# Need some advice for Lake Chautauqua



## Troy Dave (Jan 26, 2007)

Was going to go in Sept. but now it is going to be the second week of Oct. This will be my first trip there and really the first time for targeting smallmouth. I uaually catch them by accident. Have been doing some reading about smallmouth and don't want to break the bank with all the choices. What is the preferred method there. Tubes, drop shot, shaky head, swimjig and trailer or crankbaits. Thanks


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## heidlers (May 24, 2010)

Doubt you'll find many areas this time of year not choked with weed that would enable you to throw cranks. The topwater bite can be good at times. I've caught good fish on areas with a little clearence above weeds on large Spooks, and do well on mats with weedless plastic topwaters (i.e., RageTails Shad, Cane Toads, and other frog type baits.)

Last trip I did REALLY well on certain days fishing pocket and weeds edges with a spinnerbait. More often, I am pitching plastics (wacky rigged YUM Dingers, Ugly Otters, sometimes a 10" worm) into pockets and around docks.

I'm headed up the 7th or 8th and can give a report.


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## DVDAngelo (Aug 20, 2013)

Weeds conditions are much improved this year. I fish the northern half of the lake which is much deeper on average then the southern half. Crayfish imitation tube jigs are what I have used and had good luck particularly for larger fish. Leeches are also very popular and I have heard of good success with them.

Find the edge of the weed line as you move away from shore. With leeches fish as close to that line as you can. I have had good luck anchoring out from the weed line and casting tube jigs towards it using a slow easy jerking retrieve. We usually go out very early but in October that may not be necessary.

Good luck


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

I'll be there sept. 7-10. I'll report back on how we do. Sounds like the weeds never really filled in like usual this year. My profile pick is a 4.5 smallmouth from Chautauqua a few years ago. Caught on a lucky craft Sammy. Don't forget about the largemouth up there as well. Some of the most consistent action you'll find within a days drive.... but it's hard not to go for those smallmouths. 

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## heidlers (May 24, 2010)

Bad Bub said:


> I'll be there sept. 7-10. I'll report back on how we do. Sounds like the weeds never really filled in like usual this year. My profile pick is a 4.5 smallmouth from Chautauqua a few years ago. Caught on a lucky craft Sammy. Don't forget about the largemouth up there as well. Some of the most consistent action you'll find within a days drive.... but it's hard not to go for those smallmouths.
> 
> Sent from my DROID RAZR using Ohub Campfire mobile app


Maybe we'll cross paths? We'll be up there definitely by sunrise on the 7th and maybe the 8th too? Taking my buddies boat. Forget what kind it is, but it has a neon green Loomis fish decal on it's sides. Think we're putting in and mostly hanging in the South Basin, but if it is slow we might bump up to a few spots on the North basin that normally produce for me. I did too well in June on the South end so I plan to hammer it again!


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

I'll be in a white/red Lowe 180w with a 115 merc. We'll probably hit the water around 3:00. Staying at the Bemus point lodge. If you see me, give a holler! (No idea where we'll be starting. 3 other boats in our group, I usually head the opposite direction as them. Lol) 

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## Atwood (Sep 6, 2005)

We always do yum dingers or senkos wacky style in the weed holes. Its a lot of work but by the end of the day you have a handful of nice fish. Kinzua, right below Chatauqua is huge and gets little smallie pressure. Has big walleye in it too.


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## heidlers (May 24, 2010)

Atwood said:


> We always do yum dingers or senkos wacky style in the weed holes. Its a lot of work but by the end of the day you have a handful of nice fish. Kinzua, right below Chatauqua is huge and gets little smallie pressure. Has big walleye in it too.


ssshhhhhh......Atwood, you don't know what you are talking about!!! The bass there DEFINITELY DO NOT respond to YUM Dingers and Senkos!!:

By the end of the day, you will have more than a "handful" of fish though, if you are stopping at the right holes!

Had I entered the X Tourney while there this past June (was going on while I was there) am pretty confident I would have been in the money, if not have won the whole thing. Good luck! I'll be up there slaying them with a buddy this Saturday. Looks like it should be AWESOME conditions!


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## heidlers (May 24, 2010)

heidlers said:


> ssshhhhhh......Atwood, you don't know what you are talking about!!! The bass there DEFINITELY DO NOT respond to YUM Dingers and Senkos!!:
> 
> By the end of the day, you will have more than a "handful" of fish though, if you are stopping at the right holes!
> 
> Had I entered the X Tourney while there this past June (was going on while I was there) am pretty confident I would have been in the money, if not have won the whole thing. Good luck! I'll be up there slaying them with a buddy this Saturday. Looks like it should be AWESOME conditions!


I ran my mouth and the fishing Gods stuck it to me!! Met my buddy in Bainbridge at 4:15 and hit the road. At the South ramp by 6:45, in water by 7 and first fish at fist stop in boat before 7:30 (a chunk of a smallie on a spinner bait.) Despite the perfect weather at that time, but terrible water quality green murky water with about 6" visibility and 68 degrees, we held hope. Second stop, two 15" largemouth on dark colored plastics, before 9. Then it slowed down...think we only managed one other 14-15" largemouth by 1. We decided to head north, thinking we had the rest of the day. Found water quality MUCH better from the Warner's area on north, though didn't get the opportunity to fish much of it. Between 1-2:30, the weather took a change for the worse, but the bite turned on, we got 4 more in the boat, and the four best fish of the day all came unbottoned before we got formal introductions. By 2:30 or 3 it was pouring and shut down our fishing. Didn't look like it was going to let up as we waited 30mins under the bridge to try to stay dry. We called it and made the wet run down to the south ramp to pull out. Maybe the most disappointing day I have had up there. To top the day off we had a trailer tire blow out on the drive home around Erie. A 14minute delay and we were back on the road...Good Times. Hope someone had more luck that we did. I am sure someone here will tell me we guessed wrong and the sun was out by 4:30!


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## DVDAngelo (Aug 20, 2013)

Too bad the weather screwed you up. I grew up on this lake and always found that the north end above Bemus Point was always better for small mouth. Deeper and clearer water with less of a weed issue. In the fall a muskie bite was not unusual while fishing small mouth.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

heidlers said:


> I ran my mouth and the fishing Gods stuck it to me!! Met my buddy in Bainbridge at 4:15 and hit the road. At the South ramp by 6:45, in water by 7 and first fish at fist stop in boat before 7:30 (a chunk of a smallie on a spinner bait.) Despite the perfect weather at that time, but terrible water quality green murky water with about 6" visibility and 68 degrees, we held hope. Second stop, two 15" largemouth on dark colored plastics, before 9. Then it slowed down...think we only managed one other 14-15" largemouth by 1. We decided to head north, thinking we had the rest of the day. Found water quality MUCH better from the Warner's area on north, though didn't get the opportunity to fish much of it. Between 1-2:30, the weather took a change for the worse, but the bite turned on, we got 4 more in the boat, and the four best fish of the day all came unbottoned before we got formal introductions. By 2:30 or 3 it was pouring and shut down our fishing. Didn't look like it was going to let up as we waited 30mins under the bridge to try to stay dry. We called it and made the wet run down to the south ramp to pull out. Maybe the most disappointing day I have had up there. To top the day off we had a trailer tire blow out on the drive home around Erie. A 14minute delay and we were back on the road...Good Times. Hope someone had more luck that we did. I am sure someone here will tell me we guessed wrong and the sun was out by 4:30!


I'm about to disappoint you.... sort of.

We launch Saturday afternoon around 4:00 and headed to the north basin. Fished the area from the ferry to long point till dark. Only managed 5 keeper bass and a few drinks in the rain with 3 muskie hookups all on frogs and lucky craft Sammy's.








Sunday pretty much sucked. Rain and wind. Ugly water. The whole day was a comedy of errors. Managed 8 keepers, still in the north basin. Fish were blowing up the top water and swatting my swimjigs all day but we just couldn't put them in the boat.

Monday we decided to go south and try something down there. The water looked "better" and the grass wasn't as thick. We start slamming the smallmouths on gravel points early with crankbaits and flipping largemouths on docks. Monday and Tuesday were complete night and day differences from Saturday-Sunday.







































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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

By the way. We had 6 muskie hookups over the 4 days and landed 2 of them. The other one I landed was around 38". He came unhooked in the boat and started going nuts so I just scooped him back in without a picture. I hooked up with a giant pushing 50" and had him boat side 4 times till he took my crankbait. That 10# test mono just couldn't hang on anymore. Would have definitely been a personal best. Between Monday and Tuesday morning, we landed 45 keeper bass in my boat alone. (We had 4 boats up there) biggest was a 4-14 largemouth and a 4-3 smallmouth. It wasn't as easy as the last time I was there, but we got her figured out just in time to come home...

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## heidlers (May 24, 2010)

Bub, that's the type action I am accustomed to. Been up there on many occasion and a 60 bass day btwn my son and I is fairly typical. Had them figured out the week we were there in June. I got in a pretty solid 4+ days of fishing and caught over 100 largemouth myself, with average fish being 3-4# and caught several in the 5-6# range. You had some great fish in those pics. Congrats. That lake has been so consistently good to me, it was easy to become disappointed this past trip. Not too mention, the weathermen screwed the forecast up so badly Saturday that I didn't even bother to bring rain gear, or I would have stuck around. One of my best days in June was in the rain!! Good job out there!!


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Thanks. I know what you mean about that place. Last time I was there was about 5 years ago in July. Spent 3 days just flat catching them. Get tired of catching them on a spinnerbait? Whack 'em flipping docks. Tired of that? Whack 'em on a frog! You could literary have the day of your life fishing anyway you wanted to! We had to work a little bit for them this trip.

And I have now officially lost all faith in the weather man. It was pouring down rain and I was starring at the weather channel app on my phone that was telling me it was partly cloudy...

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## heidlers (May 24, 2010)

lol...weathermen/women, suck! Wish I could be right <50% time in my job and earn what they make year in year out!! That Saturday was supposed to be mostly sunny, 75 degrees, SW winds 7-12 and 10% chance of rain before 5pm. Actual weather was sunny and calm, low 70's until about 10am. Winds and clouds picked up from the NW and steady rain began by 2pm. As we sat under bridge waiting for rain to let up and checking phones, weather radar showed all rain well to our north over the lake? Weird....we were sitting under a bridge waiting the rain out and got soaked an hour later on way back to ramp to load out. I still love that lake!!!!


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## WNYFISHERMAN (Sep 30, 2013)

100% agree with the weatherman comment. If im wrong 2% of the time at work I'd be canned!


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