The fishing here on Lake ontario has been kind of fickel the past 10 years. In the mid 90's it was unbelieveable. We fished a L.O.C derby out of Oswego NY. The time of the year was late August. We drove the boat from Rochester to Oswego (3 hr ride on water) and fished for 4 days. Most days were double digit days and the fish were big.....I mean real big! That year, if you didn't have a fish in the 40's , you didn't cash a check. After that year the fish got smaller and less in #'s. Thats when The NY Department of Enviornmental Conservation dropped the ball. They said that the baitfish count was low and thus adjusted the stocking of Salmonoids. GOOD JOB BOYS...way to screw it up! The fishing took a drastic downward spiral, however we found other species to target.......Browns and lakers. Man were there a ton of Browns. We caught several fish in the high teens and even one fish around 21. What a year! Now as far as Lakers( Mud chickens) I'm not real crazy about draggin them in. We had big #'s and Really Big fish. All I can say is when a laker reaches the 203 class, it has my respect. Well all good things come to an end. Since there were no salmon to catch, most charter captains targeted the browns and the lakers. Now I'm not bashing Charter boats ( Lots of my friends are) , but a little catch and release goes a long way. Now I am probably wrong, but my gut tells me that the brown and Laker #'s took a hit from the several years of being harvested. The good news about Lake Ontario is the fishing is on the rebound. The fish are as healthy as I have ever seen and they continue to get bigger. There are more and more new boats and new guys . I think that NY state has finally realized what kind of fishery that is available. The only problem right now is the invasive species like the water fleas, and the gobies. One idea that I am a firm believer in is catch and release. I make every effort to revive every fish we bring to net. Lakers, I don't even net anymore. I go out on the swim platform , put on my fillet glove and tail them. Less stress on the fish, and no laker slime on the boat. It is my opinion that we are blessed with our fisheries and it is our solem duty as anglers to ensure that the species we target survive for our children to enjoy. Enough of the soapbox......Sharp hooks, screaming drags, and tight lines boys..................................Matt French