BSmaster

I believe in equal opportunity and I don't like affirmative action. I am talking about my fishing. I read a lot of posts on here and other boards and it is obvious to me that some fisherman are passionate about a species or group of species and disregard the others as important. I personally like it all. I would love to see more walleye stocked across the state. All the fingers should have them. Musky too. Too much emphasis on the salmonoids. I love fishing for them as well but warm water species are just as exciting in my opinion. It will all balance out and some waters will hold better numbers or bigger fish than others. It works that way now without the diversity. About the motor/boat restrictions on Hemlock: I like them. It gives the little guy more of a level playing field. I do not have great numbers when I fish Hemlock but I love it for what it is. It is beautiful. Kayaks, canoes, and small boats and all natural structure. If a guy can't get his 18 foot Lund out there with all the bells and whistles to drag 8 lines, this is ok to me. I like that people fishing there have to keep it simple. It is very peaceful.

Makes sense Tom. One of my favorite quotes. "The only thing that stays the same is change." Thanks for posting, Joe

I am gonna take a wild guess that you will need to wait to see what turns up at the spawning run. I hooked into 30# plus salmon(s) last year (tribs) but it is a little hard to land that much muscle on an 8lb tippet. The gents doing their version of good touch bad touch up at the choking points probably get these fish and think nothing about the significant size. They just tie them up with the same rope they drag their deer out of the woods and go home to the smoker. See what is happening here and relay it back to your thoughts about summer. Obviously hindsight won't help you win the derby but may help you win in the future years. I agree with the thoughts above too. I am gonna try to run 10lb (instead of tippets this year because I believe that the run will be stronger with bigger fish this year and I really would like to land a 30lb + male for the wall. The challenge. First to entice the beast into taking the bait and 2nd, most important, landing him. Highly anticipating that first Bobber drop!

Amen. Forgot to mention the fair weather fisherman. I don't do well on Hemlock but I love them rules. What a great day to be on the water - NO pleasure boaters.

What kind of camera was that being used?

They are moving in now. How far in do you want them to be? If you are thinking pier chucking, your timing seems good.

Legitimate question. My apologies for being a smarta$$. Answer: Off a Buck???

Was the fishing any better than the launchin? I wasn't there so I will not comment about what happened to you. I am here reading your post, however, and my only recommendation is that cool down and refrain from name calling and other demeaning phrases and words. You only lose the power of your argument and give it those you are frustrated with.

I have heard people complain about the alewives making the meat taste bad. I don't know really what makes a fish taste bad but I am pretty sure I wouldn't eat a resident fish from the lower Genny even if alewives weren't the cause... When I fish the Hudson, I will keep the Stripers because except for when they are young they eat Herring (and) which also lives out to sea. They only run up to spawn. All the other resident fish that get hooked go back. When I catch channels in the Chemung, they look silvery and pristine. WhenI catch them out of the Hudson, they look like they lived in a sewage plant all their lives with leaches hanging off them and weird looking skin tones. My point is that it is well known that people think that the fish that lives in disgusting water will taste like disgusting water but I have heard the alewive theory and it might have some merrit as well. Either way, walleye are a challenge to find but fight pathetic. If they do not taste good... then why bother? And if it is to CnR than why not go after something that fights better like Musky or Pike? Just my two cents. Our water in the southern tier has improved dramatically over the past 20 years and we do not have alewives. Not intended to brag but our Fish Stix taste good.

Sent PM

Kinda reminds me of that Simpsons episode. Series 2 | Episode 4 | Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish Bart and Lisa catch a three-eyed fish in a polluted stream near the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, bringing scads of negative publicity to Mr. Burns. In order to fight the bad press, Burns decides to run for Governor, enlisting a team of spin doctors. But all the spin doctors in the world can't fix Mr. Burns' major blunder when, on live TV, Marge serves him a three-eyed fish for dinner and he finally coughs up his true feelings about pollution. (I looked up the details)

I was fishing in a snagging hole in May. I was not snagging. I am simply saying that in October this hole is surrounded by snaggers daily. I thought I saw a steelhead or 2 from the wall and dropped down to try it. I chose angle worms for bait. I caught a lot of suckers and about a dozen King par of about 5 inches before I finally caught a steelhead. Judgin by what I have been told, I thought most reproduction was done by the hatchery or the salmon river. I know the water is good enough for them to grow to 5 inches. I do not know how many of them get through to the lake. All I am saying is that the fish are spawning successfully. How much of the young are a forage fish is what I do not know.

I admire your persistence. Colder water is coming. Try again next month. I went walleye fishing for the first time (summer) yesterday and ended up having a legendary day of smally fishing. We caught two small eyes but they were for the most part mouthing the bait. The smallies were starting to pack the bait in 2 and 3 at a time. They were spittin them out when we pulled them out of the water. Walleyes will be turning on soon. Muskies and pike should follow suit. Good luck.

1.)A captain that cares about your fishing trip should get a little extra. 20% seems good to me. I do not punish the wait staff for what the chef did so I am not going to punish the captain for what the weather is doing or what the fish aren't doing. An excellent way to determine how good of a captain/host etc. your charter is by knowing how much repeat business he has. If you don't do well and you get back to port and the other boats did well and you like the Captain... You still should give him something but you may not want to book him again. 2.)I do not fish tournaments (not why I fish) yet I do not see the problem of spending a little more for the chance of winning. It also sounds like the captain has something to gain from putting the boat on the fish. Anyone in the boat can grab the rod after it pops. So if a non LOC pulls in the winner the Capt. stands to lose out on publicity. His web page may look more inviting if he has the previous years derby fish on his home page. Good luck, fishing is pretty good right now.

Please excuse me, I do not know a lot of the specifics, so I am going to ask this with a sophmore like attitude. How did they line in the estuary? I fished (estuary) in august a few summers ago and the water in the river was low and I do not see how this is possible. Also, They added the Estuary and the mouth to the trib rules last season, so this should be deterring the guys in the row boats with their snagging spoons. DSR claims to be fish friendly. I am more worried about them getting hung up above Pulaski. I agree that it would be a shame if the direction the fishery is going had a down turn. I have noticed a quality increase over the past few years. I won't mention the creeks, but a few of them have me worried about natural reproduction with levels what they are.

Water is starting to cool down. They will start feeding heavier soon. Best time to catch them is when season is closed (unethical) and in the fall when they are feeding to bulk up for winter. Good luck. If it was easy to catch them consistently, they would be called bass. From Brockport, the closest areas you have are the Genny and Lake Alice (I fished neither for Walleye) but like everyone said there are much better places to fish them with higher percentage - just a little further.

Never tried it, but I am guessing by the sheer numbers of browns spawning at the end of October into November, that hitting the water color change at the creek outlets would be hot. If it works on the piers, it should work out in the lake too.

I dropped a few of those things today.

I think a lot get caught around the cove. I caught one last year up at the power plant. They are in Lake Alice, so it would seem that they are coming from both directions. The story about the catches in Holley is a good example of why the DEC closes non trout streams while walleye season is closed. They are attempting to preserve the fishery - saving it from the "fisherman" who don't understand how the fishery rejuvenates. There are so many places for fish to spawn in Sandy, I would hope that not all of the fish went up to the falls. The numerous miles for them to spread out would give them a better shot at reproducing. I think that is why the trout do well in sandy.

I'll add this to the list of things that make me go hmmmmm,,, I agree that bass seem to be tougher than most fish, however, I think all sunfishes and perches are fairly tough. As for the original question, I have released some fish that swam off and then much later have resurfaced on their side. If you moved since it was released, you would probably never know. I was battling a slow bite/adults vs a fast bite/juveniles last winter and I had hooked a little one in the gills. Too small to keep legally. I was torn, I kinda knew it wasn't gonna make it. It swam off and 20 minutes later came back up. It wasn't in my opinion bleeding that bad either. This same scenario I have seen with bass and trout as well. How do you make the call? Depends on the situation, I guess. I don't know. If it isn't legal to keep it, it should definitely go back. Not worth the chance of fine.

I consider this a good night. I am still waiting for temps to come down some before I start after them. Thanks for posting.

Awesome story. If that was my daughter, I would frame that picture -not just a 5x7. If I was sixteen, I would politely ask if I could help out on your boat. Your post makes me want to try harder to get my kids more interested in the outdoors. Thanks for posting.

Could there be a connection to the theft of the boyscout leader earlier this year????... I hope so.

IMO Salmon = not much difference. Trout = keep the barely legal and let the very large go.