Well , I guess we know now

[HB2]

We were wondering how the kings weight would be this spring . 

 

I guess we now know .

 

But there sure are a lot of them 

[Yankee Troller]

[GAMBLER]

2 hours ago, HB2 said:

We were wondering how the kings weight would be this spring . 

 

I guess we now know .

 

But there sure are a lot of them 

There were some good kings caught before the derby.  I saw a 26 and a 25 on Facebook.  The Saint Catherines Fish and Game club derby has a 25 and change leading.  We boated a 20.8 yesterday out of Sandy.   The Baitfish biomass being low excuse being the reason for the smaller kings is complete BS.  Seeing that the bait biomass is up, king size should be up and that is not the case at all.  I would love to see the chart from the hatchery showing the percentage of age of each year class that made it to the hatchery last fall.  I would be willing to bet, a ton of two year olds spawned last year.  

[Yankee Troller]

The data speaks for itself. This data looks at the 10th place Salmon in each derby. Spring of 2021 was an anomaly, but we're pretty much on par the Spring weights for the derby. It's the Fall weights that seem to be falling off.

 

MEDIAN	Fall	Summer	Spring
2024			22.00
2023	27.05	26.02	21.10
2022	27.15	27.00	22.10
2021	29.03	28.04	24.10
2020	28.04	28.06	COVID
2019	29.12	27.15	21.01
2018	No Data	25.12	No Data
2017	30.08	27.09	21.11
2016	32.01	28.11	21.11
2015	29.02	25.15	20.12
2014	30.04	27.04	21.04
2013	33.04	32.01	26.00
2012	32.09	31.07	27.04
2011	32.04	29.00	23.14
2010	34.06	No Data	No Data
2009	31.15	26.02	No Data
2005	30.01	No Data	No Data
Average	30.26	27.63	22.49

[HB2]

Well , it ain't nothing like it use to be 20 + years ago . And we are way better at catching them . And average size is not bigger . 

 

There is not nearly the amount of alwives in the lake like there was back then also . Can't deny that . 

 

Are these  low to mid  teens kings we are catching small 3 year olds ? I'd like to know that also . 

 

 

[GAMBLER]

19 minutes ago, HB2 said:

Well , it ain't nothing like it use to be 20 + years ago . And we are way better at catching them . And average size is not bigger . 

 

There is not nearly the amount of alwives in the lake like there was back then also . Can't deny that . 

 

Are these  low to mid  teens kings we are catching small 3 year olds ? I'd like to know that also . 

 

 

The current bait biomass is way up compared to 2014-2019.  King size is down compared to that same time period.  The low teen kings you are catching are more than likely 2 year olds.  

[HB2]

Also has it occured to anyone those 25 and 26 # fish maybe 4 years old ? 

[GAMBLER]

4 hours ago, HB2 said:

Also has it occured to anyone those 25 and 26 # fish maybe 4 years old ? 

Doubtful.  Fewer and fewer 4 year olds.  I will see if I can find the slide from the state of the lake meeting showing the shift in age that made the hatchery.  

[GAMBLER]

2022 NYSDEC Lake Ontario Unit Annual Report

 

Suprisingly 3 years olds were the biggest returners to the hatchery .  4 year olds were 1%.

[HB2]

18 minutes ago, GAMBLER said:

2022 NYSDEC Lake Ontario Unit Annual Report

 

Suprisingly 3 years olds were the biggest returners to the hatchery .  4 year olds were 1%.

But there were some which may be the few bigger fish . 

 

And how big were the avg returning 3 year olds ? Probably those 18 to 23 # fish . Or so I would guess . 

[whaler1]

Good news is two years ago the amount of skippy kings was insane. Felt bad pulling riggers and dipsy rods with dead skips on them. Now those same skips are 10-18 lbs and they’re out there in numbers. Never seen this kind of numbers of quality fish. Not trophies but still fun to catch. So weird to be fishing deeper than 100 foot of water in April or May, not complaining. 

[GAMBLER]

[HB2]

I have noticed that our Canadian brothers seem to catch on  occasion and consistently over the last so many years  the biggest fish of the season during the fishing year . 

 

Now why is that ? Either they are better or more lucky than we are . 

Or something to consider are those are North shore naturally reproduced fish that don't stray far from the breeding grounds . 

 

 

[Gill-T]

Other factors. Dr Weidel stated a good majority of the alewives caught in the survey this year were found in Canadian waters. Most years the bait is on the South side of the fence

[BRsnow]

I certainly do feel fortunate to have fished Lake O in the 90’s, not only because the fish were much bigger but you also used 12-17lb line and downriggers. It was just simpler and less heavy tackle.

[Lucky13]

On 5/10/2024 at 3:40 PM, GAMBLER said:

Doubtful.  Fewer and fewer 4 year olds.  I will see if I can find the slide from the state of the lake meeting showing the shift in age that made the hatchery.  

SOL meeting?  When?

[Gill-T]

Purely anecdotal but I think the 15-17 lbers are stocked three year olds and the large group of 10-14lbers are the result of a good hatch of naturals that occurred somewhere.  

[Morgan-E]

The East End State of the Lake Meeting will be on July 17th, at 7PM, at the Mexico VFW.  Chris LeGard, Steve Hurst, et al... will be there to give information about the latest data and projects as well as to answer questions form the public.  It is being hosted by ELOSTA and all fishermen are welcome and encouraged to attend.  This has been a worthwhile evening in the past and has taken the place of the large meeting format that used to occur at Pulaski High School.

[GAMBLER]

2 hours ago, Lucky13 said:

SOL meeting?  When?

If you look online you can see the old data from the state of the lake meetings and the newer format (no meeting).  The last one I could find was 2022.  

[Morgan-E]

ELOSTA has hosted this on the east end since the old meeting format was scrapped.  I do not know who hosts the other regions of the lake. 

It has been a more relaxed format with a ton of information shared.  The more people who attend and get to interact with the presenters the better informed we will be.  Plus it is great to hear some other fishermen's perspectives and ideas on the fishery - a good night out.  Hoping to see a packed venue.

[Dances with Fish]

Morgan-E,   are you saying the monthly meetings for ELOSTA has been changed?  I was wondering if there is a meeting this month.

[Morgan-E]

No, the meetings are still as they have been. Third Wednesday of each month except August which is after the picnic. Had one last night. Great discussions. The July one is hosting the state of the lake in addition to the normal minutes. 

[Lucky13]

19 hours ago, Morgan-E said:

ELOSTA has hosted this on the east end since the old meeting format was scrapped.  I do not know who hosts the other regions of the lake. 

It has been a more relaxed format with a ton of information shared.  The more people who attend and get to interact with the presenters the better informed we will be.  Plus it is great to hear some other fishermen's perspectives and ideas on the fishery - a good night out.  Hoping to see a packed venue.

Yes, the local charter group hosts the State here, too.  But publicity is non-existent, I would have missed the one a couple of weeks ago if I had not seen it on here.  Attendance was much lower than when it was held at RIT as a stand alone meeting, also likely because few knew about it.  

[GAMBLER]

5 minutes ago, Lucky13 said:

Yes, the local charter group hosts the State here, too.  But publicity is non-existent, I would have missed the one a couple of weeks ago if I had not seen it on here.  Attendance was much lower than when it was held at RIT as a stand alone meeting, also likely because few knew about it.  

It is posted on Facebook, here, their email list and the website for the charter association.   Can't say it's non-existent.  

[Silver Fox]

3 hours ago, Lucky13 said:

Yes, the local charter group hosts the State here, too.  But publicity is non-existent, I would have missed the one a couple of weeks ago if I had not seen it on here.  Attendance was much lower than when it was held at RIT as a stand alone meeting, also likely because few knew about it.  

Last year it was in June and the gun club was pretty full. This years attendance was terrible. Probably because I knew guys that were gone for the derby. Maybe that was part of the reason.