Tigerhunter

Justin, I love the idea of putting "informative/educational" signs at popular access points. I think the 2 boat launches, the dec site in the southwest corner, the county park, and the guide rail would help. I had thought about this last fall when they bumped the minimum length up but was super busy with work and school until it was too late. I might be able to convince the marina to allow us to out up some sort of small sign, maybe by the box where you pay for the launch. I'm thinking you have a pretty good relationship with the campground as you rented a slip there for the season... I assume we would have to contact the dec for permission at there access (which I wouldn't think would be an issue) and Onondaga county parks and recreation for the park. For the guide rail I'm not sure if it would be Onondaga county or if you could contact The OCWA. For the info on the signs I think we could probably just use what the other lakes do but change the season and minimum length. For the concern of ice fisherman and shore fisherman, the best thing I can think of is just to stress that a vertical hold without supporting the rest of the body does significant damage to the fishes internal organs and will most likely result in delayed mortality. For the rip rap, I know some people seem to be lacking this and/or have never heard of this but it's common sense not to bang fish around if you want them to live. To combat this, it could be stressed that these fish are very delicate and they should not be laid on the ground. I will be fishing for the first time in months this week and will take a picture of the sign at the launch to get some ideas. Let us know what you hear back from the nma. Trevor

Otisco has some really nice fish in it but unfortunately I feel the same issue that was brought up in another recent thread has produced a lot of "unrealistic claims/sightings". People that don't have experience with seeing and handling large fish tend to see a 30" fish and freak out because they are used to fishing for "smaller" fish. I feel that claims of 50" fish typically come from anglers that aren't fishing for Muskies. As you know, after seeing/handling some decent fish you are better able to judge size. Anyways, I'm just stating what I personally feel from experience at the lake. Could there be a world record in there? Sure, there could be in any lake they are stocked, nobody knows what the biggest fish in the lake is and if it will ever be caught. I think it's a quality fishery but I am quite doubtful it will pump out a record, especially when you compare New York's average tiger catches to a state like Utah where they consistently catch mid-upper 40" tigers. I'm not saying that New York doesn't have them or there aren't many here because I know for a fact there are some really nice fish here. I think 20 lb fish are plentiful around New York State but to hit that 30 lb mark, takes a serious jump in size, not only length but also girth. Then to hit a 40 lb fish..... I can only dream of that!!! The biggest fish I have caught was maybe around 25 lbs or so, and to experience a fish of that size was incredible. When I saw thy fish coming in and also when I was releasing it, I was in awe. I hadn't seen a fish that big and really had no idea how big it was. That being said, I haven't seen a fish nearly as girthy as that in otisco, are there some in there, I think so, but to add another 15 pounds on top of that, I would be shocked. Don't get me wrong, I really hope I am wrong because it is my favorite lake and I've been fishing it for years and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. There are nice fish there but I personally don't think a world record will be coming out of there.

http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/articles/10.01.2013/6166/Modern.Day.Tiger.Hybrid.Muskellunge.World.Record.Established/index.htm

Unfortunately I can't help much in the trolling department but my best advice is to never give up, you can fish all day and not see anything and then all of a sudden when you are daydreaming- wham! Also, I'm not sure how familiar you are with musky but it would be good to check out the sticky on releasing if you haven't. I believe it discusses common release tools, methods, all sorts of other good stuff. Good luck!!!

That's one heck of a fish! What did it measure?

Looks like they've been eating good, pretty chunky!

Good to see you getting some action and getting a pic of the sunbather is awesome!

Great pics!

The minimum was just raised within the last year from 30" to 36". I would have preferred higher too but I will take 36" over 30" any day. The sad part was/is the lack of education with some anglers.....this past winter we were talking to a few guys that setup in between our shanty and our tip ups (go figure) and we told them we caught a few small ones in the upper 20" category. They asked if we kept them and we explained the rules and how we are catch and release, not looking for a meal. They proceeded to tell us the day before they kept a few low 20"ers and they thought the rules were the same as pickerel. As far as the measuring, I made a bump board out of a 1x6 and a 48" metal rule from Lowe's. they make folding plastic ones which are nice but a little pricey in my eyes for what it is (I understand the price behind it but I would rather buy more lures). The bump boards are probably the most accurate but you have to wet them first and you have to take the fish out of the water. Also available are measuring sticks you hold next to them as your are releasing. Basically looks like a 1" piece of PVC marked up. I feel they aren't as accurate because you are potentially/hopefully 40-50" away from the nose where the measurement is being taken. I may go this route because as long as I'm within an inch it really doesn't matter to me and they take up next to no room. I've also thought about making some sort of marking on the side of my boat where I could get a quick measure while releasing. Good luck, hopefully they will start putting the feed bag on soon!

Nice tiger!

Awesome fish!!!

That's a great pic-nice fish!

Yeah I hear ya- you can't help it that they occupy similar areas now. As far as releasing it sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what should be done, main points being and somebody correct me if I'm wrong here: -don't overplay the fish -never hold the fish vertically -unhook them in the water if possible -try to do water releases when the water is warm -if a picture is necessary, have the camera all ready so you can snap the pic quick and return to the water -when holding the fish waiting for it to take off don't pull it backwards and aim it into the waves if possible -there are physical attributes such as color and etc. that let you know if they are over stressed but someone else will have to get into that because I don't know enough about it to write it Good luck out there and maybe I will see ya when the water cools down some....btw- awesome fish guys!!! Trevor

Once the water hits 80 degrees I will not even fish for them....it's just too tough on them and too hard for me to safely release them- I may lower it to somewhere between 75-78 just because I've caught enough to where I would rather focus on conservation now instead of catching tons of fish.

Very nice write up...any way to sticky that to the top?

So what were the results?

We had a great opener, we saw a bunch of muskies but only landed one at 31". It was a beautiful day even with some technical difficulties with my boat-just glad to get out after a long 7+ month wait!

This will be out first time fishing at night, could you guys send me a PM with any tips or advice if you don't mind.... Any help would be greatly appreciated. Hope to see you out there! Thanks, Trevor