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Cayuga Cayuga 9/3

Reel Doc

Reel Doc
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Reel Doc

Reel Doc

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Back on Cayuga today after having the thrill of my first trip on Ontario Saturday thanks to Chowder.  He had been so helpful in getting me started with trolling on Cayuga a few years back and I was honored to be invited to the Big lake and learn a little bit about King fishing.  It was memorable in more ways than one...... thanks again Andy!!

Started early today to beat the heat and lines in with time to enjoy the sunrise.  Ran the East side with the wind at my back from just below Long Point north to Aurora.  Found fish on the screen from 130 fow out to over 200 but all quiet until 7:30 in 170 fow when the copper fired with a Laker hitting a Hammer Fly.  Hardly reset and a rigger down 80 carrying a copper Mooselook spoon went off followed by the copper 30 seconds later.  Both had Lakers attached, the rigger fish was full of fight and hit the scale at 8 lbs but recovered nicely to swim away.  

After that it slowed down.  Tried to swing back through the pod where the double tripped but nothing doing.  Picked up 2 more Lakers on the fly down 100 and another one on the spoon at 80.  Above 80 showed plenty of fish on the screen but they weren't buying what I was selling today.  The largest silver was a half inch longer than the lure it hit!  A nice morning, packed it in at 10 as the sun was getting strong.  I sure would love to know how some of you are triggering the big silvers to hit.  The learning curve continues....

 

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Reel Doc

Reel Doc

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My handicap is no probe so don't know the speed down there.  This winter I need to get serious about upgrading the electronics as it's holding back the program a little bit

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Fishstix

Fishstix

Posted
Posted

Save your probe money and buy a couple good dipsey wire rod setups.

Good silverfish info is hard to come-by  Time on the water is the best teacher.

Start with Bear or Wizz  ask em what people have been buying.

.

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lyk2fish

lyk2fish

Posted
Posted

My probe is not with me most times, as said above, rigger angles, and I always have a wire out, the bend of that wire rod with a dipsey is always a key indicator. When you find good hooks and bait, don’t be afraid to make a turn or circle......if a rod fires, pay attention to what side on the turn.....slow or fast side.....adjust from there. Good luck.

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kayslay

kayslay

Posted
Posted

I was referring to the angle of your downrigger cable, obviously this varies depending on how heavy your weight is. I run 8.5's. The point I was getting at is if their straight down go faster. If your getting good Marks play with your speed until you get them figured out. Lyk2fish makes a great point about paying attention to which rod fires on the turn.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

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stinger

stinger

Posted
Posted

A good poor man's down speed indicator is a dodger. It will have a nice rhythmatic pulse on the rod tip at the proper speed. Watch how the rod tip pulses when it is near the surface (say 10'-20' down) at trolling GPS speeds. Then look at it every now and then when at depth. Works on riggers, wire dip's, lead core's, etc. Search "thumper rods" for some more tips.

 

Check your spoons at the same time to see how they are running and adjust your boat speed according to the dodger rhythm when at depth. 

You will not get a pulse with a flasher.

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Low Baller

Low Baller

Posted
Posted

Great intel folks, saw your reports with Chowder over the weekend. Was there Fri to Sun. I run a 16 with cannon cranks and 8.5 balls. For me the cables start singing at 2.5 surface speed. When there quiet the lakers hit, and the salmon like them singing. The dodger pulse is a great indicator. Don't forget to zig zag. The 1st silver will tell you alot.[emoji6]

Sent from my SM-G900P using Lake Ontario United mobile app

fisherdude

fisherdude

Posted
Posted
its cayuga....  

spoons 2.2-3.0 mph

 

set it and forget it

 

I can go out there run two Steph green rigs that's ten spoons set it and forget it and catch 30 fish.There's some guys on the lake that hold up 12, 16 lb fish up consistently that's not setting it and forgetting it......

 

Sent from my XT1609 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

 

 

 

 

 

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bandrus1

bandrus1

Posted
Posted

Point is Cayuga is extremely easy fishing. You can catch fish at .9 mph at the ball to 4.1 at the ball... U can use just about any bait to catch fish. You can have your fav spoon but they will eat almost any spoon. There are very few substantial currents so no it isn't precision trolling like Ontario

quality time

quality time

Posted
Posted

I agree with all above statements.  I think many get hung up on speed and temp. My best day for browns and landlocks was in 72 deg water. Two 8 plus browns, 7 pound landlock, 11pound laker and lost what looked like 10 pound rainbow just out of reach of the net . Do these fish hang at those temps all day long? No, but if bait is in that temp they will zip in and grab a meal. My probe has been  down for several years and I get along just fine. I watch my dipsy rod bend. They want different speeds on different days. One day lakers were smacking at 3.5 mph the next day it was 2.2 on my gps. Keep changing things till you make the rods go. I always say that there is a hundred ways to  catch a lake trout and none of them are wrong. I like a fast troll because I cover more ground . This helps in the location of fish. When I find them I change lures and speed till I get the sweet spot for the day. I have a t-shirt that says " the secret to fishing is fish where the fish are" Half  the fun is the quest!   Wes

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Reel Doc

Reel Doc

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1 hour ago, bandrus1 said:

Point is Cayuga is extremely easy fishing. You can catch fish at .9 mph at the ball to 4.1 at the ball... U can use just about any bait to catch fish. You can have your fav spoon but they will eat almost any spoon. There are very few substantial currents so no it isn't precision trolling like Ontario

Just when I thought I was getting a little smarter about fishing Cayuga you tell me it's easy.  Thanks for bursting my bubble bandrus1. 🤯

Sk8man

Sk8man

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have to chuckle a little bit on this one because the fishing hasn't always been this way on Cayuga or always on Lake Ontario for that matter. Seneca has been having problems of late but a few years ago it was jumping and Cayuga was on the downturn and slow. Those of us that remember fishing for trout and salmon in the 70's and even much earlier realize that this stuff runs in cycles in each of these lakes for a variety of reasons. Fishing Seneca and Cayuga in the late seventies it often took 4-6 hrs or so to catch a legal salmonid. At one point Keuka; especially at the Hammondsport end was hot for browns.....how many do you see being caught right now?..and on and on. For those folks who feel that they have all the answers or the most accurate ones to the riddle I would caution....wait a while and see whether your comment or opinion holds up over time. These lakes are very  fickle regardless of species, and making any profound judgments about them at any one point in time will be a limited sample from which to form any hard fast conclusions. Just enjoy the time out there when things are going well, and don't assume that it will always be this way when things are good. It is always easier to catch fish when the populations are at a high point, and it may have more to do with probabilities than skill.

Edited by Sk8man
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Fishstix

Fishstix

Posted
Posted

Fisherdude there is nothing wrong with old school.Ive got some pink n orange eveleyes I painted with nail polish years ago when I could not find that color combination.I was surprised to see that combination in your mix. I took the probe off the boat years ago.I catch more fish where they are not supposed to be then where they are supposed to be.This year I got rid of my new high power fishfinder and bought a old Furuno 582l off Ebay. Turn the power up just enough to barely track the balls.

I believe fish can feel sonar.  Bigger the fish,longer the lateral line,more sensitive to electric fields.  I run 6 rods 6 lures,  no cheaters. short leads ,and no line anywhere less than 30 lb test year around.  Bite slows down " I will key the radio" amazing how many times it will trigger a strike. 

Stinger you are spot on ,best speed indicator on the lake.

 

Old saying: If the fish are biting 2 rods are enough .If the fish are not biting 2 rods are two many.

 

"Fishey fishey in the brook come and bite on fishstix hook". Alright I got all  you guys saying it I hope it helps this weekend :smile:

 

Sk8man

Sk8man

Posted
Posted

Good stuff and good luck this weekend Stix:smile:

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