Mother Nature is Keeping us off the Lake!

Well, we were going to try our luck at some "combat" fishing in front of the Genesee River this past weekend, but the wind and rain kept us from getting out. Very few boats made it out, and if you weren't fishing offshore the fishing was tough and sporadic. The fish that were staged in front of the Genesee last week made the push up to the falls. With that being said Saturday morning I figured the wind wouldn't bother me much above the Island just down from the falls, so I made the trip to see if I could put a Salmon on the Pin. My brother and I casted Cleos and Spinners to a bunch of jumping fish, but they just wouldn't eat. I finally had one pull my float down, but he was so fast I couldn't catch up to him to set the hook. I went 0 for 1, but it was fun. The Lake is winding down and the streams will be heating up. Keep checking back for some sporadic fishing reports, but I'll most likely be hunting Whitetails!

I hear the Salmon River and the Oswego River are LOADED with fish, so if you want to go try your chance at a Salmon from shore there is no better place. The Genesee will continue to have fish show up, and run the river. You can try your luck at the mouth with egg sacks and spoons, or go up to the falls and give it a shot there.

There is no better time to book your May Lake trip! Dates are going faster than last year. Only a few weekend dates left! 

The Oak 9/12-9/13 Rough and Tough!

9/12 - We headed out to 40' of water to give that same line a try from the previous week. The screen looked decent, but the fish that were there had lock jaw! We played in there for an hour or so before we made the decision to head offshore. We set up on the 28N line and worked our way out to the 34N line. We picked fish the whole way out and then on the way back. The waves made for some interesting footwork. Each member of the crew fought their fish sitting on the cooler. At times we had waves as high as our flybridge. It wasn't very fun, but at least the fish were cooperating. We ended up going 6-14. Mostly Steelies in the 4-9lb range and a small King. Our program consisted of Stinger Gator Glows on the corner rigger parked at 60', Stinger 42nd's parked at 65 on the other corner rigger, and NK Copper NBK's on the center rigger parked at 50. Our wires set on a 3 setting out 120 and 150 took a few shots with an NK 42nd Mag and a Dreamweaver Gator Mag. The 10 color down the chute (knot in the water) popped a few times pulling a Dreamweaver VQ Green Dolphin.

9/13 - On this morning we figured we would give the wall a shot considering a few boats took 2-4 Salmon off it the morning prior. Well, by the time we got out there were 25 boats trying to fish 1 wall. We made one pass and that was enough battle for me! So we headed out the Steelies we played with the day before. We stopped in on the 29N line and trolled out to the 32N line. We took 1 shot in about an hour on a Stinger gator Glow down 60 on the corner rigger. Waves weren't as bad as the day before, but it still wasn't any fun out there. One guy got really sick so his crew felt bad for him, and we headed back to the dock.

The Oak 9/5-9/6 Staging King Salmon!

9/5 (Mornin') - This morning we did a little Derby fishing (LOC). My father, Uncle, Brother, and I hit the water about 6:30. We dropped in around the 70' mark and started deploying lines. We ran a simple 3 rigger, 2 wires,and 3 junk line spread. The morning would be very disappointing yet eventful! We went on to drop our first 7 screamers! Actually one happened to be a Stealhead in the 12-15lb mark, but the rest bent our hooks while tearing line from our reels! Finally, at 1pm we would go on to boat a 5" Salmon while checking lines. Shortly there after our 300 copper rod took off with a Green E-Chip pulling an A-TOM-MIK Green Crinkle. That would be our first REAL fish to hit the deck this morning. We took shots on a Dreamweaver Green Mongoose plug, Green SmartFish pulling an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist, Mtn. Dew E-Chip pulling an A-TOM-MIK TG fly, White SmartFish pulling an A-TOM-MIK White Halo, and a Slippery Frog Spinny pulling an A-TOM-MIK Purple Mirage. Riggers parked from 50 to the bottom, wires out from 150-210 and 10 color cores, 300 copper, and a 400 copper all took shots. We finished at 2pm with 10 shots.

9/5 (Evening) - My brother, his buddy Adam, my girlfriend, and I headed back out at 3:30pm and fished till 8pm. It was an exciting few hours to say the least. We would take 7 shots and boat 6 of them. The largest being just shy of 29lbs. We hit a double off our riggers shortly after we started trolling. One took a Mtn. Dew E-Chip pulling an A-TOM-MIK TG fly, and the other took a Green SmartFish pulling an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist. Our next double would come from the 300 copper pulling a Green E-Chip/A-TOM-MIK Green Crinkle and the same Green SmartFish pulling an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist. During this battle we tried to clear the 400 copper down the chute only to have it wad up in our double. While we were playing with that mess the 180 wire took off pulling a Green SmartFish/A-TOM-MIK Green Crinkle. We would boat 2 of the 3 fish. The next two fish would take the 300 copper and that Green E-Chip/A-TOM-MIK Green Crinkle combo. A fun night with some great fish!

9/6 - With the anticipation of that morning bite we left the dock a few ticks before 6am. We set up in 70' of water and all I could get was 6 rods in the water before we had our first big guy on. He took a LJ Green Glow J-Plug fished of our 10 color. While that fish was out there our 150 wire pulling a Green SmartFish/A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist starts throbbing. We're doubled! We ended up loosing the fish on the J-Plug, but boated the small guy off the wire. Got set back up with 7 rods in the water and the Green Smartfish on our corner rigger took a shot. It had an A-TOM-MIK Hypnotist behind it. As that one was making his run the other 10 color with that same J-Plug takes off. We're doubled AGAIN! We ended up dropping both.Get set back up and the other corner rigger fires. This guy had some shoulders! He hit a Mtn. Dew E-Chip pulling an A-TOM-MIK TG fly. Shortly there after we were clearing a 10 color when on the retrieve a Salmon Whacks the J-Plug. Thinking we were tangled in the fish on we let it go on a light drag. Well, it was a different fish and we would end up loosing that! Almost to the boat and the center rigger fires with a Dreamweaver Slippery Frog pulling an A-TOM-MIK Purple Mirage. Finally we boat this bruiser and its a PIG! We put it on the Berkley scale and it bounces between 31 and 32. Everyone is High-Fiving! Thinking the scales opened at 8am and it was 7:40am we headed for the weigh station. Well, it didn't open till 9am! So we sat for an hour during a fast and furious bite. When the fish hit the scales we put a 31.14lb Salmon on the LOC leaderboard! Now its 9:30 and we are headed back out to the lake. We took 7 shots in an hour and a half, and had a great anticipation of what else was to come. Even though we knew it would be tough to top a 31lb Salmon. Once we set-up it didn't take long and we were into another fish. In the next hour we would boat one and drop 2 Salmon. After that we wouldn't move a rod the rest of the trip. 

31.14lbs was what the derby scales said HE weighed! This fish happens to be the largest fish to hit the deck of our boat in 10 years. A true TROPHY, and its what we look forward to catching this time of year. Fall fishing can produce some GIANT fish, but it is also a time when the Salmon get moody while they await their trip up the Creek or River.