camper4lyfe

We hit the outlet last night, and it was all but dead. I may have seen 2 bluegills in there (they were schooled up a couple weeks ago). We must be in "tween" season right now.

I saw a post on Facebook that said the numbers were down a bit this year.

This is why I love drop shot rigs. Get the bait up 12-18" off the bottom and it significantly reduces goby hookups. It's not 100% foolproof, but it definitely helps.

I’m planning to take my oldest fishing (he’ll be at at that time) out on either Hemlock or Canadice Lake. I’m going to be borrowing a canoe to do it, so we can expand the fishing area a bit beyond just shore fishing. That said, trolling for trout and the like isn’t an option on those lakes. Of the two, which do you think is the better of the two to canoe fish on, and what tips do you have to give him the best opportunity to catch anything (and I mean anything, he’s still at the stage he’s content catching panfish)

I'm seeing reports that pike are starting to run now. Walleye will run after the pike, but the walleye just hang out below the spillway while the pike will jump the spillway.

I'd contact a local marina. That may at least give you a starting point. I can't remember how we found our guy (up in Clayton), but we started by working through the Clayton Marina.

Doc’s Tackle in Honeoye is a solid shop, though out of the way a bit for Conesus

That sounds about right

I’m pretty sure it’s state law that you have to wear a PFD in the spring. I can’t recall the exact dates, but they’re definitely required right now, for this very reason.

Cool. Thank you. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Good to know. Any particular time in the Fall? Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

So in general it’s best to hit it on the 1st, as soon as the season opens. What typically defines the spawn/when they’ll be in the creek? Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

I'm not entirely sure of my dad's obsession with fishing Springwater Creek, but it's a nice way to spend some time with my dad. That said, I'm hoping to get some help. I know very little about stream/creek fishing, and even less about trout. I typically fish the St. Lawrence for smallmouth, so this is a huge changeup for me. We've been going to the creek around mid-April for the past few years, and I've only started catching fish the last 2 times, but they've all been dinky rainbows (I don't entirely mind, as at least it's something), but I really don't have an understanding of what the trout are looking for, or where We should be looking for them. Tackle-wise, I've been using spinners (I've had my best luck with a small silver spinner), and my dad has been married to salmon eggs. I keep trying to get him to switch to spinners, but I haven't had any luck on that yet, but I keep trying. Unless he knows something I don't, I just don't think that's going to work for him. Initially, we were parking on Kellogg Rd and heading North on the creek toward the lake. The first couple years, we tried here with no luck, and barely even saw anything. Only when we pushed farther toward the lake, after parking along 15A and bushwacking in to the creek did we start having any luck, and like I said, they've all been pretty small. Questions: This year has been tough with the low water, and most likely abnormally warm water, but one of my biggest questions is what are the trout doing in the Spring? Are they heading up the creek for the summer, are they going up the creek to spawn and then head back to the lake? What's their movement, and how would/does water temperature potentially effect that? Does the trout fishing in the stream drop off as the season progresses, or does it move one way or another? I feel like a spinner is the way to go, and on the small size due to the small size of the creek. Is that the best way to go? Should I be pressing my dad more to move on from the eggs and switch to a lure of some sort? In the end, I'm just trying to up our odds of having some success, and definitely trying to get my dad to land his first trout. If you'd rather private message me with details so your secrets don't end up broadcast over the internet, that's fine by me. Any little bit will help, in all honesty, as we're complete novices at this.