Ok already, I really am truly sorry for the long summer delay between updates. It is just that I get so busy from April through September doing that fishing thing that the frequency of my blogs suffers. Anyhow, I know this is a rather flimsy excuse, so color me guilty. In any event as someone once said, "I'm Baaack!" 2009 was a decent year for fishing with great brown trout action, and a good salmon season that produced generally larger kings than in years past. That plump, pesky exotic invader known as the Round Goby is being gobbled up by the brownies resulting in sizeable football shaped fishing targets.

This is probably the only good thing associated with the Goby as they are truly an exotic specie nightmare. The shipping industry battles hard for status quo regarding ballast water exchange regulations. As long as present ballast regulations remain in effect, exotic invaders will continue to infiltrate the Great Lakes. 

     I moved the "Dixie Dandy" back to the Little Salmon River around September 1st as cold, cold, water blew into the Oswego area turning those waters into a icy cold no mans land, or should I say a no fish land. In any event fishing was spectacular in front of the Salmon River with Chinooks and Cohoes on the attack most every day. Keep in mind that this area receives the largest planting of stocked fish as the only NYS Salmon rearing facility sits some 13 miles upstream of the lake. In all probability I will follow the same plan in 2010, which will be to start the season in Oswego and depending on fish movement, sliding back to my Little Salmon River mooring at the B&B Landing for the month of September.  Please keep in mind that this cleverly designed plan is entirely dependent on the whims of Mother Nature. It will all depend on how the winds blow.

     The Columbus Day arrival started the egg taking process at the Salmon River Hatchery in Altmar, NY.  Good fish returns resulted in planned egg quotas being achieved for both Chinooks and Cohoes. The eggs are now in the incubation stage and will transform into smolts over the winter to be raised and released into the lake in 2010. (Once they have spent a few weeks in the net pens adjusting to non hatchery life.) For the third year in a row the Chinooks will be given an adipose clip,  (last fin on the back) to identify them as stocked fish. Catch a mature salmon with no adipose clip and you can bet it is a salmon spawned in the wild. We will soon have a scientific handle on just how many wild spawned fish make it to adulthood. This is important information necessary for biologists to properly manage the fishery. Prior to arrival of our technically advanced fish marking system wild fish population estimates were non existent. With the guesswork replaced with empirical data, even better fishery management will result. The "crackerjack" NYS DEC Lake Ontario Fishery Team continues their excellent work. 
     Recently, I completed my sixth USCG License Renewal. Things have changed quite a bit since my first application over 25 years ago and the 911 tragedy has had much to do with it. The Captains license is now referred to as a credential and rather than a piece of paper it is in the form of a booklet that reminds me of a passport. It contains my now required Transportation Workers ID photo, which requires fingerprints to be on file, and other pertinent information. This is a good thing and will have nothing but a positive effect on the charter industry especially for those who play by the rules.

     Now that I have finally updated my blog and added 2009 photos to my site www.lakeontariofishing.net I will provide more frequent updates regarding our fishery. Really I will! So tune in often and of course let me know if you would like to fish with us in 2010. Thanks for reading the Captain Experience Blog.