Lots salmon from shore....

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Not me personally.. However, I was camping  with famiily close to Taughannock and visited the park friday and  fished  from shore with worms with my 7 YO grandson saturday...  There were a LOT of fishermen, almost shoulder to shoulder in some places at the park.. The sawbellies  are involved in their yearly spawn along the shoreline, and the fish have followed them in.. Saw lots of  really nice salmon and some big lakers, caught on  sawbellies suspended under slip bobbers..... This was mid afternoon, the fish seem to bite in small windows any time during the day with long lulls, from most of the conversations I had...
  Saturday at dawn it was madness.. People lined up shoulder to shoulder with sabiki rigs, tiny gold hooks, and even a guy with a  cast net, all getting bait for the day...

 Its not a blitz, you see maybe 10 fish for 20 guys, so some go home without, but these are  big fish from the shoreline,,, Saw NO dinks... I know its not for most members here, as this forum is mostly trollers, but it IS a viable alternative that gives shore bound anglers a real shot at a big trout or salmon... One guy  launching his rig at the marina was going out to cast the shoreline with swim baits, and  other casting type lues, and said he has done very well with that technique for the salmon when they are in tight  to shore keying on sawbellies..... Saw no browns, no rainbows caught,  in the 2 days  just salmon and lakers... This action should wrap up within a few weeks...  bob

[TROUTMAN 87]

You said they were using cast nets.They are illegal on the finger lakes.

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 Yes there was a guy netting sawbellies   with one.. I didn't know that particular regulation, as I have never considered using  one in fresh water, but would certainly have told him if I thought about it if I knew, for his own sake,... In a state park no less..

 In NJ where I am originally from many years ago, those throw nets are everywhere, Most striper/weakfish/fluke /fisherman with  boats use them  constantly.. They catch  Mossbunkers/ Menahaden a large oily Herring, and  what are locally  known as "peanut bunker" which are small ones, virtually indistinguishable from ort own freshwater  Landlocked Alewives.. They are superalative bait in salt water.

 I have seen the cast nets in use so often in my time, I never even gave a thought that someone might be breaking state law by using one... bob