My first laker... Very surprised.

[GAMBLER]

I have seen some lakers in small Lake O tribs. There is a strain of lakers in Lake Ontario that spawns in the Niagara River so yes some lakers spawn in rivers/streams.  I think you might be onto something Sk8man about them coming into tribs to feed. As for the skinny body, I ran into a bunch of lakers like this from Canadice.  They all had rubber baits in their stomachs.    

[salmodan]

Thanks for confirming that the eggs in the pic are eggs

[BSmaster]

An extensive google search on this idea has rendered me nothing.  This is a project for a grad student if anyone knows anyone in a fisheries program.

 

I wish now that I had looked more extensively and as I typed this I realized I had the guts still out in the a bag waiting for trash day.  I checked the inside of the stomach to see if there were any soft plastics and they feel empty.  This is the pic below.  Guys on here know a lot more about this than I do.  Do you see anything?  If I need to send this to Cortland, let me know.

 

Nick and Jeremy, I sent you a pm.

 

[lakebound88]

Is what it is salmodan...

Many fish will enter streams. Nothing says they shouldn't be there. But if you start seeing numbers, what would the best reason for it be?

Nick

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[salmodan]

I fish finger lakes tribs. Have done so for 30 years or so now. I have seen it all. Spawn ready lakers in tribs, pike mixed in with rainbows and bullheads. one summer I witnessed rainbows in a trib with no name, right after a massive rainstorm. The fish do what they want when they want.

[steelydan]

i have caught several large and healthy lakers in an ontario trib. in jan. and feb. over the years. its not that unusual.

Edited January 6, 2015 by steelydan

[Steely19]

Lakers like any apex predator follows the food. I have caught lakers in tribs in both spring and fall. Usually in spring they follow smelt and alewives in to spawn. In fall they may be eating eggs or feeding on larvae.

Many men fish their whole lives not realizing it is not the fish they seek.

[dremarquis]

speaking of soft plastics and other weird things in lake trouts' stomachs, my buddy and i fished canadaigua out of woodville about 2 weeks ago. Marked ZERO bait and only  a few fish, but managed to boat 4 lakers. This salamander and large front body of a soft plastic were in a 6 lb laker's stomach. Caught the fish down 180 - are those salamanders that deep? Can anyone tell me anything more about the salamader?

 

dre

[salmodan]

Looks like a mud puppy to me.

[Sk8man]

My bet is a that it came either from the marshy entrance to Naples creek (where they are caught occasionally while fishing for bullheads) or the West river area (similar) because it looks freshly ingested. I've caught a few off the dock at Onanda from time to time also in water that is adjacent to deep water containing lakers. I'm pretty sure that it came from a shallower area than where the laker was caught.  They are pretty nocturnal so the laker may have been roaming the shallows when it was ingested.

Edited January 6, 2015 by Sk8man

[Sean Youngblood]

Looks to be a mud puppy to me also.I have seen them many times in Naples Creek years ago when I use to Smelt dip there.How deep they go I do not know but I have caught a few while ice fishing.( not on  Canadaigua)I have caught them in like 30' but wouldn't be surprised if they go much deeper or if Lakers go much shallower and eat them.

[Nautitroller]

Cool hellbender! Caught them in the Susquehanna before. That's really something to know they eat those.

I have had success with a Kwikfish that is black with yellow dots, maybe similar...

Sent from my C771 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Edited January 6, 2015 by Nautitroller

[lakebound88]

First one I ever saw came out wiggling of a laker. Those are neat. Get pretty large too.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[ifishy]

that is a mud puppy  latin name Necturus maculosus.  I actully own one as a pet.  they are a cold water salamander native to the north and prefer clean clear water with rocky bottoms.  they prefer minimal current but will migrate to some extent to streams to breed though also breed in the lake proper.  they usually live in hollows and cave like sturctures in the bottom which is why the prefer rocky.  mine is about 26 inches long they do get bigger.  they are fairly territorial except during breeding season.  they do have teeth and will bite.  Mine has jumped out of the tank and crawled around the basement.  they are definatly on the menu for any large predator and as a cold water species are commen prey for lake trout and pike.  They were once popular as research animals in scientific communities and are still used in some places.  recently (i think two years ago) NY state changed the regs around salamanders and made it illeagle to collect them.  this was mostly to protect several endangered species and some that pouplations sizes were unknown (very reclusive).  they actully make a decent pet mine swallows pike minnows sideways and is most active during the winter.  She can go a month without eating so she gets my leftover pike bait in the winter and the occasional goldfish in summer.  I actully work with (sell) these every winter and it is a very cool animal to observe.  they can take some major wounds and survive.  I have seen them survive side peeling wounds with ribs showing.  they are however prone to disease (fungus espicially) when kept in large groups as is common with many salamnders and frogs.

[Nautitroller]

That is what I like about this site, I stand corrected, not a hellbender a mudpuppy never knew there were both but upon further research the hellbender is only found in the Susquehanna river sys. (NY) . We have seen them (mud puppies) many times years ago while smelting. Very cool thanks ifishy !

Sent from my C771 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Edited January 7, 2015 by Nautitroller

[GAMBLER]

We get one alive every once and a while in the intake at work. Cool creature for sure

[st.croix.boy]

Same thing happened to me on Dec 19, abut 4ish lbs...could hardly believe it, though my old man told me not to be surprised if it happened.

Edited January 8, 2015 by st.croix.boy