Keuka 3/6 - 3/8

[Salmo slayar]

Fished Keuka out of the State Park this past weekend, and things were SLOW for us, we landed 4 lakers during three days of fishing between the two of us. There were A LOT of people out on the ice this weekend, and from the folks that I talked with it seemed there was quite a range in number of fish people were catching from 0 to 20. In summary, if you had a flasher or a fish finder you were catching fish (I did not bring my FF ), otherwise things were slow at best. Moved around quite a bit but found that a depth of 120f worked best. Tried a ton of different tackle (all types of jigs, spoons, rattle traps, minnows, …etc) and techniques. The popular method of dropping your jig two the bottom, giving a few good tugs and then reeling it up produced no hits. Tried reeling at all types of speeds, depths, jigging motions, and all combinations, but just could not get the fish to cooperate. The only approach that produced fish was a constant gentle jig of a small spoon, with a change in depth every few minutes, focused on the bottom 30ft of  the water column. Even though things were slow, we still had a blast out there, and had the added pleasure of meeting Keep’n it Reel and Iron Duke out on the ice. Always nice to put a face to the names we see here on LOU, some folks dedicate so much time and energy writing posts and giving back to the LOU community that you feel like you know them personally.

 

 I also want to put a plug in for Fishy Business on Pepper Rd. I stopped by there for the first time a couple weeks ago on a Sunday. It was one of my first times ice fishing, and my first time on Keuka. Wanted to pick up some gear for running Seth Green rigs this spring, and needed blades for my auger (only had one rusty blade!). Gerry provided a ton info on how to rig and fish Seth Green rigs, and he was even willing to use his own tools help me fix my auger. After chatting with Gerry for some time we were armed with the equipment, and the knowledge to get into some fish. Fished for about an hour before sun set and got two nice lakers. The spoon that Gerry suggested was the only piece of tackle that has brought us any fish, between the two trips. A further testament to Gerry’s character; there was an accident at the boat launch on Sunday evening, and he was one of the first responders. You could tell he left the house in a rush, when he showed up to the scene he hadn’t even tied his shoes or zipped up his jacket yet. Anyway, thanks Gerry!  

 

-Sonam

Edited March 10, 2015 by Salmo slayar

[Sk8man]

Great description...felt as though I was right there.  It is also nice that you were able to give Gerry a "plug" as he is a heck of a guy and has a lot of good fishing knowledge to share. If folks are out that way I'd encourage them to visit his place..even just for the experience....he has a lot of neat tackle and is able to get things for you if he doesn't have it on hand at that moment ....very refreshing in this day of the "Walmart's" Dicks" and Gander Mountains" where the salespeople don't know what they are doing or just don't care. Gerry has always taken the time from what he is doing to interact with me whenever I have been there. It's good to see an "old school" tackle shop still in operation.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Sk8man

[Salmo slayar]

Thanks Sk8man. Yea, the shop was awesome! Saw a bunch of things I have trouble finding online. I was like a kid in a candy shop. I got there kind of late in the day and probably spent well over over an hour chatting and browsing, so I only had an hour to fish before dark that day. Well worth the sacrifice in fishing time! I am sure I will be making a trip to fish keuka this summer, with the main intention of hitting up the shop for hard to find gear and picking Gerry's brain about fishing tactics.

[bottom-feeder]

been on keuka 3 times in last 7 days.....first year I have fished it.......blue/white bucktail jig early......red/white bucktail rest of the day

 

155 fow seems best

 

drop to bottom slow jig an reel back up

 

most hits have come within 10' of the bottom but have hit a few in the top 50 including 1 ten feet down

 

definitely not fast paced fishing but we have limited each trip..( my daughter and I )

have not killed them all just the bleeders when they inhale the jig a lil to deep

 

have heard the 3" tube jigs in white have been producing but have not used them

[Gator]

The flasher is a must-have. When you bounce your white jig on the bottom and start your retrieve, reel slowly for the first twenty feet...but don't stop! The fish will veer off if you do. If you see a mark follow, start retrieving faster. You can't rip it fast enough to keep these fish away; sometimes they'll be moving so fast that they'll overshoot your jig. You're looking for the reaction strike. And finally, don't expect a massive hit. Most of the time, it's subtle, even when you're retrieving fast. Use your spidey sense and strike on anything that feels strange, particularly if you know there's a fish there.

 

The other key is bait. If you're marking schools of bait in the top 40 ft, the fish on the bottom will be more aggressive. As above, so below? We haven't been moving much this winter, but last weekend a 50 yard move paid off big for one of the guys. Good luck!

[Fishy]

Wednesday morning the ice is still there. MANY ice tents and fishing people out. Waiting to see bathing suits because temperature is in the 40's. Don't know for how long the ice will be safe .Sunday the ice was about 10 inches thick. Thanks Fishy

[Salmo slayar]

Thanks to everyone for the tips! I just need to keep at, and I am sure I will figure this jigging thing out sooner or later.

[Iron Duke]

Nice meeting you guys too.. Jigging those lakers thru the ice has been an absolute blast this year...

Mike

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[bottom-feeder]

looking like fri might be last chance for keuka with rain coming in this wknd

 

if you want/need some company give a shout I may come down one more time

 

315 771 1638

 

todd