Sk8man

Panfisher I know your comments are accurate about the past regarding Woodville etc. but have you actually caught big browns in the last three years there? The Seneca Lake stuff is still happening as stated and one year I even pulled one out that took second place in the Derby there exactly that way (working the drop-offs) but canandaigua is a very different situation lately.

Welcome aboard bmg. You'll find a great bunch of very competent and generous fishermen on this website. We all benefit from the variety of responses and perspectives offered here and we are all learning. The sharing of information is invaluable and hopefully gives "newcomers" a quick "jump start". Chad Lapa does a wonderful job keeping this website in tip top shape and is one dedicated "dude"

Check out the Spro's as well. Which ever kind you opt to get make sure they are solid ring not split ring (which can and will cut your line with big fish.m You can always get just the swivels and add separate duo locks as well. Nothing magical about coast locks.

Very good points flyrod2 that is truly where it is at....I'm up for doing anything I can as well....

Flyrod2 let me first say that the DEC guys did fine on the presentation and they had their Powerpoint stuff together and they appeared very genuine in their desire to be helpful and answer questions on the material presented as well as other questions that were asked, but as you mention the real heart of the matter is a cooperative effort at the DEC level aswell as with us fishermen being actively involved. The larger issue that was basically just touched on is the budgetary stuff at the State level and lack of staffing at DEC in general and the Fisheries division in particular. There is reportedly $40 million in the Conservation Fund which we sportsmen contributed to those idiots in Albany that is just being held for whatever reason by Albany so these fisheries guys hands are pretty much tied right now from the looks of it. They did also mention that some hatchery improvements have recently been approved for funding. I think your idea is a good one but I think this money thing will have to be solved before any concrete things can be done in the "field".

I should mention also that it was apparent to us that the DEC guys are pretty overwhelmed by the magnitude and complexity of the problems facing them in getting a handle on what's going on in the Finger Lakes right now. They have severe budget and staffing restraints imposed by the "out of touch" and largely incompetent legislature and Governor. They are spread very thin and without money allocated to fund new projects so to the degree that we can give them some assistance (i.e information etc.) and vocal support (letters to our legislators to push them) it helps to look at this in the sense that "we are all in this together".

It is true that browns in the Finger Lakes have a little different habits than some of the other trout species but many of us fish specifically for a given species such as rainbows and browns on Canandaigua for example and we have had good success in the recent past in catching big healthy browns with our methods. As Flx Troutman has said up to about three years ago we were getting them but the last two years I caught just 2 sub legal sized browns using the same methods used for years successfully with "zip" in the way of results....something has definitely happened to them here. I continue to catch rainbows at will (and good ones too) and avoid the lakers most of the time because of the way I set up. I've fished Canandaigua Lake since about 1968 including a lot of night fishing specifically for browns back in the 70's and 80's at the south end and the browns (8 or 10 pounders were no big deal then) are just not here in numbers or size any more. I also used to fish for them on Keuka at Hammondsport and Branchport on Keuka with success but I haven't heard of many caught over there either lately.

It has been awhile but you list the species, length, weight, body of water, date, any fin clips and where located, number of hours fished etc. If you contact the Region 8 DEC office in Avon they can set you up with the little record booklet just let them know which lakes you are interested in (separate book for each lake). This data s recorded after each trip as accurately as possible. One of the difficulties is in encountered when you release fish in terms of weight but if you do a quick length measurement you can closely estimate approximate weight by using the weight chart in the DEC syllabus (Official Regulations Guide). Les

OR if you want to discourage her from it get her an ultralight and let it get spooled

I've also fished a lot by myself but I learned a long time ago to set up my stuff going WITH the wind and waves and then just carefully turn back into it with everything already set out (instead of fighting it trying to set up). trying to net a fish going into the wind/waves alone with everyhting out however is another matter!

All good points hermit. I forgot to mention that someone asked about putting the diary info online and they said that they have been considering it but their IT folks have reservations regarding security of their network....

I went to the meeting last night and although a lot of charts were presented capably by some good guys from DEC I didn't feel that I had found out any significant NEW information. A lot of serious questions remain such as: what can be done about the fleas, the zebras and quaggas, and why aren't rainbows, landlocks and browns being caught in any numbers on Keuka,and what has happened to the browns in Canandaigua, what has happened to the smelt, and the status of baitfish populations etc. It was also admitted that they may have been premature in imposing the 1 rainbow limit on Canandaigua as recent data suggests a strong population right now. It was also noted that their are too many lakers in the fishery right now. The fact that the money in the Conservation Fund ($40 million)is being held up by Albany was also noted as well as the need for funds for projects within the total DEC- not just the fisheries program. It was extremely clear that their decision making process regarding stocking etc.hinges almost totally on diary cooperator information and that they need as much VALID information as possible but are concerned about having enough diary cooperators recording info. It is a bit disconcerting that they are so dependent on "subjective" reporting information though. I had previously kept diaries for Seneca, Keuka, Canandaigua and Cayuga for about 25 years and then opted out for a variety of reasons one of which was some"questionable" reporting of the data. I overheard a fisherman (during a derby) say he just estimated all the data at the end of the season rather than recording as he went along (as he should have with actual measurements and data). I was pretty disgusted so I quit doing the diaries. Last night I re-evaluated that decision in light of the need for accurate data that was expressed and it's importance to the decision making process and I signed up again. I would encourage any of you who might be"on the fence" about it to do it too. The decisions that are made however are only as good as the collected data so it is imperative that folks are accurate and consistent in their recording of it. There was also some discussion about problems with Catherine's Creek "washing out" and habitat deterioration there. Lamprey treatment efforts for Catherine's and the Keuka Outlet were also discussed and the problem with the lampreys in Cayuga was briefly touched upon and it was noted that treatments were intended for this year. I know there were others from LOU there so jump in with additional stuff that you felt important that I didn't mention. P.S. There weren't many empty seats at the meeting...pretty good showing of interest....but also noted not many YOUNG people which is a concern as far as the future goes....

:smile: and...they can be way more expensive (especially the "ex's")

I used to use them on the Fingers and Lake O as well in the Spring back in the 70's with my outriggers because I could cast them way out and then put the line in the release much quicker than letting line out gradually with bait casting reels but the line capacity (Ryobi's) was pretty limited and I got "spooled" once and that was it for them

Hope there is a decent turn out tonight.....

As far as the south shore goes the water seems to warm earlier in the western section of the lake (especially the extreme western part) so the salmon fish seem to congregate there as Salmon Slammin said then in mid summer when the lake starts setting up (temperature thermocline starts forming) they can be found at varying depths along the southern shore through the east end of the lake until late summer/early Fall when they will be found staging for their run up the Salmon River and other tribs or places were they were stocked or born (if adults). Juveniles may still be found just about any place including mixed in with the spawners. The action at the extreme western section is usually not as pronounced during that time because they haven't recently stocked the salmon in some of their former locations and many folks hope this stocking policy will change. The brown trout fishery starts in most areas right after ice out and they can be found hugging the shoreline and wherever there is a pronounced temp change in the water (warms quicker in shallows). They are often found at or near the mouthes of streams and at the edges of "color lines" or thermal breaks. Steelhead seem to be anyone's guess as many may be still in the streams in early Spring and then during the summer they may be found roaming the depths of the lake suspended. This has been my experience at least....and not necessarily "hard science" so others may have another view of it....

Good one!

How about just chalking it up to a "misunderstanding" and moving on....starting to sound like a reality show....