We all are well aware of the wonderful world class fishery dominated by huge king salmon and trout that exists within its waters. We may not all be aware that this action packed fishery is totally dependent on the smallest of creatures, some visible only under magnification of a microscope. Without this assortment of critters, great catching would not be possible.

The food chain puzzle is certainly complex and ever changing. It all starts with phytoplankton, (algae), which gets eaten by zooplankton, which gets eaten by small fish such as alewives, which in turn is eaten by salmon and trout which then gets consumed by a big time predator known as a human.

Starting with the phytoplankton population, nurtured by the sun fueled photosynthesis process; the nutrient energy capability of the lake is an ever evolving, tumultuous, biological adventure. Thats why some years produce bigger fish than others. Like the NYS Lottery guy says, "hey you never know."

The completion of the St Lawrence Seaway shipping channels and gigantic lock system really changed things throughout the Great Lakes by knowingly providing an entry channel for hundreds of foreign species to our waters. Zebra and Quagga Mussels, ruffe, , gobies, spiny water fleas and fish hook water fleas are a few of the recent relocated residents previously found in Eastern European waters. So far the lake has adapted and survived the invasion but school is out regarding long term consequences. We can only hope that the lakes resiliency powers will allow it to prevail. As governments, lobbied by the shipping industry, move toward exotic invader elimination through ballast water control at the speed of a one legged turtle, our best hope is the lakes ability to adjust on its own.

So far so good, however, what new invader is currently lurking at the doorstep of the worlds largest freshwater system? Well how about the recent arrival, Mr. Hemimysis Anomala, nicknamed the Bloody Red Shrimp. Check out www.glerl.noaa.gov/hemimysis Found recently off Oswego NY, the creature about 1/2 in length is now believed to have been around for a couple of years. We are not yet certain of the shrimps long term impact; however, biologists believe the recent larger alewife size may be a result of their consumption of the newly arrived amphipod. What nature taketh away it sometimes givith back, as it appears that the shrimp are being gobbled up by opportunistic alewives. Fatter baitfish means larger salmon and trout. Perhaps this will be a good invadermaybe. I hope.

Only time will tell. Speaking of time, yours truly, a hungry predator, is about to chomp on some turkey leftovers. It is still great to be a Lake Ontario Troller, especially around Thanksgiving time.

   After years of uncontrolled ballooning budgets New York State has finally decided to curtail spending and has called for sizeable budget cuts. This will effect the funding for our DEC and thus some fishing and hunting programs may see dollar shortfalls, especially in the area of personnel expansion. It appears that the revenue generating Lake Ontario Fishery may need some belt tightening; however, our stocking program will remain intact. Thats very good news for the Lake O sport fishery. By the way, the 2008 egg harvest was a success with all projected numbers achieved. Presently the eggs are incubating and will be ready for their distribution into the lake starting in May 09.

   2008 fishing was generally good, especially for browns and steelies. Salmon were bigger as many 30 lb giants were landed. Some areas of the lake saw a decrease in Chinook catch rates probably due to the old adage that mother nature bats last. After a down year in some ports, I notice a few charter operators are moving to other areas that had a better 08 season. I guess they do not know that while we can stock healthy fish, once they are turned loose, their actual survival rates are out of our control. It is nature who decides whether the returns will be good or bad and where the fish want to hang out during the season. Some years are better than others and the cycle jumps all over the place. 30 years spent fishing Lake Ontario waters have taught me this. It has also taught me that the Oswego area is one of the best and most productive areas to fish year in and year out. No brag, just fact.

   Our new state of the art fish marking system is being put to very good use. This past year stocked salmon were fin clipped and coded wire tagged. This will provide answers as to the make up of the salmon population with regard to wild vs. stocked fish. Guessing will be a thing of the past as we obtain empirical data from the marking program. This is crucial as we assess forage biomass in relation to predator population in the future.

   Right now, tributary fishing in is full swing and so far steelhead and salmon fishing has been terrific. Isnt that great? Keep checking in, as there is much more to come.

  even when a teenager, but thanks to my Dad, I could always fish.

Currently there are two tournament formats in play on the lake. The traditional 2 day ProAms and the recently organized 1 day open Challenges. There are 4 ProAMs currently in play and at present in the Eastern Basin of the lake there are 3 Challenge events. What are the differences in the formats? Please allow me to explain. The ProAms are 2 day events limited to one or two ports, they generally charge a $500.00 professional entry fee and 200.00 amateur fee. The prize money is substantial, the commitment is huge, and the rules are somewhat strict as you might expect with payouts ranging in thousands of dollars. To keep things on the up and up an official observer is required for every boat. Each team must provide an observer who will be assigned to a competing vessel to make certain all rules are followed. Many of the lakes top trollers choose to compete and travel to all 4 events. It is like a pro tour for anglers. Right now it appears that these events have leveled off in interest with entries in the past three to four years ranging from 60 to 90 boats depending on the individual event.

The Challenge events seem to be growing in popularity most probably due to the fact that they are open contests meaning no differentiation between Charter and recreational angler. They have much lower entry fees, ($50-$70), and a six fish limit. No observer is required, and teams follow a simple set of rules. And oh yes, perhaps the biggest attraction is that it is a one day event that can be fished from several designated ports. In their short history they have attracted many competitors. One of the events has attracted over 100 entries, while a second event only in its second year had approximately seventy teams entered. It does appear as though the one day contests are really gaining in popularity. They might just be the wave of the future.

Both venues provide exciting competition and make a sizeable financial contribution to the local economies. Many anglers fish both types of contests and are happy to abide by the very different rule formats. If you like to fish and compete try fishing in an event or two.

    This amazing system can automatically fin clip and/or install coded wire nose tags at an incredible rate of nearly 60,000 fish in an 8 hour period and required manpower is minimal. The system was used this past year (2008) to clip the adipose fin of all stocked chinooks.In addition all kings stocked in the Salmon River received a coded wire tag in their snout. In a few years we will be able to determine the wild to stocked fish population ratio. By the way, the system