***Important question for Landlocked Salmon fisherman***

[tiogaguy]

Have any of you caught a Landlocked Salmon in the past 2 or 3 weeks that still had eggs in them? I'm speaking of the Finger Lakes and especially Cayuga around Milliken Station. I mean viable eggs, as if the fish was ready to spawn.

Have any of you caught LLS with eggs this time of year (late Jan, Feb, or Mar), ever?

If you kept a LLS to eat, do you remember what it had in its stomach, if anything? Do most of your LLS have empty stomachs when cleaned?

I'm interested in your responses, and will tell you why I interested in a couple of days.

Thanks.

Mitch

[B8buket]

Kept two a couple weeks ago....one was a spawner......loose eggs......kept them and cured them....the one very small skein (this years eggs)

both silver fish........nothing in either of their stomachs

[ray koziatek]

slider kinda weird to find eggs this late usually run with the browns in oct nov on 4 lakes i know of .as far as empty stomach ive got fish 1 day spitting bait the next day the ones you catch are empty. the one i kept a couple days ago was overall slim for a landlock but its been pretty cold water this year

[B8buket]

ray I know its weird to find whole fully matured loose eggs in l.l.s. in Feb.

Got some beautiful eggs out of her......cured them light up too........they're

like gold to a stream fisherman.

The one holdover was plenty silver and all , she had her color back......but the fins were darker and a little

beat up (rounded corners) and the fillets were of poor quality like a salmon thats been

thru the rigors of spawning.

The other one in great shape fat and healthy.

spawner is on top

[Gill-T]

I could be wrong, but that top fish looks like a rainbow and would explain the eggs.

[Robert Benner]

Hello Nice Fish: Yes that top one is a Rainbow. Look at the mouth and tail and you can see the diff. When the water is cold this fish look more like each other, as it warms their true colors show through more, much like us after the weather breaks and a few beers flow.

[Fish Junkie]

No way is that top one a rainbow. Both landlocks guys....

I have caught browns thru the ice this time of year that were still full of loose eggs as well. Sometime i guess they just don't spawn....

[Gill-T]

I caught a Chinook below Burt in March fishing for Steelhead. The fish was still silver, mature, about 19 lbs and had skein, so I know that some fish don't follow the rules. However, I still think that upper fish is a rainbow based on the fins, gill plate, head shape etc., but hard to tell from a photo.

[Splitshot115]

top fish is a rainbow. That would also explain the eggs.

Splitshot115

[Robert Benner]

I think there could be a debate here , if the top fish was a winter brown. Sometimes you can barely tell these fish apart. I fish in Maine sometimes and some of the lakes have both landlocks and browns and you can hardly tell the difference, except during spawn. One time some guy caught what he thought was the lake record landlock, only to be denied by the state biologist. You can also look inside and note the teeth, there would be a big difference there as well as the fins, tail, and head, body shape. This is one of the special things about fishing in the Finger Lakes, the variety is awesome. Down here in PA we don't have many lakes and really none except Raystown with such variety.

Splitshot, what time do you guys launch at Meyers for the tourney in July? I will be camping there and would like to help out if possible?

Thanx. Rob

[ray koziatek]

rainbow top no brainer there my guess is it already started to spawn or very close (swollen pooper area) even starting to sag like a partial spawn .most of the bigger rainbows in catherine creek spawn in feb/early march ive got over 35 years on that creek checking out the early spawn

[Splitshot115]

Rob,

Most of us launch at 0-dark thirty I'll get with you about helping as we get closer

to the derby as I'll be at Myers also. How long will you be camped there?

A few others will be there also.

Splitshot115

[Robert Benner]

Splitshot: Most likely coming up to fish on Thursday mid morning and staying until Sunday or Monday. When do you think I should contact Meyers so that I have a site reserved? Should I take a large fish out of the freezer for the Tourney, thaw it, stuff alewive down its throat , make it look new and present it at the weigh in? They have some really nice Bow's down here at Whole Foods Market, what size do I need to help my chances?

Thanx. Rob

[Robert Benner]

[Robert Benner]

Hey Splitshot will any of these fish take a prize?

Rob

[Splitshot115]

Rob,

You should have contacted the park office about a month ago, might not get a site now.

as for the fish you'll have to put a few more with those to be in the running with that Rusty

Rat crew . I'd try to get ahold of the Park dept. real soon. By the way those are some

nice fish.

Splitshot115

[stinger]

Rob,.....here is a link to last years LOU-All. It should give you a idea of what it will take to win.

Remember, this is a no-stress, no-cash prize event so bring along a novice and have some fun.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6902

[B8buket]

All you guys that THINK the top fish is a rainbow are off your ROCKER! and I'm not even going to get into that

discussion with you period! I've been fishing these lakes for over 30 years and if you THINK I cant tell the diff.

between a l.l.s from a rainbow or from a brown for that matter.......like I said , your off your ROCKER.

For me there is no mis identifying between species.....If you want to believe the one fish in the pic is a rainbow, based

on a photograph only.....you go right ahead....BELIEVE.

The only reason I posted the pic and answered this post.....was cause of concerns of tiogaguy.....which just

so happenings IRONICLY..... was the case of one of the two LANDLOCKE SALMON (concerning loose eggs) shown in the pic. The salmon wasnt loaded with eggs....it had about a quarter of the amount that it should have. It may have spawned but didnt dump them all..and yes its really strange to find loose eggs in a l.l.s. this time of year.....which I guess brings me back to the original post. So keep me out of the debate and still amazes me how often people mis identify between l.l.s. salmon and trout.

Less than a cup of eggs came outta her

[Schools Out]

= sliderbite

[B8buket]

= sliderbite

Did I sound MAD ......well I'm not..... just sick

SORRY EVERYBODY!

[L&M]

I see ya edited that down a notch or two.

[tiogaguy]

Here's why I asked the question: I caught a 20.5 inch Landlocked at Milliken Station last week that was full of eggs. I mean eggs that were spewing out of the fish, as if were ready to spawn. I called the Region 7 DEC fisheries folks and asked them if they should have eggs this time of year. They said they had never heard of such a thing, and definitely NO!. They asked me to email some pictures of the fish, which I did, after it was filleted . but the head and tail were intact. It also produced about 2 cups of eggs. They got back to me and asked if they could forward the info to the Tunison Laboratory. I received a call George Ketola, Research Physiologist and salmon asking about the specifics on when and where I caught the fish, just to make sure the info he received was correct. To make this short, Its unheard of (by biologists) for landlocks to have any eggs left after the first of the year. He asked me to inquire with other fishermen about any other catches similar to mine. If you have caught fish like this, please contact Region 7 or the lab to let them know. This may be related to the Thiamine issues the fish are having in the Finger Lakes and Great Lakes.

Thanks for your replies!

Mitch

[Robert Benner]

Hey Mitch: Do you think maybe this issue could be the lack of rain in the Fall and the inability of the fish to get up the creeks to spawn at that time? Everything in our world now is screwed up, my native plants bloom during the wrong seasons. Let me know if you ever catch a brown in the spring with eggs in her?

Thanx. Rob

[B8buket]

Mitch,

How do I get in contact with the people that need to know about my fish?

[tiogaguy]

Rob,

I asked that question, the biologist seemed to think the fish would (should)have reabsorbed the eggs. I was curious about the proximity to the warm water at Milliken, but they think the fish spawn is so instinctual that water temperature "shouldn't" matter that much. I did know a little about the thiamine problem, and this may be another side effect. I guess all we can do is provide them with data, or fish, and see what comes of it. If you contact Dr. Ketola, he will forward you some studies on thiamine and salmonoids.

I did ask about Brown Trout, too. The shouldn't have "viable" eggs either.

Mitch