I'll be there Sept 25th thru Oct. 7 Rich,hope you get into them good this weekend !

We got some big t storms two nights ago and yesterday.  I would guess 1.5-2 inches of rain. It was nice because we have not got any since the last two plus weeks ago.

Everything here is half dead- we need rain.
The bits we have received this hot humid Summer have barely been enough to hang on.
Ground has been dead dry with cracks under the grass for far too long.
Rains all around us but not here.
Streams about dry all over- and its been this way for a long time.
 

Must be getting lots of bites because he is casting a 2 and the bites are coming at 12:00. He needs to do a better job on the hook set :(

Did his car have an Ohio plate?

hot tuna
Hot and humid back here. Did a scrub / wash scrub on the boat today . More needs to be done but far better then what it comes outta the mighty Hudson . .
Blow off day for my crew still out there . No fish marked or seen right up to and into lighthouse of SR last night by them .

No it was not Ohio , but not NY either , not that it matters . I watched all kinds on Sunday and Monday eve.
Question :
If salmon decrease , will there be an increasing pressure on the trout fishery ?
The door has been opened on the Natural Reproduction of salmon to contribute to a stocking decrease . For the first time in my history of almost 40 years out there .

  I'd say yes to a temporary increase on trout  lifting. Erie  and Michigan are going downhill, and the  many  guys that are coming up from down south will delay their trips into Nov. if Salmon aren't on the menu. Got to get that hero shot somewhere.  I'd venture dead of winter will still find  the LFZ packed , but some water available if you  take a good walk, at least on weekdays.  Before I started  bothering with this forum, I was pretty happy to go and maybe average one fish a day in winter. About 1 for every 6 hrs. fished. I was  enjoying the river immensely. I think I need to go back to that way of thinking.  C'est le vie if it crashes.

Interesting Fichy . Has the forum discouraged or helped your experience ?

Lol,
More of a troll..

Getting whacked pretty good in my little piece of Penn's woods with a tornado warning issued for the Slippery Rock, Harrisville and Franklin areas.  High humidity and warm temperatures today lending to numerous heavy downpours lasting several minutes.   Weather dude says to expect the same thru 2:00 AM.
 
Soybeans are beginning to yellow, corn browning out, the parameters of field are framed in "lovely" Golden Rod and, the Crickets have begun chirping their song during day.   Ahh the signs of fall are in the air........  oh yeah, Christmas decorations are starting to appear along with the Halloween mask.

hot tuna
Hot and humid back here. Did a scrub / wash scrub on the boat today . More needs to be done but far better then what it comes outta the mighty Hudson . .
Blow off day for my crew still out there . No fish marked or seen right up to and into lighthouse of SR last night by them .

No it was not Ohio , but not NY either , not that it matters . I watched all kinds on Sunday and Monday eve.
Question :
If salmon decrease , will there be an increasing pressure on the trout fishery ?
The door has been opened on the Natural Reproduction of salmon to contribute to a stocking decrease . For the first time in my history of almost 40 years out there .

The stocking cut is not being driven by natural reproduction of Kings, although the biologists have no control over that, but by the low anticipated bait numbers for 2017 and onward based on poor showings of YOY Alewife the last two springs.  Steelhead would also have been cut, but the returns have been poor enough the last two years that they pulled that off the table.  Lakers will also be reduced 20%, but I think they would have a hard time finding those fish as there are problems in the Federal Hatchery system again.

Don't think that will change what we have seen over the past couple of years one noticeable bit---the new norm.
Not just Kings either---
Hope to still be around to fish when the bounce happens.
Would love to see another banner season.
If not- oh well- at least was there when it did happen a few times.
Recall about 4 years ago just sitting on the bank mid river with feet in the water and rod leaning on a tree watching pods of 30 to 40 fish come by one after another- what a hoot.
Would fish a while then just sit and watch the show-don't know which was better than the other.
Like Deer hunting- sometimes just seeing them is enough- but ya gotta have a gun or rod and be in the game.
 
Despite predictions  no measurable rain here in weeks- everything is dying.
Mowed for the first time in 3 weeks yesterday- not to cut anything but to pickup all  the dead leaves in the bagger.

hot tuna
Natural reproduction absolutely is a factor and I think it is being used as a tool for the future ..

The current issue appears related to poor alewife reproduction in 2013 and 2014, combined with high predator demand for alewife.
Ontario and New York State’s combined Chinook salmon stocking target is 2.3 million fish, however, a recent study has shown that we are effectively stocking more than 3 million Chinook salmon due the great success of the net pen program. Chinooks held in net pens by sportsmen’s groups for three to four weeks prior to release have been shown to survive twice as well as traditional “direct” stocked fish. When we factor in the additional wild fish, the equivalent of 6 million Chinook salmon are added to the lake annually.

DEC is considering a 20% reduction in Chinook salmon stocking in 2017 (reduce from 1.76 million to 1.41 million fish), which amounts to a 10% overall reduction when wild Chinook salmon are included. This action would reduce alewife consumption attributable to Chinook salmon by 7.5 million pounds over the period from 2018-2020. Future increases in Chinook salmon would be considered when alewife population characteristics indicate good overall “health.”

 
 
Correct, sir!
 
But if there is nothing out there to eat except each other (stocked salmonids) because they ate all the remaining alewives, how many feesh U gonna C den, Senor?

Well I have only caught 1 , yes 1 mature king all summer on the Great Lake so I can't say it could be worse .
My point is that they are stating there is a 1 to 1 ratio of natural vs stock bringing the estimate of 6 million kings swimming the Great Lake and the forage can't support that amount in its current state , again citing the 2 harsh winters .
The forage I can buy , the natural reproduction numbers I find appalling due to the returns and catch rates from people I see and talk to on the dock at a regular basis .
The survey is a joke , first hand . We encountered a survey 1 time in 28 days on the lake .

Again , if there are an estimated 6 million chinook , where the heck are they ?
My fear is the push to play the NR card and reduce stocking = reduce costs .
When there was a stocking of approx 5 million salmon , they were EVERYWHERE !!
Where are they now ?
Typically I spend $3-400 every weekend as a privateer and more $ on extended trips to the local economy with an average of about $5,000 per season , that's just 1 boat and 1 income . If the trend to the fishery decreases it will get very depressed . Most folks think that salmon season in the river supports the area , huge wrong !! There are tons of boats that buy more tackle , lodging and fuel then the river ever could .

I sure hope they know what they are doing ..

Ah , I'm not buying the belly up on the bottom theory L thought last season either .
I think there are far less surviving the stocking and NR then proposed .
If they are there , lake guys would be having a field day , especially if they are going hungry .
You know how many little & big fishes eat those par - fingerling salmon in the tribs , it's amazing . Remember the commorant issue ?
That's why they are stating that pen rearing is working , because they have NO idea

That's one heckuva issue  Rich.
Many here in my little part of Earth have said the same thing for many years about the Atlantic stocking in the Ct river and its worse than lousy return rate.
In fact an almost invisible return rate.
Decades and no fishing allowed due to what many call a completely failed effort.
They stock thousands upon thousands of 5 or 6 inch Atlantics in the Spring.
This is just in time for the stripers to be dropping outa the rivers  to the reefs- not to mention  Blues starting to show bout the same time.
The added issue here the survivors then go North to cold waters where the fishing fleets from around the world seek Atlantics.
Too many predators is a HUGE issue.
 
Gotta wonder what would happen if they pen raised them till the fish predator issue subsided a bit.