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Really happy to hear you got out Alec and had a successful trip.

Super good time from mid October on for jigging Lakers at the bluff on keuka. Get them by the dozens.

Zyoung- Same size jig. Hermit's super sharp 1 oz.

Would say 85% of the lakers I jig up have hit on the retrieve. 127 caught out of my boat this year so far.

On suspended lakers, I have often found the suspended fish are more in a feeding mode than the ones on the bottom. I will throw my jig downwind far enough so that I can see it when it gets near (within 20 feet vertically plus or minus) the suspended fish. Often the laker will start moving towards the falling jig. Just before the jig and fish meet (on the fishfinder) I start reeling in either fast or slow depending on the speed the fish prefer that day. Have got a lot of lakers that way. I really like white or chartreuse Lunker City Shakers, at least on Seneca and Keuka. On a really calm day I will motor around until I see a suspended fish on the ff screen and will throw out a bouy then motor back and set up shop very near the bouy.

Thanks a lot for the bleeding info guys. I have twisted their heads in the past (learned from John Gaulki) but I like your ideas a lot. Will try out on the next trip.

Lively1- Another thought on hooking smaller Keuka lakers while jigging. If you look on hermit's web site he has a picture of a white tube with a one ounce trolling type sinker inside and a SHARP treble hook attached. Cuts down on lost fish. But the super sharp jigs hermit sells are VERY effective also. Only kind I use anymore.

Have had several BIG smallmouths hit my jig this time of year out around the bluff. They will hit it before it gets down to deep water normally (40 fow or less). They are cruising around out over deep water going after schools of saw bellies. Say Les -Do you twist the lake trout 's head to make it bleed out? Is there another way of doing it (maybe with a knife)?

Lively1- Just read your post where you took off at 20mph with the fish stringer out. Would make a recommendation. Most lake trout come out of water that is 50 degrees or cooler. I have found they taste much better if they are kept in a cooler with ice (or ice packs) after they are caught. I believe they deteriorate very fast on a stringer in 70 degree summer water temps. Just a thought.

Hi Dick - Just curious, how do you determine where the underground/underwater springs are?

Yep Les, that was me at the honey hole in my black Alumacraft. Man, if you can get the jigging equipment out there right away (before weather changes) you will have some fun. What kind of boat do you have? Will keep an eye out for you and swing over to see how things are going when I am back up that way. - Al

PS: The lakers were biting like crazy on the north end of Seneca yesterday.

Richme has a good point I think. The flood that tore up Penn Yan a few weeks ago was really concentrated in the Keuka Lake watershed now that I think about it. From the parking area just east of Branchport you could look down the length of the west branch. It was like chocolate milk as far as you could see. We have had several storms since then and Sugar Creek (by Branchport) was brown again this week. Keuka lakers are used to super clear water most of the year. It makes sense that the dirty water might affect their appetite. Just a thought.

On a solo trip, had one of my best days yet jigging the north end of Seneca. Ended up the day with 11 boated but probably had half that many missed hits or dropped lakers. The morning was best but got 3 from 2:30 to 3:15 also and they were in only 47 fow. Lots of marks in 45 - 70 fow water but as usual a lot of them were belly down on the bottom so did not show up on my fish finder until I dropped the jig. Hermit's super sharp 1oz. jigs did their job and chartreuse Lunker City shakers (also from hermit) and chartreuse Zoom flukes worked well. First 4 were from 27-30 inches (keep diary for DEC). Basic dropping the jig to the bottom and then reeling back up would trigger a lot of hits. Some fun fishing and will charcoal grill some this weekend. One note was that none of these fish had clipped fins. Must be a good natural reproduction, at least in this area of Seneca. Also very little lamprey evidence. Final note, the north end state ramp parking area was filled with muzzleman (spelling?) tents, etc.

Like to throw my 2 cents in here. I live 4 miles from Keuka and fish it a lot. Strictly jigging on light tackle and have a blast. Also love grilled Keuka lakers. I normally keep my limit and either grill some or give them away. People I give them to are always looking for more. But here is my point. I am now a first time grandfather to a 1 year old (cute as a button I might add). Little Paige and my daughter are coming here from Oregon for the month of July. I would love to serve my daughter some freshly caught Keuka lake trout but I definitely will not because of the DDT related fish advisory on Keuka. I also have Mennonite neighbors that love my freshly caught lake trout but I will only give them lakers from Seneca because the Mennonite families have children under 15 years of age. I know DDT is very persistent when it is found in the environment but it has been banned in the Finger Lakes watersheds since 1965. I would hope the DEC and the NYS health department are giving a high priority to testing Keuka lake trout so that someday soon this advisory can be dropped. After the advisory is dropped, more lakers would be taken home and become prime table fare thus cutting down on the surplus population.

Tank is buried under the plywood floor. Was hoping someone might know a web site that would have the gallons capacity. Will look for the tag on the back end of the tank. Thanks all for the come backs.

Thanks for the Severne info. That is closer to me than Sampson. Just glad to hear the pike are back. Sure did miss them.

Thanks again Les

Thanks for the extra info Les. Do love tying into those fighters. Super happy to see it looks like they have recovered from their die-off disaster a few years ago. Do you think they would also be available at the north end of Seneca now? Lots of good habitat (weeds) for them in different areas at the north end.- Al

Do not really want to run it dry to find out and do not trust my gas gauge enough to go by that.

Hi all - Some good pike action south of Sampson launch near shore. Lot of fun.

I have a 1990 Alumacraft Dominator CS. Does anyone know the size (gallons) of the gas tank or a good way to find out what it ?

Was also out today. Main reason was to see if I had cured my motor problems (which thankfully they were cured- bad gas) so did not start until 10:30. Of course was not going to let a jigging opportunity go unfilled. The bad news was the lakers were not cooperating but the good news is there were lots suspended fish out in the middle of the lake from the state launch south 2-3 miles. Hope to get out at the crack of dawn Sunday. Hoping all those suspended fish will be more cooperative early in the morning. We will see. Also hit the north end in 70 -100 fow and saw a lot of marks there too. Have jigged up a lot of lakers there in the past this time of the year.