Cenaiko Lakers

[Neiko]

Has anyone fished for these legends in this lake? I though someone caught one a few years back. Has anyone stuck a camera down the ice? I wouldn't mind trying it one day just to see if I could get lucky. The DNR HSOforum says it is only 36 feet deep. Is that deep enough for a Laker to survive? I would think the water heats up a little too much or am I wrong?

[Will]

i saw one 5 - 6 feet down opening weekend. the wierd thing about it was, it was swimming on it's side like it was dying. three years ago, my brother - in law had one up in the hole it was barely hooked and got loose. i have hole hopped with an airplane jig to no avail. i know that they are in there, just have not hooked one yet. i talked to a c.o. he said a few have been put in over the years. we would probably have a better chance on grindstone.

[Zenit]

Not to offend anyone, but I actually don't think they exist in Cenaiko. The only time they were ever stocked in Cenaiko in recent history was in 2001, when a grand total of 14 adults with an aggregate weight of 165 pounds was placed in the lake. I doubt any of then survived the year.

There have been many sightings, but I have yet to see one caught, and have never heard from any of the regulars that they've seen one, much less caught one. There was a guy last ice opener that swore up & down he hooked a big laker and had it up the hole, but lost it while he was reaching for his gaffe...Believability factor went to zero after that

[Zenit]

Will, you had further commented and then pulled your post. I was responding to your comments about how you were going to have to rethink about sharing your experiences here on FM because of my previous post.

Well, that's up to you, I guess, but I certainly hope that won't be the case. Like I said, I wasn't trying to offend anyone or cast aspersions on anyone's experiences. I was just offering my opinion, that's all, right or wrong it's just an opinion & nothing more. My opinion is based on the fact that I fish that lake a lot, both seasons, and have for many years, and I've yet to see one caught or otherwise. None of the other regulars that I fish the lake with have ever seen one there either. There are a few of the other Cenaiko regulars here on FM that frequent this forum, hopefully they can weight in on this as well.

I'm not sure where the CO you were speaking to was getting his information, but a quick call to Metro East Fisheries will confirm that 2001 was the last time lake trout were placed in the lake. I suppose there is a good reason why they did it the 1 year and haven't done it since.

Is it possible one or more of those 14 fish have survived? Sure, anything is possible, but given the nature of the lake, I'd say it is pretty improbable. I tend to think that most of the laker sightings I hear about are more likely big browns; there's not too many left in the lake, but every year someone seems to pull a really big brown out of there. But, that's just my opinion, nothing more.

[Will]

the reason that i pulled the post was, i didn't want to be combative. i too have fished this lake alot over the last decade. who knows, maybe we have crossed lines on the opener

[Zenit]

We probably did, along with the rest of the 10,000 people out there