what happened to the lakers

[kingslamon22]

so ive been told mexico bay WAS a good spot to go out for lake trout...and big ones. what the heck happend to them. i havent caught one yet and i even tried before. guys that have fished this lake for 20 years say that you could catch them on command in 200 fow all year long. are those days long gone? if not i could use a few tips on how to go after them. ive never caught one in lake ontario, just the finger lakes. the charter fleet in mexico bay is huge so what are you guys doing for a consistant summer fishery for your costomers? even browns are hit or miss during warm months. for me that is. are you guys finding fish inside 200 feet or is everybody forced to make the cold water run?? is it worth it to dock up at mikes or should i cut my losses and stay at oneida for the summer.

[Paul Czarnecki]

Fish the western end of the lake and you'll have all the lakers you want in April and May and all the kings and steelhead you could ever want from May through September.

[Tall Tails]

Dont listen to Paul he has been sniffing duck feathers all winter! We have good fishing in the summer Kings are inside 200 depending on temp. All the Lake trout spots are just a hair west of the plant just inside 200ft. Feel free to PM anytime during the season I will let you know whats goin on!

[Paul Czarnecki]

Brian's right---the fishing is WAY better on the east end. Don't come west.

[Get-A-Way]

Here we go and it's only the beginning of March. Kingslamon22, fishing is great throughout this lake. At certain times of the year it's better in certain parts of the lake than others. Fish move constantly, so things change constantly. Put a pattern together and you'll enjoy the best sportfishery in North America.

[Yankee Troller]

Brian - I wish I kept the IM from you about lawnmowers for downriggers on my boat last year. And now in 2010 you have them on your boat and in your signature!

[Tall Tails]

Its only March!!!! Thats right Paul dont forget it! Oh and go back to fishing your copper like lead core see how that works for you! You know what Rick even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile! It was the right price!!!!

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

King Salmon 22, Lots of theories about what happened to the lakers in that area. Forage changes, predation on stocked lakers by cormorants, intense pressure by an experienced fleet, and a slot limit which probably did more harm than good in that warm water. In addition to these reasons, the laker stocking was cut in half in trade for cutting the Kings a little less back in the early 90's. Since then there has been very few years when the Feds have been able to produce the target number, even though it was reduced considerably. Take all this into account, and there are less lakers for the resurging lamprey population, which compounds the problem. We see the big fish that survive the lampreys, not the young lakers that succumb to them.

The good news is Summer King fishing has been strong in that area of the lake for several seasons.

[Has Been]

I often wonder if the reason the catch rate for kings is up & lakers & browns down is because of the presentation of the majority of anglers. More Flasher fly w/ faster speeds , Different areas , better knowlege ,etc. Back in the 70's & early eighties there were way more salmon than there are now but they were a smaller percentage of the catch.

[Paul Czarnecki]

Its only March!!!! Thats right Paul dont forget it! Oh and go back to fishing your copper like lead core see how that works for you! You know what Rick even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile! It was the right price!!!!

LOLOL.......I do owe you a big thank you for the tip on the copper leaders Brian. That tip alone made all the difference in the world and has now made copper one of my top producers. I owe you one..... .

But seriously......SCOTTYS??????

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Paulie, don't ever knock 'em til you tried 'em. I think they look BAD A*&S! They are the most trouble free, functional 'rigger there is, and I've had 'em all. C'mon Paul, they use the heck out of 'em in the Pacific NW. Is there a harsher place? Well OK, maybe the cockpit of my boat!

[Yankee Troller]

All of this over a Laker question!

[Paul Czarnecki]

All of this over a Laker question!

Its March Rich....what did you expect?

Good thing he didn't ask about kings or browns. Or the best fly to use to catch them.

[Tall Tails]

Kingsalmon22 you have a pm.

As for the rest of you April cant get here fast enough!!

[Billy V]

I'm curious what the copper leader tip Tall Tails gave Paul was?!?!?!?

[Get-A-Way]

SHHHHH, it's a secret Billy.

[chowder]

I'm curious what the copper leader tip Tall Tails gave Paul was?!?!?!?

I'm w/ Billy, spill the beans on this "leader secret"

[Yankee Troller]

Please spread your "secret" on copper leaders Brian. I would love to hear? Isn't that why we are all members of this forum?

[Paul Czarnecki]

You need one!

[Yankee Troller]

Paul.....please don't tell me you were using a haywire twist directly to your spoon!?!?!?!?!?!?

[Paul Czarnecki]

Paul.....please don't tell me you were using a haywire twist directly to your spoon!?!?!?!?!?!?

I still don't see anything wrong with it Rich.

Seriously, if Brian wants everyone to know what most of you probably do anyway he can come here and tell you. I know his little tip helped my copper success imensely. Judging from the posts on here about the success of copper the past few years I'd say most of you already have Brian's "tip" and are using it well.

[Shade]

Whats the tip?

Shade

[Tall Tails]

OKAY here it is dont get mad!

Paul came to me in a pro am a few years ago when copper was catching on and told me he was going to throw his copper setup in the lake. I asked him if he was running it like lead core. He said yep! I simply told him its not lead core, its a downrigger!

The next weekend he got mad at me cause he caught a brown trout on his copper and it cost him the lead on day 1 at Sodus!

I had run copper for quite some time at that point. It was nice cause I could buy 600ft of it at Dicks in Ithaca for 15.00 boy do I miss those days!

So there you have it the big Secret!!

Ice out any day now!!!!!

Brian

[Tim Bromund]

huh?

[Tall Tails]

Always run your copper like you downriggers!!!! What ever lead is working on the riggers run the same lead on your copper!!! told you it wasnt anything super! LOL!!! Its nothing the rest of you aren't already doing if you are successful with your copper! You have to remember when Paul asked me about this it was the very beginning of the copper craze.