Sk8man

No landlocks just lakers and rainbows and browns

This might help out

Just an FYI regarding the dead bait issue. I believe in the bait regs they stated something about the the fact that the only dead bait that can be used is commercially prepared baitfish that are not prohibited from use (e.g. Goby) and the packaging has to be present too. Bait such as those just frozen or salted minnows etc. are not allowed.

For most jigging on Lake O 20 lb braid and a 2-2 1/2 oz jig will work down deep if you choose your day carefully and the lack of stretch will help greatly with results. Remember although you may be targeting lakers there are kings and cohos present in the lake and you never know where they are going to be....sometimes they are mistaken for lakers near bottom . I'd be using a high capacity bait casting reel with a good drag and a rod with some stiffness. A lot of the lake is a flat basin that you can drag the jig across too when they are on or very near bottom without the steep drop offs, unpredictable structure changes and canyons in an ocean environment. Ocean currents and rip tides etc. are a much different matter too.

A long long time ago walleyes were here but now... not in a long time. They are in Hemlock however.

For those folks here new to jigging or Lake O for that matter - It is never an "either or" situation in fishing and that is what makes it such a great sport. Jigging and trolling both have their place and the person that masters both will be the most productive. Both have one thing in common as far as success goes....water conditions conducive to it. When the wind is up and the waves are cresting neither usually works real well. The other factor is water currents - and both require adjustments in technique and equipment. With jigging it is important to be able to stay over or very near the fish to be able to present your"bait" (jig or spoon) properly and the wind and currents raise h with this much of the time. Lake O has very "active" subsurface currents sometimes going in multiple directions at the same time so you need to be able to "hover" (e.g. electric trolling motor) over the fish if not anchored up and often use heavier jigs than normal to deal with the subterranean currents. "Drifting" while jigging is often difficult on Lake O because of the rolling wave characteristics that can take you far from the target in just one wave. As with any other lake locating active fish is the key and then staying with them becomes the next objective. Pick a pretty flat day out there to give it a try.

Those west side fish don't have a chance now Ed with both you and Andy over there

First of all Joe you've gotten much prettier since the last time I saw you Oh I see it wasn't you holding the laker Happy Birthday! and that was a great way to spend it pardner. The action sounds better than that reported lately at the north end too.

WWIV and Pequod - Sorry we didn't get a chance to actually meet you as we were BSing with a few folks we knew and didn't realize that there were other LOU guys there. Hopefully next time. Hope the motor problem turns out to be a minor one.

Thank you Ted and the folks at Seagers for putting things together so well. It was a lot of fun and I hope more folks will participate in the future...they are missing out on a fun tournament.

Nick I think the problem was we got way off topic from your original post and I apologize for starting the off topic stuff. You were merely letting us know about the stocking and I think that things drifted off the mark from there but try to keep it in perspective too s*&^t happens and this website is a really good one when we play by the rules and when we don't get caught up in things and go astray. Fishing can be and often is a frustrating activity when folks don't have things dialed in and there can be many reasons for that but the Internet has become the vehicle for venting frustration. I wouldn't lose any sleep over this posting information bud. We enjoy your posts and I for one appreciate you letting us know about the stocking down at that end of the lake.

I guess you don't have to worry though because your head seems to be stuck in yours.

Thanks John.

Thanks Sean....very good points and something I too am all too aware of and neglected to mention above. Gee blue-green algae in the lakes? I wonder how that comes about?

The "balancing act" that Seneca performs (along with the other Finger Lakes and Great Lakes) is truly a precarious one and the effectiveness of it depends on many factors - some within the control of humans and some not. All of these bodies of water are experiencing problems and stress. My first fishing encounter with Seneca occurred in July of 1949 when I caught my first smallmouth black bass in the Yacht Club bay at the north end and since that time I've seen many ups and downs in the fishing. At that point in time you could see all sorts of fish of various sizes swimming around in the water right from shore....not so anymore. In the mid to late seventies it took around 6 hours to catch a legal salmonid and when the stocking effort increased the fishery for trout at least rebounded very noticibly and with some fluctuations since it has remained a viable fishery up to the introduction of the invasives. One of the things that I find a striking difference in these lakes (I have fished all of them but Otisco for many years) is the lack or absence of immature fish of various species (large and smallmouth bass, perch, sunfish and bluegills minnows of various types etc.) around the periphery of the lakes (e.g. near docks, among the rocks and in the grass beds) as these areas used to be packed with small fish. Instead these areas are covered with zebra mussels and appear quite "sterile" and I think this situation is a true indicator of the relative health of the lakes that can be readily viewed firsthand regardless of trawling information for bait or deep water species samples for that matter. The introduction of the invasive species such as Zebras Quaggas fleas etc. in my view has totally changed the very nature of these lakes because they have pretty much wiped out the phytoplankton and zooplankton that the fry and immature fish feed on and the traditional spawning beds for various species have also been contaminated and destroyed leading to poor reproduction of baitfish and everything above it in the food chain. There may be an occasional cloud of sawbellies and a few distributed or suspended but I still remember seeing bait covering vast areas of the lakes from 150 ft to the surface for the lengths of many football fields.and the bottom covered with what appeared to be rainbow smelt (which have largely disappeared like the canary in the coal mine). When you take out something that basic at the lowest level of the food chain it is disasterous but it takes time to see the full result. It takes years for this to happen and given the size of these bodies of water (vs. ponds etc.) it appears gradual so the true total effects are not seen right away. It isn't just a matter of the levels of baitfish present in the lakes either or the predator to bait ratio it is the variety of living organisms available lower in the chain to support everything higher in the food chain. These major problems and shifts are not going to be solved by just increasing stocking levels alone or even getting a better handle on the predator to bait relationship. Some sort of "restorative" act (s) has to take place in changing back the very nature and water structure of these lakes and this will not be happening anytime soon. Don't be deluded in thinking that just increasing stocking levels or getting the balance of bait to salmonids in balance will solve this situation

Total BS Here is a pic from this Sunday