Tuesday, July 24, 2018

fishing tips

Areas where weedlines bend with the bottom contour or follow a shallow point or inside turn are places that predators use to pin baitfish up and start a feeding frenzy. Pay attention to those spots where a relatively straight weedline makes a sharp turn in or out and hit them hard with jigs, spinnerbaits or weed-resistant offerings. If the wind is blowing into a pocket formed by those turns, all the better. The movement of the wind-driven water will wash baitfish and other food items into the area, and predators will follow suit, so target those spaces along a weedline which are receiving the full force of the summer breeze.

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Westminster Park

Westminster Park is located on the easterly end of Wells Island-being the island on the westerly end of which the Methodist or Thousand Island Park is located. The new park embraces about 500 acres. It lies directly opposite Alexandria Bay on this side and opposite Rockport on the Canadian side. The St. Lawrence at this point is between three and four miles wide. Nowhere are the islands of the river more numerous and nowhere is the scenery more attractive than in this vicinity. Westminster Park affords a variety of sites for cottages, so that all tastes may be suited. The lower peninsula is high and bluffy, affording views in all directions. Facing Rockport is a gradually sloping beech (sic) from which a fine outlook is gained, and the shore is very accessible for rowboats or fishing craft.

Sunday, June 17, 2018

jig and minnow

The jig and minnow bite has slowed down, with more walleye anglers using slip sinker rigs with live bait. Chubs, nightcrawlers and leeches have all been working for some anglers, so take your pick or try all three. Jigs and plastics or a jig with either a nightcrawler or a leech are other options, so anglers don’t have to put the jigs away, something will bite on jigs all summer long.
Jigs and plastics can be especially effective when anglers are fishing in the cabbage weed beds. Anglers are able to give the jigs a bit of a snap to break them through the weeds, which can sometimes produce a reflex bite from the fish.
Walleyes often share the same weed beds with northern pike, bass and even muskies at different times, so anglers don’t know who will be home until they fish through the area.
All species of gamefish are highly mobile when they are hunting for food and will move up and down the weedline as they follow the schools of baitfish.

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

record walleye caught

We’re also waiting on official confirmation of a new state record walleye caught this past week on the St. Lawrence River. Brian Hartman of Alexander Bay reeled in an 18.2-pound walleye that stretched 32 inches and had a girth of 21 inches. The previous record was 16 pounds, 8 ounces.
Lake Ontario and tributaries
The Chinook salmon started to turn on between the Niagara Bar and Wilson last weekend, just in time for the start of the Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derby that kicks off Friday and runs through May 20. Capt. Bob Songin of Reel Excitement Charters running out of Wilson reports good action on kings, Coho salmon and lake trout in 70 to 100 feet of water. Get your spoons or spin doctors and flies down 55 to 65 feet of water with your riggers and divers. Green and gold were hot colors, but it all depends on the day. Tributaries were producing a mixed bag as well earlier in the week. It looks like it’s the end of the trout fishing as the stream waters continue to warm, but they are quickly being replaced by active bass and the occasional northern pike.

Monday, April 30, 2018

regulations apply to most New York muskellunge

The statewide opening day for muskellunge fishing is the last Saturday in May (May 26). The statewide minimum size limit is 40 inches. These regulations apply to most New York muskellunge waters, with the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence River being noteworthy exceptions. On these waters, the minimum size limit is 54 inches. The season opens on the third Saturday of June (June 16).
Additional exceptions to the statewide regulations for muskellunge and other species exist, so anglers should be sure to pick up a copy of the 2018-19 Freshwater Fishing Regulations guide to ensure they are aware of the current regulations for the water they are fishing. The latest guide is available online and at all DEC offices and sporting license vendors.

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Gateway Museum

The Morristown Gateway Museum will open a new exhibit on “Big Fish” this summer.
The focus will be on fishing for sturgeon and muskie in the St. Lawrence River near Morristown.
The museum has contracted with Hallie Bond to research and manage the project.
She was at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake from 1983 until 2012, first as education director and then as curator.

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Chaumont Bay on the eastern end of Lake Ontario

Anglers are getting out throughout the state -- from the Swinging Bridge Reservoir in Sullivan County in the Catskills, to Chaumont Bay on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, to Chautauqua Lake on the state's western end.
"This winter is kind of like the ones I remember growing up," said Todd Cerow, owner of the Thousand Island Bait and Tackle store in Alexandria Bay.
Cerow said the St. Lawrence River has had plenty of ice anglers out on the bays the past week. Places like Eel Bay have 6 to 10 inches, depending on the snow cover.
Nearby Black Lake has ice that's 4 to 8 inches thick, but the snow makes it tough to get around, Cerow said. Meanwhile, Chaumont Bay, a popular ice fishing spot, has ice 8 inches or more, he said. "There are a lot of walleyes being caught. Recently a 12-pounder,' he added.
Rob Jarvis, of Bay Bridge Sports and Tackle, on Lake Ontario's Sodus Bay in Wayne County has angler were are enjoying a solid, 6 to 7 inches of ice.