canadaigua smallmouth - frustrating!

[idn713]

Hey can you guys shed some light on how to catch these fish on canadaigua? I have drifted live bait for perch and picked them up accidentally and they have always been slobs. But it seems I can never hit them when I target them. I know they suspend a lot and I can see them stacked on my finder and I know they behave a lot like the pelagic trout that chase the alewives, but there has to be a way to get these fish. I mean after all they have to have some bass instinct. Any pointers??

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[tcon]

idn

I used to leave for work an hour early and hit a few spots from shore on the way to work. Did really well casting into probably 6 to 8 fow using fire tiger colored spinner baits and just an old fashioned black and white 2 piece rapala if I was fishing from the lake this time of year I would stay out in like 12 to 15 fow and do some casting and don't forget the docks! Good luck. Forgot to mention one of the spots was off shore near the pump house and the other spot was across the lake at the county park.

Tom

[Gill-T]

Run to all the points and toss jigs. One thing I do if I am trying to find Smallies is to get the snorkle gear out and run the shoreline to find what depth they are holding at. Smallies are very curious and will often swim right up to you.

[Striperhound]

later in summer when the thermocline sets up go off the pump house in 80 foot of water and look on your graph for fish suspended 20-40 down over 80 to 100. most of those marks are suspended smallies and big. drop a sawbelly down and put rod in rod holder and have a beer. When rod doubles over reel in 4-5 lb smallies. Very consistent and over looked way to catch giant smallies. I also did very well in 8-15 ft of water on east side of lake sand and gravel flats with cray fish drifting around the flats.

[idn713]

What kind of jigs do I toss at the points? And is thier a good lure I could use to simulate an alewife so I could use artificials rather than live bait? I am just a more traditional bass guy. Also I have put tubes and cranks and spinnerbaits and dropshots on these fish but they have not touched them. Is it just a matter of finding enough of them? Cuase the marks seem to be all over the 15-30 ft range but a lot were suspended. My thought is that either I an not presenting my bottom tactics to enough fish and I am not giving the suspended fish the right swimming presentation.

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[Gill-T]

I believe gobies have gotten into the lake so any brown tubes work. I like powerbait or gulp.

[dgio67]

If you find them let me know. I was out there last Saturday and found all the rock bass and perch you could want but not one small mouth. I have done well on them in the past on melon pepper tubes and jerk baits. I have trolled them out while messing around with surface stuff in the summer in 100 foot of water. Water temp was around 62 where i was. My guess is still on beds.

[idn713]

thanks for the information this is all good stuff. I will definitely have to concentrate more on the tubes and jerkbaits. I definitely felt when I went that bass were still on their beds. but they should be done with the spawn and should move to deeper waters soon.

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[ifishy]

i've not tried canandaguia but some deep diving wide body plugs like a cotton cordell get it bouncing right off the bottom and pop it when you feel rocks they will smash it on other waters. good for trolling pick the right plug for the depth there are some that will get 20-25 just stay outside the weeds and bounce the hard bottom

[Clarkie]

Hair jigs in 1/16 oz. or 1/8 oz. on light spinning gear with line no heavier than 6 lb.

They work anywhere I have fished them, from the Finger lakes to several Canadian lakes..

Any color is fine as long as it is brown or black.

They also catch lots of succulent perch, along with rockies and most anything else that swims..