guff

Jigging on Keuka works great. Trollers do well too but I don't do that. Safest bet is to go to the end of the bluff and fish from there around to south (on east branch) maybe a 1/2 mile in 90-120 fow. They really like white w/silver speckled tubes on 1 oz SHARP jigs(see Hermit's site). Drop to bottom, jig for say 5 minutes then reel in and hold on. Hermit's jigging tutorial is great and gives you about all the info you would ever need for jigging. Man Overboard on this site has done very well lately. Maybe he will give you some up to date tips, especially on other locations. (hope you don't mind me using your name MOB). Would suggest an early morning start. There are an incredible number of hungry LT in Keuka and they taste great. 5 fish limit after Oct. 1.

Not having done a lot of trolling myself, I have got a question. If I am jigging, what is the minimum distance from a trolling boat that I should be? In other words how far away from the side of the trolling boat and behind the trolling boat should I be so there is no chance I can mess things up for the troller? I certainly do not want to mess up someones fishing if I can help it.

Noticed on a recent entry some grumbling about people giving out too much fishing info. I have to admit that I was hesitant to give out too much info when I started on this site. I thought my fishing holes would immediately be flooded with boats. Bottomline now is that I have not seen this where I fish. The Finger Lakes are so big, most of the time I have plenty of room to fish. I also understand that some people have put in years getting the right stuff working (location, lures, techniques, etc. ). From what I have seen the younger generation is not taking up the sport like us old f--ts. I feel really bad about that. If through this site we can get some of them into a 10 lb laker on light equipment on their first few trips we will have them hooked for life and what better catch can we have? Excuse me for my ranting and raving. Just my opinion, for what it is worth.

Hi New@this - Maybe you are already doing this but if the wind is not howling, casting downwind far enough such that the jig hits bottom at the back of the boat then reeling in gets me a lot of LT. Can be done from front of boat also. Worth a try.

A couple of more items on this set-up. 1- It can be hard to get the sinker up inside the tube. I use a bait needle (used to hook up sawbellies) and hook to front end of trolling sinker then push up into tube. Gives you something to hold on to. Also getting tube and sinker wet lubricates the system. 2- If the LT are massacring the tube and the treble is getting down inside them (not very often) we have taken wire cutters and cut off one of the treble hooks thus leaving a 2 hook setup. 3- This set up works well because the treble ends up hidden in the tube skirt and it is pretty hard for the LT to hit it without getting hooked.

Forgot to mention. Also hooked 2 BIG perch in 50 fow. That is on a 4 inch long tube with 1 oz jig. Guess those guys are hungry too.

Thanks guys. Yes, big boys/girls at north end. Did not find one fish with a clipped fin so guess all wild ones. Also no lampreys. There were some weeds around but of course does not slow down the jigging at all.

Have heard of people swimming across Keuka with no boat escort. Waves, slight fog, falling or rising sun, etc. basically hiding them. Bass boats and others going 45+ mph. Gives me chills thinking about it.

Had a decent bite at 50-120 fow drop off just south of Belhurst yesterday morning. Best bite 90-110 fow. 8 nice LT with half of them 28-31" plus several hits. Slow drifting with chartreuse tube was working. They did not seem to want to come off the bottom very far but would hit soon after started reeling in. Lots of LT marks on the screen at the drop off. Had one other boat fishing in the area and only 2 trailers in the Chamber parking lot. Amazing.

Would like some opinions. I have a 1989 55hp Yamaha 2cycle. Which would you think better? Use ethanol gas (easier to find) with an additive (stabil, etc) or use non-ethanol gas (harder to find)? Is one MUCH better for the motor than the other or are they about even? Thanks in advance.

Pretty cool blog Hermit

Good job MOb! 6 trout in 2 hours ain't too shabby. Off subject some but where did you launch? Previous posts have mentioned private ramps on west side of Keuka. Never used any of them. Would be nice to be closer to end of bluff than the state park. Also off subject but if anyone ever gets a chance would recommend a trip to Acadia National Park on the Maine coast line. Spent 2 days (too short) there this weekend and it is beautiful. Rugged, rocky shoreline and 1500 foot Cadillac mountain where you can see forever.

I have had problems releasing fish in the past because they float after bringing them up from the depths. Some things I have done to help are: 1- Bring them up slowly 2- When they get near the surface let some line out and let them run. Watch for air bubbles to escape. 3- Use a fish gripper rather than a net. When you grip the bottom lip it holds a lot better than I would expect. Glad you have been having some luck. Just like everything else, the more time you spend jigging the better results you will have.

Hi guys. Hot off the press. John Gaulke just texted me that this am there is a hot bite going on on north end of Seneca across from Belhurst Castle. I launch at Chamber of Commerce in Geneva. If you want monster LT (28- 34") on jigs that is the place to go when they are hitting. For whatever reason the hot bite is about 3 weeks late compared to my experience over the last 3 years. Do not need treble hook/tube/bent hook jig for those big boys when they are cooperating. They will gooble the whole jig. Would start with chartreuse fluke. They love them. Also paddle tails and tubes work. Would motor to 120 fow water then drift back to 45 fow if wind out of south. (opposite if from north) Check ff to see at what depth most LT blips show up and concentrate on that depth. Of course my wife and I have an out of town trip planned until early next week. But it is to see my son so it is good.

gonefishin - I bet you do get a lot of fish w/o the ff using that method. Guess the only 2 things the ff would do is: 1- it is a blast to watch the trout attack the lure and 2- I get a lot of trout by starting to reel in just before the trout gets to the jig. m.o.b. - I generally don't have a problem with the treble hooking the line if I just drop it off the side of the boat. However it can be more of a problem if casting downwind (which I do most of the time) as the boat is drifting. I have pretty much eliminated that by slowing down the jig with my fingers on the line just before the jig hits the water. This turns the jig so it is pointing back towards the boat and pretty much solves the problem. hermit-Yes, I rig up 2 or 3 of the treble hook /jig rigs before hand. I went to using a split ring between the treble hook and the bent jig hook to make changing tube body easier. Surprisingly the tube body will last quite some time, at least on Keuka trout. Maybe not so long on those Cayuga monsters .

Gonefishin - Yes, one of the reasons I love the jigging method is because it has to be one of the cheapest ways to fish the Finger Lakes. Just curious, is there a reason you do not use your ff to follow the jig/trout? It is a definite blast.

One problem I have seen is that the aforementioned jig set up sometimes does not show up on my ff as well as a regular jig. I believe it is because the soft plastic body does not reflect the sonar beam as well as a solid jig head. To solve that problem I have made up an alternative rig. I take a 1 oz. bullet Kalin jig (from Cabela's), bend the hook around, insert it into the tube, then add the treble with split ring. I like the Kalin jigs because they have big barbs that hold the tube better. My son keeps telling me I should patent this.

Got 14 LT on Keuka yesterday. In Keuka (smaller trout) I found I was losing way too many LT using a normal jig. Now I make up my own. Using a bait needle, I run a 1 ounce trolling sinker up inside a 3.5" white (with silver speckles) tube. Keuka LT really like white tubes. At the back end I add a size 2 super sharp red treble hook using a split ring. Has cut my lost trout numbers by at least 50%. I get 90% of my LT on the retrieve. Yesterday before 10:00 the trout 50 -75 feet down (near KLSP boat launch) over deep water were especially cooperative. Lots of LT at tip of bluff also.

Too cool. Darn nice ff. What model number is it? Nice group of LT.

Nice fish. Good job.

There is a tiny gas station on route 14 almost across Seneca Lake from Sampson if trailering. $4.69 per gallon. Closes at 6:00 however.

A good south wind can really rile up the Branchport end. I believe the way the lake is shaped acts as a funnel and concentrates the wind at the north end. A lot of times I have headed out to the east side of the tip of the bluff under those conditions. Again because of the shape of the lake, that area usually has about half the wind and waves that the south end has. Also, if the wind is not terrible, casting your jig downwind far enough so that it hits bottom at the back (or front) of the boat, bounce it on the bottom a few times, then reel in, can often get you trout. Usually during the week (not weekends) the boat traffic is a lot less on Keuka. Being the 4th and HOT conditions this was probably an extra busy weekend. Once you get away from the launches on the north end of Seneca, the boat traffic is not too bad because the lake is so wide compared to Keuka. There are a ton (tons) of LT on Keuka that love to gobble up jigs. Good luck.

Should be on "old boat" site for this but since the topic is gas will give it a shot here. I am having stalling problems with my 1989 55hp Yamaha when I shift it into gear. Question - Do you guys think it is a must to use non-ethanol gas in your boat motors as opposed to adding a fuel stabilzer to ethanol gas?

Hi new@this- 2 of us hit north end of Seneca July 4th. We fished all morning and only got 2. Zero after 8:15. They were in a very negative mode. Maybe full moon ??? LOTS of chasers but few biters. Sounds like Hermit did great on Cayuga but only up to 9:30.

Thanks for the info bb. Where is Ballentyne. I am from Penn Yan area.