Cayuga in the fall

[MXFisher]

I'm wondering if anyone can give me some insight to Cayuga lake fishing in the fall. This year was the first year I fished the lake, and we had some reasonable success in August and September jigging for Lakers. We picked up some bows and browns as well which was really cool. With the weather looking decent this weekend, I was thinking about making the 1.5 hour drive to get back out there. I'm wondering if it is still similar to the last few months. Find bait, find fish and then jig for them. I'm not sure how the pre-spawn or spawn effects them. Do they go deeper or real shallow? Do they migrate to one area of the lake? Any insights would be greatly appreciated.  

[bulletbob]

 Lakers are spawning right now in Cayuga.. However they can still be caught when you find them bunched up... Those that are pre spawn, or actively spawning are not eating, but will often hit jigs anyway, maybe out of anger, or seeing the lure near their eggs,, not sure... Also, they start spawning in Cayuga in early sept, so I imagine a percentage of them are already spawned out and are feeding again... Hot spots??... I dunno, anywhere you can find them I suppose, but I will tell you this.. The DEC nets them every year for their eggs and milt which they use to stock many other lakes in the state.. They are always netting  around Taughannock point and up a mile or two south of the point, and down a mile or two south of it, so we know the lakers congregate there this time of year,,, Who knows how many have spawned and gone either north or south by this time?.. I would just try where you have caught them in the past, and see what happens.. Water depths vary, but I know they will go pretty deep during the spawn, I have caught them full of eggs in 100 FOW, but have also caught them full of eggs or milt in shallow water.... Its certainly worth a shot, the weather is supposed to be really nice and who knows how many more chances  you might get this fall ?     bob

[MXFisher]

21 hours ago, bulletbob said:

 Lakers are spawning right now in Cayuga.. However they can still be caught when you find them bunched up... Those that are pre spawn, or actively spawning are not eating, but will often hit jigs anyway, maybe out of anger, or seeing the lure near their eggs,, not sure... Also, they start spawning in Cayuga in early sept, so I imagine a percentage of them are already spawned out and are feeding again... Hot spots??... I dunno, anywhere you can find them I suppose, but I will tell you this.. The DEC nets them every year for their eggs and milt which they use to stock many other lakes in the state.. They are always netting  around Taughannock point and up a mile or two south of the point, and down a mile or two south of it, so we know the lakers congregate there this time of year,,, Who knows how many have spawned and gone either north or south by this time?.. I would just try where you have caught them in the past, and see what happens.. Water depths vary, but I know they will go pretty deep during the spawn, I have caught them full of eggs in 100 FOW, but have also caught them full of eggs or milt in shallow water.... Its certainly worth a shot, the weather is supposed to be really nice and who knows how many more chances  you might get this fall ?     bob

Thanks alot for the insight. Some good info there and enough to get me on my way. Very much appreciated. I was thinking down south would be best, and you confirmed my thoughts. Thank you. 

[chowder]

Off T falls and  Myers, and AES would be my start offs but I wouldn’t make a drop without a decent screen 

[MXFisher]

18 hours ago, chowder said:

Off T falls and  Myers, and AES would be my start offs but I wouldn’t make a drop without a decent screen 

Thanks alot for the start points. Yes I agree, gotta get the screen looking good before making drops. No sense in dropping to nothing. Thanks for the advice! I will post a report Monday

[DtD]

Hi Bob,   Loving this weather so far. Hope you can elaborate just a little on what a decent screen is for you.  My new Garmin striker 7Plus is giving good clarity these days but I think I need to be a little more discerning when making the stop .

Thanks  DAVE

[MXFisher]

33 minutes ago, DtD said:

Hi Bob,   Loving this weather so far. Hope you can elaborate just a little on what a decent screen is for you.  My new Garmin striker 7Plus is giving good clarity these days but I think I need to be a little more discerning when making the stop .

Thanks  DAVE

Dave, I can't speak for Bob or Chowder but when I read that I took it to mean he is marking fish, bait or both on his graph. In my limited experience, I've come to realize that most of the time you catch fish your marking something. Electronics do play a big part in fishing for the lakers.  

Edited October 21, 2022 by MXFisher

[bulletbob]

 Personally,  I look more for bait when Laker fishing than for  individual fish.. I have had days when I caught  several fish  staring at  a blank screen, and other times when it was lit up like a Christmas Tree, and never got a sniff... you must remember how lakers are.. they are much more bottom oriented than other salmonids.. A laker a few inches off bottom, might not even show up on the screen...  Browns/Salmon/Rainbows, are more likely to be higher up at the level of the bait pods, following them around and picking them off..Yes lakers do that too of course, but just remember this rule- There are ALWAYS lakers  on bottom, around areas  where there is bait.. Even when trollers are catching them suspended say 50 feet down, some are always on bottom, otherwise us jig guys would catch very few, yet sometimes we do as well as the trollers[maybe even better at times] with lakers... Now the "silvers" that everyone on this forum talks about  and desire, they are less likely to be caught with jigs, simply because the areas they are in are more open, and they will be anywhere from the surface to the depths... Yes lakers do that as well, but all year long  winter and summer,there are ALWAYS some to be caught on bottom .. Rainbows/Salmon/Browns are stream fish that can live in lakes, but are NOT natural there,  and they don't  typically relate  to bottom structure.. lakers are lake fish, and do relate naturally  to  bottom structure more than the others.. Find what they eat[sawbellies] on good bottom, and you'll find lakers... If I were going this week, I would  likely head to AES from the plant itself to a few miles north and start early AM in about 50-60 feet, looking for scattered bait, and see whats around/under  it... Remember, typically if there's bait around, there are usually lakers under them, even if you don't see them on the screen... Myers, and the Park  can also be good this time of year.. Around the  park is always tougher for me because of the steep drops and very unpredictable depths.. You can be fishing in 50 feet, and a wind shift will  find you in 200 feet in 30 seconds... Myers  point, as well as a mile or two north or south will hold lakers as well.. Contrary to popular belief, lakers spawn there as well, and there are always some there  in the fall and winter... Long point, and Sheldrake as well.. let us know how you make out... this time of year I am out in the river fishing for smb and walleyes, and wait a bit until all the lakers are done spawning...

[DtD]

BOB, thanks. Just about what I have been doing. I suspect I should be on zoom for the 25 feet to the bottom as I have seen what " could " be a bottom hogging fish  but I did not circle around the area at least once. It is tough to be as patient as is necessary even at my age, but it is a must sometimes , no ?

Thanks again and the 50 pound flat head would be a real experience for sure.

DAVE

[bulletbob]

"Thanks again and the 50 pound flat head would be a real experience for sure".

 

 They have been confirmed by the NYS DEC Fisheries Lab in the Susquehanna River..
 Talked to the biologist the other day about the river survey they just completed.. I will post more about it soon.. She had pictures of several smaller/to small mid size ones taken in the river near Sayre, and said they were  100%  certain Flatheads, and not mistaken channel cats.. Problem is they are NOT garbage eaters like channels cats, they are ferocious, active, voracious predators of other fish, and will eat Walleyes and  SMB by the millions.. hopefully they eat Carp, Suckers, Fallfish , Chubs more than they eat gamefish, but to me they are NOT a welcome presence.. Not that simple to catch either, you need big live bait, not  cut bait like channels cats... bob

[chowder]

When I’m trolling for early spring Lakers from the bar to Olcott and I’m covering ground I don’t mind not seeing lakers on the screen because I know they are there AND I’m covering ground. When I’m drifting with a 3 way rig off the bar I don’t mind not seeing fish because I know they are AND I’m covering ground. When I’m targeting perch  in 60 fow on Erie or lakers in 60 fow on Cayuga I will definitely spend far more time looking for concentrated fish than sitting with the spotlock on making drops. The key difference between the first scenarios and the 2nd is the change in the environment that’s going on and that drives the increased % of a hookup. Some days it’s frustrating and in the end you do end up just fishing bait or likely spots but frankly it’s low % fishing- a lot like giving up on blood trail and starting to look for a dead deer. It’s not that ‘It’ can’t happen it’s just that it isn’t a proven, high %, strategy.

Edited October 23, 2022 by chowder

[luckylouie]

Just got back from the lake .

Took my wife and son with his girlfriend. 

Did ok but worked for them

[Trouthunter]

Nice fish you did well

 

[Lily 2]

I had 2 charters this weekend on cayuga totaling well over 30 fish between the 2 days. Having a fish finder that can give you good information is a must. Also being able to recognize your down speed is most important. I have seen it in recent times where .3 or .5 mph can make all the difference with having a stellar day and having a super slow day. If your marking fish and they aren't bitting something is off with your spread. Keep changing things up until you find what the fish want.

Sent from my SM-G781U using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[bulletbob]

On 10/23/2022 at 8:36 PM, Lily 2 said:

I had 2 charters this weekend on cayuga totaling well over 30 fish between the 2 days. Having a fish finder that can give you good information is a must. Also being able to recognize your down speed is most important. I have seen it in recent times where .3 or .5 mph can make all the difference with having a stellar day and having a super slow day. If your marking fish and they aren't bitting something is off with your spread. Keep changing things up until you find what the fish want.

Sent from my SM-G781U using Lake Ontario United mobile app
 

 The OP was discussing jigging, not trolling.. 

[MXFisher]

Sorry for the delay in posting my report. We did get out Sunday to fish, but didn’t have any luck. We went out of the park, and fished around the park, AES and also the west side north of the park. Most of this was new water to me. We did mark fish and bait all day. Had tons of chasers, but only a few hits we didn’t connect with. Maybe it was as bulletbob mentioned about lakers hitting and but not eating or maybe we just didn’t have what they wanted. Like I said this was new areas of the lake for me so it was good to check out new spots. The people I talked to back at the launch all had similar results, two boats were trolling and they didn’t get any, and one other boat that was jigging said they got one. Sounds like a slow day for most. Still good to be out on the water though. Bob you mentioned that your fishing elsewhere now and waiting for the lakers to be done spawning. When does the spawn wrap up generally? I know from fishing the Niagara river the season is closed October and November to protect the spawn. I assume they would be wrapping mid-November then?