Otisco Lake Panfishing question...

[bulletbob]

 Just wondering about this lake.. Getting to the point in my life that I am no longer enjoying running and gunning for larger gamefish, be they trout/bass/Pike.. etc..  These  past few years I have been doing more panfishing than anything else, and I actually prefer it.. I have been fishing Keuka, and skaneateles more than other lakes such as cayuga which is only 20 minutes away, because of the Gobies driving me crazy... I have reading about Otisco, and its no further than skaneteles, and it seems to have better variety, than  just perch/sunnies/rock bass, with Crappies and White Perch which I really like.. My question is this.. Are these fish in Otisco in good fishable numbers, or more of an "incidental" catch like they now are in other Finger Lakes... I know a few lakes that are loaded with Crappies, but they are hit VERY hard, and its rare to catch one over 7 or so inches.. They all get taken out as soon as they reach legal size, unlike say Perch... I would love to find a lake that has a   fishable population of Crappies and White Perch that aren't stunted, or grossly overfished.. No spots or techniques needed, just   opinions on  the  panfish potential of Otisco.. The  information I have gotten thus far, is that there are a LOT of various panfish in Otisco, but decent eating size panfish are getting tough to find, ,, any info would be   a great help... bob

[ifishy]

So at the risk of you being a troll ill answer otisco has potential to become a trophy fishery for crappie and bluegill its one of the lakes the dec has identified and is implementing harvest and size limits to push a quality fishery and not a quantity one. The science behind this is really compelling and if those that fish the lake embrace it than in the years to come it can become a place for a personal best however if there is a continued "oldschool" mentality based on conventional thinking than the bluegill and crappie fishery will never improve and will be no different than what is available in lakes all over the state as for perch honestly the state has a number of truly special fisherys including all the fingerlakes and most are pretty vunrable to harvest and over harvest I suspect otisco has less potential based on predators and for them it would not be on my list  even if it was closest

[johnnywalleye]

you may have better luck in the bays of ontario,the panfish in otisco are there,but knot in great numbers,exspecially with the new launch the fishing pressure has gone up dramatically.the lake is small .SO if you find them shhhhhhhh

[bulletbob]

Might give it a shot, only because it has more variety than Skaneateles or Keuka... Years ago before the Zebra mussels and Gobies took over, I -enjoyed spectacular panfishing right from shore on Cayuga all by myself year after year.... sunnies 8-9 inches+, perch 11-13 inches, foot long rock bass, every trip, plus dozens of massive SMB that were instantly returned, Bullheads here and there, a Sucker or big carp on occassion.. Never took a Crappie or White Perch in Cayuga.. I don't think many of those make it as far south as Ithaca.. Kind of annoying having to drive 50 miles each way to catch a few sunnies with a worm and bobber.... bob

[ifishy]

Remember there are new panfish regs on otisco there are minimum length limits and a smaller bag limit it will take years before the size develops enough to get a meal out of only a few that said it would be cool to have a trophy lake for bluegill one day.  Still any time on the water is worth it so tight lines

[bulletbob]

OK, thanks... I  was hoping to find a lake with some decent White Perch fishing more than anything else... Crappies are tough.. They are hit hard and seem stunted in most places, and I like sunnies  and perch just as much anyway.. No one fishes much for white perch, but I like them.. If Otisco is being blasted that hard for every eating size panfish it contains, the  last thing I want to do is make matters worse... Not many people fish Skaneatles for panfish, as everyone there has Rainbows on the brain.. Between there and Keuka I'll be fine... Might try  Whiney Point this year as well, but from what I have heard the crappie fishery there is collapsed or close to it due to an abundance of small walleyes, as well as the intense fishing pressure it has always gotten on its population of crappies.. I guess I don't understand why Crappies  take such a pounding in NY state, and get fished into oblivion, or at the least, the population is all small fish  because they are  taken and eaten as soon as they can be stretched to 9 -10 inches, or whatever the regulation is these days... bob

[ifishy]

Cross lake has a good white perch population.  As far as crappie we are in the northern portion of there range so though they do well they don't compete as favorably as they do farther south so that makes the populations smaller and more vunrable though there are still pleanty around as far as the pressure well they taste good and are fun to catch. 

[Sully]

I don’t fish Otisco much anymore, but I can tell you that one day though the ice about 5 or so years ago, I absolutely hammered the white perch. Wasn’t intending on targeting them, but found a lot of good sized fish. Just north of the causeway in deep water right off bottom. Never caught any other panfish that day. Just white perch. Good luck!

[muskiedreams]

All it takes is less than a handful of people harvesting more than they eat for profit, including taking multiple bag limits in a day. Maybe less people should turn a blind eye but without stiff penalties and strong enforcement, perps will see no reason not to do it.

[bulletbob]

are people actually selling bluegills, perch,white perch??.. I didn't know that was even a thing in this day and age. Where would anyone  even sell sunnies and 10 inch perch?

[whaler1]

The city

[johnnywalleye]

knot to jump into old news butt the destruction of the seneca perch fishery was caused by pirates selling fish.it doesnt take much

 

[T-Rok]

Otisco has plenty of white perch. White perch just dont get very big. There are bluegill there. Mostly tons of dinks.  Crappie are few and far between, especially keepers. That lake is absolutely infested with alewives too. Not sure how that affects the panfish, but as far as walleye and muskie, they are always full of easy food so makes them harder to catch. Similar in a way to seneca, but much worse. I would think your best shot is white perch there. I see people pulling them up one after the other when I am trolling for muskie and I see large schools of them on the sonar often.. and I know they are white perch because they often get snagged on my lures or bite the bottom treble hook. The white perch are just small. Someone else said cross lake is good for white perch. This is true. The whole seneca river is loaded with them. I tend to think of white perch as nuisance fish since they are so small compared to yellow perch. Please catch and keep as many white perch as possible. Thank you. 

[bulletbob]

The reason some guys don't like white perch is hey get stunted fast... they can get huge in some places. and are more of a game fish than a pan fish.. If they are a size where cleaning them is worth it, they are a great eating fish.. If they are really badly stunted, they are merely another bait species... They do MUCH  better in  brackish tidal rivers  than they do in lakes.. lots of killies,silversides, grass shrimp in those places, and  more predators that eat them such as Bluefish, Weakfish, Stripes, Fluke, not to mention things like pickerel and LMB as they move closer to fresh water in tidal rivers,creeks... They just don't seem to stunt and overpopulate the way they do in lakes... I thought  the Muskies and Walleyes in Otisco would keep them from overpopulating, but I guess not// Alewives might be the preferred food source over the much spinier white perch...

[whaler1]

Are white perch and silver bass the same thing?

[T-Rok]

I'm not sure what a silver bass is, but I know white bass do kinda look like bigger white perch. They are related. White perch are actually bass (from salt water I think) and are not related to yellow perch at all. But yeah, white perch and white bass are different but similar and can even be tough to tell apart. Usually you can tell by size. I dont know where there are white bass in upstate ny, but I would think they woulda had to end up stocked in some river or lake up here. 

[johnnywalleye]

.https://images.app.goo.gl/6XFW8ryAC4CxGBAP7

 

[Sk8man]

16 hours ago, whaler1 said:

Are white perch and silver bass the same thing?

Just different names for the same thing Bill. I think the Silver Bass is kind of a "local" designation. We used to catch bunches of them at May's Point and the Seneca River as a kid.

[Pequod1]

Les. They are it the same thing. Silver bass have very pronounced stripes along the side and in Erie get very big. White bass sometimes locally called white perch have a more rounded shape and a single lateral line stripe.

a lot of lakes have both species along with Erie and Ontario.

Bob, I have a lake that’s close and you did not mention I think you should try. Pm me.

 

[Sk8man]

Yep. A lot of folks call the silver bass and white bass the same thing too. I think the white perch is actually a member of the bass family.

Edited January 29 by Sk8man