justtracytrolling

I will ask about raising private funds for additional stocking....and the cost...

Ive heard a lot about the launch and dont feel sure about the info so I'd rather not pass it along. Region 7 field office gave me some info, but it isnt concrete. Connor, If you can catch natural reproduction fish 3 passes in a row thru a school that seems like something...im talking about fish that couldnt have been stocked...12 inch fish this year as of 2 weeks ago and no fish were stocked last year. Yoy walleye from Otisco this time of year are about 7 inches third year plants are say 17 inches... The real advantage to more fish isnt just to have more to fish for it's really to keep the bait population in check or actually knock it back a bunch! This would help with natural reproduction and make the fish hungrier....

We are talking thousands of fish surviving each year in addition to natural reproduction. Its not just 100's being taken either....im just the only one that was dumb enough to share...i know 4 individuals that catch 50-150 every year but they aren't doing diaries. Anyone interested should spend time with the region 7 people and you will see what we are up against....the state simply won't stock the lake full like oneida period....im constantly trying to figure out a way to get more fish, but they have a different excuse why every time. I know every angler out there wants better fishing with less anglers on the water and i get that but how is that ever gonna happen....our best chance is a bigger voice and that means more not less anglers and we would have to organize and work together to promote our lake...keeping it a secret isnt possible and still get state fish. The good news is there is some reproduction.....

Any lake that has state stocked fish should have a public launch, and i dont think fishing pressure will change the walleye population much as the lake seldom yields limits for most anglers and even then its a night gig for the most part which obviously keeps most people away. I went out last night and got into em a bit and i didnt see a single boat or shore angler on the causeway. One boat came in before i went out...

Kudos to Mark! My grandmother, god rest her soul, would say someone is always worse off than you so count your blessings. He certainly is a glass half full guy who doesn't allow his limitations to limit him.

Had fellow LOU member and commercial fisherman Deaf Fisherman aboard this weekend looking for a big tiger. We picked up a nice mid 30's fish immediately to break the ice on a tdd9 down 25 over 60 out from the causeway. We then trolled deep structure and open lake for 4hours dropping a eye and couple bass till we finally moved a real nice fish midlake down 30, but i screwed up and long story short the big one got away...we spent the afternoon trolling shallow short lines looking for some crazy hits on probably smaller fish. Mark worked a couple bigger baits to no avail so i added a tdd9 in the prop wash with just 4 feet of a 6 foot leader in the water. 5 minutes later i was working a weedline and thought i heard something and spun a round in time to see a low 30s tiger airborne at eye level just 10 feet behind the boat with mark standing there with 2 rods in his hands! The look on his face was priceless! I should mention Mark cant hear or speak. After a boatside release mark tells me via dry erase board that the tiger tracked the bait then dove under and shot straight up and smashed the lure. Fish ended up jumping several times. We lost 1 more in the exact same manner before going back out deep for a bigger fish. Only managed a catfish deep before the rain hit. Wind was tough and lake was rough. Day 2 we fished 100% deep offshore just looking for 1 big bite. Ended up breaking hooks on a decent fish, landed a 6 lb eye and an awesome run of 4 lb smb. Hopefully Mark can add the pics i took and a bit to the story! I have to say Mark did an outstanding job paying attention and learned fast. Think for a second about taking someone new out and you cant communicate in the heat of the moment...he could nearly read my mind and was real pleasure to fish with. Bluefin tuna on the grill tonight for me! Thanks Mark!

Im all for making things better, but honestly at Otisco its working....we dont need ANY more fish just bigger! Id hate to see too much change at once in Otisco at least as we have a good fishery now. That being said i could prob take care of some fish in a pen for a while till they become a bit wilder as a test....good excuse to spend a couple weeks at the lake! Im sure we could put a pen right in an empty boat slip near mine....we would get free bait to feed everynight from the baitshop's daily die offs....and i could easily raise bait money...the pen is actually easy if they let us do it!

The tough thing to realize is that there isnt necessarily a shortage of fish just because we struggle to catch the walleye.....the walleye are the best fed fish in the state and possibly the hardest to catch. I believe the walleye population is as big as ever. There are 6 stocking classes in the last 7 years and all but this years class are showing up in catches and we will know very soon how this years yoy are doing. I doubt the boat launch will change much as there won't be that much parking so most will still be paying a $9 launch.

It would be nice to have our own muskies inc chapter here in Binghamton or Syracuse or at least a local sportsmanship group with other like minded individuals.. food for thought....

Like i said they scatter stock conesus up to last year with boats and i dont think it helps....you cant put them anywhere except maybe a pen. They will literally float on the surface for hours even days....middle of the lake is no better....the go in to weeds on Otisco and that works but they get hammered there too.

Welcome...how'd you do today?

They do some scatter stocking on conesus, but there is no place to put them where they dont get hammered. Gulls, herons, eagles, cormorants, lmb, smb, walleye, tigers, pike all do their share and where can you put them in water where these predators dont exist. Ive watched this extensively and plain in simple they are dumb and sit high in the column. Putting them in weeds keeps em together and thats not good and they refuse to hide in the weeds. For whatever reason they are doing well in otisco even tho most dont last a week.

Its important to remember that we are lucky to have as many stocked bodies of water in NY!

The data from precision trolling is based on 10 lb diameter line which in .013 inches or 40 lb power pro. You should start with the 40 for your first 2 setups. Then either 50 or 65 next for casting/trolling some bigger baits. 20-30lb for lighter setups and 50lb on the bigger stuff. I use seaguar blue label and spro barrel swivels that are heavier than the leader. 4 trolling/casting setups will prob be all you ever need.

Captain Larry thank you for the help! Gambler, I ate the first one i caught outta the river and deep fried it was ok. We ate every last piece....had four kids to feed then on 1 income. Everything i caught we ate except carp including summer river catfish which was a staple as they were easy to catch. Bottom feeders from hot shallow water from right below the sewage treatment plant.....yum! Now I can eat as much walleye as i want so im fussy and seldom eat anything else. I have had 2 guests in 4 years that took 40 inchers to eat....both loved them, but I know people that love lake trout! 1 of the guests prefers bass to walleye so their opinion doesn't exactly carry much weight!