NPike

Although my MPB from Chautauqua is 39". I've been in the boat when my buddy got a 48". Perhaps some of you have done better? From what I here from Mikes and other fisherman they take plenty of big fish out of Chautauqua. The DEC nets giant fish each spring. It's good to see the fishery remains so healthy for Musky's in both size and quantity.

I do troll on occasion but the trill of getting them on the cast is hard to beat. Guess it's a matter of preference. BTW speaking about Musky baits Rollie and Hellen's is running a X-mass speacil.

names your favorites whether they are used as crankbaits, twitch baits or pull baits. Here a few that have brought me some success over the years. Double and Treble D's from Esox Research Corp. Depth Raiders from Bucker 4 Play Lip Lure from Savage Saltwater Rapala

I believe pike and pickerel breed sooner than musky’s thus making it difficult for the musky’s to get a start in waters containing other species of esox. This could be a problem for introducing pure musky’s into Conesus, Silver, Hemlock, Honeoye, etc. There are a few "usually large" waterways like the St. Lawrence where they have completely separate breeding grounds and don’t interface at all when spawning, but often the spawning habit is similar. Personally it would be great if they swam in most of our lakes.

I can’t speak for Otisco - Waneta, but I’m surprised at how Conesus manages to hold up, despite the heavy fishing pressure. I can’t image a lake that gets more fishing pressure per acre. Many keep those occasional 12 LP and up class fish. The DEC has helped a bit: building breeding ponds for northern and stocking tigers and walleyes.

Perhaps the poor terrible fisherman could use a helping hand? I learned because people were generous enough to share their time and techniques with me. Still I often have to work for my fish. I’m no expert at purebred musky’s, but very large fish are to be had at Chautauqua as well as perch. Trout, pickerel and bass at Hemlock. Pike and bass with the odd tiger or walleye at Conesus. As for Fishing Diary I’ve been keeping them on Conesus for the DEC region 8 for years. They do provide a nice end of year wrap-up. Catch and release is critical, particularly for the larger fish. I love seeing a jumbo esox swim away. Not that I get that many real jumbo’s.

caught a few this year

I see them still targeting LM_Bass on Conesus. They say they are getting a few some nice sized.

My last comment on the topic. I just talked to Ted at Ted's Tackle at the north end of Conesus by the dam and he hasn't noticed a significant increase in lake levels at all. Still no water over the dam.

I would be very skeptical. A couple of days of rain likely aren't going to make up for the fact that some of these lakes are 2.5 to > 4 feet down? BTW Chautauqua has plenty of water no problems there.

As was mentioned one can still launch at Conesus (no docks) but be careful until out a ways it's very shallow and there's some rocks. One boat didn't have it's motor tilted up far enough out and I heard some real hitting the bottom when he went out. On Conesus lots of water is drawn out for public and industrial use. Most years nature takes care of this but not this year, it just keeps going down. Also if you drift away from the center portion you can get stuck in less than 6" of mud, makes it tough on windy days.

I got a real nice Musky on Chautauqua Saturday night, Great fight. Sorry forgot to hold the belly while having the picture taken.

I fish Conesus and on rare occasionally Chautauqua. I would be interested if the meeting were within reasonable distance of Rochester or on a weekend. I'm very interested in preserving quality Esox in both these lakes and in NYS in general. In line with the original post may be dated?

They can be temperamental at Hemlock but some giants swim there. Nice fish!!!

Conesus walleye are tough during the day. The closest thing to a hot spot is trolling the deeper water off the points. It’s best to fish walleye on Conesus at dusk and during the evening in particular. A challenger trolled using copper line or a downrigger is a good bet. You can purchase them at Teds Bait shop in Lakeville. The bonus is they generally run 5 to 10+ pounds when you land one. As mentioned fishing is slow due to the extreme heat, despite the small cool spell. Most (not all) of the Conesus Walleye are caught from May tru July for some reason?