Canandaigua Lake 8/5-8/9

[FLXTroutman]

My family had our annual reunion renting a house on Canandaigua Lake this past week. We started fishing Sunday morning 8/5, I dock at Sutter's Marina and the house we rented was on Island View Dr., the Squaw Island, is the viewing island. I had my brother in law Dale drop me off at the marina, we rigged the boat and he drove back to the house and I would motor over to the house to pick up Dale, my dad and my niece Emily. I never drove near the Squaw Island before, never had a reason to but I knew there were some marker bouys south of Squaw indicating shallow water. I noticed another vessel anchored north of Squaw so I ventured between Squaw Island and the anchored vessel. I watched the sonar as I moved through the shallow water 3.5, 3.0, 2.5, and then 1.5, I felt her bottom out teetering on her keel, thinking what am I going to do now? Luckily there was stiff south wind blowing 20 mph- 30 mph creating a little surf so I pointed the bow north with the outdrive all the way up and she sledded off the sand bar into slightly better water. Holy crap, what a way to start the day, there is a little channel from Holiday Harbor condos which the boats there use to get to the main channel which enters the lake. I called my dad and said meet me at Sutter's, and I picked them up and off we went. The wind blowing out of the south gave for a nice choppy ride to Menteth Point. We hit some big waves heading out but I knew this was prime Canandaigua Lake conditions. We searched the point and there was another boat out, a charter guy chuck527 knows and he was already moving north with the waves so we followed suit. I had my regular suspects out on the 3 wire rods, 3 riggers and 300' copper out on a planer board. We trolled all the way to just before German Brothers without a touch when the high diver fired violently, a Canandaigua screamer, I grabbed the rod and that fish took a diver set at 113' to 200' really fast, he did some acrobatics for us before we landed a healthy 5lb. rainbow. As I was putting the bow on ice the 143' diver fired ripping drag, my niece Emily grabs the rod and she did a great job bringing an 8lb rainbow to the net. With the south wind the bait and fish had moved north, the fish were out of temp, but I had those diver rods right where the marks were on the sonar. Great first morning even though we were just 2 for 2.

We headed back out Sunday evening working the water in front of German Bros.

again good rainbow action off the wires and riggers, 4 for 4 all 3 lb 18"

cookie cutters.

Monday 8/6 we went 5 for 7, 3 lakers one 5 lbs, 2 skippers, and 4 rainbows, 2 3lbs, and 2 skippers.

Tuesday morning we had to run to Long Point to find the fish not as good of numbers 3 for 3 with one 3 lb laker and 2 skips. I figured the fish had really moved south after the lake settled down after the big blow on Sunday. Wednesday morning we went searching further south to Seneca Point area, again not a lot of size or numbers but 3 for 3 in 2 1/2 hours.

I saw tannero's post that he was considering heading to Whiskey Point so I headed there on Thursday morning. I set up near Whiskey marking a few fish but ended up heading west to Cook's Point. We saw tannero out there, we were getting some small bows 17"-19" but when I would release them they would go belly up. We would circle back and scoop them up so the damn gulls would not get their free breakfast. I just couldn't get much going when trolling the shorelines from 135'-185' so I pointed the boat north right up the middle of the lake. By the time we were out from Vine Valley and Seneca Point the copper rod began to fire. My brother boated a nice 4 lb laker and when I reset the copper, it fired again, the kids didn't want to reel in the copper rod so I reeled it in. Good thing because I knew it was a good fish. She tipped the scale at 9 1/2 lbs. Best producers of the week was 300' copper with green Revelator and ATOMIK nuclear glow fly, white chrome/glow pro troll echip with ATOMIK mirage fly on diver rod at 113', 143', 163', NK 4-d spoon hammered silver no paint left on it on rigger at 65', silver streak pink alewife on slider off 88' rigger. Also ran the Charnelia Special, a "0000" Luhr Jensen hammered silver dodger pulling a Suttons 22 off a rigger, seems to only catch skip bows though. See picture.

[33canuck]

Nice report man, way to avoid boat damage onteh beach..... Great pics as always

[chuck527]

Mike,

Sounds like you had a good week! Went by you Thursday morning by menteth pt around 10:30. Thats what time my charter wanted to go out. Didnt pick anything up till we got south of Onanda. Ended with 5 bows and only one laker. Another charter guy out that morning did three small lakers.

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