Chautauqua Angling Adventures

Sept 23, 2006…7:00am-1:00pm Rain, rain and more rain today. The water temperature dropped to 64.7 degrees. The wind was SW at 10-15 mph. We fished the Viking area, Victoria and Mission Meadows. We used tube jigs (white), drop shot rigs and crankbaits ( shad colors). The smallmouth seemed to not want the watermelon colors today. Once the switch was made to the white the bites came fast and furious. There was a tournament this weekend and one of the boats came by fishing a crankbait successfully. We switched and had the same success. It never hurts to pay attention to what others are using especially when they are catching fish. The smallmouth hit the all of the baits. We also got 4 walleye, 3 short and one 25 inches.
Sept 17, 2006…7:00am-3:15pm We began the morning with a 1 hour fog delay. Once the fog lifted we headed to Mission Meadows. To our surprise there was no one else there. The south wind we had allowed us a good drift up the weed line in the 11- 12 feet that we needed to fish. I caught 2 good fish on the first pass and my non-boater caught one. We continued to drift over this area for the entire tournament. The fish were moving in and out of the weed edge. As the wind picked up the bigger fish became more active. By the time we left for the weigh-in we both had our limits, 5 for me and 3 for my non-boater. In the process we also caught 3 walleye and a 35-40 inch muskie. All the fish were caught on ¼ oz watermelon tube jigs. I placed 4th in the boater division and my non-boater placed 4th in his division. Check out the results http://proxy.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/media/tournament?tournamentId=1070
Sept 16, 2006…7:00am-12:00pm Spent the morning fine tuning the plans for tomorrow’s BASS Series tournament. The fish are still where they were last week. One more place became an option, Victoria. We caught two fish there in the same 12 foot depth. The water temperature dropped to 67 degrees. At this point that doesn’t seem to be an issue. The wind was from the south at 5 mph and is forecast to be the same tomorrow and then switch to the SW at 5-10 mph.
Sept 8, 2006…7:00am-12:30pm We spent the morning scouting for the BASS Series tournament coming up next weekend. We concentrated on the smallmouth population. We found fish in 4 key areas, north of the Bell Tower, Warner’s Bar, Midway and Mission Meadows. Both the tube and drop shot were working at all 4 spots. The depth of 12 feet was consistent. Our objective was to locate the fish, not catch a big quantity. If they hold up and the weather cooperates next weekend could go very well.
Aug 31, 2006…10:30am-2:30pm We had a late start today. The wind was from the south at about 8 mph. With the bad algae bloom at the south end of the lake we stayed north of the bridge. The water temperature was 77.2 degrees and the sun was up and hot. We fished docks and weed beds looking for largemouth but came up empty. We moved out to the deeper weed edges off the Dewitteville shoreline and were able to catch 3 short walleye and one 1 ½ pound smallmouth. It was a nice day on the lake but not much going with the fish.
Aug 16, 2006…6:30am-1:30pm 55 degrees, no wind and a minor fog greeted us this morning. The fog never fully lifted until 9:30. The water temperature stayed from 77.3-78.6 degrees. We fished tube jigs around Warner’s Bar and caught 14 smallmouth bass from 2-5 pounds. The bite lasted until the fog lifted and the wind picked up from the NW at 5-10 mph. We tried a few docks around Midway Park and only caught one small largemouth. With the wind blowing fairly hard we decided to try for muskie for about an hour. We fished the weed line from Tom" Point to Victoria with no luck. At the end of the drift we tried a tube jig and caught one more smallmouth. The Last stop was to fish the I86 bridge pilings. No luck there either.
Aug 14, 2006…6:00am-12:00pm It was a bit warmer this morning. We had 61 degrees for air temperature and 77.4 for the water temperature. The wind was from the south at 5 mph. We fished the Warner’s Bar area to start. We caught 4 smallmouth and one walleye, as well as, a few pesky pan fish. We also had a nice smallie break off after a short fight. All of the fish were in 10-15 feet of water. We then made a drift down the weed line at Victoria Point making casts in the same depths. Only one smallmouth came from this spot. One more stop at Mission Meadows produced one more smallmouth.
Aug 12, 2006…7:00am-1:00pm 48 degrees and fog greeted us this morning with a SE wind at about 5 mph. The water temperature was 77.4 degrees and stayed that way all morning. We fished the Warner’s Bar area in 10-15 feet of water using tube jigs, watermelon. We caught 11 smallmouth over a 2 ½ period. The biggest was 3 ¼ pounds. Once the action tapered off we moved to another weed line above the Bell Tower and caught 2 more smallies in the same depths.
Aug 11, 2006…10:00am-3:00pm The water temperature fluctuated between 77-79 degrees. The wind was 5-10 mph from the NE. Water clarity was stained. We fished all deep water today from 10-20 feet. We used ¼ oz. tube jigs looking for walleye and smallmouth. It was not a very productive day. We only caught 4 smallmouth and no walleye. The smallmouth came from 12 feet (3) and 20 feet (1). All of our time was spent at the north end of the lake, Bell Tower, Dewitteville, Warner’s Bar and Victoria.
Aug 5, 2006…3:00pm-8:00pm Cooler temperatures, 75 degrees, today were primarily were caused by a 5 mph north wind. The water temperature was still 82.3 degrees. Using the wind for a good drift we fished the deep shelf, 11-15 feet, along Victoria Point. Two smallmouth came from this area, one in 10 feet and the other in 14 feet. Both bit a watermelon tube jig. We tried the same technique further north at Mission Meadows but only caught one 10" smallie. We then ran to Mayville and spent about a half hour fishing some docks but caught nothing. The next stop was Warner’s Bar where we went back to fishing the tube jig in the 10-15 foot depths. We caught 4 walleye, 15-17 inches, and one 2 pound smallmouth.
Aug 2, 2006…4:00pm-7:30pm This afternoon was hot! The air temperature was 91 degrees and we had 84.3 degrees for a water temperature. The wind was from the WSW at 15-20 mph. We tried a few docks around Prendergast Point, both above and below the point, with no success except for an occasional rock bass. We moved out into 10-12 feet along the weed edge between We Wan Chu Cottages and Prendergast Point drifting tube jigs. Two 17 inch walleyes took that offering. The wind died down slightly so we moved to the other side of the lake toward Dewitteville and began doing the same technique. We caught 1 very short smallmouth, 2 more walleye and a number of silver bass and pan fish. At this stop we added a small piece of night crawler to the jig. This seemed to draw more strikes.
July 20, 2006…6:00am-2:00pm The morning temperature was 68 degrees today. Because of all the warm weather the water temperature rose to 83.2 degrees. The wind was very light from the south. We headed to the south end of the lake today and began at Stoney Point. We fished the entire length of the shoal but caught no fish. Next was the Lakewood Beach area. We tried the gravel bottom in 6-8 feet using tube jigs but again came up empty. Next we moved into Maple Bay and fished the docks there. The water was clear and calm. We caught 5 bass, 3 smallmouth and 2 largemouth from these docks using soft weightless stickbaits, skipping them as far back under the docks as we could. After covering that shoreline we moved to the Bly’s Point area and caught 3 more largemouth using the same method. When the wind got stronger, SW 10-15 mph we changed and fished the northern area of Long Point where we lost a large smallmouth bass after he so graciously showed himself with a spectacular jump. We temporarily hooked him with a watermelon tube in 12 feet of water along the weed edge.
July 16, 2006…6:00am-1:00pm The weather made another drastic change today. The wind started from the west at 3-5 mph and then shifted NW at 10-15 by 11 am. The water temperature stayed at 77.8 degrees while the air temperature went from 66 in the morning to 90 by noon. We started our day at Stoney Point where we fished white Power Jerk shads, Venom Salty Slings, spinnerbaits and a watermelon tube. Only on fish at this stop but it was a good 4 pound largemouth taken on the tube jigging the weed pockets in 4 feet of water. The sun got bright early so we stopped at the docks around Bly’s Point but could only catch one smaller fish. We went up the lake to Warner’s Bar and fished the rocky bottom outside the weed edge in 11-15 feet of water. We caught one smallmouth bass and, believe it or not, a 35 inch garfish on a tube jig in 15 feet of water on the bottom. The last stop was the docks below Midway Park. We caught 4 more largemouth from these docks using a smoke colored Salty Sling.
July 15, 2006…6:00am-1:00pm Rain, a north wind at 3-5 mph and a 70 degree air temperature greeted us this morning. The water temperature has come up to 77.4 degrees. We headed to the Mayville area and fished the weed edge in 10-12 feet of water for smallmouth. We spent about an hour and only caught one smallie and one largemouth, both in the 2 lb range. Both fish hit a watermelon tube jig. We also tried Dewitteville and just north of the Bell Tower but had no luck. The wind shifted to the NW and the sun finally broke through the overcast sky, so we headed for protected water behind Prendergast Point, fishing the docks. The water was crystal clear and the largemouth were up under the docks. We caught 3 more. We got them by skipping a smoke colored soft bait under the docks. We finished up in Bemus Bay doing the same thing and caught 2 more largemouth and lost 3 more. All the fish were right around 2 lbs.
July 13, 2006...6:00am-2:00pm The wind switched today an came out of the north at 5mph first thing in the morning so we tried for smallmouth early in the Mayville area. We caught them on watermelon tube jigs along the weedline in 11 feet of water. The largest fish was 3 lbs 12 oz. The air temperature was 66 degrees and the water temperature was 73 degrees. We moved to Dewitteville and caught them there too doing the same thing. Once the action stopped we went hunting largemouth. The wind did another switch and went NE. That left the Shore Acres shoreline protected. We worked the docks along there and caught the largemouth. The total for the day was 9, all were keepers.
July 12, 2006…8:30am-4:30pm The weather was wet. It rained on and off all day. The good part was that the T-storms that were forecast never showed up. The temperature was 70 degrees and the water temperature was 73-75 degrees. The wind was from the south at 5-10 mph until about 2:30 when it shifted to the SW at 10 mph. Water clarity is still very clear. We fished Victoria Point, Dewittville, and the Bly Point area. We caught a total of 16 bass, 6 of them were not keepers. The biggest was a 4 ¼ pound, 20 ½ inch smallmouth. We also caught a 13 inch perch. Most of the smaller fish were smallmouth caught in 10-12 feet of water dragging a watermelon tube. The others, a combination of smallmouth and largemouth were caught over weed beds and docks using a soft stick bait. The fish seemed to be transitioning between the docks and weeds because of the unstable overcast weather system. Water depth was from 3-5 feet with the weeds being about a foot below the surface. Most of the strikes were soft pickups.
July 10, 2006…5:30am-1:30pm The wind today was from the south at 10 mph and the water temperature was 73 degrees the first thing in the morning. By the end of the trip it had risen to 75.2 degrees. It was clouding and rainy most of the day. T-storms were forecast but never appeared until after we were off the water. We started at Stoney Point where we missed two fish using a white Berkley Power Jerkshad over the top of the weeds and rocks. We moved up the south shoreline to Lakewood Beach but had no success there. Next we tried the docks in Maple Bay. Nothing there either. We did the same below Cheney’s Point. Next stop was the docks below Shore Acres Marina. There we caught two and lost 2 bass. We then changed tactics and used the wind, which had picked up to 15 mph, to our advantage and drifted dragging watermelon tubes on ¼ oz. jig heads in 10-12 ft of water. We did this in two places, Victoria Point and Mission Meadows. Between the two places we caught 4 smallmouth and 3 walleye. None of the fish were very big, but none the less fun to catch.
July 7, 2006…8:30am-1:00pm The wind was light and from the south with a temperature of 70 degrees. The water clarity was a little stained caused most likely by the windy days and rough water. We started at Stoney Point jigging the weed bed in 3-5 ft. We used a watermelon tube and a red shad 7” Power Worm but got no bites in two drifts. We did the same thing off Lakewood beach with no success. Once the sun got bright we moved in to the docks below Cheney’s Point. Skipping soft stick baits we caught 6 largemouth bass. The biggest was 2 ¼ pounds. The wind picked up somewhere around 15 mph from the SW so we moved into Bemus Bay but could only find 2 cooperative largemouth there. Both were just keepers. The air temperature was 78 degrees and the water temperature was 73 degrees.
July 5, 2006…8:00am-1:30pm. A cold front passed through overnight and dropped the air temperature to a high of 65 degrees. The water temperature remained 72.4 degrees. We fished the shallow inside weed lines and docks below Cheney’s Point, Bemus Bay and Greenhurst. Fishing was slow. It took repeated casts to the same areas to trigger a strike. We only caught 7 largemouth bass for the entire trip. All of the fish were caught on weightless soft stick bait. The biggest was a 2 ¼ pounder. It was caught out from under a boatlift.
July 3, 2006…5:30am-2:30pm. The morning was overcast with an air temperature of 65 degrees. By the end of the day it was 80 degrees. The water temperature was 72 and remained that way all day. The wind was 5-10 mph from the SW. We started at Victoria Point looking for some active smallmouth. They were chasing baitfish in 15-20 feet. There were fewer fish than in the last week or so. We had some follows using a white Berkley Power Jerkshad and a watermelon Power Tube but caught no fish. The next stop was Stony Point where we worked the shallows where the weeds and rocks come together. Only a few bites, no fish. We moved deeper, 3-7 feet jigging the weed pockets with Power Worms. Only one stray crappie would bite. By 9:30 the sun finally came out and we headed to Bly’s Bay where we fished the docks, skipping soft weightless stick baits under the docks. We caught 5 good largemouth in the 2 pound range. The last stop was the Prendergast Point area where we caught 7 more largemouth, the biggest weighing in at 4 ½ pounds. All we caught using the same method as the other 5. Along the way we caught the occasional panfish and rock bass. It seems that the largemouth are still shallow and holding on the weedy areas of the docks. All were caught on the windy side at least to dock sections back.
June 20, 2006…6am-12 noon We went fishing for smallmouth bass early. The wind was from the SW at 5-8 mph. Air temperature was 64 degrees and the water temperature was 70.3 degrees on this partly cloudy day. The smallies were chasing baitfish all around Victoria Point but wouldn’t hit anything we offered. After about an hour we moved to the Dewittville shoreline. The smallies were in 11-13 feet of water and hit both topwater and tubes. We used a Berkley Popper, white Power Jerkshads and watermelon Power Tubes. The wind picked up to 10-15 mph and shifted to the west by 9:30am so we used a “Lake Erie Drag” technique and got a few more to bite. The last stop was in Bemus Bay to fish a few docks for largemouth, and get out of the wind. We “skipped” Gulp Sinking Minnows and Venom Salty Slings under the docks to catch the fish. All together we caught 14 bass.
June 18, 2006…7:30am - 10:30am Another bright sunshiny day. The water temperature remains in the low 70’s. The smallmouth action had already stopped by the time we arrived today. This is definitely in early morning bite. We tried anyway but caught nothing. We continued back down to the docks south of Cheney’s Point and caught and released 2 largemouth and one 3 lb smallmouth. The same pattern held up from the previous day 6/17. Then we ran down to Ashville Bay, fishing the docks in this bay to finish the morning. We caught and released 2 more largemouth, both in the 2 lb range.
June 17, 2006…6:30am - 12:30pm Bright sunshine all day. Wind from the south at 10-15 mph. Water temperature was 70 - 72 degrees. We started at Victoria Point. For the first hour and a half the water was exploding with schooling smallmouth chasing bait. They would work the surface for about 15 minutes, then stop. This continued in 10 or 15 minute intervals for the entire 2 hours. We caught 2 smallmouth (largest was 4 ½ lbs), 2 short walleye (17”) and a 2 pound silver bass. All the fish were caught on tubes, green pumpkin and brown. Once the action stopped we ran south to an area of docks just below Cheney’s Point. There we caught large and smallmouth bass using smoke colored soft stickbaits, skipping them under the docks. All together 21 bass were caught and released from this stretch of docks. This was a great opening day trip.