# Fish Tales



## Ripitz

April 1st is coming soon. This year I’m fishing for keeps!


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## Harvey

You need a pic in the first post ^^ for stoke.




@adrider83









That One Big Fish


It's enough to keep you going for a long time.




nyskiblog.com


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## Campgottagopee

Unless we're fishing for a fish fry it's catch and release for me. The exception is when we fish a very secluded "pond" that is overrun with bass. They are stunted so if we don't keep them we dump them on the bank for the coons.


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## Ripitz

I always pinch the barbs. Never cared about landing them unless I’m gonna eat’em. The big man dumps them off the bridge next to my place by the thousands. It’s like going to the grocery store. Going shopping soon... Think Local, Eat Fresh!


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## jasonwx

Ripitz said:


> I always pinch the barbs. Never cared about landing them unless I’m gonna eat’em. The big man dumps them off the bridge next to my place by the thousands. It’s like going to the grocery store. Going shopping soon... Think Local, Eat Fresh!


ive caught of lot of diff fish..never a trout, that needs to change


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## Campgottagopee

jasonwx said:


> ive caught of lot of diff fish..never a trout, that needs to change


You should really treat yourself to a brook trout fishing trip in the Adirondacks. As kids we go back into bog meadow for days catching native brookies. So good to eat and even more fun when you catch them. Watch your shadow because those things are crafty.


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## Green light

Just read about some new trout regulations starting in NY April 1st. Better check them out boys before you dangle your worm


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## tirolski

Fish lives matter.
Give em a fair fightin chance in the wilds instead of in cages.





Science | AAAS







advances.sciencemag.org


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## XTski

Anyone ever fish behind the Niagra Mohawk plant in Cohoes, we used to climb a chain link entrance gate, carrying our gear was a little funky with the ladders we had to scale but it was awesome small mouth bass fishing with some tiger muskie I believe were lurking around, police never hassled us as they saw our fishing gear, it’s kind of a mad max scene with sharp shale to stand on and big crayfish that bite you when putting them on the hook


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## tirolski

Used to fish the old coal fired electric generation plant outlet into Cayuga lake north of Ithaca on the eastside. Waded into the warm water discharge in the winter as browns and landlocks ate the little fish that also showed up too. Skipped skiing for a bit and we went fishing instead. Very wind direction dependent, west wind fish bite best, east wind fish bite least.


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## G.ski

So my last day of skiing was Tuesday 4/6.

Went to the East Branch on 4/8 for my first day of trout fishing. Got to Brady's Bend and was happy to see the water was clear and not running too fast. But a quick temperature check showed the water was still very cold. So my strategy was to go downstream away from where any stocked fish would be and hope for a nice holdover trout in deeper water. This spot is one of those where if you don't know how to access it you get lost and hung up in brambles.



It's a great stretch about 1/2 mile long with deep pools and clear water connected by fast moving riffles.





Just upstream from that second shot above I hooked a very nice brown trout in a deep pool it looked to be about 15" or so. Lost it after a 10 second fight. Nice fish. The same pool is in the background of this shot.



And just upstream from that shot is where I caught a 10" stocked brown, in this very nice pool along the undercut bank.



Fished upstream from there about another 1/4 mile and caught a few more small browns, all stocked. So it was a good first day out. Plus I didn't take a swim in the cold water like last season.


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## Tjf1967

G.ski said:


> So my last day of skiing was Tuesday 4/6.
> 
> Went to the East Branch on 4/8 for my first day of trout fishing. Got to Brady's Bend and was happy to see the water was clear and not running too fast. But a quick temperature check showed the water was still very cold. So my strategy was to go downstream away from where any stocked fish would be and hope for a nice holdover trout in deeper water. This spot is one of those where if you don't know how to access it you get lost and hung up in brambles.
> 
> 
> 
> It's a great stretch about 1/2 mile long with deep pools and clear water connected by fast moving riffles.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just upstream from that second shot above I hooked a very nice brown trout in a deep pool it looked to be about 15" or so. Lost it after a 10 second fight. Nice fish. The same pool is in the background of this shot.
> 
> 
> 
> And just upstream from that shot is where I caught a 10" stocked brown, in this very nice pool along the undercut bank.
> 
> 
> 
> Fished upstream from there about another 1/4 mile and caught a few more small browns, all stocked. So it was a good first day out. Plus I didn't take a swim in the cold water like last season.


Do you release the fish after you catch them?


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## G.ski

Tjf1967 said:


> Do you release the fish after you catch them?


I always catch and release.

This season the DEC has changed the creel limits and the new system is very complicated. The limits can change on different stretches of the same river. I assume they did that to increase fine opportunities so it is just easier to avoid all that and not keep any fish anyway.


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## G.ski

4/17-Fished my stretch of Fishkill Creek. Beautiful day and a fun wade but I got skunked. Not even a bite. Water at a perfect level but still very cold.

4/20-Back to the East Branch. Followed the same plan I did on 4/8. The reservoir is totally full and the spillway is raging. At Brady's Bend the water was slightly higher but noticeably less frigid. So I had high hopes and was rewarded at the same pool where I hooked and lost a nice trout on the 8th. This time I got a solid hook in the corner of the mouth and landed this fine brown trout about 15".




I continued upstream and caught 2 more decent browns about 12" each and 5 or 6 stocked trout. The next 2-3 weeks will be the best of spring trout fishing.


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## Green light

G, are you on the fly or spinner?


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## G.ski

I try but suck at fly fishing. Mostly I practice on my backyard creek I'm good at snagging trees and branches.

For trout I stick to small spinners and plugs. Occasionally a small plastic worm. Ultra light open face spinning rig with 4 lbs. test line.


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## Ripitz

@G.ski getting skunked
Catching and releasing some fresh air


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## Sick Bird Rider

If you are into trout fishing, you might enjoy this perspective from a Hinterlandian canoe builder and hardcore angler. Simplistic as it is, I like how he separates the world of freshwater fish in to two camps: "trouts" and "green fish."

"How to catch a butt load of fish on every canoe trip"


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## tirolski

Sick Bird Rider said:


> If you are into trout fishing, you might enjoy this perspective from a Hinterlandian canoe builder and hardcore angler. Simplistic as it is, I like how he separates the world of freshwater fish in to two camps: "trouts" and "green fish."
> 
> "How to catch a butt load of fish on every canoe trip"


SBR, lots of good stuff there. Good read.


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## G.ski

Ripitz said:


> @G.ski getting skunked
> Catching and releasing some fresh air
> View attachment 9163


Always enjoy fishing a new stretch of river. Fish just weren't biting.

Thanks Glen that was fun.


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## Campgottagopee

I too caught and released some fresh air yesterday ?


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## jasonwx

Heading to Montana in june
Booked a guide for a day of fly fishing on a river float 
Should be intersting


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## Campgottagopee

jasonwx said:


> Heading to Montana in june
> Booked a guide for a day of fly fishing on a river float
> Should be intersting


Whoa 
What a time that will be! Good for you ?


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## 2000yroldskier

Campgottagopee said:


> Whoa
> What a time that will be! Good for you ?


What river?


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## tirolski

jasonwx said:


> Heading to Montana in june
> Booked a guide for a day of fly fishing on a river float
> Should be intersting


Heading to Montana soon 
gonna be flossing trout in June
thoughts of Frank Zappa’s tune.

I'm haunted by waters too. Have fun.


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## jasonwx

2000yroldskier said:


> What river?


Guide said he has to wait and see 
About the snow melt


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## G.ski

4/24-Got permission to fish a totally new section of Fishkill Creek near the bridge on route 52. That's a stocking bridge. Great looking water, hard gravelly and sandy bottom with shallow areas to wade that accessed deep pools and undercut banks. My host and I fished for about an hour or so I got to wade out on an island that allowed for many great casts. And we got skunked. Go figure. Gonna go back and fish it more carefully.




4/28-First warm day of 2021 so Steve and I decided to get out on the boat at the East Branch reservoir. We rowed down to where the river enters the impoundment and upstream hoping to catch a few trout. Nothing. So we went back to the reservoir proper. It was warm, almost hot at times but the water was still pretty cold. I didn't think we had any shot at landing any bass. I was wrong about that too. We each landed a nice smallmouth to save the day. Both were of course released bass are out of season as well. Nice to catch great fighters. My favorite freshwater gamefish.


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## G.ski

5/7-Fished the special regulations stretch of the East Branch. Nobody was fishing at the bathtub some kind of construction going on. So that pushed all the fishing pressure downstream. Got to my downstream pool near the 84 overpass and encountered the first fisherman I've seen there ever. Saw him before I got too close so I spied him fly fishing with what looked like nymphs. Anyway that's a big fish or nothing spot so I moved back upstream to the main bend area.

I was lucky enough to fish from there to the run before the Phoebe hole before seeing another fly fisherman. And the trout fishing was good. Nothing really big but 4 of the 6 brown trout I caught were 12-13". All were really healthy looking and fat. This was representative of the nicer fish:





One of the most beautiful and productive stretches of trout water close to home:


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## tirolski

12 year old catches biggest salmon and wins $15K in Lake Ontario Counties (LOC) Spring Derby.








Happy angler: Boy, 12, wins $15,000 grand prize in Spring LOC Derby on Lake Ontario


He caught the fish on the last day of the fishing derby.




www.newyorkupstate.com


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## G.ski

5/13-Got out on Rye Lake for the first time this season. The first 2 hours of fishing were pretty good. I landed 5 decent bass, nothing huge. Steve had similar luck. Deep diving plugs were working great. But 2 hours in and the fish just turned off. Not a bite the last 3 hours out. But it got me thinking that bass season is around the corner and spawning bass will soon be in play.

5/21-Continuing the tour of NYC reservoirs we went to Bog Brook next to the East Branch. We have had good May action here in the past. We quickly started to catch yellow and white perch on plugs and spinners. Steve landed a nice smallmouth, turns out it was the only smallmouth we landed today:





I got tired of small panfish and I remembered several days at Bog Brook I had good luck with plastic worms. I tied on a Gary Yamamoto 5" senko and quickly landed my nicest bass of the season so far, a fat largemouth:





I'm using bigger circle hooks this season in an effort to prevent aggressive bass from swallowing my plastic worms. I landed 7 more nice largemouths and every one was hooked in the corner of the mouth so that strategy seems to work. Easier to lose smaller fish but that's OK:





At this point Steve was fishing with a worm as well and the fishing action was good right to the end. I like fishing for and catching trout but there is no better fight in freshwater than with an aggressive bass. The next 2 months are going to feature some great fishing.


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## Campgottagopee

Agree, bass fishing is a real hoot. I've been catching them out of my pond for the last couple of weeks. Couple of them are fat with eggs.


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## G.ski

Yes the smallmouth Steve caught squirted milt on the floor of the boat. We were surprised that was a male fish pretty big for a male.


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## tirolski

Ya can’t make this stuff up.
Big Carp caught in the Seneca River transported to a “pay to fish” lake in North Carolina, allegedly.








						The ‘dirty secret’ about how a North Carolina business is taking carp out of the Seneca River for profit
					

The state Department of Environmental Conservation says it's legal and can't do a thing about it.




					www.syracuse.com


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## jasonwx

tirolski said:


> Ya can’t make this stuff up.
> Big Carp caught in the Seneca River transported to a “pay to fish” lake in North Carolina, allegedly.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The ‘dirty secret’ about how a North Carolina business is taking carp out of the Seneca River for profit
> 
> 
> The state Department of Environmental Conservation says it's legal and can't do a thing about it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.syracuse.com


why? carp destroy everything.. nasty worthless fish..


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## Campgottagopee

Over the weekend we went to our honey hole of a pond (20 acre pond). Between the 4 of us we had to of caught 80 bass. What hoot.


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## Ripitz

Carp should be catch and kill only. My neighbor shot one in our creek that was 42” with his bow. Makes good fertilizer for the garden. A few ethnic old timers used to come around fishing for them. They had some recipe that was able to deal with all the bones. I think it was some sort of chowder or something. Cooked it for a long time in a pan and the result was described as a type of delicious motor oil. Took their word for it. Never tried it. They would chum with oatmeal and put a little dough ball on the smallest of hooks. Huge problem in a lot of rivers.


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## jasonwx

Campgottagopee said:


> Over the weekend we went to our honey hole of a pond (20 acre pond). Between the 4 of us we had to of caught 80 bass. What hoot.


and no invitation? ehh I'm not posting anymore


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## Campgottagopee

jasonwx said:


> and no invitation? ehh I'm not posting anymore



LOL
As soon as it's bass season I'll put up some pics
Nothing big but mucho funno


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## tirolski

jasonwx said:


> why? carp destroy everything.. nasty worthless fish..


The tug is the drug, allegedly.


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## G.ski

tirolski said:


> The tug is the drug, allegedly.


They put up an awesome fight.
I've landed a few 25-30 lbs. from the NYC reservoirs. Actually quite useful for keeping the reservoirs clean especially the bottom. Not great eating though.


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## jasonwx

tirolski said:


> The tug is the drug, allegedly.


Lol
I have hooked carp
Pulling in a bag of sand


G.ski said:


> They put up an awesome fight.
> I've landed a few 25-30 lbs. from the NYC reservoirs. Actually quite useful for keeping the reservoirs clean especially the bottom. Not great eating though.


i have to disagree 
They have muddied the local ponds near me and have messed up the bass population


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## Campgottagopee

Fishing pretty good at the home pond this evening. 5 cast's - 3 lil ones


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## G.ski

6/10-Headed to Pepacton reservoir in the Catskills for some hike wading. Pepacton is a big place so we got in about 5 miles of hiking to get to our fishing spots today. Arena was the ticket today water levels are high. Smallmouths were biting all day at our primary wading spot we would catch a few then wait for more to move in.





The trout fishing at Mill Creek as it entered Pepacton was exceptional. I caught 2 nice rainbows on consecutive casts before lunch.








Steve caught two brown trout in the same pool. Bass season officially starts on 6/19.


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## Campgottagopee




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## Campgottagopee

Lil bigger one tonight


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## tirolski

Fished with a friend in 2009 LOC derby just before Labor Day and my friend caught the first place salmon.
34lber. 
Here’s a video from then of the beauty.


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## G.ski

Campgottagopee said:


> Lil bigger one tonightView attachment 9555


Good looking weather conditions.


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## jasonwx

Ketchikan Alaska about 12yrs ago


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## G.ski

6/17-Good bass fishing on Rye Lake with Steve. Caught a variety of bass including largemouths, smallmouths and rock bass. Some of the rock bass were decent sized. But all of the biggest fish were smallmouths today.






Fish were confined to specific areas in the sun with shallow water near shore and deep water access with weeds. Any spot that met this criteria produced 2-3 fish each.


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## jasonwx

Yellowstone River Montana
Tremendous day fishing 
Many fish caught


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## Ripitz

jasonwx said:


> Yellowstone River Montana
> Tremendous day fishing
> Many fish caught


Way cool! What stretch are you fishing? I see Emigrant peak so you must be close to Livingston. Beautiful!


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## jasonwx

Ripitz said:


> Way cool! What stretch are you fishing? I see Emigrant peak so you must be close to Livingston. Beautiful!


We were!!


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## Ripitz

jasonwx said:


> We were!!


Check out Chico Hot Springs if you have time. They have one of the best dining rooms in Montana. Have a soak and a steak.


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## G.ski

I have fished the Yellowstone in Wyoming in Yellowstone Park. That is a mighty river and a majestic place to be outdoors in nature. Caught the biggest of the few cutthroat trout I have caught in my life there, a fine 6 pounder. Wading on slippery basalt shelves in deep fast moving ice cold water was a thrill. What a healthy and vibrant fishery.


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## G.ski

6/25-Another good day on Rye Lake. Beautiful weather. Lots of bass to catch. We both caught over a dozen bass each. Most were decent in size but it took me until later in the afternoon to catch good sized smallmouth. Pretty much the same story for Steve. Big smallies make for good pics but lots of fish and consistent action is what makes for a good day on the lake. Next day out will be on Sunday 6/27 on LI sound fishing for sea bass.


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## G.ski

6/27-Headed out on LI sound from Clinton, CT with buddies Steve, Doug, and Mike.









Steve and Doug bought this boat about 2 years ago and have just recently gotten competent enough to navigate about 10 miles out into the sound. Good range for stripers and blues. But this day was devoted to social fishing for sea bass. We fished about 6 miles from Clinton and the action was very good early as there was little wind and a slack tide so we were able to get our baits down to the bottom and the sea bass fishing was good.



We kept 6 and they made for a great dinner. Mike caught the biggest of the day.



By 4:30 or so the tide was moving out rapidly and the wind picked up making it impossible to keep our baits on the bottom even with a lot of weight. So we slowly trolled an umbrella rig back towards home. Outstanding day on the water.


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## G.ski

7/16-Went to Bog Brook. Sunny and hot. Fish in general were not biting. After 3 hours the thunderstorms appeared on the horizon heading straight for us. We retreated to shore, had a few drinks and called it a day.

7/23-Went to the East Branch reservoir for the first time since late April. Today I made the effort to get out early and I was fishing at the little island by 6:55am. Clear and cool but no wind and the water looked scummy and green. No bites in my first hour. Then the wind started to blow and stir things up. I fished around the second island and then parked on the western shore of the little island facing into the teeth of the wind which was now around 10mph. Between 9-10 I caught 4 fish sitting in that same spot. Two were bass, a 12" largemouth and a 14" smallmouth.

So now I'm thinking the fishing is turning on. But so did the wind which was now blowing steady at 15 gusting to 25mph. I had to abandon the little island and fish the 2 big islands in the lee of the wind back to the boat spot. Fished the whole way back and caught nothing more. The dog days of summer approach.


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## tirolski

This video is from when snagging salmon was legal in the Big O tributaries.
Tis narrated & shows how crazy some folks were to those fish.


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## Ripitz

tirolski said:


> This video is from when snagging salmon was legal in the Big O tributaries.
> Tis narrated & shows how crazy some folks were to those fish.


Wow, that’s so fucked up


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## G.ski

I've fished the Oswego river. It was years ago and we spectated at the areas where folks were snagging salmon with weighted treble hooks. We watched a few people miss fish and snag other people. Seemed dumb to me.

We fished the old fashioned way and spent 2 days figuring out how to hook and catch the fish legally. That means foul hooked fish don't count.


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## jasonwx

G.ski said:


> I've fished the Oswego river. It was years ago and we spectated at the areas where folks were snagging salmon with weighted treble hooks. We watched a few people miss fish and snag other people. Seemed dumb to me.
> 
> We fished the old fashioned way and spent 2 days figuring out how to hook and catch the fish legally. That means foul hooked fish don't count.


Fished the black river by Watertown 30 yrs ago
Boy did we come home with fish


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## G.ski

7/31-Back to the EB. Moved around a lot and did some trolling and while I did boat a few nice white perch I was disappointed I caught no bass. Got to the little island at prime time (7-8pm). Immediately boated 2 pig smallmouths. I was alternating between a jointed shad rap and a 5" senko. Got to my favorite spot and pounded the area with the worm. Sure enough I got a take and when I set my hook I felt a heavy pull. My drag shot out and then the line was slack. Whatever that was it was big; tore that plastic worm right off my hook. I speculate a big smallmouth or a walleye.

Great day rowed a lot and weather was spectacular. Sometimes just hooking a big fish is enough to make the day extra awesome.


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## G.ski

8/5-Rye Lake with Steve. Cloudy early and fishing was good for about 3 hours. Then it cleared up and the fishing really died. I always prefer clouds to blazing sun and the fish seem to as well, especially in August. We did catch a bunch of decent sized smallmouths while the fishing was good.

8/20-Rye Lake again with Steve. Took 2 weeks off to avoid the recent heat. More clouds today and we pushed off wondering if we would be dodging rain and lightning. But except for some light drizzle the weather was great. The bass were concentrated at big weed beds bordering deep water. Every such weed bed we fished at produced a few nice smallmouths. Plastic worms were the ticket today. For about an hour the sun came out and the fishing immediately slowed down. But fortunately the clouds returned and fishing the weeds was excellent to the end. I caught a bunch of fat smallmouths; the bottom pic was my nicest smallmouth of this season caught right in front of our boat spot at the end of our trip; I hooked it right after Steve hooked another smallie the same size in the same area. Our first double header of the season. Great day!


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## Ripitz

Update: 4.42-Pound Crappie Is Official New York State Record


The big panfish is the largest crappie ever caught in the state of New York. Roy Isaac caught it while jigging a live minnow.




www.fieldandstream.com


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## tirolski

Got an old pic of me blocking out the p,i,e in front the wooden sign where this one was caught.
Might try to dig it out. 
Crappies taste good. The a is pronounced ah.


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## G.ski

Crappie tastes great when fried.


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## tirolski

G.ski said:


> Crappie tastes great when fried.


It’s white meat. Kinda like perch but bigger.


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## G.ski

8/27-RL again. Same weather as last Friday. More good fishing. Even boated a decent largemouth today. September is often a good fishing month looking forward to it. Also enjoying the frequent rain. That also affects the fishing very positively.


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## Campgottagopee

I never knew these were in my pond.


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## tirolski

Attaboy.
What are they bitin on?


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## Campgottagopee

tirolski said:


> Attaboy.
> What are they bitin on?


Top water yellow plastic squid looking thing. Got them from Bass Pro.


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## jasonwx

G.ski said:


> Crappie tastes great when fried.


My shoe would taste good fried?


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## Campgottagopee

G.ski said:


> Crappie tastes great when fried.


I was shocked when I caught that one out of my pond yesterday. There's a large pond behind my house (in a pasture) that does have crappies in it. They had to have been transplanted from there, either by a snapping turtle (we have one that travels from pond to pond), hawk, or an eagle. Either way I'm stoked to have them.


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## trackbiker

Campgottagopee said:


> I was shocked when I caught that one out of my pond yesterday. There's a large pond behind my house (in a pasture) that does have crappies in it. They had to have been transplanted from there, either by a snapping turtle (we have one that travels from pond to pond), hawk, or an eagle. Either way I'm stoked to have them.


The most common way fish get added to other bodies of water is fish eggs on duck and geese feet.


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## Campgottagopee

trackbiker said:


> The most common way fish get added to other bodies of water is fish eggs on duck and geese feet.


Yes, but I don't get too many ducks or geese on my pond. Most of those stay down at the much bigger pond below the house. But I do get them. I see that darn turtle more than anything, but I have seen ducks and geese. Who knows ?‍♂️


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## Brownski

Campgottagopee said:


> either by a snapping turtle (we have one that travels from pond to pond)


We could use a pic of that turtle


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## G.ski

Campgottagopee said:


> Top water yellow plastic squid looking thing. Got them from Bass Pro.


Mr. Twisters of various colors with a small weighted jig head hook work great too.


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## Campgottagopee

My neighbor was over with his brother doing some fishing


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## XTski

Campgottagopee said:


> My neighbor was over with his brother doing some fishing View attachment 10335


Nice! We used to hold the fish out in front closer to the camera ( appears bigger) as it helps with the stoke as the years go bye as that 14 incher morphs into a damn near 20 inches #fishstories


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## G.ski

XTski said:


> Nice! We used to hold the fish out in front closer to the camera ( appears bigger) as it helps with the stoke as the years go bye as that 14 incher morphs into a damn near 20 inches #fishstories


Yes a well held fish is the secret to impressive fish photos!


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## Campgottagopee

G.ski said:


> Yes a well held fish is the secret to impressive fish photos!


And deer photos. They make me laugh, I'm like, can you possibly get any farther away from that thing?


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## G.ski

9/6-went out solo on the East Branch. There were other anglers out as well and were hard to avoid as I was bass fishing with a plastic worm. So I changed tactics and started trolling the deepest section of the reservoir from the dam to the end of the eastern cove. I have caught walleyes here and I was hoping I would hook into one. Finally, after my third round trip I hooked something big.

I wasn't planning on trolling and didn't set up my rod holder before starting. When the fish hit I was lucky to grab my rod before it went overboard. Finally got a good grip and the fish tore into the drag with 2 long runs. Then it shook it's head and was off. Second big walleye I've lost at the EB this year. That's what sucks about trolling, you entice big fish but it's up to the fish to hook itself because you aren't holding the rod when they hit.


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## tirolski

G.ski said:


> 9/6-went out solo on the East Branch. There were other anglers out as well and were hard to avoid as I was bass fishing with a plastic worm. So I changed tactics and started trolling the deepest section of the reservoir from the dam to the end of the eastern cove. I have caught walleyes here and I was hoping I would hook into one. Finally, after my third round trip I hooked something big.
> 
> I wasn't planning on trolling and didn't set up my rod holder before starting. When the fish hit I was lucky to grab my rod before it went overboard. Finally got a good grip and the fish tore into the drag with 2 long runs. Then it shook it's head and was off. Second big walleye I've lost at the EB this year. That's what sucks about trolling, you entice big fish but it's up to the fish to hook itself because you aren't holding the rod when they hit.


These things'll work. 
They just clamp on.
Good luck.





						D-10 Down-Easter Standard Rod Holder
					






					www.down-east.com


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## G.ski

tirolski said:


> These things'll work.
> They just clamp on.
> Good luck.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> D-10 Down-Easter Standard Rod Holder
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.down-east.com


Had a clamp on rod holder in my backpack onboard.

Didn't bother to set it up just started trolling. Dumb.


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## G.ski

9/15-Rye Lake with Steve. Nice day fish were picky but we each caught a few nice bass. The plastic worm is losing it's effectiveness as the days grow shorter. Fish are not grabbing them as hard and we are losing more fish. Great weather considering there were supercells north and west of us. Saw the cumulonimbus clouds lighting up when lightning flashed to the north and west on my drive home on 84 that was pretty spectacular.

9/18-East Branch with Mike. On water at 6:30 I was happy with the cloudy, misty and cool conditions. Light wind lots of glass calm water:



We rowed out to the middle of that shot, there are colonial foundations, walls, and roadbeds underwater and there were smallmouths actively feeding on the surface. Every now and then a bronze colored slab would come out of the water with a splash. Seeing this sealed my decision to use my suspending jointed Rapala. We rowed out to the little island and found the same action. 
My first cast there produced a violent surface hit and just like that my first fish:



After taking that shot Mike hooked another nice smallmouth. Then I hooked and lost another. For the next 2 1/2 hours we moved around and caught fish in most spots. Quite a few nice largemouths too:



At 9 the clouds started to thin and by 10 the skies were clear and it was sunny and hot. That was it for the fishing we were off the water at noon.


----------



## JTG

Should have held him up to gauge size, but it was 10 inches or so. Crappie?

Also got a 12 big mouth bass tonight, no pic…


----------



## G.ski

JTG said:


> View attachment 10543
> 
> Should have held him up to gauge size, but it was 10 inches or so. Crappie?
> 
> Also got a 12 big mouth bass tonight, no pic…


That's a nice sized white crappie.


----------



## G.ski

9/24-Pepacton reservoir with Steve. Hard to believe summer is over. Pepacton is our favorite Sept/Oct bass and trout location. I was concerned by the change in weather to cool and dry but it was a beautiful day with a strong SW wind to start. 
We hiked out to our usual bass location. The first 2 hours were pretty dull. Steve caught a few small bass and my haul was a 5" perch and a 2.5" pig smallmouth.
It's amazing how much confidence in lure selection affects fishing success. I just could not find a lure I liked. The wind was knocking down my casts and I was taking chances wading into deep unknown water just to get a decent cast. We were close to stopping to eat so I changed my lure from the plugs I was casting to a #4 Vibrax silver fox. I was going to use that in the river as we headed back to the car but I threw a few casts in the same places we had fished all morning. Bang the first nice smallmouth of the day. We got to the mouth of the river and we both landed a nice smallmouth. Then I landed a small brown trout. We got to the last pool at the bridge and I knew I would catch a trout. Bang a huge hit and I'm amazed to see a 24" roughly 5 lbs. brown on my line. Put up a great fight and I got it close to where I was standing which was in rocks with knee deep fast moving water. Then I maneuvered it to shallow water. It was a beauty. I grabbed the lure and shook it and the fish was released totally untouched and unharmed. Later Steve revealed he had snapped a pic of it as I got it to shallow water:



By far my nicest trout of the season. 
We went back and fished the mouth of the river. We each caught another nice smallmouth. And so it went for the next 1.5 hours. Just great fishing. My last cast of the day in the pool where I caught the big brown produced a nice rainbow.
Heading back next week.


----------



## tirolski

G.ski said:


> 9/24-Pepacton reservoir with Steve. Hard to believe summer is over. Pepacton is our favorite Sept/Oct bass and trout location. I was concerned by the change in weather to cool and dry but it was a beautiful day with a strong SW wind to start.
> We hiked out to our usual bass location. The first 2 hours were pretty dull. Steve caught a few small bass and my haul was a 5" perch and a 2.5" pig smallmouth.
> It's amazing how much confidence in lure selection affects fishing success. I just could not find a lure I liked. The wind was knocking down my casts and I was taking chances wading into deep unknown water just to get a decent cast. We were close to stopping to eat so I changed my lure from the plugs I was casting to a #4 Vibrax silver fox. I was going to use that in the river as we headed back to the car but I threw a few casts in the same places we had fished all morning. Bang the first nice smallmouth of the day. We got to the mouth of the river and we both landed a nice smallmouth. Then I landed a small brown trout. We got to the last pool at the bridge and I knew I would catch a trout. Bang a huge hit and I'm amazed to see a 24" roughly 5 lbs. brown on my line. Put up a great fight and I got it close to where I was standing which was in rocks with knee deep fast moving water. Then I maneuvered it to shallow water. It was a beauty. I grabbed the lure and shook it and the fish was released totally untouched and unharmed. Later Steve revealed he had snapped a pic of it as I got it to shallow water:
> View attachment 10563
> By far my nicest trout of the season.
> We went back and fished the mouth of the river. We each caught another nice smallmouth. And so it went for the next 1.5 hours. Just great fishing. My last cast of the day in the pool where I caught the big brown produced a nice rainbow.
> Heading back next week.


Nice ? 
Good luck fishin.


----------



## JTG

G.ski said:


> #4 Vibrax silver fox.


Congrats on the big brown, I’d love to catch something like that.

I’ve been filling out my tackle box and I recently picked up Blue Fox Classic Vibrax lures in #3, #4, and #5. I’ve been wondering how deep a water they are good for, and what I might catch with them.

We are visiting our son at Binghamton and we are going to fish for a couple hours tomorrow am on the Susquehanna. I’ll probably give the Vibrax a try!

I’m always struggling with my lure selection, and timing. One of these days I get something to bite on a top water lure, like the whopper plopper.

My most successful lure to date has been crankbait crawfish. The Rebel Nest Robber I picked up recently has been very successful. Grabbed three of these guys ? in an hour with it last time out.


----------



## JTG




----------



## G.ski

Nice!

Vibrax blue fox spinners are one of my go to lures. I usually use size 0-2 for streams and 3-5 for deeper water. I used the 4 because the river was very full and fast moving. I needed something heavy to keep the wind from knocking down my casts. Vibrax are good for that being metal and relatively heavy.


----------



## jasonwx

JTG said:


> View attachment 10567


Now this is a bass


----------



## JTG

jasonwx said:


> Now this is a bass
> View attachment 10570


Yuck Fou!

Yeah, I’ll catch one of those…..eventually.

The Susquehanna and Chenango didn’t deliver for me today. Hit 3 spots, I had one on that came off right before I landed it.

My son got a perch and a smallmouth.


----------



## G.ski

Nice bass!


----------



## tirolski

The salmon are running in parts of The UpState near the Big O.








						Salmon River Live Web Stream - Fat Nancy's Tackle Shop Pulaski, NY
					

Live webcam of Salmon River in Town of Pulaski, NY




					fatnancystackle.com


----------



## Ripitz

Bark Eater Pond, Keene, NY


----------



## JTG

So, I have to pick my son and his friend up in Binghamton tomorrow for fall break. Looks like we’ll do a little angling!

First stop for my son and I will be the Aqua-Terra Wilderness Area in Binghamton to try our hand at Large Mouth Bass and panfish in Aquaterra Pond.

After my son’s friend is ready we will start the drive back on 17 and stop for a while late afternoon at the Willowemoc Special Trout Fishing area right off the Hazel Comfort Station between Roscoe and Livingston Manor to try our hand at some trout fishing.

Hopefully I’ll have picture of fish to post tomorrow night…


----------



## G.ski

Lew Beach is another good spot on the Beaverkill.


----------



## JTG

Thanks. If nothing is hitting at Willowemoc we can shoot up there!


----------



## JTG

Success!

After the Lew Beach recommendation I suggested we skip Aquaterra and explore more around Willowemoc and Beaverkill. My son still wanted to check out Aquaterra, which wasn’t fruitful and took too much time. We ended up with less than an hour at Willowemoc, but it didn’t disappoint.


----------



## G.ski

That's a nice brown.


----------



## JTG

G.ski said:


> That's a nice brown.


Thanks. I’m sure Jason will repost his Yellowstone trout picture, remind me what a REAL fish looks like!  

It was nice to target a new fish and new area and come away with something decent.

Question G, because I’ve noted your posts about Fishkill Creek. You ever fish Wappingers Creek? My son and I fished up at Greenvale park for an hour before sunset tonight. He snagged a little small mouth, but we really didn’t have much time. Planning on going back to spend a few hours sometime this weekend.


----------



## G.ski

JTG said:


> Thanks. I’m sure Jason will repost his Yellowstone trout picture, remind me what a REAL fish looks like!
> 
> It was nice to target a new fish and new area and come away with something decent.
> 
> Question G, because I’ve noted your posts about Fishkill Creek. You ever fish Wappingers Creek? My son and I fished up at Greenvale park for an hour before sunset tonight. He snagged a little small mouth, but we really didn’t have much time. Planning on going back to spend a few hours sometime this weekend.


Years ago we fished Wappingers and had good luck with trout.


----------



## raisingarizona

Campgottagopee said:


> I never knew these were in my pond.View attachment 10292


These guys are really fun with an ultralight set up.


----------



## G.ski

10/15-East Branch with Steve. Beautiful day. Awesome rowing. Good company.

Lousy fishing. I boated one decent sized yellow perch. Steve hooked and lost a few fish we never saw. Fish just were not biting.

I think I'm done with using a rowboat during what remains of my fishing season. Maybe another day of wading locally and another trip to Pepacton. 

Soon the snow will fly.


----------



## JTG

Now that my son and I have gotten the trout bug we’ve started looking for stocked trout streams closer to home. Ripitz was nice enough to share a spot on Fishkill Creek that’s not public access. Nothing biting there, but a pretty spot to get your feet wet. Next time!

On the way home we hit the ever reliable pond close to our house. It seems to (almost) always deliver. Today was no exception, the bass were biting. I only caught one small one. I guess I have to accept that my son is just the better angler, always catching more and bigger fish. This guy was one of the bigger ones snagged in the pond to date.


----------



## jasonwx

JTG said:


> Now that my son and I have gotten the trout bug we’ve started looking for stocked trout streams closer to home. Ripitz was nice enough to share a spot on Fishkill Creek that’s not public access. Nothing biting there, but a pretty spot to get your feet wet. Next time!
> 
> On the way home we hit the ever reliable pond close to our house. It seems to (almost) always deliver. Today was no exception, the bass were biting. I only caught one small one. I guess I have to accept that my son is just the better angler, always catching more and bigger fish. This guy was one of the bigger ones snagged in the pond to date.
> 
> View attachment 10702


Nice fish but not as nice as mine?


----------



## DomB

On the north shore of Long Island, the bait fish and the baby blue fish (called snappers here) are literally jumping out of the LI sound by me. 

And typically the fishing on the South Shore is much better. The local fishing shop person told me that people are catching Tuna out of day party boats off of Rockaway (think of the bottom jaw of the fish when you look at a map of LI). 

Fishing for Tuna and stuff like that changes year to year, but from what I hear this is a very good year. I think around this time there is a fall run of fish. 

Happy hunting


----------



## DomB

And for the record, I consider myself a south shore guy. Grew up there. There is a weird thing on Long Island where you are much more likely to know people who live 20 minutes east or west of you than you are north/south. I think it goes back to pre auto era when so much of the commerce travel was tied to the costs. Long Island is like 20 miles wide at its wides point, so I have always found the lack of south/north cross pollination.


----------



## jasonwx

DomB said:


> And for the record, I consider myself a south shore guy. Grew up there. There is a weird thing on Long Island where you are much more likely to know people who live 20 minutes east or west of you than you are north/south. I think it goes back to pre auto era when so much of the commerce travel was tied to the costs. Long Island is like 20 miles wide at its wides point, so I have always found the lack of south/north cross pollination.


I used to go flounder fishing in shinnecock bay. Now the drive is too much


----------



## JTG

The big one that got away.

Yeah, that’s not really what anyone wants to see in Fish Tales. You want pics of lunkers. However, all fisherpeople have their tale of that one that got away, and this one will, no has, changed me and my fishing. So, this time around those of you interested in reading on are just going to get a story….





That right there is the spot that changed things for me. Growing up I had times where I’d fished, but I’ve never considered myself a fisherman. However, my son got into it a year ago and fishing is something that has helped he and I grow closer over the past 6 months or so…..and this is a favorite spot of ours on Fishkill Creek not but a half mile from the center of the City of Beacon that we’ve fished a half dozen times or so. Beautiful spot with waterfalls nearby that always delivers a variety of panfish and smallmouth Bass, not to mention river otter sightings, the place where my son and I first took to putting on waders or getting our feet wet. That in and of itself changed our fishing, which seems a more intimate experience when you find yourself IN the water, but I digress….

Right, I’m here to talk about that one, THE one, that got away. See, since we’ve been fishing that spot I’ve known that there are monsters in that deep corner there in that picture, away from the bluegill, sunnies and smallmouth. From the first time we fished that spot one June morning we could see big fish hitting on the surface, and twice I actually eyeballed said monsters in the water. So, while my son always has fun further upstream with those other fish I always focus on that corner, that damned corner, and the monsters lurking below the surface. This last time out wasn’t much different than others, him catching a dozen of those other fish (including a nice 14 inch smallmouth, no pic) while I, AGAIN, was coming up empty in that damned corner.

Actually, as we headed to that spot this particular morning I even said to my son….if we don’t catch something in that corner today I’m giving up on it, having grown tired of coming up empty there. Perhaps monsters ARE just a figment of our imagination? 

After an hour and a half this particular morning it wasn’t going well. Just as I was changing out to my Whopper Plopper 75 my son came over to say it was time to move upstream for a change of scenery. “Yeah, yeah….just a couple more casts”, which is never just a couple more, as he gets impatient….

Then, it happened. A perfect cast right by the trees there in the water and something hits, something BIG. Before I really know what’s happening whatever it was headed deep, putting a SERIOUS bend on my medium-heavy rod. Not knowing what to do with a fish as big as this monster had to be I fumbled the ball, so to speak. After a short fight with me probably doing everything wrong the monster was gone. F#%k!….but boy was that an exhilarating moment.

So, what do I do with that, and how has it changed me? Well, I’m sure as heck NOT giving up on that corner. The monsters ARE there, and I now know I CAN hook them….and from here on I’ll do whatever it takes to land one of them. How do I do that? Simple. I invest the time to become a better angler, from getting myself better tackle, to learning how to make better bait choices and how to work them, to brushing up on what to do when you do hook into a monster, and actually educating myself about the fish I’m trying to catch. In other words, that moment has inspired me to stop f#%king around, to put on my big boys pants, and to become a real fisherman. 

I will follow this story up with a picture of a monster from that corner some day, mark my words! There are big bass there looking to fatten up for winter and when I land one of them it’s going to be a fish even Jason would approve of, I can feel it in my bones…


----------



## jasonwx

Great story jtg!!
All of my giant bass were caught in fla. I am fortunate that my in laws have a place right on a lake and canal system. I use a cheap Walmart rod and a spinner bait with a yellow skirt. I keep a extra bait in my pocket and a pocket knife and small rag. 

Hopefully will be there this winter and will be targeting peacock bass and snakeheads. Both are extremely aggressive and exciting. Yea I will be upgrading my equipment for theses species. 

Tight lines!!


----------



## Ripitz

jasonwx said:


> Great story jtg!!


I can’t help but wonder, who hooked who?


----------



## Campgottagopee

JTG said:


> However, my son got into it a year ago and fishing is something that has helped he and I grow closer


Good for you guys!!

I have such fond and vivid memories of fishing with my dad and grandfather. You're creating memories for a lifetime.


----------



## JTG

Campgottagopee said:


> Good for you guys!!
> 
> I have such fond and vivid memories of fishing with my dad and grandfather. You're creating memories for a lifetime.



Yeah, it’s pretty cool. This brown was a nice moment, helping him land his first trout. He was stoked, and it was special for me to share it with him.


----------



## JTG

That monster is taunting me! He lives right under that arch. So glassy, I can see his wake when he swims near the surface. I’ll beat him though. I can get out on that big tree, so next time out I’ll tip a line right on top of him. But what bait to use? Maybe a shad or minnow, or perhaps rubber worm?

Grrrrr…..


----------



## JTG

Ripitz said:


> I can’t help but wonder, who hooked who?


He’s got me…..hook, line, and sinker!


----------



## Campgottagopee

JTG said:


> But what bait to use?


Fly? 
Many years ago I was really into fly fishing. I'd go with my uncle for native brookies in the Dacks. Twas more like hunting.


----------



## JTG

Campgottagopee said:


> Fly?
> Many years ago I was really into fly fishing. I'd go with my uncle for native brookies in the Dacks. Twas more like hunting.


Yeah, fly fishing is the next rabbit hole. Those trout are wily, we were lucky to catch a nice one first time out. Probably all down hill from that.

I suppose there’s no reason a Bass wouldn’t go for a tasty fly on the surface….I picked up a bunch cheap at a flea market on the Cape recently.


----------



## Ripitz

JTG said:


> But what bait to use? Maybe a shad or minnow, or perhaps rubber worm?


Drowning mouse


----------



## JTG

Ripitz said:


> Drowning mouse


I was just reading about mouse lures last night….


----------



## jasonwx

Campgottagopee said:


> Fly?
> Many years ago I was really into fly fishing. I'd go with my uncle for native brookies in the Dacks. Twas more like hunting.


I used fly fish for bass and pan fish. Need to start doing that again. Little poopers , so much fun

I like top water action, for me it’s all about the strike


----------



## Ripitz

JTG said:


> I was just reading about mouse lures last night….


When I lived in Cooke City some guys came to the General Store to have their catch weighed on the certified scale. I don’t remember the size (it was something crazy like 30 pounds) but I remember it was a monster Lake Trout. The story goes, they rowed out to the middle of Beartooth Lake and set a live mouse with a hook on a floating board and yanked him off. They said after a couple nibbles from some small fish the monster struck, taking the whole thing. Some fly guys had luck with drowning mouse made from a rabbit’s foot in the deep holes of the Clarks Fork Canyon. I never had luck with them. Always had trouble trying to cast heavy lures with a fly rod. They say that’s how you catch the monsters though.


----------



## JTG

jasonwx said:


> I like top water action, for me it’s all about the strike


Oh, for f#%k’s sake….when I finally catch my monster, and it’s not with a massive top water strike, it STILL won’t be good enough for you!? 

At least I have the baitcaster dialed in with the perfect amount of line to drop top water lures right on his house without getting hung up on the trees.


----------



## tirolski

JTG said:


> The big one that got away.
> See, since we’ve been fishing that spot I’ve known that there are monsters in that deep corner there in that picture, away from the bluegill, sunnies and smallmouth. From the first time we fished that spot one June morning we could see big fish hitting on the surface, and twice I actually eyeballed said monsters in the water.
> After an hour and a half this particular morning it wasn’t going well. Just as I was changing out to my Whopper Plopper 75 my son came over to say it was time to move upstream for a change of scenery. “Yeah, yeah….just a couple more casts”, which is never just a couple more, as he gets impatient….
> Then, it happened. A perfect cast right by the trees there in the water and something hits, something BIG.
> 
> I will follow this story up with a picture of a monster from that corner some day, mark my words! There are big bass there looking to fatten up for winter and when I land one of them it’s going to be a fish even Jason would approve of, I can feel it in my bones…



Hula poppers and jitterbugs are fun topwaters ta use for bass and work.
The stiller the water the better.
Good luck, have fun.


----------



## JTG

tirolski said:


> Hula poppers and jitterbugs are fun topwaters ta use for bass and work.
> The stiller the water the better.
> Good luck, have fun.


I just ordered a set of hula poppers. The Whopper Plopper 75 is small enough to work like a popper as well. Thanks!


----------



## Ripitz

Huge sunfish weighing up to two tonnes found off coast of Ceuta — Guardian US
					

A 3.2-metre long sunfish found tangled in tuna fishing nets in the Mediterranean could weigh 2000kg, according to experts




					apple.news


----------



## jasonwx

About 40 years ago my dad saw a add for fishing guide. Salmon fishing on lake George ?. So he booked the guy and invited my friends. We went up the night before, had dinner at the log jam. Of course he ordered the salmon. My friends went crazy saying it will jinx the trip. Well it did. We caught 2 fish the most expensive salmon in the world?


----------



## Huezee

Ripitz said:


> Wow, that’s so fucked up


Ugh, that is sickening.


----------



## tirolski

Huezee said:


> Ugh, that is sickening.


Folks have refined it now due to rules.
Used to fish the Salmon River after snaggin was outlawed. Had fun and caught some cohos,
Folks still obliterate the fish runnin upstream. Some look like pin cushions.
It’s worse in Oz as they have the dam there and the salmon can’t get any farther upstream.


----------



## Ripitz

When nightmares are real: Photo shows a parasite that ate – and then replaced – a fish's tongue — USA TODAY
					

A Texas state park shared a seemingly unreal photo of a fish whose tongue was eaten by a parasite – and then the parasite replaced the organ.




					apple.news


----------



## G.ski

11/7-solo at the East Branch on the special regulations stretch of the river. Last day of fishing 2021 for me. Had not been here since early May. I was concerned that there would be impassable brush and bramble growth due to the wet summer.
Should have brought my machete. I tried several entrances to get to my downstream stretch from Brady's Bend and was unsuccessful. A few times I got into brush so tall I almost lost my bearings. 
So I gave up on that plan and decided that travelling in the river was the only way to fish today. I pushed my way through more brush to get to the riverbank and now I'm confronted with very high and fast moving water. I thought that I should give up while I'm ahead but of course ignored my intuition and moved towards the bank. I use this spot often to get in the water, it is a nice mid-thigh deep sheltered pool with a railroad tie protecting it from the current. All I have to do is step over the railroad tie onto a hard gravelly bottom. I get one leg over the tie and suddenly it sinks! The heavy rains have undermined the tie and it's teetering like a see saw. The momentary loss of balance lead to a wader leg and boot full of water. Cold water! My water filled left leg felt like walking with cement in there. Spent the rest of my time drying off and dumping water out of my waders. I think I made about 3 casts total. 
lol the Gods have spoken. Skiing is here heading to K tomorrow.


----------



## tirolski

Sometimes fish win.
Have fun skiing.


----------



## G.ski

tirolski said:


> Sometimes fish win.
> Have fun skiing.


Indeed!

Since I pull many fish out of the water during fishing season it is totally fair that I have to swim with the fish once each year.


----------



## JTG

So, slated for a full (and chilly) day of fishing for trout in the Riscoe/Livingston Manor area Saturday. Def will head back to Willowemoc, and we’ll have a chance to check out Lew Beach (Beaver Kill). We should have time to explore a bit more. Anyone have any other recommendations? Looking at maybe Mongaup Creek or Russel Brook for some quality wild trout. Any cold water trout fishing advice?

If there’s any other good spots for bass or anything else in the vicinity we could check that out as well.


----------



## Brownski

get a burger at Roscoe diner. They have chargers so you can top off your Tesla while you’re there too


----------



## Ripitz

JTG said:


> So, slated for a full (and chilly) day of fishing for trout in the Riscoe/Livingston Manor area Saturday. Def will head back to Willowemoc, and we’ll have a chance to check out Lew Beach (Beaver Kill). We should have time to explore a bit more. Anyone have any other recommendations? Looking at maybe Mongaup Creek or Russel Brook for some quality wild trout. Any cold water trout fishing advice?
> 
> If there’s any other good spots for bass or anything else in the vicinity we could check that out as well.


I hear good things about the fly fishing museum over there. Maybe check that out if you get tired of being skunked.


----------



## JTG

Ripitz said:


> I hear good things about the fly fishing museum over there. Maybe check that out if you get tired of being skunked.


Yee of little faith!


----------



## G.ski

Roscoe diner and fly fishing museum both good calls. 

Never fished that area past mid-October no idea how the fish bite this time of year.

Enjoy glad someone is still fishing in fresh water.


----------



## tirolski

G.ski said:


> Roscoe diner and fly fishing museum both good calls.
> 
> Never fished that area past mid-October no idea how the fish bite this time of year.
> 
> Enjoy glad someone is still fishing in fresh water.


This lady provides good info on Salmon River fishin in The Upstate.


----------



## JTG

Ahh….fuk u, Rip!

He’s not the biggest, but spot three has a perfect shelf, I think there will be more! Skunked no more!!


JTG said:


> Yee of little faith!


----------



## Ripitz

JTG said:


> Ahh….fuk u, Rip!
> 
> He’s not the biggest, but spot three has a perfect shelf, I think there will be more! Skunked no more!!


Hey @jasonwx, what’s the official size here?


----------



## JTG

Ripitz said:


> Hey @jasonwx, what’s the official size here?


Bigger than any trout he’s caught in late November?


----------



## jasonwx

That’s a good looking trout
But this is a trout ???


----------



## raisingarizona

Arizona bass fishing looks legit. I think I want a boat.


----------



## JTG

jasonwx said:


> That’s a good looking trout
> But this is a trout ???
> 
> View attachment 11021


Is that a better fish than my brown (first trout btw)? Yes, but a better story? A fishing trip report is in order. It’s a lengthy report, move along if you don’t want to invest time reading my story. This is as much to memorialize the best day my son and I have had fishing than it is for your reading pleasure.

You all may or may not have seen by now that my son is a freshman at Binghamton U. This fall we had the pleasure of going to Family Weekend. The displeasure was a bs “improper lane change” ticket. As we know, you always plead “not guilty” if you can stomach a trip to local court. Since my son is at Binghamton that’s a trip I could stomach. Hopefully a court date could be combined with meeting up with my son for some fishing. The court date was set for November 19. Later than I’d have preferred, but a Friday. So I planned to hit court on Friday, get a hotel in the Livingston Manor area Friday night, and spend the day fishing for trout with my son Saturday.

Court went ok. Rather than two points, a $150 fine, and a $93 surcharge I was offered the option to take an online class. $200 fee, take the six hour course, ticket thrown out. Six hours sucks, but it will probably get me a discount on my car insurance, so…eh. Court done, I hooked up with my son, we hit Dicks for some supplies, Outback for dinner, then off to the hotel! BTW, wouldn’t have expected it, but this smoked Old Fashioned made with cinnamon pecan bitters…excellent, once the smoke cleared.



On the plus side our lodging for the night was Callicoon Hills Resort. Now, if you’ve been across 17 it appears, at least to me (and I travelled it often back in forth to Geneseo during college), before my son and I got into fishing, that places like Livingston Manor and Roscoe are sleepy hamlets in the middle of nowhere. Well, Callicoon Center, home to Callicoon Hills, is 8 miles from the middle of nowhere. Of course once you get into fishing places like Roscoe and Livingston Manor take on new meaning. Callicoon Hills/Callicoon Center, sleepier than sleepy as it may be, happens to be smack dab in the middle of a plethora of potential fishing objectives.

A word about Callicoon Hills resort. It’s a nice place, albeit hipster central in the middle of nowhere. Upon check in you get your choice from a bucket of cans of chilled wine. First time I’ve seen that. The lodgings are hipster chic cabin-like. Pretty nice restaurant that was packed. A beer garden/breakfast spot with jazzy French Musak playing. Said Muzak was right up Charles and Lolita’s alley I’m sure. Who are Charles and Lolita you ask? Well, they were a couple I met by the fire pit Friday night, come from NYC, met at Bard, Lolita hails from Paris originally, they happen to be shopping for a “place in the country”, as that seems to be the de riguere thing for NYC folks to do these day. Mind you, they don’t fish, ski, hike, or do much that the area seems to offer, but good for them. Yeah, I’m that chatty guy you meet by a fire pit, but I digress…point being, the place was really nice.

With the plus side (Callicoon Hills)…there came a minus, back to that later in November than I’d have liked. The forecast Friday night was chilly, and when we woke up it was colder than expected. Not exactly ideal, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Despite the cold forecast we spent the night before formulating a plan for Saturday. Unbeknownst to me when I booked hotel, the North Branch Callocoon Creek abuts the Callocoon Hills property with convenient direct access past their event barn space, with a long stretch of public access downstream from there. A moonlight perusal showed that it might have promise as stop #1 in the morning. From there we’d head back up to Roscoe and the fabled Junction Pool at the confluence of the Beaverkill and Willowemoc as stop #2. From there it would back to the Hazel Comfort Station on 17 en route to Livingston Manor. The Willowemoc at Hazel was the site of our first trout fishing experience, my son having landed a nice brown in the short 45 minutes we had that day, so this was definitely stop #3. From there the plan was to head up to Lew Beach, if we had time (we didn’t). In addition to planning our spots I spent some time looking up public access rights in those areas, just to make sure we didn’t run afoul of anyone. The DEC Trout locator map is an extremely useful tool.

For those that ski but don’t fish….fishing can require a quiver, more so than skiing. For this day with my son I picked up a travel fly rod setup and some supplies to go with, so we also spent some time Friday night getting familiar with that. The quiver is now four, two spinners, a baitcaster, and a fly rod. All in all, Saturday was shaping up as a fun day!

As previously mentioned, Saturday dawned frostier than expected at 24 degrees, which dampened our enthusiasm to fish the crack of dawn. So a 7am breakfast of shirred eggs with Purple Haze goat cheese and a latte it was, chatting with Charles and Lolita about the properties they’d be looking at that day. From there, before gearing up and packing the car, we decided to walk past the barn and scope out Callicoon Creek. In the light of day it didn’t have the promise the moonlight hinted at the night before. Narrow and shallow, with no fish in site, not good. Not ones to give up easily we drove down the road a mile to see if things opened up more in the public access. They didn’t really, but we still scouted down stream some more. We did find a small deep pool at the foot of a riffle that seemed like exactly the kind of place a trout would love, but it wasn’t worth fishing it was so small. Scratch off stop #1. So back to the hotel it was to gear up, check out, and head to stop # 2.

As one would expect of Trout Town USA, stop #2 looked to have promise.





While my son worked down the Beaverkill a bit I messed with my first fly rod casts. It’s ahhh….gonna take some practice. The Beaverkill was moving fast so it wasn’t too long before we moved upstream to Junction Pool for deeper waters. Junction Pool delivered on that, but it didn’t deliver any fish. Was it too early to think Rip would be right, and we would be skunked on the day? By all recent reports the conditions out there are definitely Not Fatty, nothing seems to be biting right now. Fish or no fish the day has been fun so far, and hope was not lost just yet. We decided to move on to stop #3, the stop my son was most excited about. On the way out of Junction Pool things got less fun. Getting back into the water to cross over to the car my son slipped/tripped on a log. Yup, in the drink, waders swamped, soaked to the bone. It was still around 35 degrees. He was not a happy camper. Given the temps and his layering he was wearing all the clothes he had. Age and wisdom and all…I had enough clothes with me to cover him from base layer to sweatshirt (luckily his jacket had been safe), so after cranking the heat in the car and him getting changed and warmed we got past that snafu, then on to Hazel Comfort and the Willowemoc at stop #3.

The Hazel Comfort Station on Rt. 17 is a pretty cool spot. A DEC designated special trout fishing area, with the convenience of being at a rest stop. Despite the convenience of it, the two times we’ve been there this fall we haven’t seen another soul fishing. Perhaps it’s a madhouse other times, we’ll find out next spring. The creek in this area has a lot of variety, with shallower areas of river rock, some sandy stretches, and numerous deep pools next to sheer rock faces, with rocky ledges in the water. We started in the area we first found success, a sandy bottom with a deep pool next to a 12 foot rock face with a rope swing. Nothing biting there we decided to move upstream a bit. After a bit, throwing a few casts here or there, nothing biting, things weren’t looking great, as Rip suspected would be the case. But there….in the distance just a bit further upstream….it had a different look, glassy, calm. Hadn’t seen that anywhere yet, so we’d push on to check it out before exploring the areas downstream of the rest area.

The effort paid off. Wide, deep, promising. My son started fishing the deepest pool and got a few nibbles. Me, I could see the spot immediately, a deep channel running along a rock shelf. Casting downstream, pulling a fly-spinner combination back up the channel, netted a quick hit and scored me my first ever trout.



It’s not a Jason trout, but given the time of year, temps, and recent reports in the area I’ll take it! We continued to work this area for most of the afternoon. I had another on that got loose, we both had several nibbles, but we didn’t land anything else….but we weren’t skunked completely on the day! This will be one of our favorite trout fishing spots moving forward. Where my son is standing there’s a series of ledges starting at 2’ deep, stepping down to 4’, stepping down yet again to ???, and the channel I worked for the brown. The pool he’s fishing past the channel is wide and deep. Hard to imagine a better spot for trout.






As the light waned we worked our way downstream of the rest stop to scout spots for future trips. All in all it was a really fun day, and as much as I enjoyed the fishing it was quality time with my son that made the day.


----------



## JTG

Along the way I discovered this.





I mean, what could be better given the circumstances? Alas, it’s not very good….


----------



## jasonwx

JTG said:


> Along the way I discovered this.
> 
> View attachment 11042
> 
> I mean, what could be better given the circumstances? Alas, it’s not very good….


Uncle uncle
You win!!!!


----------



## jasonwx

JTG said:


> Along the way I discovered this.
> 
> View attachment 11042
> 
> I mean, what could be better given the circumstances? Alas, it’s not very good….


Uncle uncle
You win!!!!


----------



## tirolski

JTG said:


> This is as much to memorialize the best day my son and I have had fishing...
> As previously mentioned, Saturday dawned frostier than expected at 24 degrees, which dampened our enthusiasm to fish the crack of dawn.
> The effort paid off. .. Casting downstream, pulling a fly-spinner combination back up the channel, netted a quick hit and scored me my first ever trout.
> All in all it was a really fun day, and as much as I enjoyed the fishing it was quality time with my son that made the day.


Priceless ?
I went fishing out of my boat in the winter for a few years. 
Ya gotta bundle up but they’ll bite.


----------



## Ripitz

That trout is a beauty. You are definitely hooked now! What a cool way to spend time with your son. I like how you are figuring it out together. It is an art as much as it is a science. For the record I always had faith in you. Maybe the full moon helped you out.?


----------



## Face4Me

JTG said:


> A fishing trip report is in order. It’s a lengthy report, move along if you don’t want to invest time reading my story. This is as much to memorialize the best day my son and I have had fishing than it is for your reading pleasure.


Don't underestimate the importance of this ...

When my son was younger, we took three cross-country camping trips together ... the first when he was 11, the second when he was 13, and the third when he was 15. We dubbed those trips our Excellent Adventure, The Bogus Journey and The Fantastic Voyage. 

I had created a blog so that we could document the trips as we went, so that my family and friends could follow along on our adventures. He's 21 now, and I imagine the days of our big adventures together are behind us, but I often go back and read through those posts recalling the experiences we shared. 

After reading your post, I went back and dusted off my blog for a refresher ... I did the same a few weeks ago after reading Gorgonzola's posts about his recent trip through the Southwest ... As mentioned in another post ... these experiences are priceless!!!


----------



## JTG

I ain’t gonna lie…..it’s the beginning of the ski season but I’m watching as much trout porn as ski porn, currently. Enjoy the ski season whilst looking forward to the trout season!


----------



## tirolski

JTG said:


> I ain’t gonna lie…..it’s the beginning of the ski season but I’m watching as much trout porn as ski porn, currently. Enjoy the ski season whilst looking forward to the trout season!


This dude’s site might interest ya.
He uses a boat but fly fishes and/or jigs for em.
He’s near Ithaca but moves around.





Seneca Lake 12/13 + Cayuga Lake 12/14 – Finger Lakes Angling Zone







fingerlakesanglingzone.com


----------



## jasonwx

First one of the trip



Second one


----------



## JTG

My son caught a bass smaller than that first one in a housing development pond in Jax, so you can’t claim SMALLER fish, too!

Of course…..no pics, did’n happen..so, there’s that.

My son and I fished for about 3 hours on Fishkill Creek near Madam Brett this afternoon. Waders and boots for Christmas!! Yeah…we caught squat. Winter fishing ain’t for me, even if the air temp warms. However, the time spent in the current with my son was well worth the investment, fish or not. We talked about spring and the upcoming trout season….


----------



## tirolski

JTG said:


> My son and I fished for about 3 hours on Fishkill Creek near Madam Brett this afternoon. Waders and boots for Christmas!! Yeah… the time spent in the current with my son was well worth the investment, fish or not. We talked about spring and the upcoming trout season….


_"Many men go fishing their entire lives without knowing it isn't fish they're after_" - H.D. Thoreau


----------



## Campgottagopee

jasonwx said:


> First one of the trip
> View attachment 11584
> Second one
> View attachment 11585


RT on!


----------



## tirolski

Nice fish.
Nice fish story.
Looks like he caught casting from the pier before she iced up.








Avid angler lands leviathan laker: ‘Biggest lake trout of my life!’


John Corbett catches monster lake trout from shore on Skaneateles Lake




www.newyorkupstate.com


----------



## tirolski

There’s $ for NY Charter captains on the Big O impacted by the vid. 


			Great Lakes Fisheries Relief Program


----------



## jasonwx

The fish were biting today


----------



## jasonwx

The holy grail of bass fishing 
The peacock bass


----------



## Campgottagopee

jasonwx said:


> The holy grail of bass fishing
> The peacock bass
> View attachment 13707View attachment 13708


Awesome!
Looking forward to the ice getting off my pond....lol


----------



## jasonwx

Campgottagopee said:


> Awesome!
> Looking forward to the ice getting off my pond....lol


Tremendous fishing trip


----------



## Harvey

Balance


----------



## tirolski

Kayak fishing thread.
Be careful out there.
Water’s cold now.








						KAYAKERS - DON'T BE F@$KING STUPID
					

Hit one of the Finger Lakes this morning on the Hobie kayak and there was another kayaker at the launch when I got there. Wind was out of the sourh, so there was a decent chop to the water. He had an off-brand sit on top kayak with an iPilot unit bolted to some 2 by lumber strapped to the bow. He...




					www.lakeontariounited.com


----------



## JTG

The need to be in Johnson City on Friday afforded me another opportunity to hook up with my son (and one of his friends) in Binghamton and do some trout fishing today.

No, it’s not trout season yet, with the “season” opening next week. I wasn’t aware that the rule to allow catch and release/artificial lure trout fishing from Oct. 16 to March 31 just changed last year. I thought it was odd when someone stopped and asked me this morning if they opened trout season early….but it seems a lot of anglers don’t know the rules changed to allow year round trout fishing on inland streams.

Good, less fishing pressure to compete with. We saw three other fishermen in our 6 hours today.

While the weather wasn’t ideal (on the day we saw rain, snow, sun, graupel…at times really cold, and others not), the location and fishing was. Some digging got me to the March stocking schedule for the Bath Hatchery. On Friday they stocked 3,000 brown trout (mostly yearlings, but some 2 year olds) in the Nanticoke Creek around Maine, NY. I had a few public access areas on the creek planned, but we ended up staying at the first stop all day.










Being new to trout fishing and never having fished after a stocking, I was hoping it would be like shooting fish in a barrel when we got there. Sometimes things work out the way you hope they will. Between the three of us we caught more than 50 trout on the day. Most of them were yearlings from yesterdays stocking, but there were a few bigger fish on the day.









All in all a really fun day!


----------



## raisingarizona

Beauties


----------



## jasonwx

Wow!!!
Fantastic outing and a good size fish. 

Not as big as the Montana trout or the bass but still nice. 😜😎🤣


----------



## JTG

Much thanks to Ripitz for walking his property with me and showing me his spots on Fishkill Creek. Caught a nice brown!


----------



## jasonwx

That’s a real beauty.
I don’t jack shit about trout fishing. Are you fly fishing or spinning rod. Lures or bait?

Edit: I just noticed the spinning rod.


----------



## JTG

I had the fly rod out today as well, but I’m better with the spinning gear…for now. Nothing was hitting the surface today anyway, and the tandem rig on the fly rod wasn’t working. A streamer might have worked better, only got that brown after I switched to a lure that ran deeper. Fun afternoon!


----------



## tirolski

JTG said:


> Much thanks to Ripitz for walking his property with me and showing me his spots on Fishkill Creek. Caught a nice brown!


Nice 👍
Trout stream fishing is beautiful as they need clean, cool, oxygenated water for life.

Used to troll along the shore of the Big O off the Land of Oz (Oswego) in the spring as the big piggy browns would come in to shallow water to gorge on little fish as things warmed up. They’d get so fat they looked like footballs.
Have yet to get one as big as the one in this pic but Miss em has given me some tips before.








Nice Oswego Brown


From a family outing this morning.... Sent from my SM-G950U using Lake Ontario United mobile app




www.lakeontariounited.com





Wikipedia.
_Dutch settlers__ called it Vis Kill (Dutch for "fish creek"[27]) for the abundant fish in the stream.[28] When control of the area passed to the English, it was Anglicized to Fishkill Creek ("creek" being technically redundant, as kill is the Dutch word for creek)._


----------



## Ripitz

JTG said:


> Much thanks to Ripitz for walking his property with me and showing me his spots on Fishkill Creek. Caught a nice brown!
> 
> View attachment 14419


It was fun hanging out. I’m glad you hooked one!


----------



## tirolski

Going to and coming back from Gore Tuesday to ski we went over Scriba Creek that flows into Oneida Lake in The UpState & missed this.








Native anglers spear walleye near Oneida Lake spawn site, launching fight over indigenous fishing rights


Conservationists, anglers, state regulators, and Native Americans are embroiled in a conflict over the legal gray area involving Native American fishing rights.




www.newyorkupstate.com


----------



## Brownski

tirolski said:


> Going to and coming back from Gore Tuesday to ski we went over Scriba Creek that flows into Oneida Lake in The UpState & missed this.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Native anglers spear walleye near Oneida Lake spawn site, launching fight over indigenous fishing rights
> 
> 
> Conservationists, anglers, state regulators, and Native Americans are embroiled in a conflict over the legal gray area involving Native American fishing rights.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.newyorkupstate.com


Appears to be open and shut case to me. If they want things to change, they should show up to a council meeting and respectfully ask them to enact their own limits. And the state should offer an apology and some kind of compensation for infringing on their rights.


----------



## Ripitz

There’s something fishy about this story.


----------



## tirolski

Ripitz said:


> There’s something fishy about this story.


There’s folks trying to restore Atlantic Salmon in Fish Creek.
It too comes out of The Tug.




__





Atlantic Salmon Fish Creek Club


Atlantic Salmon restoration efforts by a club in the Oswego River system



fishcreeksalmon.org


----------



## tirolski

First folks put in dams then a fish hatchery.
Now they just put in barriers for vehicles.








State barricades parking around Oneida Fish Hatchery after spearfishing dust-up


DEC blocks parking at Oneida Fish Hatchery in Constantia




www.newyorkupstate.com


----------



## tirolski

We talked fishing after golfing today.
Friend was humble bragging about his 3yo grandson's nice catch recently.



They let the little kids fish at the hatchery on some days.
It snowed earlier that day and nobody else showed up but them.
They bit.


----------



## JTG

Catching the Blue Gill on the fly line…..



…..made good bait for a decent Bass!


----------



## jasonwx

JTG said:


> Catching the Blue Gill on the fly line…..
> View attachment 15118
> …..made good bait for a decent Bass!
> View attachment 15119


Fantastic


----------



## jasonwx

This was caught on the cape this past Saturday


----------



## JTG

Nice! I booked a fishing charter on the Cape for Sunday with my son and his friends. Hopefully I can finally catch a fish the size of which you might respect!


----------



## JTG

Number 2 on baby Blue Gill!


----------



## JTG

#3


----------



## jasonwx

is that a public pond?


----------



## JTG

Yes…..shhhhhhhhh!


----------



## Campgottagopee

Hitting our honey hole Sunday for the first time this year. 
I'll try to take some pics.


----------



## Ripitz

Campgottagopee said:


> Hitting our honey hole Sunday for the first time this year.
> I'll try to take some pics.


A wise man once said, “It’s not an airport, no need to announce your departure.”


----------



## Harvey

Ripitz said:


> A wise man once said, “It’s not an airport, no need to announce your departure.”



Fish stoke welcome.


----------



## JTG

Fun day on the Cape Cod Bay!












We caught Stripers (1 keeper), Flounder (16 keepers), a Skate, a crab, a couple small garbage fish, and then these….




Somehow I became the squid whisperer, hauling in four, which was unusual according to first mate Caleb!


----------



## jasonwx

Looks like a great trip!!!!
What did you catch the stripers on?


----------



## JTG

We were jigging for Striped Bass. Heavy jigs that we worked along the bottom, to mimic crab.


----------



## Campgottagopee

We went fishing. Caught a zillion little ones but man was it fun. They were pretty spunky too.


----------



## tirolski

Dude caught a big catfish from his kayak in the Black River and broke the state record.
Released it.


https://www.wwnytv.com/2022/05/09/watertown-man-reels-record-breaking-catfish/


----------



## JTG

Did some bank fishing in the Hudson last night from 7-11pm, using bloodworms and night crawlers. Caught three catfish and a small eel. While the eel still has some movement we fished him as live bait, until we turned him into cut bait. Got nothing on the eel.


----------



## jasonwx

I used to fish the Hudson near the tz. 
Even caught a a couple of 36” strippers. 
But mostly nasty eels. 
Just cut the line they are so gross


----------



## Brownski

jasonwx said:


> ust cut the line they are so gross


I second that


----------



## JTG

Yeah, it was kind of gross….slimy-er than a fish, but they make good bait. Back in my youth, when we had a boat in Verplank, the eel we pulled up baited the crab traps. I’ve seen video of live eel catching big stripers.

Next spring we’ll get out when the stripers start running……


----------



## Campgottagopee

CNY and the Finger Lakes Region deliver.









Angler Catches 8-Pound, 5.8-Ounce Potential New York State Record Smallmouth Bass


On June 15, Thomas Russell boated an 8-pound, 5.8-ounce smallmouth bass while fishing at Cayuga Lake. It stands to set a new state record.




www.fieldandstream.com


----------



## Ripitz

Unreal.








						Two Albertan Anglers Catch a 700-Pound Sturgeon on Their First Trip Out — Outdoor Life
					

The fish was released back into the river after it was measured and tagged




					apple.news


----------



## tirolski

Ripitz said:


> Unreal.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Two Albertan Anglers Catch a 700-Pound Sturgeon on Their First Trip Out — Outdoor Life
> 
> 
> The fish was released back into the river after it was measured and tagged
> 
> 
> 
> 
> apple.news


There are Atlantic and Lake Sturgeon in The Upstate’s water.
Can’t target or keep them.
Some are huge and old.








						Huge, 14-foot Atlantic sturgeon spotted in Hudson River
					

They saw it using a special sonar system last summer.




					www.newyorkupstate.com
				












						Record-sized fish: Cornell researchers net sturgeon more than 6 feet long on Oneida Lake
					

It took two men to get it into the boat.




					www.syracuse.com


----------



## JTG

Found a new pond. Public, but nobody fishes it. Lots of hungry, aggressive, large mouth bass. We’ve been using mostly top water or soft plastic frogs.






A top water mouse was among our new lures, they went after that, too.



Honestly, at this pond they go after anything, but weed free rigging is necessary.


----------



## jasonwx

JTG said:


> Found a new pond. Public, but nobody fishes it. Lots of hungry, aggressive, large mouth bass. We’ve been using mostly top water or soft plastic frogs.
> View attachment 15284
> View attachment 15285
> A top water mouse was among our new lures, they went after that, too.
> View attachment 15286
> Honestly, at this pond they go after anything, but weed free rigging is necessary.


That is impressive!!!! Rockland County is just to developed , most ponds are choked with algae or loaded with carp..


----------



## JTG

Went out on my brother’s boat Sunday, trolled a little down around West Point. 







Didn’t catch anything, but there were fish hitting on the surface.

My son wanted to try his hand at catching Carp from the docks at the marina. He was more successful….



He’s going fishing for Carp again tonight….


----------



## jasonwx

Haven’t caught a decent fish in weeks
Carp can be fun. But so damn invasive.


----------



## Brownski

How does carp taste? Does anybody eat it?


----------



## jasonwx

Brownski said:


> How does carp taste? Does anybody eat it?


if you smoke it, it's edible..that said there are 1.5 gizillion bones per fish.. best used as fertilizer..


----------



## Sbob

jasonwx said:


> if you smoke it, it's edible..that said there are 1.5 gizillion bones per fish.. best used as fertilizer..


That sounds like what they say about Shad . Nail it to a board, smoke it, throw away the fish and eat the board.


----------



## JTG

My son did head out this afternoon to fish for Carp again, this time in the tidal portion of the Fishkill Creek.

He hooked into a huge one, but it ran hard on him and broke off. He almost landed a small one, but it flipped off the hook at the last second.

What did he catch, in the brackish waters where the Fishkill Creek meets the Hudson?

A huge Goldfish!



But not just any huge estuary Goldfish…….it was a one-eyed, huge estuary Goldfish!

I shit you not…..


----------



## jasonwx

wild catch!!!!
gold fish are also invasive. that looks like a standard pet store fish..


----------



## gorgonzola

carp=goldfish=koi

bowfishing for carp was big thing in south jersey, seen 'em land some monsters


----------



## Ripitz

JTG said:


> My son did head out this afternoon to fish for Carp again, this time in the tidal portion of the Fishkill Creek.
> 
> He hooked into a huge one, but it ran hard on him and broke off. He almost landed a small one, but it flipped off the hook at the last second.
> 
> What did he catch, in the brackish waters where the Fishkill Creek meets the Hudson?
> 
> A huge Goldfish!
> View attachment 15349
> But not just any huge estuary Goldfish…….it was a one-eyed, huge estuary Goldfish!
> 
> I shit you not…..
> 
> View attachment 15355


Kill it. 

When I was kid I saw one in the creek by my house. When I told everyone, nobody believed me. Damn grownups.


----------



## tirolski

A friend landed this big smallie fishing a top water popper with his son the other day.


----------



## JTG

Now there’s a pepper fish. 5 pounder, Bay Lake, Florida.

The Nitro bass boat kicked as, too!


----------



## JTG

tirolski said:


> A friend landed this big smallie fishing a top water popper with his son the other day.
> View attachment 15407


That must have been a fun fight!


----------



## jasonwx

JTG said:


> View attachment 15498
> Now there’s a pepper fish. 5 pounder, Bay Lake, Florida.
> 
> The Nitro bass boat kicked as, too!


Big bass for summer time in florida. 
You guys are now the bass kings!!


----------



## MarzNC

Brownski said:


> How does carp taste? Does anybody eat it?


A popular fish in Chinese cuisine. One advantage of eating with chopsticks is that it's easier to tease out the bones. My father's favorite dish was any steamed whole fish. Didn't matter how many small bones were in the fish. He essentially ate everything but the backbone and the tail.









Carp Recipe - Sichuan Crispy Fried Carp | Hank Shaw


An excellent carp recipe: Sichuan crispy fried carp. You don't have to use carp - any small whole fish will do - but this is great with carp.




honest-food.net













Asian-Style Baked Carp


The Asian-Style Baked Carp recipe out of our category Pome Fruit! EatSmarter has over 80,000 healthy & delicious recipes online. Try them out!




eatsmarter.com













Steamed Whole Fish, Chinese Style


A steamed whole fish is a favorite on any Chinese table. This Cantonese steamed fish recipe with soy, scallion and ginger a a must-try fish recipe. The tutorial on how to serve a Chinese steamed whole fish at the table is one-of-a-kind!




thewoksoflife.com


----------



## jasonwx

MarzNC said:


> A popular fish in Chinese cuisine. One advantage of eating with chopsticks is that it's easier to tease out the bones. My father's favorite dish was any steamed whole fish. Didn't matter how many small bones were in the fish. He essentially ate everything but the backbone and the tail.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Carp Recipe - Sichuan Crispy Fried Carp | Hank Shaw
> 
> 
> An excellent carp recipe: Sichuan crispy fried carp. You don't have to use carp - any small whole fish will do - but this is great with carp.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> honest-food.net
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Asian-Style Baked Carp
> 
> 
> The Asian-Style Baked Carp recipe out of our category Pome Fruit! EatSmarter has over 80,000 healthy & delicious recipes online. Try them out!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> eatsmarter.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Steamed Whole Fish, Chinese Style
> 
> 
> A steamed whole fish is a favorite on any Chinese table. This Cantonese steamed fish recipe with soy, scallion and ginger a a must-try fish recipe. The tutorial on how to serve a Chinese steamed whole fish at the table is one-of-a-kind!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> thewoksoflife.com


 Chinese Steamed whole fish is one of my favorite dishes. especially when when its served with drizzled hot oil...


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## Huezee

https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/summertroutflyr.pdf


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## jasonwx

Huezee said:


> https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/summertroutflyr.pdf


In NC it's illegal to fish for trout when water temp is above 65
Montana has similar regs too


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## JTG

Live from the TuckTec!


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## Ripitz

JTG said:


> Live from the TuckTec!
> View attachment 15511
> View attachment 15512
> View attachment 15513


Get that young man a PFP.

(Edit, Ha! Meant PFD)


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## gorgonzola

Hopefully stashed behind the seat.
I'd be interested in a boat review, may fit the bill for future RV life


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## MarzNC

gorgonzola said:


> I'd be interested in a boat review, may fit the bill for future RV life


Happened to catch this folding kayak on The Shark Tank. One of the three men who did the presentation is/was a pro racer. The Sharks were impressed enough that a deal was made.



Oru Kayak



EDIT: found the intro video


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## JTG

I assume Rip meant PFD? Yeah, we have one. No, he isn’t wearing it in a 3 foot deep pond. The young man is almost 19 and he knows how to swim, and how to stand in 3 feet of water.

But point taken!

As to the yaks……I know the idea went over like a lead balloon when I floated it here, but we obviously got them. Glad we did, they are doing exactly what we wanted them to, which is to gain access to fish we otherwise couldn’t get to. The pond we were on this morning, which requires a five minute hike that would not be conducive to dragging in a hard kayak, has always been productive from the limited area to bank fish……but we got so many more fish today, many of them in the tall grasses at the far side of the pond from the bank clearing.

As for a review of the kayaks after two uses…..this pic says a lot!



That’s two 10 foot kayaks, with paddles, in the back of the SUV. If all you had was a car trunk they’d fit in there, too. 

How are the actual kayaks? Compared to a “real” kayak…..probably shitty. With extreme portability comes trade-offs. However, these folding TuckTec kayaks do what kayaks are intended to do. They float, they are stable, they paddle straight. The seat and the ‘foot rest’ are pretty bare bones and lacking in support. However, I fished from it for 3 straight hours this morning, had a blast, and didn’t suffer. Plenty of room in the kayak for fishing gear.

The folding kayaks set up and fold back up pretty easy, in less than 10 minutes once you have it down. 

I know people do some hacks and upgrades, like getting a different (stadium) seat. We may consider doing that. The plastic folding paddles from TuckTec aren’t worth the $30 bucks we paid for them, so we’ll get some better paddles (with drip guards). Otherwise, these extremely portable kayaks perform as advertised and are a lot of fun.

We’ll bring them to the Cape this weekend to do some lake/pond fishing.


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## JTG

MarzNC said:


> Happened to catch this folding kayak on The Shark Tank. One of the three men who did the presentation is/was a pro racer. The Sharks were impressed enough that a deal was made.
> 
> 
> 
> Oru Kayak
> 
> 
> 
> EDIT: found the intro video


The Oru kayak looks nice, but at $900 they were out of our price range, for what we wanted to do. We got two TuckTec folding kayaks for $720. I also think the TuckTec hardshell (plastic) will be a better fit for fishing gear (hooks, etc). TuckTec also has a longer warranty and better return policy. I’m sure the Oru is wonderful, it just wasn’t a fit for us.


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## jasonwx

JTG said:


> The Oru kayak looks nice, but at $900 they were out of our price range, for what we wanted to do. We got two TuckTec folding kayaks for $720. I also think the TuckTec hardshell (plastic) will be a better fit for fishing gear (hooks, etc). TuckTec also has a longer warranty and better return policy. I’m sure the Oru is wonderful, it just wasn’t a fit for us.


This would be perfect for the cape ponds


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## JTG

jasonwx said:


> This would be perfect for the cape ponds


You have any particular favorite ponds you wish to disclose?


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## jasonwx

JTG said:


> You have any particular favorite ponds you wish to disclose?


I live off exit 8 South Yarmouth
I fish Lax Pond and Long Pond..Very productive..also mystic pond


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## tirolski

Once the lakers in Skaneateles get big enough to forage on the bigger smaller fish the littler lakers can’t swallow they can get large.








Two CNY cousins land jumbo lake trout on Skaneateles Lake


Fishing buddies finally hook the big one they've been trolling for




www.newyorkupstate.com


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## JTG

Kayak fished Crystal Lake in Orleans. 






My son did ok with the bass.



All I managed was a perch.



Some guy was telling us that two weeks ago his son caught some nice rainbow trout here.


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## Sbob

Not sure if this should go in “Todays paddle “ ?








Whale breaches, lands on boat off Massachusetts coast in dramatic video


A humpback whale caused quite a splash Sunday after landing on boat near the coastline of Plymouth, Massachusetts.




nypost.com





Rumor is the name of the boat 
“Essex 2 “


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## Brownski

JTG said:


> Kayak fished Crystal Lake in Orleans.


How’s the Origami boat working out? I’m seeing a bunch of those around Harriman lately.


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## JTG

Honestly……the TuckTecs are working out great. The ease and portability is really good. The seat could use an upgrade I guess, but I’ve fished from it multiple times now for 3+ hours and it’s been a’ight.

Today we hit up Ryder Pond in Chatham for two hours (after a not so productive two hours on Goose Pond). Unless you live on the pond there is zero access….unless you have a kayak! I got 3 decent large mouth bass. Of course my son had 5, plus a good sized yellow perch, and a good sunfish, and this little beauty….his first pickerel.


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## jasonwx

JTG said:


> Honestly……the TuckTecs are working out great. The ease and portability is really good. The seat could use an upgrade I guess, but I’ve fished from it multiple times now for 3+ hours and it’s been a’ight.
> 
> Today we hit up Ryder Pond in Chatham for two hours (after a not so productive two hours on Goose Pond). Unless you live on the pond there is zero access….unless you have a kayak! I got 3 decent large mouth bass. Of course my son had 5, plus a good sized yellow perch, and a good sunfish, and this little beauty….his first pickerel.
> View attachment 15539
> View attachment 15540


the cape ponds are so much fun...toothy critters


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## tirolski

DEC: Fish ladder, dam upgrades coming to Imperial Dam


A fish ladder to help salmon journey up a controversial dam in Plattsburgh and farther along the Saranac River will soon be underway.




www.adirondackexplorer.org





How about also letting the salmon go up the dam(s) with fish ladders on the Oswego River? 🤔
At least give em a fighting chance.


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## JTG




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## jasonwx

JTG said:


> View attachment 15556


Nice 
Like catching a 50lb bag of cement


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## jasonwx

Killin the bass on the cape


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## Brownski

I’m surprised he got his mouth around the hook


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## JTG

jasonwx said:


> Killin the bass on the cape
> 
> View attachment 15558


How the tables have turned!








Another good morning fishing from the yak. A couple bass, including that 3.5 lb personal best, plus a couple pickerel of my own, including this guy.


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## jasonwx

JTG said:


> How the tables have turned!
> 
> View attachment 15587
> View attachment 15588
> 
> Another good morning fishing from the yak. A couple bass, including that 3.5 lb personal best, plus a couple pickerel of my own, including this guy.
> 
> View attachment 15589
> View attachment 15590


Fantastic 
Cape?


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## JTG

jasonwx said:


> Fantastic
> Cape?


Yes. Ryder Pond, Chatham.


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## jasonwx

Excellent 
The capes ponds are a gem not many people know about


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## JTG

jasonwx said:


> Excellent
> The capes ponds are a gem not many people know about


Shhhhh….


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## tirolski

JTG said:


> How the tables have turned!
> 
> View attachment 15587
> View attachment 15588
> 
> Another good morning fishing from the yak. A couple bass, including that 3.5 lb personal best, plus a couple pickerel of my own, including this guy.
> 
> View attachment 15589
> View attachment 15590


Nice Fish! 👍


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## JTG

Very strange, and I’m assuming very sad, situation at the local fishin’ ponds here in the Hudson Valley (Beacon/Wappingers at least). 

One pond that was very productive for good sized large mouth bass just a few weeks ago has seemingly transformed. It’s easily two feet lower than it was just a few weeks ago, it’s got a film and gasses bubbling up, and it stinks. My son fished at sunrise for two hours and got one nibble. No floaters, so I’m hoping the bass aren’t dying off. Who knows, maybe they go dormant when drought hits, like grass. Wishful thinking!

So, we moved over to the Girl Scout pond (as we like to call it). Normally active with bass, panfish, and crappie. Like the other, this pond is a good foot and a half low. Algae taking over in spots, with no new water feeding in or going over the spillway, and it, too, smells. There is fish life/activity, but this is where it gets weird. For starters there are schools of tiny minnows, tons of them (someone had eggs that hatched), rippling all around the pond when the schools take off, assuming being chased. Every once in awhile you’ll see a fish eat a minnow near the surface. Here’s where it really gets weird. In what is usually the deep end of the pond there are hundreds (or more) of fish (bass, crappie, blue gill) just sitting there, mouths near the surface, not moving, not eating. They aren’t belly up floaters, but it doesn’t seem like a healthy situation. I speculated (and a little searching confirmed) that they are gulping air at the surface because the oxygen level in the pond is low. The optimist in me wanted to think they are just lethargic from all the minnows they are feasting on, but the realist in me fears they are dying off. My son side snagged a couple fish, it was hard not to.

Hoping some rain, if we ever get some, can turn the situation around. I’m sure fish have faced severe drought in the past and survived. I swung by the Fishkill Creek at Sarah Taylor Park a week or so ago and that was way low, too. We may hit up a local reservoir, but most of our fishing the next few weeks will likely be on Cape Cod, where things seem a little healthier.


----------



## jasonwx

The cape has problems too. 








Toxic blue-green algae blooms are back in local ponds


It’s summer on Cape Cod and that means toxic blue-green algae blooms are back in local ponds.




www.capeandislands.org


----------



## JTG

jasonwx said:


> The cape has problems too.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Toxic blue-green algae blooms are back in local ponds
> 
> 
> It’s summer on Cape Cod and that means toxic blue-green algae blooms are back in local ponds.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.capeandislands.org


Fortunately when my son and I fished White/Blue/Black pond in Chatham on Tuesday morning we didn’t see any signs of that.

I thought all those fish at the surface today might be gulping air, which fish will do when oxygen levels in the water drop. I don’t know how long they can survive doing that….


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## Brownski

I think depleted O2 levels are one of the results of an algae bloom. Jam your arm into a cloudy patch of water, If you break out in a painful bright red rash it’s probably a toxic bloom.
Report back
Edit: Lake Welch is closed right now due to toxic algae. People that keep up with the front page would know that.


----------



## Campgottagopee

JTG said:


> I thought all those fish at the surface today might be gulping air, which fish will do when oxygen levels in the water drop. I don’t know how long they can survive doing that….


The main reason the fish do so good in my pond is because of my aerator. It was costly, but well worth it imo.


----------



## Harvey

Brownski said:


> Jam your arm into a cloudy patch of water, If you break out in a painful bright red rash it’s probably a toxic bloom.


No thanks.


----------



## Ripitz

JTG said:


> Very strange, and I’m assuming very sad, situation at the local fishin’ ponds here in the Hudson Valley (Beacon/Wappingers at least).
> 
> One pond that was very productive for good sized large mouth bass just a few weeks ago has seemingly transformed. It’s easily two feet lower than it was just a few weeks ago, it’s got a film and gasses bubbling up, and it stinks. My son fished at sunrise for two hours and got one nibble. No floaters, so I’m hoping the bass aren’t dying off. Who knows, maybe they go dormant when drought hits, like grass. Wishful thinking!
> 
> So, we moved over to the Girl Scout pond (as we like to call it). Normally active with bass, panfish, and crappie. Like the other, this pond is a good foot and a half low. Algae taking over in spots, with no new water feeding in or going over the spillway, and it, too, smells. There is fish life/activity, but this is where it gets weird. For starters there are schools of tiny minnows, tons of them (someone had eggs that hatched), rippling all around the pond when the schools take off, assuming being chased. Every once in awhile you’ll see a fish eat a minnow near the surface. Here’s where it really gets weird. In what is usually the deep end of the pond there are hundreds (or more) of fish (bass, crappie, blue gill) just sitting there, mouths near the surface, not moving, not eating. They aren’t belly up floaters, but it doesn’t seem like a healthy situation. I speculated (and a little searching confirmed) that they are gulping air at the surface because the oxygen level in the pond is low. The optimist in me wanted to think they are just lethargic from all the minnows they are feasting on, but the realist in me fears they are dying off. My son side snagged a couple fish, it was hard not to.
> 
> Hoping some rain, if we ever get some, can turn the situation around. I’m sure fish have faced severe drought in the past and survived. I swung by the Fishkill Creek at Sarah Taylor Park a week or so ago and that was way low, too. We may hit up a local reservoir, but most of our fishing the next few weeks will likely be on Cape Cod, where things seem a little healthier.


Yeah, the creek is crazy low. I stopped going down a few weeks ago. There is tons of wildlife hunkered down there so I’ve been keeping away. They don’t need the added stress with me poking around. I could hear lots of critters down there last night with the full moon. At this point we need some hurricane action. Getting it all at once isn’t good either but we need something, anything.

The only place I’d fish around here right now is maybe Sylvan Lake where it’s over 100 feet deep.


----------



## JTG

My son’s friend and his father fished at Fahnestock today, caught some bass and pickerel. My son and I may hit up Melzingah Reservoir. Fishkill Creek (where it empties into the Hudson) at Madam Brett park was decent ten days ago, and with the tide has good water.


----------



## tirolski

Folks keep track of the toxic algae blooms.
Lots of them now.
Standing warm water with nutrients and sunlight enhances that shit.





Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) Notifications Page







www.dec.ny.gov




NY Harmful Algae Bloom Map




__





ArcGIS Web Application







nysdec.maps.arcgis.com


----------



## JTG

Ripitz said:


> The only place I’d fish around here right now is maybe Sylvan Lake where it’s over 100 feet deep.


Sylvan Lake was a bust tonight. Fished from the kayaks for two hours (6:30-8:30)……and not even a single nibble. Not on soft plastics in the weed beds, nor on power baits deep.


----------



## Ripitz

JTG said:


> Sylvan Lake was a bust tonight. Fished from the kayaks for two hours (6:30-8:30)……and not even a single nibble. Not on soft plastics in the weed beds, nor on power baits deep.


Wow, that’s surprising. A couple guys I know have been pulling hogs out of Lake Walton. It has lots of weeds but apparently it’s spring fed so I guess it stays cooler. Talked to a buddy who ran passed Melzingah today and he said it was a mud pit with algae.


----------



## JTG

Ripitz said:


> Talked to a buddy who ran passed Melzingah today and he said it was a mud pit with algae.


Good to know. We were talking about hitting that up on Sunday morning. I guess we’ll pass on that.


----------



## JTG

Decided to hit up Lake Carmel this morning. I caught 4 perch. My son had both a good size perch and a massive carp that the got to the side of the kayak before they flipped off.


----------



## tirolski

The Upstate got big smallies.








Upstate NY waterway ranked #1 in U.S. for bass fishing by Bassmaster Magazine


One other spot in NY made the top 10




www.syracuse.com


----------



## Sbob

Nephew landed a nice 6lb 4oz er .


----------



## jasonwx

Sbob said:


> View attachment 15779Nephew landed a nice 6lb 4oz er .


Where?


----------



## Sbob

jasonwx said:


> Where?


A 4 acre public pond in Southern Lehigh county Pa. His brother caught a 6 pounder two years earlier. 
Must be the water he caught a 4lb one earlier in the day.


----------



## JTG

Sbob said:


> View attachment 15779Nephew landed a nice 6lb 4oz er .


Nice fish!


----------



## tirolski

The salmon are running the gauntlet now in Pulaski.








Salmon River Live Web Stream - Fat Nancy's Tackle Shop Pulaski, NY


Live webcam of Salmon River in Town of Pulaski, NY




fatnancystackle.com


----------



## tirolski

Crazy goings on in a recent Lake Erie walleye fishing tournament.
Tournament director finds pounds of lead egg sinkers inside the "first place team’s” fish.
Dang cheaters. 








Team of Fisherman Accused of Cheating By Stuffing Fish With Weights


A team of two fishermen is being accused of weighing down their prize-winning catch with lead balls at an Ohio fishing competition.




news.yahoo.com












Cheaters!!


It’s a dang shame! Questions around these guys in the brawl now this!! Hope they go down hard! They “won” the last three lewt tournaments. Probably cheated in every tournament https://fb.watch/fTfGUB1vT6/




www.ohiogamefishing.com


----------



## Ripitz

tirolski said:


> Crazy goings on in a recent Lake Erie walleye fishing tournament.
> Tournament director finds pounds of lead egg sinkers inside the "first place team’s” fish.
> Dang cheaters.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Team of Fisherman Accused of Cheating By Stuffing Fish With Weights
> 
> 
> A team of two fishermen is being accused of weighing down their prize-winning catch with lead balls at an Ohio fishing competition.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> news.yahoo.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cheaters!!
> 
> 
> It’s a dang shame! Questions around these guys in the brawl now this!! Hope they go down hard! They “won” the last three lewt tournaments. Probably cheated in every tournament https://fb.watch/fTfGUB1vT6/
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.ohiogamefishing.com


I can’t believe these guys didn’t get a beat down on the spot. There’s still time I guess. They should move very far away.


----------



## JTG

My son has been catching some nice small mouth bass on the Susquehanna.



Here’s something you don’t see in your catch every day!


----------



## Ripitz

Upstate NY angler lands monster muskie


Reader-submitted fish photos




www.newyorkupstate.com


----------

