conesus 5/19

[old man]

water at 58. fished from 7 til 1,two pike follows,no bites. caught 3 bass and a BULLHEAD. i've gotton some cats on artificials but that was a first. goin to seneca thurs to get my average back up.

[NitroMusky]

don't feel too alone there old man...i was out there on sunday and all i got was a bullhead too..go figure...

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[JOE ESOX]

I was out there this evening from 5-9pm...SKUNKED. Was also out there Sat and same deal...except my buddy landed a small pike. Glad to here it ain't just me....

[Fishin With Phil]

Yeah I was out all day Monday.

Fished it hard! Paddled about 10 miles total. Worked the whole north and west sides.

Tried everything I could think of including live shiners and tiny little live sunfish. Tried deep and shallow. Trolled and casted.

Had a decent size pike follow and nip at my daredevil on the west end. Got my heart pumpin, but the damn thing wouldnt stick.

Oh well. I know they are in there and I aint tryin to say that they're not.

Got a week and a half left and I think I am done with Conesus forever. I just can't figure them out.

I'm going to try Black Creek in Churchville on Friday.

Gotta get a big pike before I go!

Phil

[Sean Youngblood]

The night bite has been good.In two night trips my friend and I have gotten 3 northerns 2 bass and 11 walleyes.the largest northern was 9 or 10lbs.otter 2 were maybe 3or4lbs.The walleyes have been nice eating size2.5 -4 lbs average largest being 7.4lbs.The bite is best after 11pm.

[zach]

was out last night from 6-dark and caught my first tiger. even though conesus is right there for me i dont fish it. no size (24") to the tiger but it looked almost like a purebred from a real clear lake. lost one pike and saw alot of bass. no bull heads here but casted my phantom up on the north end and expected to catch more. anyways at least i am not the only one not lighting them up. no follows for me yesterday, not one. has anyone seen any "big" tigers follow or hit, like over 40"? all i seem to see are the little scrappy little 24-30" tigers. the weeds in 8-10 fow are developing well and this is were i saw baitfish boiling and fished the most. the tiger i caught was right w/ all the jumping baitfish in the weeds. tried grinding a 2oz spinnerbait also when things got tough and nada but looks like a very promising technique that i want to spend more time with. its like rooting them outta the weeds instead of fishing over them. post cold front is what i am blaming b/c last time i saw a good # of esox in that area. anyways- when you all figure them out let me know so i can get on them.

[JOE ESOX]

Zach- I was fishing that same area at the north end last night around the same time. Lots of bait and panfish surfacing all over the place...tried everything... I was the guy paddling around in a tan kayak. Decided to leave the boat at home and get some exercise since i was goin solo. I have seen some beefy pike come outta there but every tiger I have seen (only a few) has been fairly small.

[zach]

so at least you are seeing the same thing as i. i was the guy in the grey tracker fishing alone- next time lets say hello. i may have seen you paddling around not sure there were a few . i did see a tooth raked sunny floating 1/2 dead, looked cool. hit it with the rod tip and it took off sorta of. there have to be some big tigers in there i just wonder if they are suspended? the tigers have been in there long enough haven't they?

[JOE ESOX]

Ha! That's funny....I came across the same sunny. I think I read somewhere that DEC began stocking tigers in Conesus in '91 so there could definitely be some big ones around. I did see some huge marks on the FF last night, down about 10-15ft over 35-40 FOW.

[zach]

thats were i bet the bigguns are i bet, chasing walleyes- does conesus develop a thermocline? if so that my be the best time to target them as most esox will be around the same depth and are able to be trolled more efficently in my opinion.

[tcon]

There's a thermocline in Conesus the deepest spot is 70 fow. down toward the conesus Inn i've seen walleye snorkeling out there when I was a kid...right around the drop off 13 14 feet or so where the weeds end and it starts to drop off.

Good Luck,

Tom

[old man]

most of the tigers there seem to be 24" and thin. i have had a couple follow that might have gone 40",though i admit they all look bigger in the water. i think the tiger program in new york is pretty much a bust. i got a decent one in cannadarago once.don't even dream about going there in the summer;it's like party heat there. i do lake durant every year 'cause the wife loves the mountains. i have fished every inch of that lake and never seen anything except black flies and bass. anybody see river monsters last night? guy's in alaska looking for a 12foot pike that attacked a boat prop. he gets a guide and goes pike fishing. he hooks up with about a 30"er that we would grab behind the head to land. but noooooooooo...he hops in the water and drags it to shore amazon catfish style. he tapes it and claims it's 40". it's hillarious.

[zach]

what- you dont hop in the water to land all your 30" pike? come on ole man and be responsible to the fishery- get in that water and release those fish- makes you look like you know whats going on. hey didn't we see pictures of that 12 foot pike come on this forum earlier this year? you know the one that has been caught in 10 differant places? how come that guy from europe didn't get in that water to release that pike? i wonder if that pike made it through that whole release process even though that angler didn't get in the water to release it like we all know we should. should we all release them sturgon style? even in the cold? what happens if the water is deep, do we need scuba gear? burrrrrr. old man- where are the big tigers at? do they stop growing @ 24" or is there so much competition from the pike in there that most dont get big?

[HOLY DIVER]

They are in there!

[JOE ESOX]

Very nice! I have no doubts they are in there...I will just have to keep at it.

Old man- no dice @ Durant huh? I have been meaning to get up there and was planning to go sometime this summer. I here the campground is nice at least...

[zach]

so in the late fall when the water starts to dip the bigger tigers come in from being suspended all summer and set up outside the drops? i mean if its so easy a kid can do it. looks like in the pics they are trolling? am i correct? what do you consider big baits? 6-8 inches? 8-10 inches? 10-14 inches. what is big to you?

[old man]

yeah,the camping is great. so's the bass fishing. but i have about 80 hours of casting there without a hint of a tiger. ditto for the fulton chain. they stock tigers there but good luck finding one.

[JOE ESOX]

Ahhh the fulton chain... spent 3 days fishing those lakes in september and only managed a few pike...very slow. Of course about an hour before we left for home I was ripping a daredevil spoon over a sandy flat and had a massive tiger follow my bait right to the boat and turn away at the last second. I still see that one in my dreams... It's funny though that fish gets bigger every time I think about it. I swear it must have been 5 foot.......between the eyes!

[old man]

you're ahead of me,at least you saw one. i am 0 for life in the 'dacks,except for bass.

[NitroMusky]

decent night last night...trolled up a 25 inch 7lb waldo and a stout mid/high 30 pike but rookie netsmanship saved that one from a visit to the boat

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[zach]

big waldo on a pike lure? maybe you'll actually share some info...

[THE TRADESMEN]

Yeah how many beads?

[NitroMusky]

contrary to local lore i do target other species on occasion...the pike was the bonus. 973 beads to be exact

nah we were pulling stickbaits...my daughters been complaining that she hadn't had walleye for dinner in a while.

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