Spring Derby Weekend One

This past weekend was the opening of the Spring Loc Derby. The derby snuck up on me this year and we still had some bugs to work out on the boat at the onset of the derby. Our original plan was to fish out west again and hit the water near the Niagara River. However, the unusually cold water in that area had the king fishing behind schedule and most of the fish caught out that way were lakers. So, we made the decision to fish the only colored water we could find... off the Genesee River. We launched out of the River on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On the first two days, the water and weather were beautiful. On Sunday, the wind picked up out of the northeast and messed up the fishing and only allowed us to fish for about an hour. The fishing can be best described as a slow-pick overall. We caught browns, coho, rainbows, and kings with the best fish coming on Friday and the most numbers (10) coming on Saturday. The best area seemed to be the warmest, colored water between the river and Irondequoit Bay in 20- 50 feet of water. We had limited success out deeper, but the majority of our fish came in close off the boards or riggers set just below the surface. The highlight of the weekend had to be the 17 pound king on Friday. Our hottest lures were black and silver smithwicks and blue and gold bombers.

Strange Evening at the Pier

Decided to hit the pier for a little while last night. I arrived at about 6:00 and took a look at the water. It had a little color but was clearing fast and there was almost no waves at all. I knew the fishing would not be fast and furious but since it was a beautiful night I decided I would spend some time tossing cleos and hope to catach a brown or two. Well, after about 40 minutes of casting and not even a follow I was getting discouraged. I stuck it out and after another ten minutes, a fish hit. It did not feel like a trout or a salmon. Once it came into view, I knew immediately it was a good sized northern pike. It turned out to be a thick 37 inch fish that was clean and full of fight (all alone, no camera). I released the fish, retied, and began casting again. A little while later, I had a second hit. This fish hit the same cleo. The hit came soon after the lure hit the water and the fish immediately came to the surface. It was a long ways away but it appeared to be a nice brown. I continued to fight the fish and it soon became apparent that it was not a brown but a very nice smallmouth bass. I landed the fish and quickly measured it, 21 inches long with a 14.5 inch girth (5.3 lbs) . Unfortunately I had no camera. Carolynne showed up right on time and took a picture with my cell phone, but it does not do the fish justice. A beautiful fish and a great night