Just thought I would pass this letter on to those who are going to the BIG O this spring and summer this was written by Ernie Lantiegne of the Fish DR. Charters.He is one of the best charters in the east basin of the Lake.
Erin
2007 Prospects and Changes
Speaking of 2007, the outlook for chinook, coho, steelhead, and brown trout fishing is great for two major reasons..., lots of baitfish and less predation by cormorants. USGS research biologists report their lake trawling in 2006 showed a large 2005 year class of alewives. This abundance of forage could produce a few chinooks in 2007 over 40 lbs. As for cormorants, good news. They're eating gobies in the NE corner of L. Ontario, and no longer invade the Oswego/Mexico Bay area daily by the thousands to feed on alewives and fresh stocked brown trout and steelhead. Hallelujah!
The combination of small, 3"-4" yearling alewives, plus the lack of cormorant predation produced more and bigger yearling brown trout in the Oswego area than ever before. By July, 2006, yearling browns stocked at 8-10 inches in May had reached 14 inches in length, and were already starting to look like little silvery "footballs" pictured at right. With an abundance of bait fish and warmer than normal winter water temperatures these young 2-year old browns should weigh 4- 5 lbs. by late April. Fishing in 2007 for bigger browns should be outstanding.
Biologists collecting spawning chinooks at the Salmon River Hatchery in October, 2006, tell us 2-year old chinooks were plentiful, a good indicatior that fishing in 2007 for 3-year old kings from 20-30 lbs. and larger should again be good. The Fall 2006 LOC Derby leader board showed the abundance of Lake Ontario alewives was once again producing giant king salmon, with 20 of the top kings entered larger than the 32 lb. 8 oz. grand prize winner in 2005. On top of all this good news, a Sea Grant funded study by Syracuse Univ. showed that 5-10 million wild chinook smolts were produced in the Salmon River in 2005, supplementing the annual DEC stocking of 1.6 million kings
