which of the finger lakes to try if lake ontario gets nasty?

[felixjayce]

Hi,

I'm heading up to Lake O. this weekend to fish out of Oswego. I have a 17' boat and the weather/waves concerns me. My question is if Lake O. is too nasty for my boat, which of the Finger Lakes or other area lakes would you recommend going to that don't get quite as rough. I'm staying in Oswego and don't want to travel too far. I'd be looking at fishing for trout/salmon and would rather fish for size than numbers. I wouldn't be opposed at fishing for large pike,muskies, or walleye if that's a better option. Any advice on lakes, tactics, and where to launch would be a big help. I'm coming from NH.(6.5 hours) and would like a backup plan if Lake O. doesn't cooperate.

Thanks,

Chris

[goin hungry]

Oneida's close, but I've only fished it in winter for walleye, so I don't know how it would be this time of year, but I think they do ahve some trout in there (just don't drink the water!). I don't know about size of trout though, if that's what you're after, but there are some pretty good walleye, if you're into that kind of fishing.

If you're more into trout, I'd say head down rte 104 to 38 and hit Cayuga. There are a few other finger lakes west of there that may be closer, but I don't know that the size of fish would compare. I don't fish Cayuga much, but the few times I did I did pretty well there. There are a bunch of guys here that do fish it, so I'm sure they can chime in to assist.

Also, I don't know if these will help, but here are some links that may give you a heads up on conditions/weather in Lake O before you make a long drive....

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=osgn6

http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtbltn ... loz044.txt

http://instacam.com/instacamimg/SDSPN/SDSPN_S.jpg?rnd=

[rustyrat]

It depends on how the wind is blowing. If it cranking from the NW or N or S all the FL's are going to be rough and belive me it can get pretty rough. For instance, Cayuga was too rough to fish yesterday. If its from the W or E you are fine.

Cayuga has some great fishing right now. fish just like you would LO. dodger and flies, wire dipsys etc. Just down size your spoons. Lakers, browns and LL are hitting pretty good right now. You can get from Oswego to Long Pt launch in about an hour and 15 min. Head south from the launch and fish either side. 85 to 250 fow.

[Doozer]

Fish out of Fair Haven, and if the lake is bad, fish in the bay.

[ray koziatek]

sodus bay could be another close body of water , for bass or tubing just stay in the center area if your tubing as a lot of near shore points are a little shallow and will rip your drive off just ask some poeple at the marinas who are familure wiyth the bay

[goin hungry]

I often do what Ray suggests - head up to Sodus and bring the bass gear too. Then if the water's coming up over the breakers we can just fish in the bay. I don't like driving 2.5 hrs to bass fish, but it's better than going up all that way and not being able to do anything...

[lumberjohn]

If you are into trout then head to one of the Finger Lakes, without question. Oneida doesn't have trout but it is a great bass and walleye lake. Oneida is a shallow lake and can get real squirrely waves if it's blowin hard there. The Finger Lakes have plenty of trout, though not the size of Lake Ontario. Seneca and Cayuga are big and can be overwhelming for where to start for someone new to them. My advice is to stick with Owasco Lake and Skaneateles Lakes. These lakes are about a mile or so wide and about 14 miles long. Owasco is loaded with good size Lakers, some Browns, big Smallmouth and Walleye. Skaneateles is one of the prettiest lakes you will ever want to fish. Huge stately homes, aqua blue water and nice populations of Rainbows, Landlock salmon and Lakers, though the bass are kinda small. If you go to these lakes downsize your gear some, lure size, line test and such, but similar trolling tactics can work as Lake O. I'd skip the dodgers and spin doctors and slow your trolling speed to about 1.5-2.0 mph. Read my post on "Going to Owasco, need advice". I just wrote a detailed report there. What works on Owasco will work on Skinny. For Bows and Llocks try the brighter lures. Owasco has a launch at the north end of the lake in Emerson Park off Rt. 38A. Skaneateles has a state launch of the west side about 5 or so miles out of town on Rt 41A. There is plenty of parking at Owasco. Skaneateles launch can fill up quickly so get there early. I hope to also fish Ontario this weekend out of Fair Haven but in my 18' Starcraft I'm only game for 1-3 foot waves. Sunday looks like the best bet for Lake O right now. I live on Owasco. Here's the NOAA link for Ontario http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtbltn ... S.+Portion

[felixjayce]

Thanks to every one for their suggestions. It looks like I may have to head to Owasco Lake on Sat. afternoon if Lake O. doesn't lay down. Lumberjohn, those were 2 great reports. You live on Owasco and you're willing to share that much info, that's awesome! I live on a "bass Lake" and I'm looking more to target the trout or bigger pike. How is Owasco on a windy day?

Thanks,

Chris

[Doozer]

The pike are starting to hit pretty good on Conesus. the big ones come in from the open water this time of year.

There's big pike and even a tiger musky here and there.

Conesus is probably your best bet for a big 15+ lb. pike.

[lumberjohn]

The only problem w/ Owasco or Skinny on a windy day is if the wind is strong and running fom due south to north, then it can get a bit rough, otherwise no sweat. I suppose due north to south could get rough at the south end as well, and north end would be fine. There is a launch at the south end of the lake at Cascade, South Shore Marina off Rt 38. Thing is, if there is a south wind then Ontario will be relatively calm with a shore breeze so you won't be hitting the Finger Lakes. If there is a northerly wind and Lake O is too rough, then the north ends at least of the Fingers will be pretty calm and fishable. It's a win/win.

[felixjayce]

Thanks for the previous post. If I do decide on pike, what depths and baits would you recommend? Troll or cast? Live bait or lures? How far is Conesus from Oswego? Any trout/salmon in Conesus? Where do you recommend launching? Heck, with all this info maybe I could do a "double" on Owasco and Conesus. You guys have been great!

Thanks,

Chris

[rustyrat]

Conesus is a haul from Oswego and even owasco. You will have better luck fishing for lakers and LL on Owasco or Cayuga. But I'm willing to bet Cayuga is going to be pretty rough tomorrow.

RR

[lumberjohn]

I wouldn't waste your time targeting pike on Owasco. Owasco, like most of the Finger Lakes, has little in the way of prime pike habitat. Most of the Fingers shorlines drop off rapidly a short distance from shore. Therefore, there aren't alot of weedy lilypad type of bays and flats. It's not that they aren't here, they just aren't extremely abundant. I catch one now and then by accident while casting lures for bass, the last one being 17 lbs at 6:00AM. In the winter they concentrate at the southend and are caught in fair numbers. Guys also do well at the south end in November and right after ice out. If you want to pursue pike go to Fair Haven, Sodus, Oneida or you could go down to Otisco. Otisco is stocked w/ Tiger Muskies, has some Brown Trout and also Bass. Conesus is too far from Oswego. Sodus would be your best bet and an easy drive, just head west on Rt 104. Private launch on the NW side at the marina in the village. Sodus is a good size body of water and depth up to 35' I believe. Has lots of varied habitat, a copuple island and is protected from the wind more or less. Has all the pan fish, large and smallmouth bass and plenty of pike. You can even catch some Browns in there at times. And, if the Big O is rough in the AM and lays down later in the day you can just shoot out there through the chute and set up for Salmon.