Chautauqua Angling Adventures

Aug 12, 2011…6:30am-12:30pm. We had cooler temperatures again today with a 52 degree morning temperature and clear skies. The wind was from the SSW at less than 5 mph. The water temperature was 74.3 and we have a minor algae bloom that is putting a heavy stain on the water surface. We started on the Mayville weed line fishing a dropshot with a Gulp leech or 3” minnow for smallmouth. We could only manage one smallie but caught a ton of panfish. It seems they were faster to the bait than the smallies. We moved to Mission Meadows and Warner’s Bar but found no other smallies. We headed down to the I-86 bridge and fished some of the pilings where we caught 6 very small smallmouth and broke of one nice one. We ran south down to docks in Burtis Bay and Maple Bay where we caught 5 largemouth using a soft stickbait skipped under the docks. Coming back up the lake we stopped at the pilings again and caught 2 more smallmouth using a tube and a dropshot. We ended the trip in Whitney Bay fishing some of the docks and catching 3 more largemouth. By the end of the trip the water temperature was 76.2 degrees and the wind had shifted to the W at 10-15 mph.
Aug 4, 2011…6:00am-12:00pm. A cold front came through last night with rain and caused the water temperature to drop nearly 5 degrees to 76.3 degrees. The wind was from the NE at 5-10 mph with a temperature of 65 degrees rising to 76 degrees by the trips end. We started with the Mayville weed line fishing a tube and a dropshot rigged with a Gulp 3”fry. We could only get 2 smallmouth to bite. We moved into the Mayville docks but caught nothing. Next we went into the weed bed along the Mission Meadows shoreline flipping a black/blue Berkley Chigger Craw and a 4” tube. We zig-zagged fishing in depths from 5-9 feet but got nothing but perch bites. We ran down to the bridge and fished some of the shallow pilings where we caught 1 smallmouth and 2 largemouth using a tube. We ran down the lake and fished docks near the “white wall” and in Maple Bay where we caught 3 largemouth. The last stop was a dock in Bemus Bay where a nice fish broke off under the dock.
July 26, 2011…6:00am-11:00pm. A little cooling off with a 61 degree morning temperature was a very nice change. The water temperature stayed right around 79-81 degrees. The skies were slightly cloudy and we had a light west wind. We started on the Mayville weed line using a drop shot Gulp leech. We caught 6 smallmouth up until 7:30 am when the wind started to pick up. We headed for the Chautauqua Institution shore line and fished the same depths along a ledge but caught nothing. We move in and fished some docks along the shoreline below the bell tower using Senkos and caught 6 largemouth. Staying along the same side of the lake we moved down to Prendergast Point and caught 1 more largemouth on a dock. Going along the same way we went into Whitney Bay and caught two more largemouth before the wind REALLY picked up. It was every bit of 15-20 mph so we headed back to the launch.
July 25, 2011…6:00am-11:00pm. The heat wave continues with a 6am 72 degree temperature. The water temperature was steady at 81.3 degrees with a light SW wind. This trip was set up for muskie so we started above Chautauqua Point on the outer weed edge in 10-15 feet and alternated between there and Dewitteville Point casting Mepps Muskie killer spinners and giant spinnerbaits. We spent 2 ½ hours working both entire weed beds all the way in to 6 feet. Only one fish followed one of the baits. We made the switch to fishing a drop shot Gulp leech and or a tube for smallmouth of the Mayville weed line in 10-13 feet. We caught 4 smallmouth and a few perch. Once the smallies stopped we went into Whitney Bay and fished for largemouth but only caught one before the rain and thunder ended the trip.
July 20, 2011…6:30am-12:30pm. A light SW wind and 62 degrees with a slight fog started off our morning. We started on the weed line, 10-14 feet, in Mayville fishing dropshot rigs using Gulp 3” leeches and 3” fry. We could only fool 2 smallmouth and 2 walleye along with a number of nice perch. We did the same technique on Warner’s Bar but came up empty. We made the run to Greenhurst in the lower basin and fished rock piles but came up empty again. Moving to Burtis Bay and fishing docks we caught 7 largemouth using soft stickbaits. We went into Maple Bay but there was too much activity around the key docks there so we headed back up the lake stopping at one of the bridge pilings. There we used a tube jig and caught 2 VERY nice largemouth, one nearly 6 pounds and the other a 4+. The next stop was a dock in Bemus Bay where we caught a largemouth and a smallmouth. We made a stop in Whitney Bay to end the trip but no fish.
July 17, 2011…7:30am-1:00pm. This trip was to take wounded soldiers fishing for the day. Seven boats took 16 of our country’s defenders stationed at Ft. Drum on the lake for a day’s fishing. I had the honor of taking a Coronel, still serving, and his wife with me. He has served 33 months in the Middle East. We launched at Mayville after a great breakfast at the VFW. The temperature was 62.degrees, rising to a scorching 87 degrees. The water temperature was 74.6 degrees and it rose to 80.3 degrees. We ran roughly 5 hundred yds to the weed edge and fished dropshot rigs for smallmouth. We used Gulp 3” leeches, Gulp 3” Fry and Gulp 3” minnows. We caught 4 smallmouth there. We moved to the Chautauqua Institution shoreline using the same baits and caught one smallmouth. We then went fishing for largemouth. We ran to the lower basin and fished Colburn docks but caught nothing. We moved further south and fished some submerged rock piles and pilings in Greenhurst. There we caught 2 largemouth. We made the run to Maple Bay but there was too much activity on the docks that we wanted to fish so we ran back up to Bemus Bay where we caught 5 more largemouth. All the dock fish were caught skipping a weightless, soft stickbait under the docks. After dropping off the Coronel and his wife I took the grandson out for a short while back to Bemus Bay where he caught 3 more largemouth doing basically the same thing.
July 16, 2011…6:00am-2:00pm. This was another clear, hot day that started at 60 degrees and rose to the mid 80’s by the trip’s end. The water temperature was 74.2 degrees. We started at Mayville in 10-15 feet and caught 8 smallmouth on a dropshot using a 3” Berkley Gulp leech. By 9 am the SW wind increased to 10+ mph and the fish shut down. We moved to Warner’s Bar but caught no fish. Next we stopped at Bemus Bay and fished a big platform dock where we caught 2 largemouth, the biggest being a 4.22 pounder. We fished Colburn again and caught 7 largemouth there. The last stop was in Whitney Bay where we caught 2 more largemouth. By now I think you’ve figured out that the largemouth are under the docks.
July 14, 2011…6:00am-12:00pm. 58 degrees and clear skies greeted us this morning. We started up in Mayville fishing for smallmouth in 10-15 feet using tube jigs. The water temperature was 73.4 degrees with the slight start of the annual algae bloom. Four average size fish took our offering before the wind picked up and we had to move. We fished Mission Meadows and Chautauqua Institution shorelines catching only one smallie. We ran to the lower basin and fished the Colburn shoreline where we found at least one fish on every dock. We stopped counting after catching 14. This was a very good day.
July 5, 2011…6:30am-11:00am. The temperature was 58 degrees to start warming to 74 degrees by the trip’s end. The wind was light from the SE and eventually switched to SW at 5-10 mph. The water temperature ranged from 72.3 to 75 degrees. We started in Mayville fishing tube jigs in 12-15 feet. The first cast produced a double. One was about 3 ½ pounds. The other was just over 5 pounds. Within an hour we caught 6 more smallies, a 2 pound silver bass, a huge perch for this lake, roughly 1 ½ pounds and some smaller perch. All of the fish were caught on the tube jig. Once the action stopped we moved to Dewitteville and tried the same method but caught nothing. With the sun up and bright we moved into some docks in Whitney Bay and Bemus Bay where we caught 3 largemouth using soft stickbaits.
June 27, 2011…6:00am-2:00pm. This was a tough day on the water for biting fish. The morning began with a thick fog leaving us very few safe options for a starting spot. We started on Warner’s Bar looking for some deeper water smallmouth in 10-14 feet using tube jigs. The wind was light from the SE and the temperature was 67 degrees. Water temperature was 68 – 70 degrees. After roughly an hour and no results we moved up the lake to Dewitteville where we stayed in the same depths again with no good results. We moved into the weeds and ran a swimbait across the top of the weed bed but could only get the attention of some perch. The fog had now burned off and the sun was up and bright so we went shallow on some docks along the Chautauqua Institution shoreline using soft stickbaits, Venom Salty Slings, Tiki Sticks and Berkley Heavyweights. These docks yielded only two rock bass and a very small smallmouth. We moved to Whitney Bay and targeted 3 specific docks where we finally hooked up on a nice largemouth. Water clarity in the upper basin has improved tremendously now that the rains have stopped. We next made the long run down to Greenhurst and fished some rock piles where we caught another nice largemouth on a Berkley Heavyweight soft stickbait. Moving to Maple Bay we were able to catch 2 more largemouth in the scattered weeds along the shoreline. By now the wind had picked up and switched to the SW at 10-15 mph so we started back. On the way back up the lake we made stops and Hadley Bay, the bridge pilings and Bemus Bay all with no fish. Like I said at the beginning, it was a tough day. Good thing it didn’t rain!
June 18, 2011…6:00am-2:30pm. The wind was light and variable changing to SW at 5-10 through the day. Water clarity has improved immensely. The upper basin has visibility down to 3 feet while the lower basin has a slight stain. The water temperature stayed right around 70 degrees with an air temperature max of 77 degrees. We began at the crib fishing the inside of the buoys. We caught 5 largemouth and 1 smallmouth flipping tubes. We moved above Greenhurst Point and caught 8 largemouth using senko type baits over a combination of rocks and weeds. Once that action stopped we moved into Maple Bay and fished a rock pile in 8-9 feet of water where we caught 2 more largemouth. The next stop was Bemus Bay where we flipped some weeds with a tube and fished a short section of docks. We managed just 2 small largemouth from that stop. We made the run to Mission Meadows and fished the deep ledge 10-15 feet but caught nothing. Moving in shallow we did catch one largemouth. We ended the trip flipping the weeds on the Mayville flats but caught nothing there. Those weeds had a slime on them which always give me problems.
June 15, 2011…6:00am-12:00pm. A temperature of 47 degrees and no wind to speak of greeted us at the start of the morning. We started in the upper basin at Mission Meadows, this time with the Aqua View camera to check and see if the smallies were where they were suppose to be. They were but only 2 would bite. They were in 10-11 feet of water right along side a school of walleye. They wouldn’t cooperate either. We spent nearly 2 hours trying just about everything, to no avail. The water temperature had dropped to 65.3 degrees because of the cooler nights and could have had something to do with it. The wind picked up from the SE but that still didn’t change the lack of action. We moved down to Bemus Bay and caught one largemouth on a dock. With the wind from the SE we went into Hadley Bay and found 7 nice largemouth, all on docks. We did try the weed line out to 7 feet in the bay but no luck there. The smallmouth were caught on a tube and the largemouth were all caught on soft stickbaits fished weightless.
June 11, 2011…6:00am-12:00pm. The skies were overcast and it definitely looked like rain. The only rain was a short 20 minute shower. The temperature was 63 degrees and the water temperature stayed right around 70.4 degrees in the upper end of the lake. The water has really cleared up since last week. The wind was light from the SE. The first stop today was Mission Meadows. We fished a tube jig in 11-18 feet and caught 2 smallmouth. We moved to the other shore and fished the same depths along the Chautauqua Institution shoreline. That produced one walleye on the same tube jig. The wind picked up and so we used it to drift and drag the tube along the 12-14 foot weed line from Lighthouse Point to Mayville. Fish showed up on the graph but none would bite. We moved in on a short stretch of docks in that area and caught one largemouth and a Tiki Stick. The last stop was Warner’s Bar where we caught one smallmouth. The deep bite just hasn’t started yet. The weed beds are behind in growing so it’s tough to find a strong concentration anywhere except the docks, which are also behind in being put in because of all the high water that we’ve had. So far the lower basin of the lake has out produced the upper basin.
June 10, 2011…6:00am-12:00pm. The wind today was from the NE at 5-10 mph but was nearly calm most of the morning never hitting that speed until the end of the trip. The temperature was 58 degrees first thing and warmed to around 65-70 degrees by noon. It was overcast most of the time, almost looking like it would rain any minute, but it never did. The lower end of the lake was today’s location. The water temperature was 73-75 degrees and the water clarity was stained with a visibility of about 2 feet. Based on Weds trip we stayed shallow today, mostly 2-4 feet and no deeper than 7 feet. Except for a set of rock piles and a short rocky strip we stayed on docks. All the fish, 11 largemouth came from docks using a soft stick bait (smoke) and the new Berkley Heavy weight Thumper Worm ( green pumpkin party) fished weightless. Both baits were skipped under the docks. Areas fished were Greenhurst, Shore Acres, Hadley Bay, Neits Crest and Maple Bay. The fish were of much better quality with the best 5 estimated and around 14 pounds total.
June 8, 2011…6:30am-2:30pm. The water temperature was 71 degrees and the water clarity was much improved with the break in rain and high winds. Today was a scorcher with a temperature in the 90’s. Obviously that meant VERY sunny skies. The wind was SW and had been predicted to be 10-20 mph but turned out to be right around 10 mph. We stayed at the upper end of the lake the entire day covering nearly the entire shoreline, both deep and shallow. We began on the Mayville flats with surface baits and spinnerbaits in 2-6 feet and coming up empty. Making a move to Hatfield Bay and applying the same methods we got the same results. Next we stopped at Mission Meadows. After spending time in that same 2-6 feet depth we moved out to 10-14 feet and caught one smallmouth on a tube. We moved down the lake to Midway Park staying out in the 10-14 range, again nothing. We got the same results on Warner’s Bar. Next stop was the bay below Prendergast Point. By now the sun was up and it was getting very hot so we moved into the docks. We used a senko type bait and a swimming jig and finally hit pay dirt catching 2 largemouth and a smallmouth around the docks. We stayed shallow the rest of the day fishing docks up that side of the lake. The final total was 10 bass….2 smallies and 8 largemouth. No real size to most of them, the largest a 3 pound largemouth.
May 25, 2011…7:00am-11:00am. The morning was very foggy and a cool 58 degrees. The wind was light from the S. The water temperature dropped nearly 2 degrees to 61.7 degrees because of, what a surprise, MORE RAIN! This also put more debris in the lake and also stained it up again. Victoria Point was the first stop mainly because of the fog. It produced 1 smallmouth and a 16 ½ inch walleye. Both were caught in 10 feet of water on a melon pepper tube. With the fog still around the next stop was Warner’s Bar. There a 35 inch muskie took the same tube. This was a great fight on 8 pound test. Luckily he was hooked on the side of the mouth away from all those nasty teeth. Those were the only good fish. Everything else was perch, rock bass and sunnies. With the inconsistent water temperatures the bass are in a confusion mode, not knowing what to do. With the stained, dirty water it’s hard to locate much of anything deeper than a foot.
May 21, 2011…4:30pm-8:00pm. This was a busy day on the water. Fishing boats everywhere we went. Probably because the weatherman hasn’t given us many good days and they all jumped on this one. The temperature was 72 degrees with a NNW wind at about 8 mph. Within an hour or so it dropped to nearly no wind at all. The water temperature ranged between 60.2- 63.7 degrees. We first ran to the Mayville flats to avoid the wind and found 5 other boats pounding the water. We made to drifts changing depths from 2 feet out to 6 feet casting spinnerbaits, Berkley Hollow Belly swimbaits and a Berkley Power Jerkshad but found no fish and saw no one else catching anything. We moved down the lake to Chautauqua Point and basically did the same thing with the same results. Next stop was Mission Meadows where we first went shallow with no results and then moved out to the 11-15 foot ledge and fished tube jigs. No takers there but we did wake up some perch in the deeper water. The final stop was Warner’s Bar where we fished the tubes. We caught 2 smallmouth bass, the largest a 4 ½ pound hard fighter. After a short while the rock bass started hitting on nearly every cast. Not exactly what we were looking for but fun to catch. I know, I know…we probably should have started at Warner’s Bar. Who knew? HA!
May 9, 2011…7:00am-11:00am. The water temperature warmed to 55 degrees by today’s trip. The wind was from the NE at 5-10 mph and the water remained stained. Skies were clear and sunny with a temperature of 44 degrees rising to 56 degrees but the end of the trip. We fished Stony Point for most of the trip catching 8 smallmouth, one crappy and a perch. All the fish were caught on a melon pepper tube. The first and largest fish was a 5lb 14oz smallmouth. The fishing was a little slow but when you caught one it was worth the wait.
May 7, 2011…7:00am-11:00am. FINALLY! The weather has finally cleared up and looked something like spring. The temperature was a bit chilly at 38 degrees and there was a small amount of rain but the lake was calm with a wind from the NE at 4 mph. Water temperature stayed right around 51 degrees all morning. Because of all the previous week’s rain and wind the water was quite stained. We fished Derby Bar, Lakewood Bar and Stony Point using crankbaits and tubes. In all we caught 10 smallmouth and 2 largemouth bass. Most of our fish took the melon pepper tube on a ¼ oz. jighead.