Reports

I finally really hit the late-summer/early fall lake trout jigging bite on this lake. I’ve always liked the lake but due to heavy boat traffic I generally avoid it during the summer months. I was impressed by the fishing I had today and will return this season. I fully intend on deciphering the month to month laker patterns here next year – most of them I think I have somewhat figured out. Anyways I got out on my own just after noon today and worked the north end for a little bit. Not much was happening “lake trout wise” there. I headed south and picked up a decent fish on my first drop on the south end. Within a 1/2 hour I had another legal fish then a sublegal one. I worked up both sides of the lake and eventually found what I was looking for – a couple mile stretch of lake holding good numbers of fish and baitfish. I basically worked the same areas I’d worked earlier in the month – the only difference was that there were fish in them now. (Don’t forget to take into account day to day weather patterns when fishing for lake trout! A high sun and calm conditions are usually a big plus during the late summer/early fall bite!) I wound up landing 7 fish on the day, breaking off one and missing a bunch. My largest fish was a 29″ beauty that probably weighed close to 9lbs. I kept a limit of small fish and was surprised to find a huge golden shiner in the stomach of one. One of the males I’d caught was close to spawning – so I’m guess they spawn earlier here than on other Finger Lakes. With what I’ve seen over the past 4 years on this lake, I feel fairly confident in being able to do some guiding here for lakers. I’ve pinpointed the late spring/summer locations and now the fall locations of these fish. Best action was in around 70′ to 80′ of water – though I marked fish out to over 110′ or more. I spent the remainder of the day on my electronics figuring out the parameters of the fall fish as best I could (i.e. how far north and south they are).

Ran into fellow guide Jon Evans at the launch: http://www.fishingthefingerlakes.com/ He’s the guy for FingerLakes bass and has won and placed in his share of tournaments. He reported good bass fishing today. Other anglers I talked to did pretty well on perch plus a few crappies. I’d like to thank a former client of mine Derrick for a tip on bass location that was helpful today as well. This lake is a little bit tricky to jig, since the shelves are pretty narrow – but it can be done. Lake trout are lake trout whether in Canada, Lake George, Cayuga Lake, Lake Champlain or Hemlock Lake – they like jigs! I don’t get the impression that these Canandaigua fish have seen many jigs – that will change! 😉

Canandaigua Lake