Cross River

[KenH]

Anyone have or pickup reports on Cross River lately?

[Trout Man]

I haven't been for about two weeks. When I went last, I got one four pound brown trolling a sawbellies with a weight and lost a couple others. I know conditions change quickly so, I have no idea what to expect from CR recently. Hopefully I get a chance to go soon so I can keep trying for that monster Cross River Brown that I've been searching for. Has anyone caught a brown near the surface yet, or is it still too early in the season?

[KenH]

Thanks Trout Man. Season wise it shouldn't be too early as I remember catching
Browns on/close to surface in the last two weeks of Aug a couple years ago.
But as we both know CR is merciless with it's turn ons and turn offs.
Good luck on the monster brown hunt.

[canoejon]

It was merciless this AM. Two of us drowned sawbellies and shiners at all depths and had only two lame hits from smallies from 6 to 9. Meanwhile many large pods of small (one inch) sawbellies were skimmed the surface completely unmolested except for an occasional cormorant. We couldn't even find a perch to chew on a shiner in shallower water. The only fish we marked on the fishfinder were 5 to ten feet off the bottom in 80 to 115 FOW, and we marked a lot there, but they weren't feeding. Slowest day I ever saw on CR.

[KenH]

Thanks Jon. Sounds pretty turned off right now.

[Biz-R-OWorld]

It was merciless this AM. Two of us drowned sawbellies and shiners at all depths and had only two lame hits from smallies from 6 to 9. Meanwhile many large pods of small (one inch) sawbellies were skimmed the surface completely unmolested except for an occasional cormorant. We couldn't even find a perch to chew on a shiner in shallower water. The only fish we marked on the fishfinder were 5 to ten feet off the bottom in 80 to 115 FOW, and we marked a lot there, but they weren't feeding. Slowest day I ever saw on CR.

CR only has Browns, right? so what are the fish 80-115 sitting on the bottom?

[lionpshark]

Maybe cat fish or carp???

[KenH]

Maybe cat fish or carp???

That's what I've always thought, as there are large sized White cats and some enormous carp
in CR. The deepest I've ever caught a Brown there is 40ft and I've tried fishing deeper but have
never managed to get even a hit.

[canoejon]

I was meaning to bring that up. It was a weird day. Even all of except two our sawbellies would die very quickly as soon as we put them out. And I know how to fish a sawbellie so it stays alive for hours if need be until it's hit. We marked NO fish except those marks I mentioned, that were about five to fifteen feet off the bottom in very deep (70 to 110 f) water. I think cat fish stay right on the bottom and not even 5 feet off. We put bait down and jigged around those marks and nothing was touched. This is a piranamax 160. I can use it to successfully locate and jig lakers in the same depths in Kensico and Lake George. These marks looked the same.

I got a similar reading on day last spring on Sylvan Lake when all we caught were bass.

[Trout Man]

Went out this morning on Cross River and it was really slow. Trolled rapalas on leadcore going for trout from about 7:30 until 10:30 with no luck until finally we found a spot and fished with sawbellies. It didn't take long to get a hit. In under two minutes we got our first it. I thought it was a nice brown but it ended up being a nice smallmouth. It was 4.5-5lbs. and almost 24 inches. In the water it looked more like 7lbs! Other than that and a small perch, there was very little action. I might wait until the fall to try CR again. This is my first year on CR and I was wondering how the fishing is in the fall for browns. I think early fall will be good because late spring was good this year and water temps are pretty similar in those times.

[Pointer]

Jon how deep were you fishing when the sawbellies were dying? If you are fishing deep and the dissolved oxygen content of the water is low at that depth it can kill your sawbellies. Just a thought on what may have caused your bait to die.

Chris

[KenH]

I have on at least 2 or 3 occasions  been out on CR and had my sawbellies all come up dead. I remember fishing from 30 to 60ft down.

[biggamee]

Went out this morning on Cross River and it was really slow. Trolled rapalas on leadcore going for trout from about 7:30 until 10:30 with no luck until finally we found a spot and fished with sawbellies. It didn't take long to get a hit. In under two minutes we got our first it. I thought it was a nice brown but it ended up being a nice smallmouth. It was 4.5-5lbs. and almost 24 inches. In the water it looked more like 7lbs! Other than that and a small perch, there was very little action. I might wait until the fall to try CR again. This is my first year on CR and I was wondering how the fishing is in the fall for browns. I think early fall will be good because late spring was good this year and water temps are pretty similar in those times.

any pics of the smallie??

[Pointer]

Ken, do you think the reason your sawbellies were coming up dead was due to low dissolved oxygen content at the depth of your bait?

Chris

[KenH]

Ken, do you think the reason your sawbellies were coming up dead was due to low dissolved oxygen content at the depth of your bait?
Chris

To be honest I didn't even think of that. I just assumed I got a bad batch
from the shop, because most of the time they don't die like that.