Rochester 4/19 PM

[Fish Junkie]

Made it out of the Genny by 2:00pm after a 1/2 day of work. Brought my foreman Kevin with us to give him a feel of spring fishing as he is just getting into the sport.

First fish off the boards was a surpise king in 7' of water off the beach. After Kevin slowly worked the fish to the back of the boat we botched the net job REAL BAD!!! Lost the fish at the net. Did manage to catch a run the fish made on video as Kevin worked him to the back of the boat. Also, got the net job on video but can't place it on open forum because of a few profanities!!! Fish was easily mid teens maybe 20 lbs. Nice first fish of the year.

We redeemed ourselves a bit with a few small browns, a coho, and a BIG walleye to our surprise 27" 8.5 lbs.

The storm earlier in the week has temps all over the place, and lots of debris !!! Couldn't find a solid pocket of fish. Temps anywhere from 39 all the way up to 52 degrees in front of Russell. Caught fish in all temps. Things should settle down next day or two for a good weekend. LOts of color to the water as well, from mud to pea green.

King at the boat:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v68/gumpy2/?action=view&current=100_0968.flv

The walleye:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v68/gumpy2/?action=view&current=100_0975.flv

[Yankee Troller]

Good going guys!

[fishfearme]

Looks great I can't wait to get out there next month.

[Picker Pines]

Nice day of fishing....Why does the big one always seem to get away?

You need a new net man?

Hook'em

POPS

[REELJERKS]

wow

Nice fish!! a mixxed bag to boot. Thats all it took boat is going in her slip ASAP...

[silverspoon]

Makes me want to take the boat out of the back yard and get it to the docks.

Excuse my ignorance, I'm just starting out. if these questions are not appropriate, please let me know.

1) What speed do you usually troll? Do you vary the speed depending on what kind of lure, ie stick bait, vs spoons?

2) What kind of water color do you look for. Are you looking to fish the "pea green", or darker?

3) Do you zig zag in and out of the colored water, or do you try to keep your boat in the color.

4) What kind of lures are you using?

Any suggestions to this newbie would be greatly appreciated.

[FISHINMAN]

Silverspoon,

Rule of thumb is slow in the spring when water is cold and the fish aren't real active with long leads of generally 100' to 150' or more back. Very lengths and see what's working that day.

Look for the "pea green" water and zig zag in and out with your lures or just stay in that water and move depths from as shallow as you can to a little deeper but stay in the green. Sometimes they are lurking right at the "line" :shock:

Go with both sticks and small to medium size spoons. Some guys prefer to use jointed sticks, some use unjointed sticks and some run both. Look at the lure next to the boat and try to get a speed that gives you a nice slow roll or wobble.

Look over site for older posts and you will see what colors people prefer. Orange and gold, black and green, perch, brown trout, chartruse and watermelon those are some of the popular colors in spring.

No question is a dumb question on this site guys will help out

[borderline 350]

Dear Fish Junkie, Congrats on the fine catch on 4/19! A mixed bag is surely a fine accomplishment. Please tell us that you released that fine walleye...alive... back into the Great Lake Ontario. I am sure that you know that the season doesn't open for walleye until the 1st Saturday in May. (May 5th) according to the NYS DEC regulations....Jet Boat Bill

[Fish Junkie]

Silverspoon,

Ditto what Fishinman said.

Spring fishing is about experimentation. Usually the stained or off colored water this time of year is slightly warmer than the clear water attracting bait and fish. Ideal temps. i have found over the years is 45-52degrees for browns and coho, then slightly colder for kings and lakers (39-43.) Not always the case but on average i think most will agree. The off colored water also makes the fish less spooky. Experiment with colors and sizes. In clearer water, run more natural colored baitfish colors and smaller lures. In murkier water larger lures and brighter color. Stickbaits and spoons are lures of choice this time of year.

Aside from water temps and water color, always keep an eye out for diving birds and gulls that might indicate the presence of baitfish. You can have the best temp. water and color, but without the presence of any bait you can troll it all you want without any fish around. The converse is true as well. You might not have the best temp. in the water or best color, but if there are an abundance of bait around the trout and salmon will be sure to follow.

We ran F9 rapalas off the boards the other day and a played with spoons off the rigger. All fish came on the stick baits in natural and firetiger colors in 6-15 ft of water.

Hope this helps.

Borderline,

No worries. ALL fish revived and released. Those walleyes are too ugly to keep anyways.

Fish Junkie