Seneca South 7/31/11

[ac holmes]

I fished alone this AM on the West side, South end and caught quite a few (10 or 12) smallish salmon. Lost one 5# fish at the net. Bite stopped around 10AM. Most were legal and I kept 2 for dinner. All spoon bite, green, orange and white "Laker Taker" from Wal Mart. I have caught a lot of fish on that particular lure, it's kinda long and slender and quite heavy, almost like a jig. All the LLs were around 60 feet down in 50-52 degree water, and I was trolling 2.5 to 2.8 mph at the ball. Some of these fish were on the downrigger and others on a 300 foot copper setup that I first fished with today. Works great...I like the idea a lot, but without 5:1 or 6:1 retrieve reel, it would be tedious, I think. No pictures...

[tmckenzie]

How far south were you?

[ac holmes]

3 to 5 miles North of Watkins. I usually start out in Watkins and fish North until I find some action. Today it was pretty good around Salt Pt. but sometimes I will fish 10-12 miles North. Earlier this summer, the South end was pretty dead so I would run up to Lodi to fish (20 miles). The lake is full of fish, but there is a lot of water in Seneca Lake and those fish have tails and they do move around.

[1dogshy]

thanks for report..

i'm trying to decide which lake to hit tomorrow...

i will be fishing alone too.. but later in the day..

[ac holmes]

From what I hear, the fishing on Cayuga has been very good but the weeds and fleas are quite a challenge. My friends on Lake Ontario are having a bumper year. That may be the best fresh water fishery in the world. I had very little trouble with weeds on Seneca yesterday and virtually no fleas at all. The wind blows the weeds around, so with a little clever thinking about yesterday, you can usually manage the weeds. The fleas have a mind of their own. Fishing in the weeds and fleas does not interest me very much so I have been laying low lately, and taking my charter customers (if they agree) for a boat ride instead of a fishing trip (too hot anyway for trolling). If they pay for a boat ride and they get a boat ride, what's not to like? If, on the other hand, they pay for a fishing trip and spend a few hours watching me struggle with weeds and fleas and making excuses, for a few fish if we are lucky, makes the folks feel a little grumpy. I am booking trips into September and October for fishing on Seneca when the fishing is fabulous, usually, and for the hearty fisherfolk, November and December is the best of all.

I am going to fish later today (sunset) is weather permits and will post this evening.