Otisco this weekend

[wallysackett]

Hoping to take my boys out to Otisco this weekend and put them onto some Tigers, walleye, or bass. Never fished this lake, but have read some good things about it. If anyone has any advice I would love to hear it, whether we should be casting, trolling, stillfishing minnows, etc? Any tips would be much appreciated.

 

 

[EsoxOnly]

I fish there often for tigers. Casting on the north flats with some jerk baits or spinners should do the trick. A rubber coated net, long pliers, and a pair of hook cutters would be a good idea too. Good luck!

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[tman12]

Casting has been pretty good to me within the past two weeks. I'll be out Thursday

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[Tiger Stalker]

The lake is VERY low....Otisco lake marina launch is still open ( I heard the other launch is closed)....& u can only get boat off on 1 of their 2 ramps ( the ramp that is rarely used is open).....& you either need to power load or get wet.....good luck...

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[wallysackett]

I have a 14 foot tracker, so hopefully I will not have any trouble. Thanks for the info.

[John Edward]

I put my 19' tracker on that side ramp at the launch marina and had no problem but could not believe how low it was either

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Edited October 6, 2016 by John Edward

[old man]

I fished there last week in my yak so no problem for me. It is very low but there were plenty of bass and pontoons out. I saw boats come and go at the marina. One of my sons called the campground today to set up an overnight for my birthday mid October. They told him the launch was closed and docks not usable. Guess we'll try Chautauqua for that trip. A 14' foot boat should be fine and if you get wet at least it's still warm.

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[EsoxOnly]

I fished otisco Sunday. Launched at the campground and was barely able to leave the dock on battery power without dragging the stern through the muck. Fished 1.5hrs before a board rod went screaming. With 50 ft of line spooled off I saw the board start to dive, at this same time the hooked pulled out and I reeled in just a piece of flesh. Lesson learned to leave the drag alone.

I'm sure by next weekend it will be to low for my 19ft spectrum. I'll be moving to new waters for the rest of fall. Good luck everyone.

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[justtracytrolling]

If you use the other launch be very careful EVERYWHERE!!!! I cancelled my trips...even once you get away from the trailer there are tons of things to hit where you won't expect it. Trust me.. be careful...I have found many new obstacles that I never knew of and everyday last week I saw at least one guy moaning about the damage he just did to his boat. Just cause the other marina is open doesn't make it a good idea and watch for stumps anywhere the water is under 8 feet deep.

Justin Okrepki

NYSDEC licensed guide #7324

otiscolakeguideservice.com

(607)-349-1750

[wallysackett]

My boy's and I stayed at the campground for the weekend and caught 1 tiger and 1 bass. The Tiger was about 37-38" and was caught on a spoon. Was very windy Sunday afternoon and did not end up fishing till later in the day.

 

Esox- sounds like you were trolling with in-line boards? Do you run them off both sides of the boat or just shore side? How many lines do you run?

[EsoxOnly]

It really depends on what approach I'm taking and the presentation desired. When I have a partner on the boat I will run 6 lines at otisco typically. 2 inline boards off each side and 2 down rods off the stern corners. I also sometimes use big jon otter boards to spread the lines. Both are effective but each have their pros and cons depending on the goal.

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[wallysackett]

Interesting. I am assuming that the shore-side board is running close to the weed line? Which means the opposite side board is running in deeper water. Do you typically catch Tiger Muskies on these rods as well?

[justtracytrolling]

We catch tigers everywhere in the column everywhere in the lake. This summer I know of very few tigers of size caught in less than 40 fow. My deepest tiger was off a rigger with 41 feet of cable out down 38 according to my fish hawk. Also caught off shore fish down 15 this summer. So to answer your question yes we get them deeper. They fed deeper than the walleye this year....

.

Justin Okrepki

NYSDEC licensed guide #7324

otiscolakeguideservice.com

(607)-349-1750

[justtracytrolling]

As to the number of rods I run 3 per person to a max of 12...though if I ONLY wanted tigers I wouldn't run more than 9 and no more than 6 without riggers. As esoxonly said it depends heavily on your goal, the weather, the weeds. 1 thing for sure is tigers can be caught a ton of ways and it's more about what's enjoyable to you. If we had water I'd be out there right now!!!

Justin Okrepki

NYSDEC licensed guide #7324

otiscolakeguideservice.com

(607)-349-1750

[wallysackett]

Great info Justin, thank you. I will have to learn more about this. I was admiring your boat while I was at the campground, that is a nice set-up. It must be a great platform to fish off of.

[EsoxOnly]

As Justin said...... if you spend enough time you will find tigers everywhere in the lake.

What is most important is being prepared to handle them properly with a large rubber coated landing net, long handled pliers, and a good pair of cutters to cut hooks if needed.

I'm not sure how much expirience you have with muskies but I wanted to throw that out there. Feel free to pm me if you have any other questions as I'm always ready to talk tigers. I'm sure the same goes for Justin.

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