Live From The Water 2019 Edition

[ATbuckhunter]

10 minutes ago, kpkot said:

If any of you long island guys could chime in--- I want to take my kids on a 4hr fluke charter this week. Would you suggest north shore or south shore??

Go out east if you can. Montauk usually does extreemly well. The viking fleet is what my neighbor used to fish and he always came home with monsters. If you cant go out east, I would suggest the south shore, but june is a good month for both shores. 

[kpkot]

48 minutes ago, ATbuckhunter said:

Go out east if you can. Montauk usually does extreemly well. The viking fleet is what my neighbor used to fish and he always came home with monsters. If you cant go out east, I would suggest the south shore, but june is a good month for both shores. 

East sounds nice, but I am looking at Huntington on the north shore or captree south shore. Just looking for a quick trip- South shore sounds good

Edited June 24, 2019 by kpkot

[crappyice]

If any of you long island guys could chime in--- I want to take my kids on a 4hr fluke charter this week. Would you suggest north shore or south shore??

If up for a trip to New Rochelle, Captain Pat runs The Shamrock for evening fluke trips (right near Glen Island if you are familiar)....4-9:00. Quick boat ride, usually finds some fluke (certainly will find the sea robins). $45 an adult I think. Usually decent people on the boat too. Fishes beyond Execution rocks and sometimes gets out to Matinicock or so.


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[tarheel95]

Go out east if you can. Montauk usually does extreemly well. The viking fleet is what my neighbor used to fish and he always came home with monsters. If you cant go out east, I would suggest the south shore, but june is a good month for both shores. 

Fluking has been slow all the way out in MTK. Lots of shorts. I think sea bass just opened up last week and have heard that has been good (all throw backs while season was closed). Will be out there myself in a week.

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[wolc123]

8 hours ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Friend , Nitro and Samantha and I hit Lake Erie early today. Bass was slow fishing so the sheephead whisper ( me ) got Sam on a bunch for tight lines and bent rods with drum crack ( crayfish ) Fun day


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We went out there for the first time this year on Sunday also.  We got a late start because my buddy and his kid were out late at a party on Saturday night.   It was about 9:00 am when we reached Seneca shoal and the kid got a 28" walleye as soon as we started a slow drift, on a bucktail jig in 28 ft.  No bass action whatsoever out there, just that walleye and a sheephead, so we moved in by the south gap, but just a few more sheephead there.   I am not into walleyes because they fight like a piece of driftwood and I prefer eating the bass.   

We found our first smallmouth bass, drifting bucktail jigs in 20-25 ft depth, starting a couple hundred yards upstream of the round house and drifting thru between that and the little island farther out towards Canada.  We got at least one smallmouth (and multiple sheephead) on (7) consecutive drifts.  The shortest was 16", and two tied for longest were 19".    

Not a bad haul of fish for minimal cost (we only lost one jig and the boat launch was free at small boat harbor).  The bass were very heavy with the 19 inchers  around 5 pounds each, and nothing under 3 pounds.   We ended up with (4) quart-sized vacuum packs of bass and one of walleye fillets (the 28 incher was a little thin, maybe 6 pounds and really stuffed the quart pack).   We had planned on going out there last week but delayed our trip a week due to weather, which was awesome on Sunday.   The bass action was off a little, but the average size was way up compared to what I have seen out there in the past.  The round gobies seem to be doing wonders for their growth rates.      

Edited June 24, 2019 by wolc123

[wolc123]

On 6/22/2019 at 6:34 AM, The_Real_TCIII said:

Is anyone familiar with the south end of Chautauqua? I'm heading there today having never fished it

How did it go down there ?   I have not fished that lake in the last 20 years.  Back in the day, we use to do well on walleyes in the north end, mostly around Dewittville bay.   I can not remember catching any fish in that lake, south of the bridge at Bemus point.   The farthest south that I ever caught many, was the deep hole off Long point where we took our limits of just-barely keepers, during a severe cold front on opening day of walleye season in 1989.   Since learning how to grill, bake, or broil fish, I rarely target walleyes anymore.  Bass, having more oil in the meat, are much better cooked that way, plus they out-fight walleyes by at least 2:1 pound per pound.   

Edited June 24, 2019 by wolc123

[Robhuntandfish]

On 6/22/2019 at 7:55 AM, Pygmy said:

I have a friend coming in Monday from NC who wants to fish...Since stream fishing is not an option for a few days, I plan to run up to Penn Yan and see if those big panfish are still around...

good luck Dan!  looks like a perfect day!!  

wind here all weekend and today its perfect and i am stuck at work.  So catch a couple for me! 

[turkeyfeathers]

Wolc , are you weighing the bass or using PA chest measurement guide ?
This one is 4.1 pounds and second one 3.2


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[Robhuntandfish]

as ive told my buddy - fisherman get off the lake at 10:30! https://www.syracuse.com/crime/2019/06/man-distracted-by-frightened-child-crashes-boat-in-oneida-lake-deputies.html?fbclid=IwAR3zAEYUDZ-EAtJLKHAYngAqZS3jeIp4ZkJPbTWVAJIeAD1zIulODAGG9s0

[The_Real_TCIII]

7 hours ago, wolc123 said:

How did it go down there ?   I have not fished that lake in the last 20 years.  Back in the day, we use to do well on walleyes in the north end, mostly around Dewittville bay.   I can not remember catching any fish in that lake, south of the bridge at Bemus point.   The farthest south that I ever caught many, was the deep hole off Long point where we took our limits of just-barely keepers, during a severe cold front on opening day of walleye season in 1989.   Since learning how to grill, bake, or broil fish, I rarely target walleyes anymore.  Bass, having more oil in the meat, are much better cooked that way, plus they out-fight walleyes by at least 2:1 pound per pound.   

It was so windy we didnt even fish, we did a lap around the south end and pulled the boat out

[Robhuntandfish]

22 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

It was so windy we didnt even fish, we did a lap around the south end and pulled the boat out

that sucks!  had the same problem here all weekend.  and today ......beautiful of course.  

[The_Real_TCIII]

19 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

that sucks!  had the same problem here all weekend.  and today ......beautiful of course.  

My boat sits high its like a kite on the water

[wolc123]

5 hours ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Wolc , are you weighing the bass or using PA chest measurement guide ?
This one is 4.1 pounds and second one 3.2


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Just guessing on the weights.   I am thinking the were all females, recently finished dumping their eggs.   The skinnier ones, in shallower water, are probably males, still guarding the nests.  I don't like pestering them at that time because the round gobies (and other nest-raiders) likely clean out a good portion of the fry/eggs while you are fighting, landing, and photographing them. 

Did you get the lengths of those two in the photo's ?  That might help verify the accuracy of the weight estimates.   I have a ruler with a walleye weight conversion on the back of my boat.  It measures from 10 to 25-1/2 inches and shows that a 25-1/2" walleye weighs 6 pounds.   The walleye we got out there Sunday hung a few inches over the end, but it was kind of thin,so I doubt it was much over 6 pounds (the filleted meat all jammed into a quart-sized freezer bag packed very tight).   

It would be nice to come up with a Lake Erie, smallmouth weight/length chart, similar to that walleye rule or the beloved PA chest girth chart for whitetails that G-man found for us.  As it turns out, the findings of myself and 2-3 other forum members, who actually weighed and measured their deer last fall, indicate that chart grossly underestimated the weight of Western NY deer.   

    

[virgil]

16 hours ago, kpkot said:

East sounds nice, but I am looking at Huntington on the north shore or captree south shore. Just looking for a quick trip- South shore sounds good

I fished the bay around the captree bridge on Saturday.  We caught a few cocktail blues and some very short fluke.  There were party boats out of Captree all around us.  They didn't seem to be doing too great.  I don't think there are a lot of keepers being caught in the bay at the moment. 

[mlammerhirt]

We went out there for the first time this year on Sunday also.  We got a late start because my buddy and his kid were out late at a party on Saturday night.   It was about 9:00 am when we reached Seneca shoal and the kid got a 28" walleye as soon as we started a slow drift, on a bucktail jig in 28 ft.  No bass action whatsoever out there, just that walleye and a sheephead, so we moved in by the south gap, but just a few more sheephead there.   I am not into walleyes because they fight like a piece of driftwood and I prefer eating the bass.   
We found our first smallmouth bass, drifting bucktail jigs in 20-25 ft depth, starting a couple hundred yards upstream of the round house and drifting thru between that and the little island farther out towards Canada.  We got at least one smallmouth (and multiple sheephead) on (7) consecutive drifts.  The shortest was 16", and two tied for longest were 19".    
Not a bad haul of fish for minimal cost (we only lost one jig and the boat launch was free at small boat harbor).  The bass were very heavy with the 19 inchers  around 5 pounds each, and nothing under 3 pounds.   We ended up with (4) quart-sized vacuum packs of bass and one of walleye fillets (the 28 incher was a little thin, maybe 6 pounds and really stuffed the quart pack).   We had planned on going out there last week but delayed our trip a week due to weather, which was awesome on Sunday.   The bass action was off a little, but the average size was way up compared to what I have seen out there in the past.  The round gobies seem to be doing wonders for their growth rates.      

How did you score a free launch?

What's the going rate at the small boat harbor lately.

Interesting how you break down the cost of things......... . I can't say I fill my fish with freezer for consumption purposes simply enjoy the rec and leisure part of chasing them so I never thought of putting a price tag on how much each fillet in the freezer cost me

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[turkeyfeathers]

6 minutes ago, mlammerhirt said:

How did you score a free launch?

What's the going rate at the small boat harbor lately.



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We haven't gotten charged yet this year or last year at SBH   Think it's because we get there so early. Believe it's $10

 

[BizCT]

1 hour ago, wolc123 said:

Just guessing on the weights.   I am thinking the were all females, recently finished dumping their eggs.   The skinnier ones, in shallower water, are probably males, still guarding the nests.  I don't like pestering them at that time because the round gobies (and other nest-raiders) likely clean out a good portion of the fry/eggs while you are fighting, landing, and photographing them. 

Did you get the lengths of those two in the photo's ?  That might help verify the accuracy of the weight estimates.   I have a ruler with a walleye weight conversion on the back of my boat.  It measures from 10 to 25-1/2 inches and shows that a 25-1/2" walleye weighs 6 pounds.   The walleye we got out there Sunday hung a few inches over the end, but it was kind of thin,so I doubt it was much over 6 pounds (the filleted meat all jammed into a quart-sized freezer bag packed very tight).   

It would be nice to come up with a Lake Erie, smallmouth weight/length chart, similar to that walleye rule or the beloved PA chest girth chart for whitetails that G-man found for us.  As it turns out, the findings of myself and 2-3 other forum members, who actually weighed and measured their deer last fall, indicate that chart grossly underestimated the weight of Western NY deer.   

    

Just buy a Boga Grip (15lb.). I've had mine for years and it measures to 1/4lb. increments. It has always been within 1/4 or 1/2lb. of any fish we weighed on a certified scale. It's quick and easy to use and no batteries. I think i paid the same $125 for mine many many years. The price never seems to change.

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/boga-grip-fishing-tool

[The_Real_TCIII]

1 hour ago, mlammerhirt said:

How did you score a free launch?

What's the going rate at the small boat harbor lately.

Interesting how you break down the cost of things......... . I can't say I fill my fish with freezer for consumption purposes simply enjoy the rec and leisure part of chasing them so I never thought of putting a price tag on how much each fillet in the freezer cost me

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I wouldnt want to even think about it. Venison and fish would cost more per lb than black truffles

[BowmanMike]

Well i fished the Au Sable today just above Au Sable forks. What a crazy river,wading is difficult! I had a hit or two in some serious pocketwater,was fishing a double nymph setup. Then i added more weight to try to get down in the current. Next cast i hooked a nice one and couldnt tell you if it was a brown or rainbow,never got it to the surface. It got downstream from me since i had to move very cautiously and it finally got off. Then i proceeded to loose a good dozen of flies in the rocks. This river is hard to wade and hard to fish. I saw no surface action. I will have to try again in the morning...

[The_Real_TCIII]

Well i fished the Au Sable today just above Au Sable forks. What a crazy river,wading is difficult! I had a hit or two in some serious pocketwater,was fishing a double nymph setup. Then i added more weight to try to get down in the current. Next cast i hooked a nice one and couldnt tell you if it was a brown or rainbow,never got it to the surface. It got downstream from me since i had to move very cautiously and it finally got off. Then i proceeded to loose a good dozen of flies in the rocks. This river is hard to wade and hard to fish. I saw no surface action. I will have to try again in the morning...

I bring a ski pole as a wading staff, I wish I had thought to tell you that


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[BowmanMike]

5 hours ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

I bring a ski pole as a wading staff, I wish I had thought to tell you that


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I have a wading staff,but left it at home like a pro. I am out of practice when it comes to going fishing. It rained this a.m.,but stopped now. Mikey going for more trout today!!

 

[wolc123]

23 hours ago, mlammerhirt said:

How did you score a free launch?

What's the going rate at the small boat harbor lately.

Interesting how you break down the cost of things......... . I can't say I fill my fish with freezer for consumption purposes simply enjoy the rec and leisure part of chasing them so I never thought of putting a price tag on how much each fillet in the freezer cost me

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Maybe the NFTA feels sorry for folks launching boats, having routed a bike/jogging path at SBH, right across the top of the launch area, so they no longer charge the $8 or $10 that they were getting the last few years.   We missed the big morning fisherman rush, by not arriving at the ramp until about 8:15 am (the fish are in the lake all day). There were no attendants there at that time.  There were 4 or 5 blue-shirted attendants there when we pulled the boat out around 3:00 pm.  The ramps were a bit more crowded then, but they had things operating very smoothly, and there was no delay in getting our boat out.  One of the attendants even hooked up the winch strap and cranked it up onto the trailer for us (I probably should have tipped the guy, but that would have added to our cost per pound of fish).

I enjoy the fishing and hunting hobbies a lot more when they do not cost me an arm and a leg.  I always shoot for keeping the cost per pound of meat at less than a dollar.  I got pretty close to that on Sunday, with my buddy using his truck to pull the boat over there, and myself only on the hook for the boat gas (about 3 gallons used).   I never use bait and I tie my own jigs, so my only cost for tackle is for the hooks (around 10 cents each).   My buddy did loose one of those jigs on a snag, but the one I used all day is still on my rod and ready for next time out.  I re-tied a couple of times thru the day because those heavy sheephead were putting a pretty good strain on the line.  Normally, they bother the jigs a lot less than live crabs. but they were outnumbering bass by at least 2:1 on Sunday.   The bass were not fighting all that hard early, but stepped up their game a bit as the water warmed up in the afternoon.   

Our freezer is in decent shape now, with those (5) fresh packages, each of which will make (5) meals - one each for the wife, kids and myself plus leftovers for me at work the following day.   I try to get most of our fish from Lake Erie, because it is relatively healthy, when it comes to "health advisories", compared to most other waters in the state.   It would be nice if Lake Ontario were a little better in that respect, because that is a slightly shorter drive for me.  They are still saying that woman and children especially, should avoid eating most fish from that lake however, especially the larger trout and salmon.   They might be fun to catch, but they are not much good to me if I cant feed my family with them.                   

Edited June 25, 2019 by wolc123

[Pygmy]

What color jigs are you using, Wolc ??

[turkeyfeathers]

8 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

What color jigs are you using, Wolc ??

Friend and I swear by 3” Gulp black n white minnow with 1/8” jig heads. Get a nice drift and ever so slightly jig it 

[Pygmy]

5 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Friend and I swear by 3” Gulp black n white minnow with 1/8” jig heads. Get a nice drift and ever so slightly jig it 

Sounds like my kind of fishing, Jay....Except I'd probably  fish my own hand tied hair jigs in the same weight and in black or SBB ( shit brindle brown)…..

They worked pretty well up there when I fished with Lawdwaz a couple of years ago...