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What if there were no Kings?

Gill-T

Gill-T
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Gill-T

Gill-T

Posted
Posted

What if? We are getting a good taste of life without Kings the past 5 weeks. Not much fun is it? This should give everyone time for reflection on what we take for granted. Many of you have invested in six-figure trolling rigs, thousands of dollars of fishing equipment, slips, gas, and put ugly twilli tips on perfectly good fishing rods.....for what????....to do battle with Kings! By the time most have read this we will start to see Kings being caught again so before this crappy feeling goes away and is forgotten it would be good to reflect on how our schedules, excitement levels, tackle purchases etc. etc. has changed. It should bring to light just how important the world-class king fishery is to New York and that we should NEVER take it for granted. The current lack of catching I believe is due to the crazy weather we have had this year, and an excess of bait so better fishing is coming. Personally, my boat has not seen the water for 4 weeks. With all the cold water around and fish that haven't been caught, we should have a great extended pier trolling/casting season.

GAMBLER

GAMBLER

Posted
Posted

It is funny how my discussion with a select few this spring about trout being as important as salmon really came to light this summer. A couple that made it sound like I was off my rocker were fishing browns and lakers to keep charters alive. This is the reason ALL species of Lake Ontario should get the same respect! With one piece of the puzzle missing, the others hold the fishery together.

Sk8man

Sk8man

Posted
Posted

:yes:  on Gambler's comment.  I love the king fishing as much as anyone (have fished for them since 1975) and I have tremendous respect for them as fighters as I do for stripers in the salt water environment.  Diversity is the spice of life and although the humble laker is not as glamorous as the king he surely has his place in the environment as do the other species (there's nothing like atlantics and steelies doing their thing in the air). One of the best things about fishing  is something akin to gambling.....you never know what you are going to get when you "pull the lever" ( or in this case throw a lure int he water)....excitement and diversity it is what makes the sport fun. Think about if the other all species weren't there and it was kings ONLY out there...would it really be as exciting and as much fun LONG TERM? I doubt it. I'm as anxious as the next guy for the kings to heat up but as Brian indicated they aren't the only game in town and never should be.

Wolfhound

Wolfhound

Posted
Posted

Think they showed up....Loc today.

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Big Dave

Big Dave

Posted
Posted

I would troll for queens

SSSOOoooo!!!  Thats why you buffy fish !! :lol:

blueghost1

blueghost1

Posted
Posted

Hmmm some of us may trade in gorgeous trolling rigs for a sparkly, low to the water , two barstool 250hp out board boat to pursue the elusive GREEN CARP I mean bass ;)

rolmops

rolmops

Posted
Posted

So what if there were no kings? Today on Owasco Lake we caught 4 rainbows, 2 browns and 9 slimers. A great time was had by the Massachussets family visiting us and we did not miss the kings for even one second. Yes kings are great ,but fishing as a family uniting activity is even better!

allaboutfishing13

allaboutfishing13

Posted
Posted

It is funny how my discussion with a select few this spring about trout being as important as salmon really came to light this summer. A couple that made it sound like I was off my rocker were fishing browns and lakers to keep charters alive. This is the reason ALL species of Lake Ontario should get the same respect! With one piece of the puzzle missing, the others hold the fishery together.

Have been thinking the same thing since the spring loc?....I know of at least one fisherman that changed his/her mind on the other species...

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Has Been

Has Been

Posted
Posted

The best part of LO is you never know when the rod goes off what you are going to hook. It could be a Skippy to a 40# lake trout. I for one would miss the kings .The trout are great but to not have the expectation of the kings would be lack luster after having them.Kind of like when Howard caught the big carp on Andy of Mayberry.  I look forward to the early Aug pre -stage bite and the power of them . It is kind of neat how it builds from the spring and gets it's best  in Aug , then it's wait till next year.

rolmops

rolmops

Posted
Posted

How deep is Owasco? Never been there.

It goes down to 170 feet

Patriot

Patriot

Posted
Posted

If there were never any kings in LO, I'd have money in the bank. I wouldn't have a Penn Yan, a 40' camper and a whole bunch of salmon gear. However, I would have some kind of boat because I love fishing. Oh, and I wouldn't be in the market for a newer Pen Yan. Still looking for a Predator. Anyone got one?

YodaMage

YodaMage

Posted
Posted

I'd spend my days fishing bass and musky from my aluminum bass rig I'd buy...and have a ton of cash left over to buy salmon fillets :)

mostlymuskies

mostlymuskies

Posted
Posted

Having a boat that can be trailered has its pluses, Lake Erie walleye, Chautauqua muskies and many more inland waters to fish while waiting for the King bite! Two weeks out in Washington State for Kings & Silvers on the Skagit River this coming late September will put me back in King Fever!

King Davy

King Davy

Posted
Posted

Gill T for the fun of it I'll toss in another angle.

 

Why always "TROLL"....ever jig kings, bows, lakers ...browns up. Seven foot medium light spinning outfit. I've taken 15 to 20 pound lakers as deep as 180 feet on a jigging outfit, and because I wasn't dragging them to the surface on copper lines and dipsey divers etc the fight was fantastic.

 

I may get back into the game once I retire, and offer Fly fishing charters for these fish. I've mentioned before we used to tether off my big boat in 600 foot of water and catch steelhead on flies, sometimes on dry flies off the surface. We've jigged up staging kings in August. The spring fishery is made for tossing feathers, especially in shallow water. July would be the tough month for fly fishing, but jigging comes into play easily enough. Especially when you locate balls of bait with hooks ideling near by. Rip a jig below that bait and hang on. Works in saltwater....and we've done it in LO.

 

As much as I enjoy the trolling game....I'd easily trade it for feeling the fish hammer my bait. There used to be a bunch of us in the late 70's and 80's who played this game out of the box.....I don't see it mentioned anymore.

 

Catching fish with Rod in hand ....all of the species are fun...not just Salmon.

allaboutfishing13

allaboutfishing13

Posted
Posted

Gill T for the fun of it I'll toss in another angle.

Why always "TROLL"....ever jig kings, bows, lakers ...browns up. Seven foot medium light spinning outfit. I've taken 15 to 20 pound lakers as deep as 180 feet on a jigging outfit, and because I wasn't dragging them to the surface on copper lines and dipsey divers etc the fight was fantastic.

I may get back into the game once I retire, and offer Fly fishing charters for these fish. I've mentioned before we used to tether off my big boat in 600 foot of water and catch steelhead on flies, sometimes on dry flies off the surface. We've jigged up staging kings in August. The spring fishery is made for tossing feathers, especially in shallow water. July would be the tough month for fly fishing, but jigging comes into play easily enough. Especially when you locate balls of bait with hooks ideling near by. Rip a jig below that bait and hang on. Works in saltwater....and we've done it in LO.

As much as I enjoy the trolling game....I'd easily trade it for feeling the fish hammer my bait. There used to be a bunch of us in the late 70's and 80's who played this game out of the box.....I don't see it mentioned anymore.

Catching fish with Rod in hand ....all of the species are fun...not just

Salmon.

ðŸ‘ðŸ‘ðŸ‘

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

baitrigger

baitrigger

Posted
Posted

Tough. Of course i would still fish. Nothing is like a king. It is an experiance all its own. I wouldnt be on lakeO trolling the weekends away if not for the promise of kings. The gear we use is heavy and illsuited for steelies and lakers. Browns can be easily fished with a bass rod. Musky and pike are great but the numbers are not there.its good to be king. Long live the king. I guess it would cut down on boat traffic if there were no kings. I would miss it almost as much as my father. I would miss them a lot more than my ex wife. Kings baby. Everything else is a sheephead, interesting for a minute, but who cares. KINGS RULE!!!!!.

Capt Vince Pierleoni

Capt Vince Pierleoni

Posted
Posted

The ultimate gamefish, one minute as shy and spooky as any small stream native trout, the next as crazed as ocean tuna. Yeah, I'd still fish this lake, but it would never be the same. I've lived through this lakes rise from the ashes, and the Pacific Salmon is the single biggest factor why this is a world class fishing destination . In each and every case, the King Salmon is the solution, never a problem.

As for asian carp--I'm out. If they proliferated the lake I couldnt stand to look at it again.

panfisher

panfisher

Posted
Posted (edited)

"Lets all hope it doesn't get to that ppint". As per Capt Vince Pierleoni's point, me too. Makes me want to go over and concrete off the Chicago canal entry from the Mississippi with my own two hands and a cement mixer..... :muscle:  . Much more needs to be done to try to keep bigheads and silvers out of the Great Lakes region. I'm of the thought that these are two fish that could put a real hurtin' on the great lakes recreational and even commercial scene. And King Davy.....I've often wondered how great and easy it might be to jig up lakers in the Big O.....Doing that in smaller waters really does show off their fighting skills, unlike trolling (literally dragging fish in.... :yawn:) But jigging up kings.....? Now that has got to truly be fun. You've done that? Awesome! Jigging is good for any kind of fishing. Why not the kings? And talk about a fight.... :ninja: ....I also enjoy the variety of fishing opps afforded to us lucky enough to live in the region. Lets try to do what can be done, small or big, to keep it going as well as it has.....from the days of almost complete environmental ruination to it's current, recent, fun state.  :yes:

Edited by panfisher
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