rmcguirk

Same. Woke up early, heard the wind howling thru the trees, and went back to sleep. May have to be sick on Tuesday, when it's supposed to be in the 70s.

Farmer, would love your thoughts from today on Conesus. Haven't been in a few weeks due to work/family stuff, but I'll be there tomorrow.

Here's hoping tomorrow morning picks up at Conesus where you left off. I'll probabaly be there about the same time tomorrow morning. What worked early?

And that is...

I haven't been to hemlock on my yak since May, so I can't help you there. If I could make a suggestion, fish the wind. If it's calm, Conesus is fine on a yak. If not, go Hemlock or, my favorite, Canadice. It is pretty well protected against the west wind. North/south, it's like any of the other Finger Lakes. But it is cut into a nice valley. Rick

Was out this morning. Had a few blow ups on a frog, but didn't connect. I did have good luck with a t-rig on the outside weed edge in 10-12 ft. Also had some luck with moving baits -- swim jigs and square bills. Fish were much more active today than they have been in a while, at least for me, given that I haven't had a great day on the water in a while.

This is a great site with great people, genuinely interested in sharing what they know. Some of it is shared with a joke or a smile, but that's part of the fun.

Ditto. You've pretty much described my summer. July has been very tough.

Just used it myself about a week ago. My Fenwick Elite Tech rod broke (on a shockingly small bass). They were easy to deal with and a replacement is on its way. Cost was $9.99. Not all of their lines have the same warranty. The website should be able to explain.

Please report back results.

Regarding Honeoye... I was only there once this year, but I've been plenty in years past. I've only fished it out of my kayak, though, so I only have a good sense of the north end, where I launch. For about 50-100 yards off the shore around the top end of the lake, it is pretty weed choked. Though I've never really committed to it, I imagine that a frog worked across that slop (particularly the shoreside edge) might be pretty productive. My best luck, however, has always been working soft plastics on the deeper weed edge, which usually occurs about 9-12 feet or so. If you don't mind snagging a bit, try a drop shot (with really anything) along the weed edge. Another good performer there has been a jika rig. But, my best bass have almost always come on an unweighted t-rig senko style worm or a wacky rigged senko. I have had very limited luck after summer sets in on any type of moving bait (spinner, crank, swim jig) given the weed growth and, oddly enough very little luck with a jig. If a jig is a confidence bait for you, I'd suggest giving it a go on the outside weed edge. Also, if you're big on deeper cranking, that might be an option. One other suggestion is that Honeoye has docks every 20 yards or so. I've never really gotten the hang of working a dock out of my kayak (much better out of my boat), but I always see boaters working the docks. I've got to imagine that Honeoye is like any other lake and that by the time the sun is full on the water, the bass will be seeking some shelter there. My experience on Honeoye is quantity over quality. I'd say my best bass there is maybe 3lbs. But, I've had days there that I ran out of plastics catching 1-2lb fish.

I have a 7' medium heavy / medium. I have several higher-end rods (including higher-end St. Croix rods), and I really do enjoy my Premier. Good rod.

Just got my shipping notification. Just love that anticipation--just like looking forward to Christmas. Only with this, hopefully, I'm going to use it this weekend. Caught several fish on that Biffle hardheaded jig this past weekend, with the biffle bug trailer. I'm going to try the rage bug as a trailer instead. Thoughts?

I feel very lucky. The "worst" thing that has happened to me is getting skunked or one time getting a treble hook buried in my wrist -- and the worst thing about that was that it took me away from actively biting fish. Reading some of these stories, like I said, I feel pretty lucky.

Order placed. Thanks!

Work during the week, fish on the weekends. I can't control the weather, so I just adjust my strategy accordingly. But, I'm not going to sit home on the weekend just because conditions are not great.

I'm with you. I won't be able to get until Saturday. But, I'll be fishing whatever the weather and temp.

Depends on the time of year, the time of day, the water conditions, the weather, and my mood. Today, the first thing I picked up was a jerk bait. That won't happen mid summer. Also, sometimes I feel like playing, and not going "textbook." Generally, though, I'm going to start with a moving bait before something slower.

Nice fish! Weight?

Funny. Was out on Conesus for 4 hours or so. Caught 2 nice smallies, but numbers obviously weren't there for me. Both were caught on natural/clear LC jerk bait (don't remember exact color). Others I chatted with had worse luck than I did. Water temp ranged from 50.5 at the bottom of the lake to 54 at the top. Wind was a little tough, and got worse as day wore on. Looking for better tomorrow.

Other than breaking off tips, today was my first time. My oldest rod and one that already had the tip broken off. It was great for smaller jerk baits.

I picked up a pack of 4" senkos in perch color from TW. Haven't tried them yet but they look good. Check them out.

Hit Conesus today. A tough first outing on the boat, with heavy wind and stupid me forgot to replace the battery to my wireless foot pedal for my trolling motor, so I was stuck anchoring and fishing spots. Caught one nice smallie -- 3.8, on a jerk bait. Not another nibble in 3 hours. Good to get the boat on the water though.

When it's quiet in the mornings, I leave the radio off. I like to enjoy the nature/solitude. But, when the lake wakes up and water skiers/jet skiers, etc. are pounding around the lake, I can't imagine that some music is going to scare off the fish so I enjoy some tunes.

As others have said, this was a fascinating read. For me, I can't seem to catch anything on a tube or any bass on a spinnerbait (plenty of pike, but few bass). What makes my failings with the spinnerbait particularly odd is that I look at a swim jig as a confidence bait and the bladed swim jig (chatterbait) is coming along as well, and they are pretty similar in terms of usage.