Best Pike on Lk Ontario or Finger Lakes Region

[pmjasper]

Ventured up to Sodus Bay last year and had a good time catching bass and pike in the bay. This got me thinking that if I were to make a return trip to the region, seeking out pike in numbers and size, what might be one of the better lakes in the region or bays on Lake Ontario to seek them out? any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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[Yankee Troller]

Sodus has a healthy population, but my vote for the larger pike would go to Conesus Lake. I have seen and heard of plenty of 40+ inchers coming out of there.

[steelhead'r]

Seneca Lake but it has to be open water. I been waiting for 25 years for the north end to freeze again. Lots of fish and big ones. Doesn't freeze much due to large size, deep and salty :?

[pmjasper]

So are both lakes mentioned good for size and quantity?

Basically, last year my father-in-law and I fished Sodus Bay (out of desperation I might add) and had a good time catching plenty of LM bass and a few stray pike. We didn't catch any large pike but my father-in-law got his first so he was happy. Seeing how well that trip ended up working out, I was looking into maybe heading upstate to try an find a good quality pike lake and giving it a shot. W would be heading up during mid May and fishing out of our 16ft aluminum with 9.9 motor.

I'm really trying my best to plan a fun trip for my father-in-law. I must admit the I'm all over the board with different fishing options because we have discussed trying the Wilson/Olcott area for salmon, going back to Sodus Bay and trying the bass and pike again, fishing the Mexico area for browns or trying a totally different lake for big pike. My father-in-law doesn't really like trolling but he wants to catch a chinook at some point. The 16fter is great but it does limit what we can do on the big lake (always having to keep weather in mind). He is concerned about the trout and salmon fishing becuase last year we hit a massive cold fron during the same time period and were only able to get out on the big lake for a couple of hours and the fishing had completely died. Lastly, we were also thinking of possibly doing a charter one day but we are on a budget so money is a definite consideration as well. That is why any insight or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks to all.

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[hermit]

I don't know much about Conesus, but here's what I can tell you about the pike in Seneca.

There are good numbers, you should have little trouble catching fish, but the average size is going to be 22-27". You can catch 20-40 of them without getting into the bigger fish.... if you only target the big ones I'm sure that ratio would change. Also, taking a small boat out on Seneca is just as much a challenge as on Ontario. A North or South wind really gets things moving out there and the weather often dictates where you can fish. There are pike all around the lake in the weedlines, either end has plenty of fish. If you haven't fished any of the Finger Lakes it's definitely worth your time to do so. Good luck!

[B8buket]

There are good numbers, you should have little trouble catching fish, but the average size is going to be 22-27". You can catch 20-40 of them without getting into the bigger fish....

Any preference on lures/color... one vs. another?

From the sounds of it ...it would have to withstand constant abuse...

which in this case is all not that bad.....lol

What would suggest for the larger ones?

[hermit]

Hey howdy, well, I didn't mean all at once! More like a ratio, just saying the average size isn't huge. I've only been out once, a buddy a few times, seemed to be fish in most weed beds. I don't know how to catch the big guys, I didn't.

Not sure about what guys usually use but jigs and soft plastics were good, I even used a 12" rubber minnow, that was fun. I don't like the sticks b/c all those hooks can mess up the pike pretty good. Oh they eat a lot of perch and sunnies. I'm starting to get visions of everyone going out and bludgeoning off all the pike, they can't take a huge amount of pressure. So be good fellas.

[B8buket]

Just interested, wanted to see if you were using anything diff. than I

was....lure wise that is. Dosent take long for those fish to tear up your favorite crankbait or stickbait....wouldnt really matter if they didnt cost

so much...Throwing jigs and or plastics sounds the cheaper way to go

after'em.

Thanks