Any Luck In Upstate Ny?

[ww2farmer]

2 hours ago, River Dave said:

OK I have a couple of quick questions about Silver Lake for WWII Farmer or anybody else that might know. I would like to make a few trips there this year but am looking for the best way to get there. I'm only an hour away in West Seneca (little South of Buffalo) and the route I always take there is 20A but I don't think I can make that Warsaw hill towing the boat so I'm looking for an alternative. Looking at a map it looks like either 78 or 32 will get me there with less hills but I would like to know if those are decent for towing or if they're stone roads that will ruin my gelcoat. We used to camp at Jellystone so I know the roads up to that point but I don't know how they are beyond that.  Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. 

 

Silver lake sucks.........stay away. The water gives you the AIDS..............LMAO

In all seriousness...........you are NOT going to avoid any hills getting here. The best way from West Seneca is to take the 400 to 20A, and if you want to avoid the east hill in Warsaw, turn south on 19 once your in Warsaw, take that out of town, through Rock Glenn, and veer off on 19A towards Silver Springs, turn left at the gas station in Silver Springs, go over the tracks out of town, and turn left on West Lake Rd, the boat launch is about 1.5 miles from thereon your right.

If you want to avoid BOTH hills in Warsaw. Turn right onto Hermitage Rd about 3 miles before going down the west hill, it's right where Rt 238 ends. Take Hermitage road all the way to Hermitage, turn left on 77. Take that to the end, turn left, heading north on 19, then a quick right in about 1/4 of a mile on Broughton rd..........that will also take you right into Silver Springs. 

You could get on 78 by the Yellow goose market/gas station on 20A a few miles after you get off 400, but I have not been on that road in years beyond Java Center........I can't remeber how hilly it is. 

[River Dave]

Thanks Farmer, you're the best. I swear you are the most helpful guy on here. And 42 fish in 2 hours???? Dear God I'll be there tomorrow! Just kidding, I'm still not ready. Hopefully soon. Thanks again!

[ww2farmer]

1 minute ago, River Dave said:

Thanks Farmer, you're the best. I swear you are the most helpful guy on here. And 42 fish in 2 hours???? Dear God I'll be there tomorrow! Just kidding, I'm still not ready. Hopefully soon. Thanks again!

Leave the boat at home, and hop in with me anytime.

[nosdog2]

Farmer's directions are spot on.   I often take 78 when I travel to Butt-flo, but honestly I never paid attention to the hills. 

 

Btw, Farmer, I never realized before how MASSIVE the carp are in silver.  My god!   

[ww2farmer]

41 minutes ago, nosdog2 said:

Farmer's directions are spot on.   I often take 78 when I travel to Butt-flo, but honestly I never paid attention to the hills. 

 

Btw, Farmer, I never realized before how MASSIVE the carp are in silver.  My god!   

I have caught 30+ lbers .............and they have been small ones compared to some I have seen.

wnybassman once battled one that was over 30lbs for what seemed like 3 hours off the back deck of my boat during a tournament that I thought was the kicker of kickers for a few moments. I should have just reached over and cut his line. I fully blame him for finishing 2nd in that tournament due to the time lost LOL.

I foul hooked one tonight that was as big as any I have ever seen, and was in danger of being spooled with 50 lb braid, so I just pointed the rod tip at it, put my thumb on the spoo, burned all the skin off said thumb, and only lost my bait and leader line .

Were you there tonight? I didn't see too many people where I was. There are 2 bass resource members who know about this area of Silver, and both have been threatened with death if they talk ..............OK maybe not death, but I will raise my voice in a stern and ill-tempered manner.

That reminds me..........I haven't heard from bclark7b in a while..........I better check to see if he's still around and that he's not talking.

[nosdog2]

I wasn't there, I am back down in Maryland unfortunately.   

Last Friday when the lake was dead clear I rolled through a spot on the west side about mid lake near the triple bouys and watched a few stroll by.  I swear I could have saddled them up like a dolphin show!  

[Neil McCauley]

Anyone on LG or Champlain? What're the water temps like?

[desmobob]

10 hours ago, Neil McCauley said:

Anyone on LG or Champlain? What're the water temps like?

I was out on the southern end of Champlain last weekend.  By Sunday afternoon, water temps were above 55* in a lot of areas and I caught a lot of fish.  We had some very warm afternoons this week, but also some nights in the low-to-mid 30's, so I don't know what the temps will be this weekend.

Lake George was about 42* at Huletts Landing this past weekend.

Tight lines,

Bob

[ww2farmer]

Trip #11...............out for about 4 hours tonight after work. Caught 33. Still a great evening, just not as fast paced as yesterday.

Best five tonight were: 5-2, 4-14, 4-6,4-2, & 3-15 ............again, all largemouth

I did catch two smallmouth but they were nothing special.

[River Dave]

On 4/21/2016 at 9:40 PM, ww2farmer said:

Leave the boat at home, and hop in with me anytime.

If that is a serious offer I will probably take you up on it. I'd like to get out there and scope everything out before I bring the boat out anyway so hopping in the boat with you would just be a bonus. I haven't been to that lake in 25 years and even then I was in a row boat so I really don't know the lake at all. I'd like to get out with somebody who knows the water and can tell me any areas to avoid so I don't tear my lower unit off and, if he wants to give up a few fishin' spots while we're out there, well I guess that's OK too. I'd just like to learn a little bit about the lake so I can come down and not get skunked, brand new lakes are rough sometimes. Let me know what you think, thanks. 

[ww2farmer]

22 hours ago, River Dave said:

If that is a serious offer I will probably take you up on it. I'd like to get out there and scope everything out before I bring the boat out anyway so hopping in the boat with you would just be a bonus. I haven't been to that lake in 25 years and even then I was in a row boat so I really don't know the lake at all. I'd like to get out with somebody who knows the water and can tell me any areas to avoid so I don't tear my lower unit off and, if he wants to give up a few fishin' spots while we're out there, well I guess that's OK too. I'd just like to learn a little bit about the lake so I can come down and not get skunked, brand new lakes are rough sometimes. Let me know what you think, thanks. 

I am 100% serious. You let me know when you want to do it, and I'll make the arrangements to be available.

The after work trips wouldn't be worth the drive for you as I am only out for a couple hours before dark while the wife and kids are at busy with their stuff. But I am free all day, most every sunday..........and can take just about any weekday off I want as long as I am not super busy at work. When I am out there for the day...........I am out there for the WHOLE DAY. Sun up till sun down. 

If you want a chance to catch both largemouth and smallmouth, now till the end of may is the best time. June-mid Sept. is almost all largemouth time, then from mid-Sept. till early November both are in play again.

 

Now for tonight's report

Trip #12 for 2016

Fished from 5:30pm - 7:45ish tonight

Targeted smallmouth and caught 11..........also caught 7 largemouth too. As well as 1/2 dozen pike.

Best 5 smallmouth: 4-15, 4-11, a pair of 4-8's and a 4-6

Best 5 largemouth: 4-10, 4-7, a pair of 4-2's and a 3-14

[River Dave]

Sounds good Farmer. I'll send you a private message if I can figure out how to. 

[ww2farmer]

Trip #13

Un-lucky 13

That was a grind today. The proverbial "air out of the balloon" day.

I fished from 9:30am till about 2:30 pm today.............and I caught 6. One 4.5lb smallmouth, a pair of 3.5lb largemouth, and a trio of 14" largemouth. 

[PAGreg]

ColdSVT & I caught a ton on waneta/lamoka on Saturday.  Mostly 2 pounders but was fun losing count. Few docks in yet, so they were concentrated.

[Neil McCauley]

Fished LG again this weekend focusing on Lakers but caught a surprising # of SMB with some decent sizes, 16" range. Felt like babies compared to the trout though. They were right alongside the lakers feeding on smelt at stream mouths and spawning areas. It would have been a great day if the wind wasn't out of the North and whipping the lake up into whitecaps.

[ww2farmer]

Trip #14...........was on the water late this afternoon from about 4pm-7pm. Not a lot of action.............BUT........I did put a pair of hog largemouth in the boat, a pair of  4lb smallmouth, and a 2lb smallmouth to round out the limit. Pike were biting too.

The two big green fish were a 6-4, and a 5-1............on back to back casts. The area gave up nothing after these two.

And now for terrible pics. of the 6-4:

[River Dave]

Holy smokes that's a beauty right there! It's been several years since I've caught a largemouth big enough that that one couldn't  swallow it whole. Jeesh! 

[ww2farmer]

2 hours ago, River Dave said:

Holy smokes that's a beauty right there! It's been several years since I've caught a largemouth big enough that that one couldn't  swallow it whole. Jeesh! 

If it makes you feel any better.................this was a special 6lb'er................it was the 20th one I have caught since 2006. Most of them have come from Silver, a few from Conesus. Southern guys might not be impressed, but a 6lb up here is like a double digit down south, or in Texas/Cali. 7 and 8 lbers are not common, even the notable hog factories like Conesus, Keuka, and Erie only kick a handfull of them out a year. 

I am extremely proud of every one I catch over 6, I know a TON of excellent bass fisherman who have not caught one.

I usually get at least 1 a year dating back to 2008, 2013 was the banner year for them, as I caught 5 that year. I used to keep track of 5lber's, but I lost count of those years ago. MOST of them have come in the late summer-mid fall. Only 4 have ever been caught in the spring, today's fish, the 2006 fish, the 6lb smallmouth from 2008, and a 6-2 last spring. October and August have been the best 2 months, with September not too far behind, I have caught ZERO in June, and only 2 in July.

My 6lber totals from every year I have owned a boat:

2006-1

2007-0

2008-1 (the lone smallmouth on the list)

2009-1

2010-1

2011-1

2012-3

2013-5 (including my PB 7-1 from Conesus)

2014- 3 

2015-3

2016- 1 (so far)

[rmcguirk]

That's a stud fish!  Nice job!

[River Dave]

To me one of the most interesting things I've learned since joining this forum is that there really are 6 and 7 pound largemouth to be had locally. I've heard stories before but never really from credible sources and no pictures so I'm amazed at the size of some of the fish I see on here. I live so close to Lake Erie I've grown used to reports of giant smallies but the big largemouth are new to me. I catch a ton of bass every year but I rarely break 4lbs so I didn't think I'd ever catch a 6 or better so it's nice to know it's at least possible one day without moving to Florida. One thing that really impresses me is the health of the fishery at Silver Lake. For such a small body of water there seems to be a good number of fish in there. Well done Farmer, that is a very impressive list to say the least. 

My list of six pounders since I started fishing from a boat in 1970:                       ZERO

[J Francho]

8 minutes ago, River Dave said:

there really are 6 and 7 pound largemouth to be had locally

Yes, they are tough to find, but they are out there.

7-1 from a small central NY lake.

 

[J Francho]

So who is ready for some bed fishing?

 

[Subaqua Adinterim]

That rig (minus the white Mr. Twister) brings back some real old memories of hauling in salmon from the Port Ontario bridge near Pulaski.

My college buddies and I would head up after dark with the beers, boom box and lanterns. We'd use surf rods, some hefty Mitchell spinning reels and 80# braid.  Drop down next to the bridge piling and pull up and drop down until the rod almost got jerked out of your hand - fish on!  Used to catch between 6 and 10 on a good night.

That was over 35 years ago.  Can't do that type of fishing any more because it's not legal, the beers and fishing til midnight are something that I just don't do any more anyway.  But those were some fun times.

[desmobob]

4 hours ago, J Francho said:

So who is ready for some bed fishing?

 

 

That's awful!  But funny.

 

Great fish, ww2farmer!   I've only caught one bass over 6 lbs..  I'm pretty new to the bass fishing game and I want to break 7 lbs. this season, which I think is reasonably possible on southern Lake Champlain.  

I was out last weekend and had some good fishing.  My first bass was 4-13 and I don't think I caught one that was under two pounds all day.  They were all in a couple of feet of water.   I was using a big plum-colored T-rigged Megabug with a bobber stop keeping the 1/4 oz. worm weight about a foot above the bait.

I also caught the biggest bowfin I've seen.  I saw it swimming along the shoreline and landed a cast in the right spot.  It thrashed itself off the fish-grippers when I was taking the hook out, so I didn't get to weigh it.  Awesome fight!   

Later in the day, I went through a narrow and deep channel and noticed the bottom six or eight feet was absolutely packed with small fish.  I was wondering what they might be, so I stopped a got out my ultralight rig and a small yellow marabou jig.  I cast the jig and let it sink.  As soon as I tightened up the line, a fish was on.  A BIG fish.  After a very, very long battle, I landed a large Freshwater Drum.  And like the bowfin, it thrashed off the fish-gripper when I was unhooking it so I never got it on the scale.  They sure have a tiny mouth for such a big fish.  I'm guessing it was at least fifteen pounds.

Tight lines,

Bob

 

 

[J Francho]

4 hours ago, cutbait said:

That rig (minus the white Mr. Twister) brings back some real old memories of hauling in salmon from the Port Ontario bridge near Pulaski.

My college buddies and I would head up after dark with the beers, boom box and lanterns. We'd use surf rods, some hefty Mitchell spinning reels and 80# braid.  Drop down next to the bridge piling and pull up and drop down until the rod almost got jerked out of your hand - fish on!  Used to catch between 6 and 10 on a good night.

That was over 35 years ago.  Can't do that type of fishing any more because it's not legal, the beers and fishing til midnight are something that I just don't do any more anyway.  But those were some fun times.

Haha! The grub makes it totally legit