Captain Tony Buffa

Fishing Report #19

07/11/07

Hello my fishing a"fish"ianados et. al.

Time for another angle on angling. As you will see from the pictures, it has been a fishful week. My active fishing will now be exclusively on Lake Ontario until Oct. for two principal reasons. Ontario is providing the better venue and king salmon are making their strongest showing in several years. I will return to Oneida in Oct. when the walleye and yellow perch bite is dependable on a daily basis.

Kings are everywhere! As of yesterday, July 10, I found kings from 120 out to 290 feet just north of Oswego Harbor. The cold water (53 to 42 degrees Fahrenheit) is holding at or close to 90 feet if you are using a 13 lb. weight. Spoons, Echips/Dodgers and flies, and a coveted strip of cutbait are all producing quite well. The usual supply of cut herring will not be available this season. Fortunately I have some left over from last year to carry me for awhile. Every presentation is effective. Downriggers with long leads (30 to 70 feet), Dipsys as well as copper and even the thumper all collaborate in a harmonious troll only to be frequently interrupted by either a king salmon or this year's bonus fish (a big steelhead).

Rudy Friedberg Sr. and Jr., Syracuse, NY know first hand how powerful a king salmon is after the initial strike. Their catch of three kings include a pair in the mid 20# range.

Rex Parton, Syr. (son of the famous Red Parton) knows how to take care of relatives. He arranged a Lake Ontario charter for his visitors James and Jim Braun from Byram, NJ, Jim Buck, Camden, NY and David Jackowski, Cicero, NY. This was an afternoon charter packed with king salmon action.

Onondaga county deputy sheriff Herb Wiggins and under-sheriff Warren Darby (with his 9 news shirt) celebrated the 4th. of July with their limit of kings and trout on Lake Ontario. Here we see them with half of their catch. Herb is holding a 12 lb. steelhead and 14 lb. king . The fish of the day however was boated by Warren. With seconds remaining in the charter his 27 lb. king hit a dodger fly combination. Herb and Warren had seven strikes and landed all seven fish. You can't get away from the law!

John Pietricola, Liverpool, NY treated his boys, Nick and David to a birthday outing for king salmon on Lake Ontario. As you can see they had a busy morning catching kings, a coho and a brown. The bulk of this catch was on the white Pro Troll Echip with an Atomik TG fly.

Kings, browns, steelhead...what more do you need to make an exciting fishing excursion on lake Ontario! It's all within a mile or two of Oswego Harbor. Which by the way will be the site of this Saturday's Mustad Challenge. The fishing begins at 6:00 A.M. and ends at 2:00 P.M. Weigh in starts at 3:00 P.M. and you must be in line no later than 3:30 P.M. Each team will weigh in it's six largest fish. This is a closed communication tournament ( no cell phones, no vhf radio) and no observer (scout's honor). Fish from any port in Oswego and Cayuga counties. Entry fee is $50.00 per boat-minimum of two anglers. Big fish fee $10.00/boat. There is a 10 place pay back based on 40 entries. There will be a 50-50 raffle with proceeds to the net pen project. Most importantly a time to socialize and eat with all the entrants will take place at the picnic/barbecue at Oswego Marina from 5:00 P.M. on. The cost for the picnic is $12.00 per person and the menu includes Deep fried turkey, pulled pork BBQ, macaroni salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, salt potatoes, tossed salad, rolls, cake, soda, coffee. Pick up the entry forms at the gas dock at Oswego. They are taking registrations as late as this Friday.The following sponsors are supporting the tournament: the principal sponsor is Mustad, others are Bass Pro, Larry's Salmon Shop, Atomik Flies, Ugly Stick, Northport Nailer, Plano, Offshore Tackle, Seaguar, PowerPro, R&R Tackle Co.

I like my fish with a little "Mustad",

cap'n tony