Mexico bay

[Rich s]

Ok we must be doing something not quite right.. My boat has set out from the little salmon every weekend since June 16 and the results have been what I'd say dismal for the hrs logged .. To date we have caught 1 decent brown and 1 skipper steel in 80 fow on the first outing.. A skunk the next 2 in 125-165 fow. Then after the west wind 2 salmon in 125 fow 2 weeks ago and last weekend another skunk from the bay to Oswego harbor. ..

I know it's called fishing and we ALWAYS enjoy every time out on the water but catching something would be nice too. Have had thoughts of just perch fishing in the Little Salmon as I have seen some nice catches there instead of troll, troll & troll some more..

 

Really the question is:

Is there a decent Lake trout fishery in that area that we might be better off targeting ?

If there is would it be most wise dredging the bottom in say 100-125 fow rather then keeping the ball set at 100' down ?

I ice fish lakers all winter and have absolutely no problems targeting such a magnificent fish as a lake trout but I'm not really convinced they are in the area enough to target them.. Thoughts , suggestions and insight is much welcomed..

Thanks :

Rich

 

[bottom-feeder]

typically lakers by the boat load ....head north of lil salmon to 130-180 fow

or off the plant same depths

 

king fishing getting better each day now....there being taken any where from 80 to 400 fow

 

and yes bottom bouncing is best for lakers ( low and slow )

[Rich s]

typically lakers by the boat load 

 

and yes bottom bouncing is best for lakers ( low and slow )

 

Well I have yet to catch a laker in my sophomore year on the Great Lake Ontario.. Just one would be nice enough to convince myself and crew there are really fish in this lake besides the strays we have caught so far  lol

Really we haven't tried dredging , if they so are in the area we shall try next time out.. Honestly, I'd prefer to try an jig some myself but lets see if the trolling program will work..

Regardless, we sure have the swimming down pretty well.. lol 

Thanks, help is always welcome

[TileMan Dan]

Rich. Run cowbells with a peanut behind , drop ball to bottom and pickup 3 feet. Run as slow as you can. Just monitor ball so its close to bottom and you'll be into them.

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[GeckoGuy]

Rich. Run cowbells with a peanut behind , drop ball to bottom and pickup 3 feet. Run as slow as you can. Just monitor ball so its close to bottom and you'll be into them.

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x2 on the cowbells.  Also try Spin N Glows as an alternative to peanuts.  Whenever we were having trouble with the popular species (Browns, salmon) we could always go out and catch lakers in the deep.  It just sucks to have to wait for the ball to come up from 150 feet down with our slow downriggers...at least they aren't manuals 

[Adk1]

what kind of bait do you put behind the spin n glows?

[TileMan Dan]

thats it. attach spin in glo to cowbells and drop it down.

[Adk1]

how big of cowbells do you use? I have seen some giant ones then smaller. I have no experience with them but thinking the first weekend of August if  I cant find the kings our browns will go for lakers. not really picky.

[TileMan Dan]

big ones.  But hell kings are in up there now.  Is only going to get better. Shouldn't have a problem finding them.

[sandyreve]

1 laker and 1 king this morning. About 140' in front of Sandy Pond both came on green and chrome spin dr out 330 on 2.5. King going west, laker going east

Edited August 8, 2015 by sandyreve

[Rich s]

Well we tried a laker program today from SR to sandy pond . Can say there was no boat load for us . Got a Goliath sheepshead in 80 fow dragging bottom.

Ain't no fish in that lake .

[finsntins]

if you are looking for lakers try further north,start at sandy pond and troll north and i would try deeper.start in 120 and work out to 150.drop weight till it hits bottom then bring it up a foot or two.we do that with the rigger without the probe,then send the probe down to match the other rigger.

[Rich s]

if you are looking for lakers try further north,start at sandy pond and troll north and i would try deeper.start in 120 and work out to 150.drop weight till it hits bottom then bring it up a foot or two.we do that with the rigger without the probe,then send the probe down to match the other rigger.

We did the normal king program all day sat towards oswego from 120-435 fow with not even a sniff.

Started at SR north to sandy pond from 120-150 fow on a laker set up dragging bottom with hammerheads and spin n glows set 2' up from ball. We were definitely dragging bottom . Got a giant sheepshead off the dipsy - spoon on way back in 80 fow.

Thanks for the advice everyone has given , its just something is off for us but we will be back at it in 4 more days . All we can do is smile , smile , smile

[finsntins]

down speed under 2.0 ????

[Rich s]

No probe . Trolling plate and we were in the 1.5 range on GPS .

Taking wife and 4 year old grandson out this weekend so we will mostly target lakers just to try and get some action.

No worries, everyone here has helped a lot as much as possible without actually hooking fish for us . Lol

I'm pretty sure we will do ok on salmon soon. Next year I need to learn the summer program better .

[finsntins]

gps speed and down speed can sometimes be 2 mph different.i know they are expensive,but worth every penny,i would invest in a probe.

[Adk1]

finsntins has it right. I have been fishing Lake O last three summers without a probe with limited success. I have been thinking backwards. Thinking that yeah, I only get out there to fish once or twice a summer why spend $800 on a probe..Well, not catching fish when you invest on the trip sucks worse. would rather spend the $ and have better success then not! I will have one next year no question.

[Rich s]

A down speed-temp probe is not really in the cards this year, maybe next season .  We have invested a lot of upgrades to the boat this season for the Great Lake and always very supportive to the local area while we are there every week.. Honestly we are probably nearing the double G-note to the area and having the times of our lives.. We know its possible to catch fish with what we bring to the table and things should get "easier" very soon so we will roll with our current set up to finish out this year.. My thought is, If we can catch lakers on the ADK waters with our set up we have now, we should be able to catch them out there but as always its fishing..

 

Over the winter I will look long and hard at the probe set up because we want to dial in a summer program more then anything next season.. Without a doubt, the help here has much improved our efforts..

At least this Goliath put a few smiles and laughs on board Sunday:

 

 

 

[finsntins]

i feel your pain as far as it being an expensive hobby!!!! we also love every minute we get to spend on the lake.i have spent many hours trolling for lakers also in the fulton chain and raquette,the big difference between adk lakes and the great lake o is current.the adk lakes dont have much if any,so you can get away with using sog on your gps,but like i stated above,i have seen gps speed and down speed be as much as 2 mph difference.i think that is why you are having a tough time.you have the right gear,you are in the right areas,just think your speed is  off,just my 2 cents.1 thing you can try this year to get your speed right is a thumper rod i believe its called,i have never tried one,but i have read thats what they did before probes and i think some guys still use them.you will have to do some research as i am not familiar with them,but i think its just a lead weight with a metal dodger on it and what it does is when your speed is right,you will see your rod tip"thumping"if you go to fast or to slow,you will not see your rod tip"thumping",just something to try this year.i bought my fish hawk through bass pro,every so often they run a special where you get 6 months,with no interest to pay it off,takes the sting out of it a little.did it over the winter and was paid for by the time fishing season arrived or you can look on e-bay for an older fish hawk 840,can probably find one for 100 bucks or so.

[Rich s]

That's all great advice and much thanks folks. It's really not how much we spend , it's the enjoyment we make of our investments. Believe me ,We are not crying the blues just trying to get a good lesson from experienced folks .

As for the probe : I'm pretty confident we have enough right now to put fish on the boat. I don't think it's for a lack of equipment or effort right now but mor so knowledge & experience out there in the big pond.

I'm familiar with current, some of the big lakes in the adk's have plenty ( lake George , schroon to name a few . Granted not as much but its definitely a factor on them . The Hudson River is my home water for stripers and there is some wicked current going on there .

Hate to keep referring to knowledge but we fish many places that take time to understand & figure out , when we do its pretty much money in the bank when the lines go out , lol

This past Sunday there was very little currents going on where we were ( we swim a lot out there too ) and I think we were doing the right things correctly, it just wasn't to be. Wrong area , wrong lures , time of day ? I don't know but we will not be detoured and will keep trying until things come together

Expensive :? ah that's life .. I have many toys and hobbies , this ain't that bad when we share the fun. Dirt modified's , now that was expensive , lol.

My kids and grandkids are going to have one heck of a outdoors sports collection when I'm dead and gone. Lmao .

Keep the good info coming, it's certainly not going to waste as the only time I stop learning is when I'm gone

Thank You folks :

Rich

[tove12345]

Try to keep the rigger cables at a 35-45 degree angle to the water.You will then be in the ballpark of2.3-2.8 m.p.h at the ball.We all did pretty well before all the sophisticated dodads.Get on your radio (ch. 68 mexico bay) and ask where the break is.You will get up to the minute info from fellow trollers.

[Little Crappie]

if you come up north.. Stoney point area and try the laker program people have been mentioning with cowbells and such. You'll catch tons of lakers. Cowbells and peanuts. I was actually amazed when someone told me about them... Thought they were nuts lol

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