November 28, 2013

St. Lawrence River: Muskie hunters are taking their last shots ahead of the river’s Dec. 15 closure on those fish. Some good fish have already been taken this fall. Black Lake: No fishing report now during the height of the deer season.

A few fishermen will be out when weather permits, with nymphs and streamers the best options. There are also still some olives around, along with some midges that can offer dry-fly fishing in winter. That said, fishing options are limited, with the Delaware’s West Branch closed above the Pa. Game Lands; fishing on the East

No fishing report right now with most of the attention focused on whitetail hunting.

The focus now is clearly on deer hunting, both in the Northern and Southern zones. The Southern Zone opener got off to a warm and windy start but there were scattered reports of solid success from hunters.

The striped bass and bluefish action outside the South Shore inlets, especially between Fire Island Inlet and Moriches Inlet, and off Montauk Point and Orient Point remained excellent, but anglers were working harder for the fish they caught. The fish were feeding primarily on sand eels in 40 to 60 feet of water, making diamond

Deer hunters are seeing buck activity and are connecting on some good bucks – even a few topping the magical 200-pound mark. There hasn’t been a lot of tracking snow this season, with the exception of some of the higher elevation areas.

Cayuga Lake: Northern pike and chain pickerel were being caught on spoons in the north end. Any rain should bring the browns and landlocked salmon into the tributaries. Seneca Lake: Lake trout were being taken 50-80 feet down over 115-130 feet of water on spoons and flasher and flies. Yellow perch were hitting on small

Lake Ontario and tributaries: If you are not a hunter, then this could be a great time to go fishing because there will be a lot less pressure in places like Eighteen Mile Creek and Burt Dam.  Steelhead were starting to arrive in the scene in modest numbers. Johnson Creek to the east was offering