Honeoye Lake....?

[panfisher]

Has anyone done anything good on Honeoeye over the last few weeks? I know fishing for the 'eyes gets better as the water cools down now. The weeds make fishing tough, but they are beginning to die back somewhat too. Anything there.....panfish, bass whatever....? Have seen nothing posted, and that, for me, would make me want to investigate there.....

[rolmops]

I did not think anybody would be interested but just this morning on Honeoye I gave fly fishing my first try. I just used my canoe and a little zebco rod with 4 pound test with a fly on the business end  All I had to do was find a place where the bluegills were feeding on the surface  and cast my fly. That made for some 20 fish in about half an hour. One of them gave me a nice surprise. As I was reeling it in ,a pike grabbed it and started pulling the other way. It let go as soon as it saw the canoe,but it was a fun experience. The little blue gill had teeth marks all over it. I released all the fish.

I love those little zebco rods, besides,I want to take a step up and be right there with Has Been who said in a previous post:  "it 's a fly reel & that I don't want to step down a notch & start pinning".

Edited October 20, 2013 by rolmops

[zackblain]

it's getting better, still tons of floating weeds but the it's only going to get better as the water cools. I think I saw a surface temp of 69 last sunday, with this colder weather it should cool down quick

[Sk8man]

I've fished Honeoye from the shore, on the ice and from the boat for many, many  years but this year I am reluctant to do so now after this summer's problems there (water pollution and toxic blue/green algae reported). My son lives just about 200 yards from the lake  and he indicated during the summer that people there were talking about the fact that 2 dogs had apparently died from drinking the lake water when the water problems were going on. I don't have any first hand proof of that but it was enough to make me "rethink" my ice fishing plans for this year.

[panfisher]

Rolmops....fly fishing for the first time.....? Ssswwweeeeet! But, on Honeoye? With one of those little kiddie (pink) zebco spincast outfits....??? ( ) You know, flyrodding with popping bugs, rubber floating ants or whatnot, or dry flies, is absolutely one of the TOP ways to indulge in panfish and bass! Years ago. while on Deep pond in Mendon Ponds park, in a small 12ft homemade johnboat (excellent!). I, too, was stripping in a nice jumbo bluegill on a popper when I saw what was at least a 10-12lb. pike (I have caught them this large and seen bigger and know what they look like) came dashing out of an emergent weed bed and slammed the hapless sunny. What a thrill to see; it was underwater about 15ft away from me...! It let go after about a 1 to 2 min fight to leave me with a scarred up large bluegill, which went on the stringer. Now, get yourself a low priced (or whatever u want to spend) fly outfit with double or forward taper flyline and have at it. Lots of fun, as you can attest to.....          Sk8man....man, that doesn't sound too good. But at least Rolmops can attest that the fishing itself ain't bad. Maybe with folks not hammering the lake, the fishing might just be pretty good as temps drop......

[Sk8man]

I hope things improve too panfisher.

[rolmops]

Catching the blue gills requires that you get to your spot where the water is about 20 feet deep and the morning fog is rising off the water. That is when the fish feel safe enough to come to the surface where the bugs are struggling because of the relatively low surface pressure. This time it was a bit north of the state launch on the east side and on the east side of that  long 28 foot hole.

As for Zebco,mine is not pink. It is about 6 foot long with a #33 reel on it. I use either red cajun line (#10) or 4 pound test. These are great little rods for canoes and for fishing streams with heavy brush and overhanging branches, You can do great under hand casts while standing right under those low branches where a classical flyrod would be close to useless.

Edited October 20, 2013 by rolmops

[panfisher]

Rolmops......I'm glad you clarified which Zebco outfit U had....I'm relieved it was not one of those pink kiddie deals... ..! Really, I do like those Zebco #33 reels. I have had them in the past. Although I have noticed that since they have been made in China, they do not have the same polished shiny luster as they were when made here in the good ole USA.... I had a beautiful one mounted to a nice black with gold guides and off-set reel seat tightening ring..it was sweet and worked great for many different situations a regular spinning or level wind would not be the best for. It was ripped off of my front porch by "friends" (who needs enemies?). The newer ones just don't look that good to me. Your low surface pressure which makes bugs struggle on the water is an informative bit that does explain sunny feeding habits....probably trout too......

[floatfisher]

_{Got a question, if the lake is suffering from the blue-green algae in the summer, what effects if any does it have on the fish?  I mean if the water is bad in the summer what would be the problem keeping and eating the fish while ice fishing?  I have not fished there in years and now that my kids are really enjoying ice fishing Honeyoe is on my to-do list for this winter.  But if the fish are bad I dont want to go there and possibly put my kids health in jeopardy!!!}

[Sk8man]

I wish I knew the answer for sure but I don't. My grand kids live right there and I talked about it yesterday with my son and he said he doesn't keep any fish from there anymore althogh he still fishes there. I have fished it since the 60's but I think this year I'll be spending my time ice fishing on the other lakes. Someone mentioned to me a few days ago  that Conesus has similar problems but I don't have any verification of that.

[cripples]

I ate a bass, a crappie and three perch from Honeoye caught on October 12 or 13 all were delicious and I did not get sick. I think the risk is in the summer and handling a fish that has the algea on it that can get you sick.

[panfisher]

OK.... I did a little homework; here's some skinny if you want to get some info...from the DEC.....Lots of goodies here. Note the Honeoye Lake status as of 10/14/13. I'd say based on that and other info about blue green algae it should be safe to eat (the fish)......but that's your call. I'd say read it all. Click on the several links to learn even more....Also it could be a good idea to sign up for more updates (free) on stuff DEC gives info on, near the bottom of the page. Tons of stuff they can e-mail 2 U......U pay them (taxes, fees), why not ? And for even more, Wikipedia "blue-green algae" or "cyanobacteria" for more in depth info. These guys gave us the oxygen we breathe. And plant life got their abilities to make food from the sun from them (cyanobacteria). Perhaps, with deforestation for wood and agriculture, this is one of nature's ways of increasing oxygen levels for us air breathers...... .....just a thought. Here's the DEC link......

<http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/83310.html>      

Edited October 22, 2013 by panfisher

[Sk8man]

Unfortunately it isn't just the algae that concerns me...it is eColi from sewage and related human pollution as well.

[GAMBLER]

The Blue Green algea blooms have really changed that lake (mostly during ice season).  The weed lines do not extend out to 15' of water anymore except for a small area on the South end West side.  Most of the fish roam the open water and can be very tough to stay on.  We started seeing the change about 6 years ago.  We used to have good days for walleye, gills, bass, perch and some crappie just about every trip.  Now you have to fish every day to stay on top of the schools in the open lake.