Mexico Bay and Sodus 7/17 to 7/19

[Dukdog]

Fishing Report

Your Name / Boat Name:

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TRIP OVERVIEW

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Date(s): 7/17 t 7/19

Time on Water: 8 hours total in 3 days

Weather/Temp: Nice

Wind Speed/Direction: 10 and up, West and North

Waves: 3 to 4 with some 5's mixed in

Surface Temp: 78

Location:

LAT/LONG (GPS Cords):

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FISHING RESULTS

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Total Hits: 6

Total Boated: 2

Species Breakdown: 1 King, 1 brown

Hot Lure: New Stinger UV with a yellow stripe

Trolling Speed: 1.5 to 3.8!! The wind and waves were tough!

Down Speed: Tried to maintain 1.3 to 1.8 on my Depth raider

Boat Depth: Out to 150

Lure Depth: 66 to 101

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SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS

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The weather prediction for the Lake Conditions was way off this trip.  Waves were supposed to be 0 to 1 footers,  Actual conditions turned out to be 2 to 4 footers most of the time with some 5's thrown in just to brighten up your pucker factor!!  

We got over there on Tues morning and the lake was unfishable.  We only saw 1 boat out there that day and we made 3 tries to get out and finally did make it on the 3rd.   Set up 4 lines,  Had 2 releases and no fish.  Wind came up harder and T storms were moving in so we hauled for shore.  Saved the evening by going over and getting a hot fudge sundae!!  

Wednesday was still rough but we decided to go the Sodus Point and give it a shot since deep water is only a mile out instead of 4 or 5 miles.  It sucked!!  We just got out there and I was putting on my life jacket and my arm hit my son in the face and knocked out one of this contact lenses..  He was blind in one eye so we went back in and drove back over to Mexico so he could get a new eye!   That killed a couple hours but at least we got back and got out.  We ended up getting a nice 4 or 5 pound brown and had a couple more releases that were fishless.

We fished about 3 hours at Sodus and then quit as the waves were approaching 4 to 5 footers.

When we came in, the waves crests were doing 12 mph and I came down the channel in a following sea just maintaining steerage and not get swamped from behind. The local sheriff met us at ramp and wanted to know if I was "the skipper of this vessel". He wasn't real pleasant and I think he was getting ready to ticket us for exceeding the 5 MPH speed limit. My son is a police officer and once that fact was conveyed, the hardass rhetoric eased a bit.

I guess the point of m gripe is, He didn't take sea conditions in the channel into account and I wonder who he's going to ticket for the waves moving too fast???

 

After an afternoon nap back at Catfish Creek, the lake had calmed down to 1 to 2's so we headed out and finally got in some comfortable fishing.  Chris got a nice 10 pound King in about 150 feet of water down about 95 feet on a Stingray UV spoon with some yellow on it.  Same spoon that took the brown in the morning.  The waves stayed manageable until we quit after sunset.  

Come morning on Thursday, The lake was up again but were were getting used to it by now.  We headed out again and set 5 lines,  2 dipsys, 2 downriggers and a 450 ft copper.   As I finished setting the second rod, it immediately fired and I was into a fish that I'm sure was a king in the same class as the one Chris got the night before.  I managed to get it about 1/2 way to the boat and it got off..  The rest of our morning saw building seas and a couple more releases with missed fish.  By 9:30,  The half dozen or so big boats out near us were calling it quits because of the bad conditions and on board pukers!!!  

We packed it up and headed in and home.

I've been real lucky with my trips to Lake O and enjoyed a lot of great weather and conditions.

This was the payback trip for all that good fishing!!  The lake was so rough you felt like a marble in a paint can most of the time you were out.  

The two best things on the trip were the auto pilot and the rail system I installed!  We could not have fished if it wasn't for those rails.  The AP was awesome keeping the boat on track when we were setting lines and landing fish.  

On the trip over we got some great fresh veggies at an Amish farm on route 104 south of Pulaski.  Great jellies, jam and pickles too!  Also had some great sweet corn from another stand!

The calmest conditions we saw in 3 days!

[f1sh-0n]

Yup. Its a big lake and you always have to figure you may not be able to get out everyday. Got stuck in a SCA last year in my 17 footer. My son thought it was fun but I my knuckles did not. How big is your boat. I have upgraded to fiberglass but still limited as its only an 18 foot trophy.

[Dukdog]

The boat is an 18 foot Lund Alaskan which is a pretty capable unit if you pick your days! I use it to sea duck hunt here in Maine which can be rough sledding too. I'm pretty careful about wind direction and wouldn't head out into anything that would mean I'd have to buck into it going back.

Heading out into the Atlantic when it's 15 degrees and a water temp in the 40's and a ripping tide isn't anything to fool around with either!

[ray koziatek]

Well bummer on the weather (wind) for ya ,at least ya knew what you were missing (calm conditions) .. Wonder how many make their first and last trip to the lake when its bumpy?

At a 3 hr ride its not too bad for me to drop and run ...I would really love to come up and play in the ocean when the stripers are in heavy,,just for the eats but a 20 hr round trip is hard to justify...

the wind is peetering out so my son and i will be headin up this afternoon to get the winning fish in the LOC..sometimes with a big blow from the east the big boys seem to form little pods IF ya find em just keep workin till the winner is in the boat ...sounds easy!

[p3434]

BEEN THERE AND DID THAT . I have a 18 ft lund . I have a 4 hour drive to the lake. I was going up this week , but the weather made me stay home. Two years ago , I was out on 2 ft waves and a storm came in, that changed to 8 ft waves in a matter of minutes. I never want to do that again. GOOD LUCK FISHING

[f1sh-0n]

Yup thank god for smart phones. Last year we were out in 350FOW watching a storm to our back. Kept an eye on the weather map and saw clouds moving closer. Flew back to port and got to sit under the pavillion in Oswego watching the storm go by. An hour later we back out in 600FOW. And turn fast.

[genEus]

Holy crap you guys are scaring me. Have been watching noaa reports like a hawk, was going to take my open 16' Alumacraft to Sandy at the break of dawn tomorrow, first time on lake O. NOAA is promising SE winds and waves under 1ft. Reading all these posts makes me think I should just go to Keuka and avoid the headaches and potential drowning! grr

[ Post made via Android ]

[f1sh-0n]

South winds are usually the best for the south shore. Geneus, It all depends how deep you need to go to find fish. If they are only in 100 FOW than no problem your usually within a 1 mile of shore. Its when you need to go out 10 miles offshore thats when it gets a little on the scarier side. But with that said I been out when it was glass too and not a wave in sight. Have a good ship to shore radio with you. And keep an eye on the weather. If you start seeing white caps think twice about staying out.

My Polarkraft was only 16'9" and we went to the 600FOW last year three times in four days. But I was watching the weather like a hawk.

[W.W.IV.]

Ya, I headed out of Sandy tuesday moring, 16ft. lund, got out to about 80fow and turned around , back to the trailer.three footers were starting to build and I knew they wern't going to stop there. .

Hey Ray, I'll be out there in the morning, you might as well stay home unless you just want to take your son for a boat ride. .

[Kevin J Legg]

I have an 18' Lund Alaskan also and they are great boats for fishing and ducks! What is yours powered with? I have a 60hp Mercury 4 stroke and a 9.9 kicker for safety. It's fine most of the time but with a heavy load it may be a little underpowered. However, it is great on gas economy, trolls very well and is quiet.

[p3434]

My 18 ft lund has 115 johnson 2 stroke and my kicker is 9.9 nissan 4 stroke. wish my big motor was a four stroke.

[Dukdog]

I have an 18' Lund Alaskan also and they are great boats for fishing and ducks! What is yours powered with? I have a 60hp Mercury 4 stroke and a 9.9 kicker for safety. It's fine most of the time but with a heavy load it may be a little underpowered. However, it is great on gas economy, trolls very well and is quiet.

I've got a 60 Yamaha and an 8 Yamaha for a kicker and sea ducking backup motor!! For most of my hunting, the 60 is plenty. It could use a little more when I'm running with a following sea, it kind of bogs down in the troughs as you're climbing the back of the wave. A 90 would probably do it but hey, it's what I've got and it's paid for!!!

Here's the rails I added to make my fishing easier and safer. They also double as a rack for our layout boat for duck hunting.

[Dukdog]

My 18 ft lund has 115 johnson 2 stroke and my kicker is 9.9 nissan 4 stroke. wish my big motor was a four stroke.

I'll bet that thing flies with a 115 on it!! My Alaskan is only rated for 90! what model do you have??

[p3434]

18 ft fisherman