CNY Outdoors

Hardwater Fishing

2011-02-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

This year ice fishing started the day after deer season ended for me and a couple of my buddies. This year I have been very successful so far. My fishing adventures have taken me to Sodus Bay, Port Bay, and Cayuga Lake. At each place I have caught my limit of 50 perch at one time or another. At each place the fishing is a little different. Sodus Bay tends to usually yield the biggest perch but you sometimes really have to search for them and try a few different depths. I did my best in 13 to 15 ft. of water. Below is a picture of 50 perch I caught just before Christmas.

Sodus Bay has also held the biggest perch of all three places I have been this year. Below is a picture of the biggest perch I caught this year and the biggest I have ever caught in my life.

This perch was 12 1/2 in. and weighed 1.2 lbs.

Port Bay was new territory for me this winter. I went there with a couple of buddies and we didn't do very good the first day there but the next time every single one of us ended the day with our limit of 50 perch. Port Bay does have some big perch in it but really doesn't get put into the same class as Sodus. It is a very nice place though for a change of scenery.

The third place is Cayuga Lake. Cayuga is my favorite place to ice fish. We usually can limit out in about two hours. However when you're talking size it is no match to Sodus. We usually fish in about 8 to 10 feet of water and if you are in an ice shanty you can see the bottom. It is just awesome when you can see the school of perch come in and bite. Also we tend to catch quite a few pickerel out at Cayuga Lake. Most people tend to dislike pickerel because of all their bones. However in a future post I will talk about a recipe that will get rid of the bones and give you a way to eat pickerel nearly bone free.

As for bait I normally use one type of setup when ice fishing. At the end of my line I have a Swedish Pimple. I have used different colors such as white, and then ones that are silver with different color stickers on it. I have tried yellow and green colored stickers. The white pimple has worked the best with the green one right behind it. The yellow does work but not quite as good. I also place a Shrimpo about 10 in. above my pimple. I have used hot pink and orange for this. Both have worked good. I also put a minnow on the Swedish Pimple to entice fish to bite the hook and not the lure itself. If the fish seem to be short striking the minnow I will put on an eye ball from a perch I previously caught.

Late Season Hunting Tactics

2010-12-08T14:00:00.000-08:00

For most hunters that did not fill their tags in the opening week of NY's Southern Zone gun season it has probably been a very discouraging season. Extreme snow and cold weather has covered most of NY more then it normally has by this time of year. Deer movement has been limited and seems to be very nocturnal right now. Here are a few tips to try and turn your season around for the best and maybe turn your bad luck into good luck.

I'll start out by saying that on opening weekend deer were moving quite a bit due to the amount of hunters in the woods moving them around. My dad accidentally pushed 8 does to me and my buddy that afternoon when he was headed to his hunting spot. As I missed one of them my buddy did manage to connect on one. Since that day natural deer movement has been zero. Later that week my uncle's property got a couple inches of snow and we were able to see that the deer were still around but were just not moving during the day. This is likely due to all of the pressure from us and other hunters. On the second Sunday of the gun season my dad decided we would put on a slow push of this one area where we saw a lot of tracks heading towards. The area is mixed with Pine trees and golden rod. It is about 250 yards long and about 50 yards wide. The idea of a slow push was that my dad would walk through the area at a very slow pace. If he were to make it all the way through the whole area it would probably take him about an hour or so. I was sitting at the end of the area in a stand waiting for deer to come out. With the pace my dad was going the deer wouldn't come sprinting out of the area. They would just leave it at a jog and hopefully stop at some point giving me or even my dad a shot. Well the plan worked perfect as my dad made it about 50 yards through the selected area and out came a buck. The deer came trotting out right in front of me and stopped about 50 yards straight in front of me. Due to the thickness of the goldenrod I couldn't get a shot but the deer went another 10 or 15 yards at a diagonal to my left. The deer was now about 40 yards and broadside in a much clearer area. I pulled the trigger and this deer only went about 30 yards. After gutting him we realized that I blew up one lung and nicked the other. Here is a picture of this very non typical 5 pointer.

Putting on a slow push is a good way to see deer when you know where they are but you just can't get them to come by your stand. It also doesn't completely spook the deer and they will most likely come back to the area if your are unsuccessful at your push.

Another deadly tactic to use when deer are not moving is stalking. This will not work for all as I believe that you need a decent amount of land. If you don't own a lot of land it can still work but sometimes you may just be lead to any area you aren't allowed to hunt. This tactic requires you to be very stealthy in your approach. What you need to do first is find a set of tracks that seem pretty fresh and were possibly set that morning when a deer was going to a spot to bed down. Then simply follow them until you will hopefully run into the deer. However its not that easy. When you start out walking you really don't know how far the deer has gone. It may be 100 yards away and it maybe a mile away. You have to always be ready because it may be behind the next tree. When using this tactic you should walk even slower then you would be when using the slow push method. I've heard stories of guys taking 20 minutes to go 10 yards when they know that they are getting close a deer. There are also a few tips to know when you are getting close to a deer. Number one is the tracks will look a lot fresher. When you start getting close there will most likely not be any snow in the tracks. Depending on the amount of snow you may see mud because the ground underneath is wet. When you start seeing fresher tracks you know that you are getting close and it is to time to start taking slower steps. Before every step you need to look up and check for signs of a deer laying around near you. When you do decide to move only take a step or two and try to be next to a tree or something to conceal yourself. Another sign that will tell you that you are very close is when the tracks start to go side to side a bit. If you see tracks that seem to be stopping and going around in a certain area and seem to be meandering a bit the deer is most likely looking for a place to bed down. You may be close enough to take a shot now but you need to spot the deer first. You have to look real good because they blend right in with surroundings even if there is snow on the ground. By no means am I a pro at this tactic. But here are a few things I know about this method of hunting. The best way to learn more about it is to do it yourself. If you experience failure by spooking a deer you can learn tons about what not to do for the next time. Experience is the best teacher by far. Also keep the wind in mind. If you are stalking a deer and the wind is at your back you will most likely scare the deer before you even realize where it could possibly be. I suggest trying a different set of tracks. But it is not impossible and if you want to try it then try it because you never know.

Hunting the Rut

2010-11-05T18:15:00.000-07:00

The Rut! What is it really? How do you hunt it? Why do you hunt it? These questions will be answered throughout the rest of this post. For those of you who are already knowledgeable of deer hunting you know what the rut is and how its a good time to hunt. But here is a few tips you may or may not know about the rut.

First of I will answer the question of why do you hunt the rut and what the rut really is? Well during the rut hunting is actually very poor scientifically speaking. The rut means the actual breeding of deer. During this period the deer will be very secluded and away from civilization. The time to be in the woods is what I like to call the chase phase. This is the point in time where bucks are ready for breeding but the does are not in estrous yet. Bucks will be moving during all hours in search of a hot doe. Quite frankly they won't find one until the "rut" actually happens. Even the biggest and smartest of bucks make key mistakes that can allow hunters to take a deer. Most hunter call the chase phase the actual "rut". So when people say when is the rut going to happen they are most likely talking about this period of time. It is the best time to hunt for big bucks, which answers the question of why do we hunt the rut and what the rut really is?

However the big question is how do you hunt the rut or chase phase? First off you need to know when it is going to happen. There are a few signs you can look for early in the season or even before the season that will let you know that the rut is on its way. Finding scrapes and rubs is a tell all sign that a buck is in the area. Scrapes maybe a good thing to hunt over in the early season. This is because deer (bucks and does) will be visiting and leaving behind urine samples. Once the actual chase phase starts bucks will be more into looking for does then tending scrapes. However, I wouldn't put hunting scrapes completely out of the question. The chase phase has started and will be leading to the actual rut very soon here in New York. A friend of mine was nice enough to lend me a trail camera to put over my mock scrape. This picture was taken from what I believe is during the chase phase. Also I have buck urine and doe estrous in the scrape that I refresh every time I go hunting.

This 8 pointer came though at 11:48am!

The other tell all sign that a buck is in the area is rubs. However don't get all excited that he will be coming back. Rubs are usually just used to scrape of the deer's velvet. However they maybe near by a preferred traffic route of a buck. Finding rubs and hunting near it where you may see a lot of other deer sign is a much better idea. Here is a picture of a rub I found early in the season.

All of this sign has only led to limited success for my dad, my buddy, and myself. My buddy shot a nice little 4 point previously this week. However, every time I go out I am seeing more and more bucks. I know that there is a really big one lurking around some where. If you can take one thing from this post, realize that you can't shoot a deer on your couch. You must be in the woods and if you want to be successful you need to be out there as much as you can.

Treestand Locations (part two)

2010-09-28T13:42:00.000-07:00

A mere two and a half weeks stand between today and the opening day of bow season in the southern region of NY. In this post I will continue to talk about treestand location and show you pictures of where I put my stands and why.

This year my father a couple of friends of mine and myself will be hunting my uncle's property located just outside of Batavia, NY. We usually don't hunt here because it is an hour and a half from our home in Central New York. However I go to school in Brockport, NY which is about a half hour from my uncle's. This will be the first year where we will have put in significant time at this location. Due to not being to familiar with the area we talked to my uncle about where he usually sees deer feeding and traveling during the summer. With all of his information and our common knowledge of whitetail deer I feel like we have three places setup for prime hunting.

The first stand was placed just off of where two deer trails meet and become one to cross a patch of grass and head back into thick goldenrod and brush. My uncle said usually every morning and evening he sees deer cross at this spot. However where I expect the deer to be when they come into range is solid goldenrod. So I cleared a spot about ten yards by ten yards where the deer will hopefully stop. This clearing is mainly for bow because when gun comes around I will be able to reach out to the patch of grass I mentioned earlier.

I apologize for not having a picture of the way the stand is facing. However the clearing I made is straight in front of the stand starting about ten yards away and the grass patch is directly to the left of the stand.

The second stand was placed where two deer roads cross and make an intersection. This stand possibly has the most deer sign by it. This location was an easy decision even though once the stand was placed we realized there isn't a lot of room for a shot. However after cutting down a few branches we opened it up pretty good.

This is a picture from the ground of where the second stand is facing. This trail is coming towards the stand and the one that crosses it is about where I'm standing. The trail shown comes from the depth of the woods and is leading out of them into some more thick goldenrod and brush.

The third location is where we put our ground blind. This spot is a heavily used by deer and it seems to be a bedding spot.

We tried as good as we could to put the blind up into a couple of pine trees so it would be as concealed as possible for the spot. Also the door is in the back and you can sneak in through the back of the pines. A good tip when located a stand or blind position is to try and have the route that you take to it different from the route that the deer take to it.

This picture was taken when I was standing directly in front of the blind. This trail leads straight through what we think is a bedding area and out the back to more woods. If you walk directly into it you can see tracks and places where deer have bedded down. This may be a key spot to locating a big buck late in the season as hunting pressure hits most of the surrounding area.

The land that we are allowed to hunt has plenty of deer sign. However there is not a lot of food sources, but there is thick cover. This means that the best times to hunt will probably be during the morning and evening when deer are moving from food areas to bedding areas. However I do suggest to bring your lunch with you. Especially during the rut when deer are most active and hunting pressure is at its highest. You just never know what may be pushed your way.

Treestand Locations

2010-09-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

The leaves are turning and the weather is getting colder. This only means fall is coming and so is deer season. With roughly a month until bow season starts for the southern region of NY, placing treestands is a must for anyone who wants to increase the chance of getting deer. (Due to the length of this post it will be broken down into two different parts)

The first question is when should you put up your stand? While I know some people that put them up in the summer, I believe that if you put them up so that the deer have enough time to get used to something new in the area you will be fine. The second question is where to put them up? If you own a lot of property there is probably many spots where you wish you could put a stand. However, like most people you don't own a million treestands. Here are some helpful tips that will help you locate those few blessed spots.

First off you obviously need to find an area where the deer are moving through. These areas are not hard to find. However, are the deer moving through this area during daylight hours or nocturnal hours. The best way to find out is by setting out a trail camera so you can see for yourself. I do not own one because I am a poor college student and I'm lucky to afford arrows and slugs for each season. Trail cameras will let you know when deer are coming through your area though. If you find an area where deer are constantly coming through during shooting hours your job is done and I suggest you put your stand there.

However for the not so fortunate like myself a little more scouting is needed. You will need to find heavy deer roads, food, and bedding areas. Apples are very abundant in NY and deer love them. Also corn and acorns are great to set up around. There are two problems with the area I hunt. One is that the apples have already fallen and been ate by deer and the other is that all the corn in the area is not on land that I'm allowed to hunt.

If you don't have an abundant food source to hunt you should look for places with the greatest amount of deer signs. Finding where deer roads meet and become one big cluster of tracks is a good place to locate a stand. However don't place your stand right on the road or close to it if possible. The farther away you are the better, but take into consideration if your gun hunting or bow hunting and keep yourself in range. I always set my stands up so I can hunt out of them with both bow and gun. Finding bedding areas is a key to filling your tags. If I find what I think is a bedding area I won't set up in it. I will set up just outside of it trying to catch deer going to and from it in the evening and morning.

With the help of my dad we put up two stands and one ground blind. Each place picked out by where we think the deer will be come hunting season. Deer also will change patterns throughout the season. Early in the season when they are not being pressured hunting near food is probably your best option. However once the rut kicks in you may find deer anywhere. Bucks will be chasing does and your chances of taking a nice buck will increase. If you are a trophy hunter and find a bunch of does soon enough a buck will be by. Late in the season when deer are starting to get pressured quite a bit and weather is turning for the worst hunting thick cover is possibly your best bet. All of this was taken into consideration when placing our stands and blind.

Topwater Techniques

2010-08-27T12:50:00.000-07:00

Topwater fishing is a very unique way to fish. It also can be the most fun if you are successful at it. Topwater fishing is quite simple but can be a little difficult if you don't know a few things.

Fishing topwater near lilypads and weeds is a very good way to catch largemouth bass. Out at Otter Lake the bass are getting very used to soft plastics and I may fish all day and only catch one. So I decided to switch things up and try a topwater lure. I fished from early afternoon until it was dark out and was successful in getting fish to bite. However landing them was a different story. I did manage to land two 15 in. bass though.

Throughout the entire trip I lost three and had two go after my lure and miss it. I was using a Rage Tail frog. Rage Tails do not come with hooks in them, you need to rig them yourself. When selecting a hook you need to pick one that is big enough because if your using a small one you will not hook the fish as good. This was my problem when I started fishing the other day. Once I switched to a bigger hook I landed the two in the above picture. I will now use a hook that is just shorter then the frog itself.

To me Rage Tails have been the most successful topwater bait I have used. They do not float but when you reel them in they come to the surface and the legs will role over themselves and make a splashing sound that just plain attracts bass. I will also use a popper sometimes. These work good but not quite as good as the Rage Tails.

When topwater fishing I suggest you use a strong pole with some strong line. I use 20lb Power Pro braided line. This is because I'm fishing near weeds and pads and when I get a fish I want to get it in as fast as I can. I don't want the fish to take me into the pads or weeds because this is when I may loose the fish if it twists around.

Setting the hook is also a key to topwater fishing. You will know when a fish bites because it will come right out of the water. However this is not the point where you want to set the hook. You need to wait until you see your line move out. This way you know the fish is on and that it didn't miss your lure. If you set the hook to soon you may end up pulling it right out of the fishes mouth.

Over Populated Bass Pond

2010-08-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I managed to make it fishing with my dad and a guy my dad works with. We went to Chase Pond near Constantia, NY. Constantia is located north and a little east of Syracuse, NY.

Before this trip I thought Otter Lake was loaded with bass. However there are many more in Chase Pond as we caught 25 bass in about 5 hours of fishing. We fished from about 1pm to 6pm. This usually isn't great fishing hours but with as many as there are in that pond it really didn't matter.

My dad and I with our limit of bass ranging from 12in. to 17in.

The only problem is that there isn't enough food for all the bass in the pond. Very few people fish this pond and not many fish are taken out of it on a regular basis. This is a serious problem if you want your fishing area to remain a good spot. Soon there may be a massive die out of fish due to lack of food. The fish we caught were very skinny and didn't look like they were eating good. For one person to cure this problem is nearly impossible. I would suggest talking to some kind of local game warden if you are serious about fixing a problem like this in a safe way.

On the other hand though we had a lot of fun as just about anything was working for us. We used top water baits and soft plastics for the most part. A lot of colors such as pink, purple, blue, and white worked. However the best color of the day was green. We fished lily pads and open water and both worked great.

Our friend Jon catching one at the surface.

Lily Pad and Milfoil Combo

2010-07-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

Today I went fishing on Otter to the only set of lily pads I haven't fished yet this year. I found this to be a very interesting spot as there is obviously lily pads there, but also there is milfoil wherever the pads arn't . This is a very dangerous combination because bass will be in the pads and the milfoil.

At times when I fish just pads I will jig my worm a little at the edge of the pads and if I don't get a bite I will reel my line in. Since I was fishing pads and milfoil I didn't reel my line in all the way until it was almost all the way to my kayak. I believe this might be the only spot on the lake where the milfoil is that close to the pads.

I used a purple sinko again today and caught four bass in an hour and thirty minutes. However only two of them were keepers at 14 in. Also just after I caught and released one about the size of the worm I was using, a huge one surfaced just in front of me but I couldn't get it to bite. Another good bait to use is a topwater frog. I suggest a Rage Tail in any color. You get five in a pack and it only cost five or six dollars. Other topwater frogs will work but sometimes you can spend five or six dollars, maybe even more on a single frog.

Big Catch

2010-07-21T17:40:00.000-07:00

The fishing at Otter Lake has been very up and down lately. I fished this past Friday evening and all day Saturday to end up catching nothing. Sunday evening, however was completely different as I caught two 17 in. bass and a 14 in. bass. As good as Sunday was, Monday evening held the biggest fish I have caught all summer.

I haven't fished the lily pads much lately because just about everyone else has been. I figured I would give them a shot though because it had been a while. I fished the west side of the lake and made my way south not catching anything from about 7pm to 8pm. I then switched baits from a small blue sinko to a larger purple one. I caught my first fish that was real close to 12 in. Since I didn't have a measuring tool I threw it back in hopes to catch some bigger ones. I moved ahead in the pads about ten yards and casted toward an open spot. When casting I released the line to late and drilled my worm about five yards in front of me. I reeled in the slack and realized that my line wasn't in the same spot as when it hit the water. I set the hook and a few moments later landed my biggest bass of the summer.
This 20 3/4 in. monster bit the line about 5 yards from my kayak. It swam under the kayak and when it came up actually hit the bottom of it. It weighed in at 4 lbs 14 oz. This is a very decent fish for Otter Lake, but I know that there are bigger ones in there.

At this point I was quite amused with the fish I had caught and wasn't paying to much attention to the rest of the evening. I did however make it over to the south east part of the lake where I brought in a 18 1/2 in. bass. I also did miss one about 1 ft. from the kayak as I brought my bait out of the water it jumped at it but didn't get it.

The purple sinko has worked for me before. Early in the summer I caught three bass on it one day. With the heat increasing throughtout the summer the larger baits haven't worked as well. I went to smaller ones and have had good luck on them. This time I guess I just felt like trying something that I knew has worked well before.

Fishing the Milfoil

2010-07-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

If you fish a small lake the fishing will change very often throughout the year. That is exactly what is happening at Otter Lake in Central New York. The lily pads have been a hot place to fish almost all summer so far. However they are starting to get over fished by many people. The fish in the pads are either smarter or are moving out of them.

A great place to fish is the milfoil weeds. Milfoil is the common weed that is at the bottom of almost every lake. At Otter Lake if you head to the north end you can see the milfoil right at the surface. This is great fishing in the middle of the day when it seems fish might not be biting.

The only problem is some of the milfoil in the lake is dying. This is good for fishing purposes but bad for the fish. You will catch more fish because in a small lake the fish won't leave the area. On the other hand the fishes homes are being taken away. There is still a lot of milfoil in the lake but here is a picture of the dead weeds.

The north end where the milfoil is near the surface is extremely easy to fish, however if you would take a boat over it at first glance you would not think there would be fish in there. That is why not many people fish it. All I use is a weedless worm or a topwater frog. Bring it right over the top of the milfoil and you can basically see the fish bite it.

If you are fishing a deeper lake and cannot see the milfoil then your options for bait open up greatly. In this case the plasitic worms will still work, also lures will work great. There are a few spots at Otter where I can use a lure that goes 1 to 2 feet deep. My choice is a Rat L Trap or a similar type of lure. If your fishing even deeper water then crankbaits will work also. I have been using a fire tiger lure where a friend of mine has been using a perch colored one and a blue one. All three colors have caught bass and the perch color and blue color have caught pike.

Milfoil is great for more then bass also. Pike and walleye also hang out in the weeds of a small lake. Also another great bait for the milfoil is a live minnow with a bobber. If you know how far down the weeds are try to place you minnow about 6in. above them. I have not tried this yet, but will be this weekend when I have more time to fish.

Filleting a Fish

2010-07-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

Filleting a fish can be quite simple if you know a few simple tricks. This post is going to show you how to easily fillet a fish. However practice is needed if you have never done this before. I suggest practicing on smaller fish first before you go to something like a bass or a walleye that is bigger. Also this post is a bit gruesome and if you have a weak stomach viewer discretion is advised.

1. Get a flat hard surface that you don't mind getting messy and place the fish on it.
2. Cut just behind the pectoral fin and the gill. Cut all the way down to the spine or as close as you can get. If you cut on a slight angle toward the fishes head the knife will go through the scales much easier then if you go straight down.
3. Turn the knife and cut towards the fishes tail along the spine. Cut all the way until you are right behind the tail fin or the caudal fin and flip over the flap of fish you have cut.

4. Next cut the meat off of the skin. If you press down on the skin a little with the knife while cutting you will get more meat. Cut the entire section of meat off.

5. Now its tough to see in the photo but there is a section of bones on your fillet. All you need to do is cut around them and you have a finished fillet.

6. Do the same for the other side of the fish and wash the fillets in cold water until they are clean.

Another tip is to make sure you have a sharp knife. Bass Pro, Dick's, and maybe ever Wal-Mart will have good fillet knife's. I use a Rapala and I sharpen it before every use.

Boat vs. Kayak

2010-07-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

In this post I will talk about the differences of using a boat and a kayak for fishing. Sometimes a boat is best and sometimes I believe a kayak or even a canoe would be better to fish out of.

The lake that I normally fish is pretty small so it is very easy to get wherever you want in a kayak. However if there is any kind of wind you will not be able to stay where you want in a kayak. But sometimes when I'm out in a kayak and there is a little wind, I will paddle into lily pads and the kayak will stay put for the most part.
I have put my kayak right near the edge of the open water shown above. Then fished the edges of the lily pads by letting my bait drop off of them into the water.

I have approached lily pads where I saw fish jumping with a boat with no trolling motor before also. When I get to where I want to be I will drop my anchor down and start fishing. It seems to me that the fish stop jumping in this area and I end up not catching anything. Between the sound of the motor and the sound of the anchor being dropped I believe that this scares away fish. Especially with the lake being particularly shallow the vibrations could scare them just out of casing distance.

Also with a kayak you can float right over any kind of weeds or lily pads that have made it to the surface of the water. Its like they are not even there. However in some cases boats are much better. Obviously if you are fishing a very windy day or a bigger lake a boat will be much more helpful then a kayak or canoe.

If anyone else has had experiences of possibly scaring away fish with a boat in shallow water please share you stories. I would love to hear them.

The Dog Days of Summer

2010-07-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

Here in Central New York we are under a heat advisory as the mercury has hit well into the 90's everyday since this past Saturday. Fishing a shallow lake with these kind of temperatures can be extremely difficult sometimes.

During the peak hours of the day the fish, much like you and I, on a hot day are very "blah". While fishing with my dad from about 8am to 1pm on Saturday and Monday we caught zero fish. A couple of times one would jump in the lily pads going after our bait but it would jump behind our bait and miss the hook.

However Monday evening at about 7pm it cooled down about 10, maybe 15 degrees and the fish started biting anything that was in the water. My friend and I caught 8 in one spot. Yesterday was also very much like Monday as it cooled down again right at 7pm and I brought home another 3 nice bass.
The bass don't feed much when it is too hot, so as soon as the temperature drops a little bit in the evening, they will go crazy. It seems that they are biting a lot of different baits right now. Last night I used an orange and redish plastic worm that I have personally never used before.

The fish are not impossible to catch in the middle of a hot day though. If you're not having much luck try jigging with a smaller lure and try jigging slower. I believe that I was going too fast and that might be why the fish were missing when they tried attacking my bait.

Windy Days

2010-07-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

To me windy days are possibly the worst days to fish. The boat gets blown around, your line don't stay where you want it to, and its hard to cast. However it doesn't mean that the fish won't be biting. Here in Central New York we have had the nice weather that has been expected, but it has been terribly windy. The last two days I have had to wait until 7-7-30pm for the lake to be calm enough to go out on. This only gives me about two hours of daylight to fish. Otter Lake on a windy day

On a windy day topwater fishing or pad fishing isn't the best. Due to the waves the fish will be either suspended or on the bottom depending on the depth of the water you are fishing. Bass will still be in the weeds so if you fish near lilypads or weeds with a weighted jig or some kind of lure you have a good chance of pulling them out. Also on windy days try fishing near shorelines where the wind may actually be a little calmer. Again go with a darker color such as blue or purple. But when using a lure try something that is shiny or that makes noise. Rat L Traps are great for getting the fishes attention when your not able to cast exactly where you think they might be. When using a crankbait I like to use either a small rapala that goes about a foot deep or a hot n tot made by storm. The hot n tot however is a deep running lure that when reeled in fast can go five to eight feet deep. Also spinner baits have caught some fish lately. I have used a small pink and white one and a friend of mine has been catching them on just a plain white one.

Windy days are tougher to fish than calm days, but remember the fish are still there and one is bound to bite sometime. You most likely won't catch as many fish on windy days, however if your determined to get out there here are few tips to try that have worked for me.

Here in CNY the weather is expected to stay nice and a huge warm spell is coming through. This should activate the fish a little bit more and with hopefully calmer days the lilypads will be great places to fish. Happy 4th of July and good luck to everyone.

Bass Season Is Open in CNY

2010-06-29T17:33:00.000-07:00

June 26th 2010 - Otter Lake Cato, NY

It was a Saturday morning when my dad and I headed out to Otter Lake to go fishing with a friend who owns a camp there. First off this is where I do most of my bass fishing because it is only about 15 minutes from my house and is loaded with largemouth bass. There is also a few smallies in the lake but there is not alot of habitat for them to have a big population. This particular lake is less then a mile long and gets no deeper then 10-12 feet in the deepest spot. The outer edges of the lake are covered in lily pads which are obviously prime spots for bass.
Me and my dad with the days catch

It was an overcast day with a few sprinkles here and there. We started off by going across the lake and a little towards the south. The day went pretty slow until I finally hooked into a 15 in. largemouth bass. As we got farther toward the south end our friend caught two that were about an inch smaller. It was starting to look like me and my dad were not going to win this one. As the day went on I really didn't expect to catch to much more, but when we got to the southeastern part of the lake my dad hooked into his first and only fish of the day as he lost two in the lily pads later. Just after that I hooked into two on back to back cast. One was 16 in. and the other about 13 in. So all in all I enjoyed a great morning on the lake with my dad and a friend of ours. The 3 bass that I caught

Here in CNY we just had a spell of very humid weather and the lily pads have been full of bass. It is now starting to cool down and they are moving out of them a bit but they will hopefully be back soon.

To me the pads are the easiest to fish if you just know a few things. I tend to use a plastic worm, my favorite being a sinko. The darker colors such as purple, grey/green and blue have been working the best. However the bubblegum pink and half pink half white also works well. But don't be afraid to try something random if they are not biting because you just never know. All you have to do is rig the worms weedless and cast on top of the pads. Reel it in until you get the the edge of them and just let the worm fall and you can just jig it from there. I feel like you should also try to cover a lot of ground. Staying in one spot and not catching anything doesn't mean there isn't fish there. They might just not be hungry. Try moving to another spot and coming back to where you were later in the day. Common weedless rig I use

Shortly we are expected to get some more nice weather so hopefully the fishing will be good cause I will be out there. Good Luck to all!!!

Introduction

2010-06-28T19:27:00.000-07:00

Hello there everyone my name is Bryce and I live in Central New York. I love the outdoors and love to hunt and fish. I currently go to school at Brockport University where I major in Environmental Science. My true dream in life is to own a game farm. I'm not sure where but I do wish to get away from the Northeast when I graduate from school. Throughout my blog I will be talking about my own experiences of hunting and fishing and also will throw in some tips and tricks I might have picked up. I will be mostly talking about what is in season at the time. I will also put up pictures of my adventures for you all to enjoy. I typically hunt deer and turkey as they are the most common in CNY. I do wish to hopefully make a trip more north in a few years so I can go on a bear hunt. I go ice fishing every winter and go regular fishing in the spring and summer. I typically fish for perch, walleye, trout and bass. However I can't go wrong with just going down to the river and catching whatever feels like biting a worm. Hope you all enjoy this, if anyone has any questions or comments please feel free to write.