it. This is not a criticism of the DEC either as thisis a highly complex set of problems.

I'd have a competent marine tech put it on the diagnostic tool and see what codes come up. The computer in it records everyhting from how the engine was broken in to how many times the alarms have gone off to thermostat temp readings etc. so you should be able to get a better idea where to start.

That is a great combination....old school and new school

Always good to pass on the "old school" methods.....sometimes old school i the right school

I think you may have done better than 95 percent of the folks out there Mike in terms of numbers of fish.....good going...tough derby.

Cool report Cayuga sure is the place to be this season

Maybe I should have said "divest themselves of liquid matter" but that is what I was referring to. Have a look at the bottom of a cooler sometime without anything in it but a freshly caught fish and examine it afterward and there will be slime, water, and a mixture of blood and all of that in there after the fish dies....it weighs at least hundreths of a pound and that is what I meant. After losing by 1/100 of a pound twice I am a firm believer in my statement.

That sure is an encouraging report Rick. Good going!

Nice going John

Just a comment from someone who has been knocked out of places a few times two of which were by 1/100 th of a pound.- Put the fish immediately on ice or a livewell and head for the weight station if you think it is a money fish. They do lose weight soon after dying especially if they dehydrate and after they poop or spit up bait etc and it can make all the difference sometimes. I had an additional unsettling episode at last year's Canandaigua Lake Trout Derby. I caught my derby winning fish at about 6 AM and the weigh station didn't open until 8 AM sowe were stuck keeping it on ice and waiting until the guy came and opened the weigh station and the guy couldn't understand why I might be a bit uptight about it You also may not want them real lively and flopping around on the scale either as the weight measurement may be inaccurate (been there too).

WTG John. It truly is a beautiful venue there....now if only the silver fishery could rebound...