shaneo19

Definitely not good to see. If my memory is correct the lamprey treatments only kill the eggs/larvae so it might take some time to see if it worked. Lampreys have been my number one suspect for the fishing issues on Seneca. The more we can provide evidence like this to the DEC the better.

They should net some alewives from Seneca to stock in Keuka. There are too many in Seneca right now which I think is having a big impact on the fish/fishing there for all species.

The lake is definitely full of bullheads to the point of potentially being overpopulated. I said in another thread awhile ago that despite the issues on Seneca, there seem to be at least two species thriving. Sawbellies and Bullheads. Last spring we had the sawbelly kill and this year the bullheads. It is always concerning to see dead fish but it could just be nature trying to balance itself out. I wasn't aware that bullheads fought each other before spawning but that is interesting if true.

Fished around 36 hours and ended with 21 lake trout and one brown. Biggest around 6 pounds 75 percent of the time pulling copper and 25 percent casting along the shore. Its definitely a struggle compared to what it use to be. Use to always near or break the 100 fish mark. There does seem to be quite a few lake trout in 80 ft plus on the bottom. Problem though is the fish deep seem to be all small so didn't spend much time out there. The good news is that all the 12 to 13 inchers we caught last year seem to have made it to 15 inches. There definitely seems to be an imbalance between predator and prey. Likely cause to me seems like lamprey killed many of the predator fish and the sawbellies took off with has implications throughout the food chain.

Nice. Been doing real well on browns the last few weeks from shore on Seneca. Nothing huge. All 2 to 5 pounds.

I Really hope they get a decent turnout as this derby is a special weekend for a lot of people and it will be shame if it ever went away. I understand the frustration of the poor fishing especially for those bringing their kids. For me personally I don't care if there is only one trout left in the lake, I will be out there fishing just as hard. I know the topic of whats wrong with the fishing on Seneca has bean beat to death on here but I am becoming more and more convinced of whats going on with the trout/salmon. The lamprey population is getting out of control. Literally every trout I catch has one or more lampreys attached or fresh wounds. I am even seeing bullheads occasionally floating on top with lampreys still attached. I caught a skinny 3ft lake trout (maybe 12lbs) this past week that had 4 or so big wounds on it. While it was exciting to see a fish that old alive still it looked pretty weak and beat up. The consequence of fewer predatory trout is likely the cause of the alewife population increase which has consequences on other species in the lake. While the DEC should already be well aware of this issue I would encourage us to make it even more well known.

The huge alewife kill this spring was determined to be from protozoan Chilodonella https://senecalake.org/2017/07/fish-kill-reports/. It seems this can infect other species as well. It would be strange for it to only infect the alewives and not other fish. I am not sure the mechanism for which it spreads but if ingestion is one of them then obviously it is going to infect salmonid species in particular.

There were huge numbers of alewives along the shore this spring. Both day and night. I have also marked schools on my depth finder and dropped a camera down and they were there. Many probably don't realize that they are predators in their own right and will eat what they can. Maybe during certain times of the year they are difficult for trout to feed on and they seek other forage such as the shrimp. One hypothesis is that the lake trout are too full on them to hit our baits as much. Can't say I buy that but there does seem to be a correlation between what seems to be a boom in their numbers and the difficulty in catching lake trout. 5+ years ago when we would consistently catch 100+ lake trout during the derby the fish were much thinner. One year we placed third with a 9.78 pounder. I remember that fish measuring 32 inches. Very thin. I actually set the net down thinking it was a pike when I saw it. The few that you do catch now seem to be much fatter.

I have also had the experience of going out and seeing many more dead fish on the bottom then live ones and it is very sad. This is just in shallow areas where we can see. Who knows how many dead fish are laying on the bottom out deep where you can't see. I will say that I have not seen too many over the past couple months. I live on the west side mid lake area and fish just about every day. Everyone has their own hypothesis and none of us really know whats going on here. It could be something that no one has even considered. That being said I still will throw out some of my own thoughts and observations: As upsetting as the farm/ winery run-offs and sewage discharges are I don't think they are to blame for this issue. Although unhealthy for the overall water quality of the lake, adding nutrients would likely increase the biological production. It almost certainly is the culprit for Blue-Green algae blooms and slime that have happened on certain parts of the lake over the past couple summers . Seneca is not unique in having these particular issues. Owasco lake for example has become completely green from nutrient loading in the summer and overall fishing there is quite good. It is still obviously a problem that needs to be addressed on all of these lakes. As for the salt issue, I know Seneca was recently tested to have higher levels then the other Fingerlakes. This certainly needs to be tested more and seems like about the easiest thing to test. At a variety of depths and locations as well. This is something I need to study a bit more but I tend to think it is not the issue for the fishery decline. There are other famous fishing lakes that have a very high salinity. The first one that comes to mind is Devils Lake North Dakota. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_Lake_(North_Dakota) The lamprey concern I do think is very legitimate. I caught around 35 legal sized brown trout off the docks in my area last February-May. I would say at least 25 of these had one or more lampreys attached and the rest all at least marks. I also saw quite a few lamprey spawning up the Keuka Outlet this spring. Like someone else mentioned, there are some really big ones too. It would be nice if we could get some definitive answers on when they have and will treat the streams. There are two fish species which do seem to be thriving on this lake. Bullheads and Alewives. I don't care where I have been on the lake, when I look down I usually see bullheads. Especially in the spring. I often see schools of hundreds of them. Does anyone remember seeing these huge numbers in years past? In my opinion the most important food source in this lake is the scud/shrimp. I would think this has to be main food source for the huge bullhead population. I am not sure about the alewives. We know it is for the perch,sunfish and most juvenile fish species. I have also discovered that trout seem to depend on these as well. I was surprised to find out that many of the trout I have cleaned have been full of these tiny shrimp. Even some of the bigger trout have them in their stomach. If something like an increase in Bullhead/Alewife populations is causing a decline in these shrimp it could have an effect throughout the food chain. Could all be a non-issue but just an alternative thought to most of the ideas I have read on here. On a positive note, I still have caught a lot of fish over the past year. It can certainly be a challenge but at the right spot on the right day there are good fish to be caught. Last spring was very good for brown trout. All fish caught were 5 pounds or under however with one freak 17lber. Seems like there was a 1 year class that did particularly well. Bass fishing was decent this summer (even some really nice largemouth). There is no shortage of 5-10 inch smallmouth in this lake right now. If they survive then the next couple years look very promising. The perch fishing this fall has been really good for me and they have been of all different sizes. Found them in a different area and depth range then I ever would have thought. Lake trout fishing continues to not be what it use to. There did seem to be more smaller fish available this year then in 2016 so hopefully that is a good sign for upcoming years. I am on the lake a lot so I am willing to help with whatever I can to figure out and help whatever this issue is here.

It would be my dream to have even a mediocre walleye fishery on Seneca Lake. Certainly you don't want to deplete the existing species though especially at a time when they seem vulnerable. As for the problems on Seneca right now with the lake trout, I don't think anyone knows for sure the issue. My number one suspect is the lamprey. Happened to see quite a few up the Keuka Outlet just last weekend. One thing we can rule out is the sawbelly/alewife population being the issue. They are overpopulated if anything which is probably why there have been quite a few dead ones floating around. They have been everywhere along the shoreline the past couple months particularly at night. As of right now there are plenty to feed as many walleye as could be put in but who knows how long that will last. Could probably even support a few kings :). One point to make on the Walleye possibilities in the Fingerlakes is that they are likely to be native while Browns and Rainbows certainly are not. Before the locks systems I would suspect Walleyes were quite common in Cayuga and Seneca Lakes with the Seneca River connection to Oneida and Lake O. Certainly not complaining about having the silver fish in the Fingerlakes though.

Another tough derby for us. Fished almost every minute of daylight plus even a couple hours after dark one night. Landed 29 lakers and 1 brown. Biggest laker around 6lbs but all the rest under 2lbs. Fishing was better then last year but a far cry from 100 + fish we use to catch in derbies past. A couple thoughts about the state of the trout on Seneca. No secret the lake trout population has experienced a massive decline in the past 3 or 4 years. Just a natural cycle that will rebound? That's certainly the hope and a good possibility. If it is something else though the number one issue of concern I think are the lamprey numbers. I recently bought a place on Seneca on the west side/ mid lake area. I was pleasantly surprised with the numbers of brown trout I caught just casting spoons off the docks. I probably landed over 35 keepers from March through early May including a 33 inch 16.5lber. The 16.5lber was the only one however over 5 or 6 pounds which I thought was odd considering the sizes caught in the most recent derbies. This years brown leaderboard was in line with what I had been catching though (barely 6lbs winning) and really the most shocking change from last years huge brown sizes. I think around 75% of the browns I caught had at least 1 lamprey attached and probably 100% had lamprey marks which was the depressing part. Another thing to mention is there have been a massive number of small/likely recently stocked browns all along the shoreline the past couple months (6 -12 inch range). Not sure if this is normal but it is certainly encouraging for the future as long as something can be done about the lampreys.

Looking forward to it. Looks like you have done a lot of work so I hope you get the turnout you are hoping for. Only things I would maybe like to see different are with the two big prize payouts. " #1: $2,500 Cash Grand Prize from Clam Outdoors - will go to one of the 1st place anglers by random draw. #2: $5,100 Case Canoe Package from Case Canoes and Vital Signs - will go to the angler with the overall largest fish weighed in." I think it might be better to split up the $2500 prize between the division winners if possible. If the rest of the division winners only get a few hundred $ ( Hopefully more if you get a good turnout), That is a very steep potential difference between the winners based solely on a draw. I can understand the canoe package prize probably isn't possible to split up in any way. The slightly disappointing thing is the winner is very likely to be a pike from only a handful of potential waters. This unfortunately limits most anglers in the contest from having a great shot at it. Maybe a random drawing for this would be a better option. If this is the way it has to be this year then I would definitely consider making a stipulation that the same person can't win both of those prizes. And maybe also not include the regular first place money for whomever wins these and spread that out to the other winners. Again I really hope this event grows. Entering your events has been a good way to keep the winter more interesting over the past couple seasons so I appreciate your efforts. Hopefully I can place this year!

Nice catch. Ive been spotting some big schools of perch on my camera for a couple months now in 35-55 ft. I have caught a few but unfortunately they have been on the move and don't stay put for long. By the time I get my lines and anchor down they are usually gone.

I can confirm that I saw a lake trout spit up a goby on Seneca Lake this year during the trout derby.