2017 live from the lake , ocean , pond , stream, river thread

[moog5050]

9 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

I thought you told me you only hunt the preserve at Turning Stone? lol

I would but can't afford it.  Have to settle for our puny free range deer.  oh the burden!

[grampy]

37 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

And if you want to know the pattern and location of our biggest buck, just ask.  I can't keep a secret.

Good thing we are not in with the fishing mafia. Me and Joel Icconelli Corleone, aka little moog, would be having a sit down about you!..........lol

[moog5050]

10 minutes ago, grampy said:

Good thing we are not in with the fishing mafia. Me and Joel Icconelli Corleone, aka little moog, would be having a sit down about you!..........lol

I would be sleeping with the fishes (caught on Senkos I bet).

[turkeyfeathers]

Thanks to The Real TC for throwing one of his honey holes at us and perfect directions daughter caught her first two trout. Missed a couple. I lost a nice one but caught a chub
Saw 2 tiny spotted fawns and a huge coyote coming home. Also drove thru some of the nastiest rain n hail mix ever. Dry as a bone home but looks like it's coming this way.


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[Fletch]

Way to go!! Nice looking trout.

 

I see your teaching her to hold them fishes way out front like her dad!! lol

 

Looks like the weather is going to take a wet stormy turn here as well for a few days.

Edited August 3, 2017 by Fletch

[BizCT]

Thanks to The Real TC for throwing one of his honey holes at us and perfect directions daughter caught her first two trout. Missed a couple. I lost a nice one but caught a chub
Saw 2 tiny spotted fawns and a huge coyote coming home. Also drove thru some of the nastiest rain n hail mix ever. Dry as a bone home but looks like it's coming this way.


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Nice brown. First fish on the pink rod?


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[grampy]

Nice trout! Way to go little Lass!  Good guy that Tacks, giving up the spot!

[turkeyfeathers]

Nice brown. First fish on the pink rod?


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No. Little ultralight. Pink rod will be perfect for Lake Erie on my friends boat, hopefully next week. She'll break it in then .


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[wolc123]

4 hours ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

Wolves don't concern themselves with the opinions of sheephead


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Was there any smallmouth action out there today ?  We were out on Seneca shoal Saturday and also got a few sheephead like that, with the largest one about 12 pounds.  There were bass out there but they were few and far between.  We ended up with (4) that were all from 16 - 20 inches.   The smaller ones were a little shallower at 22 ft, while the 20" hog was down at 38 ft on the outer edge of the shoal.   There did not seem to be any left at the harbor gaps or in closer to shore, but we did not give it much time in there.   The wind was not good, starting out about 10 mph NE at daybreak, but increasing to around 40 mph by 10 am.   We were getting pounded pretty good out there on the shoal in 3-4 foot waves.  I had to go up to 5/16 oz jigs and run the big sea anchor on our drifts to hold them near the bottom.  The bass were hitting very light, in fact I did not feel any of them strike.  They were just "there" all of sudden, just as the jig hit the bottom.

A neighbor kid (who convinced me to fish Seneca shoal) recorded the fights Saturday of the biggest sheephead and bass on his go-pro camera.   The video of the big bass fight lasted about about 5 minutes, while the sheephead, that probably weighted about 2X, was just under 3 minutes.  The big sheephead pulled hard for a little bit, then gave up easily.  The bass just kept pulling towards bottom.  That just proves to me again that no freshwater, warm-water fish outfights the smallmouth bass pound per pound.  That is the main reason they are my favorite.   They also taste pretty good, but I give a slight edge to the largemouth in that department.

 I also noticed many years ago (when my fiance and I had to fillet a few sheephead, because we had no other food down at hunting camp and the bass were not biting that day), that there is a lot less meat on sheephead that there is on bass.  It was a good thing that the guys at camp turned up their noses when they heard that it was sheephead that we had on the grill.  There would not have been enough for us otherwise.   Honestly though, they tasted about the same as the bass always did, grilled fresh.  Sheephead may even be a bit like oysters in one respect, as I seem to recall the my old truck camper rocking most of the night that time.                         

 

[The_Real_TCIII]

Was there any smallmouth action out there today ?  We were out on Seneca shoal Saturday and also got a few sheephead like that, with the largest one about 12 pounds.  There were bass out there but they were few and far between.  We ended up with (4) that were all from 16 - 20 inches.   The smaller ones were a little shallower at 22 ft, while the 20" hog was down at 38 ft on the outer edge of the shoal.   There did not seem to be any left at the harbor gaps or in closer to shore, but we did not give it much time in there.   The wind was not good, starting out about 10 mph NE at daybreak, but increasing to around 40 mph by 10 am.   We were getting pounded pretty good out there on the shoal in 3-4 foot waves.  I had to go up to 5/16 oz jigs and run the big sea anchor on our drifts to hold them near the bottom.  The bass were hitting very light, in fact I did not feel any of them strike.  They were just "there" all of sudden, just as the jig hit the bottom.
A neighbor kid (who convinced me to fish Seneca shoal) recorded the fights Saturday of the biggest sheephead and bass on his go-pro camera.   The video of the big bass fight lasted about about 5 minutes, while the sheephead, that probably weighted about 2X, was just under 3 minutes.  The big sheephead pulled hard for a little bit, then gave up easily.  The bass just kept pulling towards bottom.  That just proves to me again that no freshwater, warm-water fish outfights the smallmouth bass pound per pound.  That is the main reason they are my favorite.   They also taste pretty good, but I give a slight edge to the largemouth in that department.
 I also noticed many years ago (when my fiance and I had to fillet a few sheephead, because we had no other food down at hunting camp and the bass were not biting that day), that there is a lot less meat on sheephead that there is on bass.  It was a good thing that the guys at camp turned up their noses when they heard that it was sheephead that we had on the grill.  There would not have been enough for us otherwise.   Honestly though, they tasted about the same as the bass always did, grilled fresh.  Sheephead may even be a bit like oysters in one respect, as I seem to recall the my old truck camper rocking most of the night that time.                         
 

We could not find a bass. That pond frustrates the hell out of me


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[wolc123]

10 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

We could not find a bass. That pond frustrates the hell out of me


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When the water temperature of Lake Erie gets up into the 70's (almost always after mid-July), the smallmouth move towards deep water.  The farther south you go in NY state, the closer to shore you can find that deep water.  If I were to target them any more this summer, I would trailer the boat down to Dunkirk and head south towards Vanburen point, or maybe even Barcelona, looking for structure at  40-45 feet.   You might still find some smaller bass holding near the bottom, but the bigger ones will often suspend in the top 15 feet over those depths.   They are spooky and don't respond well to trolling with a gas engine. I make long casts with light (1-8 - 1/4 oz jigs, and try and feel them pick it up on the fall).    With so much water to cover, finding them can get pretty difficult.

I am very thankful that we have plenty of bass in the freezer now, so it is time to head to Lake Ontario for kings and steelhead.  Fortunately, that fishing gets easy just about the time the smallmouth fishing gets tough on Erie.  How great it is to live within 1/2 hour of Erie and Ontario.  I am also hoping to bring back an Olcott or Wilson harbor largemouth or two and a bucket full of bluegills to throw in our pond that I deepened after it dried up last summer.  With all the rain we have had,  It is at least 8 foot deep right now and full of frogs, bugs and crayfish for them to eat.   

     

[Buckmaster7600]

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[moog5050]

13 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

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Our boat is finally in and we have 5-7 foot waves with peak waves reaching 13ft.  I will be setting some new stands instead of fishing tomorrow.  Lol

 

Southwest winds 10 to 15 knots increasing to 15 to 20 knots. Showers and thunderstorms through the early overnight... then showers likely late. Some thunderstorms may be severe with strong winds and large hail early. Waves 1 to 3 feet building to 2 to 4 feet.

Saturday

Southwest winds 15 to 25 knots becoming west. A chance of showers. A chance of waterspouts in the afternoon. Waves 3 to 6 feet building to 5 to 8 feet. Waves occasionally around 10 feet.

Saturday Night

West winds to 30 knots diminishing to 15 to 25 knots. A chance of waterspouts. A chance of showers. Waves 6 to 10 feet subsiding to 5 to 8 feet. Waves occasionally around 13 feet.

Sunday

West winds 5 to 15 knots. A chance of waterspouts in the morning. A chance of showers in the morning. Waves 3 to 6 feet subsiding to 1 to 3 feet. Waves occasionally around 7 feet.

Edited August 5, 2017 by moog5050

[turkeyfeathers]

Our boat is finally in and we have 5-7 foot waves with peak waves reaching 13ft.  I will be setting some new stands instead of fishing tomorrow.  Lol
 
Southwest winds 10 to 15 knots increasing to 15 to 20 knots. Showers and thunderstorms through the early overnight... then showers likely late. Some thunderstorms may be severe with strong winds and large hail early. Waves 1 to 3 feet building to 2 to 4 feet.

Saturday

Southwest winds 15 to 25 knots becoming west. A chance of showers. A chance of waterspouts in the afternoon. Waves 3 to 6 feet building to 5 to 8 feet. Waves occasionally around 10 feet.

Saturday Night

West winds to 30 knots diminishing to 15 to 25 knots. A chance of waterspouts. A chance of showers. Waves 6 to 10 feet subsiding to 5 to 8 feet. Waves occasionally around 13 feet.

Sunday

West winds 5 to 15 knots. A chance of waterspouts in the morning. A chance of showers in the morning. Waves 3 to 6 feet subsiding to 1 to 3 feet. Waves occasionally around 7 feet.

Do you surf ?


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[grampy]

12 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Do you surf ?


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Yeah he does. He borrows my bass boat for a board!

[moog5050]

3 minutes ago, grampy said:

Yeah he does. He borrows my bass boat for a board!

How does a bass boat fair in 5-8 footers?  

[ATbuckhunter]

Went out today for a couple hours. Went to a new place that i hear is good for fluke but I couldn't catch one. I hooked up with one, but for some reason I wanted to give it a second hookset, which only pulled the hook from its mouth. Only thing i caught was a whole lot of sun, which is not bad since ive been inside studying for the past 5 weeks. Hoping to get out Monday or Tuesday. 

[grampy]

4 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

How does a bass boat fair in 5-8 footers?  

Not good. Believe me I know! Makes a good story over a beer though!

[moog5050]

7 minutes ago, grampy said:

Not good. Believe me I know! Makes a good story over a beer though!

I am a good weather calm seas fisherman.  Don't like rain or cannon balls bouncing all over.    Haha.  

[Buckmaster7600]

Our boat is finally in and we have 5-7 foot waves with peak waves reaching 13ft.  I will be setting some new stands instead of fishing tomorrow.  Lol
 
Southwest winds 10 to 15 knots increasing to 15 to 20 knots. Showers and thunderstorms through the early overnight... then showers likely late. Some thunderstorms may be severe with strong winds and large hail early. Waves 1 to 3 feet building to 2 to 4 feet.

Saturday

Southwest winds 15 to 25 knots becoming west. A chance of showers. A chance of waterspouts in the afternoon. Waves 3 to 6 feet building to 5 to 8 feet. Waves occasionally around 10 feet.

Saturday Night

West winds to 30 knots diminishing to 15 to 25 knots. A chance of waterspouts. A chance of showers. Waves 6 to 10 feet subsiding to 5 to 8 feet. Waves occasionally around 13 feet.

Sunday

West winds 5 to 15 knots. A chance of waterspouts in the morning. A chance of showers in the morning. Waves 3 to 6 feet subsiding to 1 to 3 feet. Waves occasionally around 7 feet.

I have 4 boats currently but only had a couple hrs after work. Sometimes it's nice to go back in time and just paddle around with a some beers and the dog and harass the local smallies.


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[wolc123]

2 hours ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

I have 4 boats currently but only had a couple hrs after work. Sometimes it's nice to go back in time and just paddle around with a some beers and the dog and harass the local smallies.


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I also fish from 4 boats, which include my 17 ft deep-v, 12 foot rowboat, 17 foot canoe, and my father in law's 14 foot rowboat.  There has been a few memorable times with the canoe.  I always stay off the beer until I have my limit though.  The first thing I loose, when I take a sip, is the ability to detect a strike.  That is where downriggers and bobbers come in handy - they detect the strike for you.   

 I remember taking my canoe up to Long lake in the Adirondacks, about 10 years ago, for a week long summer family vacation.  There were guys in bass boats pounding the shorelines every morning, and I did not have much luck there, so I paddled up wind, and out to the middle of the lake.  Using a 5-gallon bucket as a sea-anchor to slow my drift, it did not take long to get a limit of good-eating sized smallies each morning on 1/4 oz jigs.     

About 5 years ago, out on Cuba lake, in the south-western part of the state, I caught a big smallmouth from the canoe.  She was on the edge of a weedbed that was near the opposite shore from our friend's cottage.  I did not have a camera, so I used a small rope stringer, thru the lower jaw, to hold her to the back of the vessel as I paddled back across the lake.  She kept pulling the back of the canoe off coarse, making for an interesting ride.   That 21" long bass was way too big to be good eating, but with some extra effort,  I got back across, got a picture, and released her relatively unharmed.   

[turkeyfeathers]

So you paddled across the lake with a bass with a rope thru it's jaw for a Kodak moment ? With no intention of keeping the fish in mind ?! Relatively unharmed meaning she floated 5 minutes after the release I presume. Rough.


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[wolc123]

10 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

So you paddled across the lake with a bass with a rope thru it's jaw for a Kodak moment ? With no intention of keeping the fish in mind ?! Relatively unharmed meaning she floated 5 minutes after the release I presume. Rough.


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It was actually a short length of braided line, not a rope and her odds of making it were pretty good.   I never was one for catch and release fishing though, and the only legal fish I usually release are those that are too big to eat.   All of that "senseless maiming" of a fine food source never made much sense to me.

[grampy]

So "senseless maiming" does not include putting a "length of braided line" through the fishes mouth and paddling for however long, to take a picture? Hmmmm. Guess it all depends on your prospective. Or if you are the fish being towed. Shoulda just ate it. 

[wolc123]

1 hour ago, grampy said:

So "senseless maiming" does not include putting a "length of braided line" through the fishes mouth and paddling for however long, to take a picture? Hmmmm. Guess it all depends on your prospective. Or if you are the fish being towed. Shoulda just ate it. 

Taking a large fish on light tackle puts considerable stress on them.   In this case, the lake was dead calm, so an immediate release would have probably lowered her odds of survival.  Have you ever saw any video footage of folks "reviving" big muskies or pike by pushing them back and forth to move oxygenated water across their gills ?   A slow drag across a calm lake does the same thing.  In this case, that big old bass just floated on her side at first, but by the time I reached the opposite shore, she was strong enough to pull that canoe around in circles.  The fact that my wife was able to catch a "live action" photo of the release was just an added bonus.

I definitely appreciate you fella's concern for the fish, which I consider to be food gifts from God.    I always go to great lengths to insure the survival of released fish and would encourage others to do likewise.   That includes wetting my hands before touching them, handling them and removing hooks gently, and running my boat's livewell pump often.  I will sometimes hold a larger than optimum fish or two in my livewell and only release them if I am not able to catch a smaller one in the time available.  

I did keep a 20 inch smallmouth out on Lake Erie last week, but that fish looked to be relatively young and was very healthy looking.  The growth rate on bass out there is as good as I have ever saw it.  15 years ago, before all those round-gobies, a bass of that age would probably have been less than 15 inches long.   The best way to insure the health of the fishery is to not catch them in the first place.  I no longer fish the "special early season" for bass on Lake Erie, since they changed the rules to only allow the keeping of bass over 20".  Those fellas that often brag of dragging 50-100 bass a day up off the spawning beds are doing a lot more harm than I am by dragging a single bass across a small inland lake in the middle of the summer.      

Edited August 5, 2017 by wolc123