Fishing in Brewerton at Lighthouse Park, September 28, 2016

We would normally fish the docks off Brewerton Road but this time we went across the Oneida River to Lighthouse Park. Be forewarned, there are A LOT of gobies here. It is very annoying. The only good thing about it is if you toss them on the grass, you might get a chance to see a blue heron swoop down and get it like we did. But, if you can fish around them, you have a good chance at some perch, rock bass, and even pickerel.

On this night, something pretty funny happened. I kept catching gobies (not funny) and on one of the swings up I felt a very heavy tug. Before reeling it in, the line broke. So we knew something big was in there. About thirty minutes later, the person I was with, brought up a huge pickerel. What was funny about it was when she picked it up for a photo, it spit out a dead goby that had my hook in its mouth! I must have hooked a goby and pickerel came by and grabbed the goby I had hooked and that's what broke my line.

I caught a rock bass in the weeds under the dock before it got dark and we left.

Fishing the Verona Beach Area at Night, September 24, 2016

We went up to Sylvan Beach to see if there were any early walleye and there was a huge boat show going on so we decided to go back to the Verona Beach area. We always drove route 13 to Sylvan Beach but never stopped near the Verona Beach Park. We drove up to an abandoned lot on Lakeshore Drive and were surprised to see that other people had fished there also. Throughout the night more and more people showed up all seemingly equally surprised that they weren't the only ones who thought of going to this spot.

We caught a couple rock bass and had the promise of other bites but no other hook ups. The night was absolutely beautiful though.

Salmon River Fishing, Pulaski, September 23, 2016

We headed to the Salmon River to do some early salmon run fishing. We went directly to the town pool because we heard most other areas were pretty full. When we got there around 7:30 am, there was still plenty of room near the bridge.

There were many hook ups around us, yells of "fish on" and actual fish caught. I got two really hard hits while I was there on the standard egg sac set up with 20 lb line. Most everyone knew what they were doing except for the woman next to me that I had to keep watching for. She showed up in sneakers and jeans and kept getting wound around me and other people. This is the one place I would do research for before attempting to go. It is too dangerous to just show up and think you will wing it. I managed to get a decent video of the guy across from me catching a salmon. He let it play a lot longer than other people and chased it a lot farther so I doubt all this was fully necessary but it was fun to watch.

Early Salmon River Fishing in Pulaski, August 27, 2016

I've had good luck, mostly with perch, at the Salmon River before the big run starts. We started at the town pool where there is really good shore access. There was only one or two guys in waders hoping for early salmon.

We only caught some small bass but it was still fun to be there. 

Before leaving this area I collected some shale from it. I found a fossil imprint of a mollusk that fascinated me. I looked it up when I got home and it turned out to be a preservation of an extinct mollusk from 300 million years ago that is unique to Pulaski. 

Next we went to Church Street and Forest Drive. It was a beautiful walk through the water but no hits here. 

From here we headed home we went to the handicap accessible platform at route 13 and 3 and caught some perch.

Fishing for Rainbow Trout at Green Lakes, June 16, 2016

I have fished Green Lakes a lot but only caught panfish and bass. We came here on the 15th and watched a guy pull in rainbows. He told us what rig he had. He had four pound line, with a weighted foam float up about seven feet, two large split shot a foot below that, a swivel below that and six feet of line between that and his #8 hook with a worm on it. The next day we came back with that rig. It was hard to cast because of the long lead but it cast really far with the weighted float. It didn't take long to bring a some smallish rainbows. The long light lead makes it so they can't feel the line when they bite and their bite is soft and subtle. I have several more posts about Green Lakes on this blog if you want to learn more about it.

Fishing Grout Brook, June 12, 2016

Grout Brook is still a mystery to me. The DEC public rights map lists only rainbow trout as the species but not only did we catch several panfish but HUGE bass at this outlet of Skaneateles Lake. The DEC map is linked here: http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/r7groutbrpfr.pdf. We started at the Sweeney Hill Road spot. It was very pretty but the water was very low. So we drove through the hills to Glen Haven Road. There is a little park there with outhouses, a couple of docks and a path that heads up to the lake. We started on the docks.

We caught several perch and panfish on worms.

Then we headed down the trail toward the lake. We found several more panfish but also a huge group of large bass hanging out under branches on our side of the water. We caught a couple that had to be brought up in a net.

On our way back to the docks to catch more perch and sunfish, we saw bullhead making nests near the shore. It was very interesting to watch them defend it and swish their tails to make it. 

My Favorite Erie Canal Fishing Spots, May 2016

I have probably posted about these areas before but they really are my favorite areas. The first is on Manlius Center Road in Fayetteville.

People who fish here usually walk down to the Limestone Aquaduct and have really good luck. I usually stay near the parking area and still have good luck. One of the reasons I love fishing the Erie Canal is I have caught the most variety of fish in it. I've caught lots of bass, pickerel, a white crappie, black crappie, perch, bluegill, pumpkinseed, rock bass, bullhead, redbreast sunfish, and a green sunfish. I always use a medium to heavy pole because there are large carp in there and I've had my line snapped several times. I use everything from pink floating worms from Prichard Baits https://i1baits.com/collections/vendors?q=Prichard+Baits, to live worms, to texas rigs for bass. I've been with people who have caught huge bass on top water poppers. 

 Green Sunfish on Prichard Baits

 Redbreast Sunfish

 Largemouth Bass

White Crappie

Another part of the Canal that I frequent is in Kirkville.

Early mornings are the best. I like to sit in a chair on this somewhat quiet road and fish as the sun comes up. 

Trout Fishing the East Tioughnioga River, May 18, 2016

First stop was a gas station/repair shop in Truxton. The guy there was awesome. He drew us a map of how to get to a bridge that was mostly known to the local folks before going to the main DEC spot. He said the river was recently stocked. We got worms from his bait dispenser out front and headed to the bridge. There were a lot of visible brown trout there.

We walked along the river bank and found some really nice spots near a beaver dam. We only got bites no hook ups. When we headed back to the bridge, we caught a couple of nice browns right under the bridge.

We headed up to the main fishing area on Route 13. Here is the DEC map: http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/r7ebrtioripfr.pdf

When we got there, there were three other people pulling in fish one after another. We caught our limit and went home.

Trout Fishing Fabius Brook, April 22-23, 2016

I've never been to Fabius Brook before. Probably because it didn't look very big and only had two DEC parking spots. Here is the public fishing rights map: http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/r7fabbropfr.pdf.   We went directly to Bardeen Road and found a nice parking area near a bridge in a very country setting. I walked along the 30 foot area that is a part of the public fishing rights area but bumped right up against someone's farm land. Each spot that looked promising I stopped at but didn't get a single bite.

I continued on and tossed in my normal set up that I was carrying, a trout worm on a #8 hook, with a split shot on 4 pound line, ultra light pole. Immediately it was hit and took off so fast under a tree it barely registered in mind that something had happened. I knew it was big and I had light gear so I let it play as I pulled it just outside the reach of tangling in the branches. I called for help because I didn't even have a net. So the line didn't break, the person I was with, literally had to lay on the ground, grab the fish, and toss it over her head onto the ground. It turned out to be a massive 22 inch brown trout. 

We speculated that my fish ate all the other fish in the brook. When we got home, we found a whole frog, a couple of whole chubs, and a small brook trout, and my little worm in its stomach. It barely had room for the worm but went after it anyways. 

The next day we went to the second Fabius Brook DEC parking spot on Route 80. It was a strange spot near a bridge, barely walkable and up against someone's small farm. My first cast a brook trout flew out from under brush to attack. He didn't come out again after seeing me that once. I walked for a while through horrible muck that I got stuck in and lots of prickers. At several points I saw trapped pools of brook trout that must have been stocked and then the water went down. It was mid-day so they were going after the worm but not striking. I finally caught a small brook and even though it was small, I kept it because I felt like I had nearly died in the muck and brush getting it!

Opening Day of Trout Season on Butternut Creek, April 1, 2016

Opening day for us really just meant being able to fish South of Route 20 in Lafayette. Fish were released by the hatchery a few days before and we were able to get plenty on the North side of Route 20. I will make a personal comment that I find it a little sad to fish recently released hatchery fish. They don't know to be afraid of humans so they don't hide when you walk up to the bank and they don't know know what the wild has to offer for food yet. Some people fish with bait that looks like the pellets they were fed at the hatchery, which doesn't seem like a real sport to me. Luckily, it doesn't take long for a few of them to make it through opening week and realize they need to avoid humans and bait that doesn't look like real food, and it becomes a sport again.

Here is a full map of DEC fishing locations for Butternut Creek: http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/r7buttnutpfr.pdf, Butternut is stocked with brown and brook trout for opening day.

Throughout the day I used trout worms on a #8 hook (I prefer red hooks), 4 pound line, one medium sized split shot 1-2 feet up from the worm, on a ultra light spinning pole. The first spot we hit was the Palmer Road bridge at about 6:30 am. We were the only ones there and got a few bites but nothing significant. The second spot we hit was Daley Road. It was raining and we walked a bit down the trail. I caught a nice brook trout at the first small pool I found that was under a fallen tree.

We headed back toward Clark Hollow Road and bypassed both spots on that road because one spot had a lot of cars there (we found out the next day it is because the fish were pretty much in one large pool under the bridge. We walked for a long time that day through brush and found one hole that no one else had ventured to and caught a 13-14 inch brown.) and because the other spot has a fish mailbox, a parking spot, and a don't trespass sign all with the DEC sign nearby, so it is very confusing. So we went to another heavily populated spot, Cascade Road. There was really good brown trout fishing there. We caught several, especially because we were willing to walk far through the mud and rain to get to spots.

After catching our limit, we topped off the day with some drinks at the Beak and Skiff tasting room.

Winter Fishing Lock 23 in Brewerton, NY, February 21, 2016

Today we went to Lock 23 in Brewerton. There is a back road that gets you close to the lock and has several picnic tables near the water to put gear on. It was clearly a popular spot because there were tons of minnows strewn every where. Today 4 wheel drive had to be on to access it.

Within five minutes of casting I had a 21 inch pickerel caught on a number 6 hook with worm set up. He was super feisty. 

Despite several attempts, there were no other bites during the day. The times I have caught pickerel, I tend not to catch any panfish, probably because the panfish are staying far away from the pickerel. We tried both sides of the lock and didn't get any other bites for the day. Worms, live minnows, and salted minnows were used.

Fayetteville's Secret: Limestone Creek, January 15, 2016

There are three creeks near Syracuse that have areas of all year round trout fishing: Butternut Creek, Chittenango Creek, and Limestone Creek. Butternut and Chittenango have DEC parking pull offs in the year round area, Limestone does not. Even though fly fishers have caught some of the biggest brown trout in Limestone and it is heavily stocked, there is barely anything online about it. There is access to it under Route 5 in Fayetteville and behind Brooklea Drive near the city buildings. I recently discovered another area, where Highbridge Street and Highbridge Road meet. There is even a very small DEC public fishing rights sign you will see if you park on the side of the road and a path between the rocks to walk down to a platform.

It was cold out and mid-day so if there were fish here, they weren't responding. There is a little falls drop off that leads to much faster water. I fished in the calmer section as the drop off is not easily accessible from here.