Cayuga Lake out of Dean’s Cove 11/4
Yesterday I bought a few dozen fatheads and got my perch gear ready. My buddy Mike and I were going to fish Cayuga last Monday, but decided on Seneca at the last minute. Today I fished solo and decided to fish Cayuga and I’m glad I did. Lake levels are still decent, though the lake is dropping. Water temps were at 52 degrees. I worked the east shore of the lake from Aurora up towards Frontenac Island and found a concentration of perch. The perch action was excellent, and I was surprised at the number of quality 11″ to 12″ fish I caught – these fish were very reminiscent of Canandaigua Lake perch or Seneca fish. The lake is still loaded with 8″ to 9″ perch, but I’ve decided I can fillet them! I probably caught around 45 perch – but only around 17 to 18 were good sized fish and only 4 to 5 of those were around 12″. I kept another 10 that were hooked deep – mostly 8″ to 9″ fish. I had a lot of doubles. The minnows worked well as did some Sliders and tiny tube jigs. Best fishing was from 20′ to 25′ of water. I also hooked a couple nice sized bonus pickerel – landing one around 24″ and I landed a fat 17″ smallmouth. It was fun mixed bag angling and I’d gladly go back in a heartbeat. The fun thing about Cayuga’s N. end is that you never know what you may catch – any cast can result in perch, small and largemouth bass, pickerel, pike or even a salmon, brown or lake trout.
Cayuga really is a terrific perch lake – at least in terms of numbers. Day-in and day-out, if you want fillets it’s tough to beat Cayuga. Seneca is boom or bust and most people that do well are on the lake constantly or fish with someone who is – but even then, it can be difficult, and you have the weather to contend with. Getting a limit on Cayuga isn’t hard, but they are small – but at the end of the season you’ll go 10/10 on Cayuga, vs. God knows what on Seneca. The biggest Cayuga perch rival the biggest Seneca fish – both lakes have yielded 17″ to 18″+ perch.
The Sliders really impressed me. I fished them on double hook rigs using loops. 5 years ago when I worked at Bass Pro Shops they were the rage for Seneca and Canandaigua perch fishing. I bought a bunch but hadn’t really gained confidence in them. Since I was into a lot of fish today, I started using them. I was amazed – when the schools were hitting well I was able to cast them in, put my rod down and watch the tip bounce – just like using live bait! You can cast and drag them or fish them drop-shot style. I did both and caught plenty of perch and one big pickerel. Who needs live-bait? I do enjoy the baitfishing though, since it’s relaxing and I can kick bait and enjoy myself, letting the bait do the work.
I’m completely booked this weekend from Thursday through Monday, so there will be plenty of new reports! It’s like July all over again….