Seneca perch

[lakebound88]

Be ready gonna be a zoo tomorrow on south end with that wind forcast. Be early. And get to a spot. Find the drop offs and work em! Good luck

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[Sk8man]

sodus_guy_09

You have a PM with a potential plan "B"

[sodus_guy_09]

Tried Sampson. Little choppy and only caught one about 200yds south of the marina in 17ft. Lots of fish on the graph but tight lipped

[FishingTheFL]

Seems to be the deal. Spend all day there to catch couple fish. I hope this wind dies down soon. I got a aqua-vu I wanna try out.

[2lbperch]

The cameras are fun. You'll spend more time watching the screen studying structure and fish behavior than fishing. I do. I have mine hooked up to a 7" screen next to my ff and run it on a downrigger and drift/troll. Better than most programs on tv. They think the perch cam is a long lost cousin if you keep the lights off.

[FishingTheFL]

Trying to find a 12v charger without having to wait to long. Tuesday morning looks nice for a canoe. 3 mph at 8 am.... I'll be on the water by crack of dawn. Hoping for warmer weather like today to finish my fiber glass job

[johnnywalleye]

fished from 7am till 1 pm south of saverne,1st time running a camera.miles of shore line covered from 18 to 70fow.found 2 small schools of perch and didnt want what we offered.i learned a few things and it was good to be in a boat butt the fishing sucked..amazed at what little structure we found and when we did find some be it trees old docks and such it was void of all fish ..no smb,pike sunnies zero fish species..very odd.....and so long 4 now;john

[apb]

That's not odd....that's Seneca!!!

[lakebound88]

I guess it depends on the days and locations, personally, seneca has treated me good with the golden beauties.

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[ERABBIT]

Trying to find a 12v charger without having to wait to long. Tuesday morning looks nice for a canoe. 3 mph at 8 am.... I'll be on the water by crack of dawn. Hoping for warmer weather like today to finish my fiber glass job

Wait to long to charge?

[Sk8man]

After fishing Seneca for my entire lifetime I can vouch for the fact  it has been through a lot of "changes" some good and some not so good.  The specific  perch spots have changed significantly with the introduction of the Zebras and Quaggas and those invasives (along with others)  have impacted things in a big way. A lot of the traditional spots have either disappeared as being  inhabitable by the perch, their food has been removed in an indirect manner by the straining activity of the mussels of the organisms that their "food" preys on, or they have sought deeper water and not necessarily near those spots where things may not be quite so bad.  Cameras also reveal that there is little bottom structure that is nearly covered or totally covered in mussels of various types and this is not just in the shallower regions....Quaggas go deep we recently saw the bottom totally covered in 60ft in a favorite spot as an example. It is my belief that the traditional shallower spawning areas for the perch may also be covered with mussels which may be disturbing the reproductive cycle in the lake perhaps with respect to other shallow water species as well (gills, sunnys and bass). A look with a camera reveals that in many places in the lake the bottom is so covered that there are no distinguishable features left there.  Are some folks still catching perch "yes" but it remains how long this will be the case and the lake is certainly not producing the numbers and sizes once seen during previous periods when conditions were much better (e.g. before the introduction of the invasives). The most disturbing thing for me is the stark change in the shallower waters around the periphery of the lake and near docks etc. When I was younger (yes there were dinosaurs then too ) these areas were chocked full of minnows of various species, large and smallmouth bass, perch, sunfish, and bluegills....that we would catch one right after another and crowding to get at the bait (e.g. right near the launch at Seneca Lake State Park for example) these areas are now devoid of life of any kind and you'd be hard pressed to see a single fish let alone schools regardless of time of the year.. and this condition is not confined to Seneca  The Seneca Canal at the north end of the lake also used to be a teeming environment for smaller warm water species and huge pike and pickerel.....it too is largely uninhabited in appreciable numbers of fish. This is the current reality and it does not appear to be getting better.  To add to this problem with the perch Seneca Lake has been advertised as the best perch lake in New York State and folks have bragged for years about the "jumbos" or "elephant perch" coming from the lake. This has in my view led to unprecedented fishing pressure and especially in those rapidly disappearing areas where the perch are now congregated and are vulnerable for one reason or another. Greed has also played a significant role in this situation because some of these people take multiple, limits per day when they locate the congregated perch and some take ALL perch they catch rather than put back the very large ones and  small ones with little to no meat on them..... and some for the money derived from the sale of the perch meat is also a driving factor. This has all been going on for years so is it any wonder that things are noticeably deteriorating?

Edited February 2, 2016 by Sk8man

[Captain Jim]

We had the same experience in spring of last year right after the ice went out of the launch at Sampson. We didn't want to fight crowds at the park so we headed out on the lake. It was a calm day witch allowed us to look over the side and clearly see bottom, IN 40 FOW! It was both amazing and sad to see bottom that far down so clearly. Only to find that there was nothing moving anywhere. No bait, no perch, no pike to be found in the miles of shoreline we checked.

I know this is a perch thread but trout fishing on Seneca was an all time low for us in 2015. I wonder how long Cayuga will stand up to the additional fishing pressure.

[BP Swing]

Well said Sk8man. I can tell you it doesnt matter who you are or what your skill level is, you will get skunked at Seneca on occasion for a variety of reasons. Without question, that is some of the toughest fishing in NYS all year long unless you just happen to find a stationary school and they are biting. It is too bad how many Perch are being kept there by anglers. NYS should do away with market fishing across the state immediately also. So many variables, zebras, water clarity, depth, wind speed, direction, presentation, locating...its tough but worth it if you succeed. Hopefully Seneca is big enough to withstand the pressure but Im having my doubts.  

[LakerTaker85]

They are there boys

[FishingTheFL]

From what Les said and my own observations from a summer of being on both lakes as much as I could all summer... The fish in Seneca are DEEP. I didn't mark much unless it was out over 250 ft and didn't mark fish under 180 ft. Now if you want pike... they are every where.

The two salmon I caught on Seneca this year where 70ft down over 250fow and 100ft down over 250fow. Lakers that I caught jigging, they were on the edge of drop off from 70 to 180 fow.

With the population of mussels in close the fish have to move deeper to find food, this leads to reduction in light, less plankton for smaller species to eat, less bait fish, less predators.

Cayuga has much less zebras. Maybe less Quaga mussels also. Haven't don't much research on them.

Seems everyone wants to blame the invasion of invasive species but very few people take the spread of weed or mussels or fish disease serious... Many people load up after catching nothing in Seneca and pack up head to Cayuga. How many take proper steps to insure that the boat is clean before launching... I do. Car wash, soap, high pressure washer... $4 to save the future of two fishery that I love. Some boats don't fit in the car wash... but you bought a boat... can't tell me you can't afford to wash it at home...

[Silver Fox]

They are there boys

Now that is a comment with insightful info for you guys!

[lakebound88]

I believe the comments is true. We've all learned that time on the water is what makes or breaks the best days we have ever had. While many sit and wait to be spoonfed. (Not saying that's what's happening here). But, it seems most anglers this time of year are fairweather, which I get that, but my best days have also been the most brutal for weather this winter, I'll take that. Now I've only been perching for a short while but, I will say, that guys sure do like to protect those babies, just like we do our TROUT and salmon. I agree 100% with it. Is it possible to over fish? Yes I believe so. But limits are there, if guys abuse it, try will get what's coming eventually. Just keep doing what we are doing and let karma find them...

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[Sk8man]

They are there boys

It is true that there are still perch and other fish there but my point is this: Unless you have had the opportunity to view this situation long term it may not be apparent that there have been such massive changes in the situation. I have seen the bottom carpeted with perch for hundreds of yards so dense that you couldn't see between individual fish in the past. I have seen panfish and bass fighting with each other in the shallow water and around docks to get at your bait amidst gigantic schools of minnows of various types swimming the shallows. All sorts of comments and explanations can be offered regarding why or to support how great things still are but this is the reality of the current situation. You can still catch limits out there if you know how and where and what to use when but how long this will continue is the question in my mind given all the environmental and human pressures coming to bear right now. Assuming that the lake is fine right now and everything will be fine without any changes is not a wise assumption. It is the overall picture of things I'm concerned with.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Sk8man

[lakebound88]

You're right Les, but there needs to be MORE people like YOU who have SEEN the LONGTERM decline, who NEED to step up from the keyboard and talk to our region fisheries and express the concern, you have to remember, the younger generations have no idea what it was like when you were a kid.

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[Sk8man]

There is currently a proposal being worked on regarding some of the human aspects of the situation to be presented to the DEC to consider.

[lakebound88]

Then, thank you. That's a step.

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[lakebound88]

I have also spoke with our region fisheries in regards to low fish numbers. As far as TROUT and salmon go. Ever wondered why the numbers got low? DEC felt, that there was too low of a bait population during their testing. Guess where they test? Geneva, in may. No where else on the lake, their numbers are off! We've all seen bait for years on our graphs, dancing our lines. The bait is plentiful .....

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[Skidplate]

It will be interesting what wins the derby this year I'm going with a 12#ER lol

[Deebsey]

Been a few times....Nothing worth bragging about.  Fish are hard to find & if you find them hard to figure out.  I have tried more rubber than most bait stores stock with little luck....Even seen bait guys struggle

[tiogafishaddict]

Im in northern pa.... so I'm only 40 mins from seneca... finger lakes are such a great area I seriously do not understand why a 25 limit on panfish would be uncalled for in the FL's