Change of Pace

[Pete Collin]

Hello All,

All the posts about landlocked salmon have intrigued me. In my life, that is one species that I haven't caught anywhere near enough of. For the last few years I had so much fun getting lakers that I didn't try for much else. And you won't get much else by chance. So I decided to spend a couple of days in Watkins Glen hoping to get the biggest landlocked salmon of my life. (that isn't saying much). I didn't really know what I was doing. All I knew is to go shallower and faster. With my 3 lines I was covering 15, 30, and 55 foot depths.

Friday night I found the 15 foot (3 color) lead core with small rapala was a fingerling killer. Every time I checked for weeds there would be some poor 9 incher attached. The 30 foot dipsy was left alone. And the 55 foot downrigger gave me fits. It kept popping and I would keep losing whatever was attached. Twice it seemed like there was something big on. When fate finally let me reel one all the way in, it was a 19 inch salmon. Not the biggest I ever got, but I'll take it! I had assumed that it would tailwalk like other salmon I had hooked elsewhere and years ago, but not so. Maybe the water has to warm up yet.

Cloudless sunny days aren't my favorite fishing weather, but I figured the early hours of the following morning were a better bet. I camped at the KOA in Watkins Glen. "Pitch your tent by the pond," the lady who checked me in said. "It's really nice over there." It was in fact very nice. It also turns out that nesting geese honk all night long. No problem rousing myself early. So today I had my lines out at the crack of dawn in the places where the missed strikes came yesterday. Pretty quiet morning, really. Got my standard dragged fingerling on the leadcore, but otherwise not a tap......until the dandy hit.

Not the biggest landlock like I was after, but the biggest brown I ever got in the Finger lakes! About a 6 or 7 pounder. Anything that compares with a Lake Ontario fish is alright with me. Watkins Glen was pretty busy with fishing boats today. They were trolling pretty much the same places I was, so maybe the trick is simply to be there when they are biting.

Pete Collin

http://www.pcforestry.com

[ERABBIT]

Nice job Pete.....

[143447]

nice post Pete!! good to hear from you!

-Chris

[dbutts]

That's a pretty brown. Nice catch! Looks like yer floor could use some TLC.. LOL

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[Pete Collin]

Yes, Dbutts, my boat has seen better days. The previous owner must have trashed it. But it has been an excellent fishing boat for the last 5 years, and the main motor is utterly reliable. I would love to tear it down to the hull and start over, but I would have to sacrifice an entire fishing season for that. And working on it in the winter in my unheated space wouldn't do. I'll probably resort to a quick and dirty fix to the decking.

[dbutts]

It doesn't need to b pretty to catch fish...

[ Post made via Android ]

[lakebound88]

Good job. Nice talking to you Friday night

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