Honeyoye wallleyes

[Kevin J Legg]

A good buddy of mine just purchased a house on Honeyoye Lake. The fella he bought it from shared some general information on walleye and bass fishing and said it could be very good at times. Does anyone know some good approaches to try there? I assume you can troll and probably cast stick at night.

[Gator]

Hey Kevin,

 

Bass fishing on Honeoye is stupid simple, but they tend to be on the small size. Throwing a Senko around the deep weed edges is a Honeoye standard. After dark the lake shines, though, and that's when my biggest fish have come. The walleye are more difficult...stick baits in the spring and some trolling, jigs and leeches in late June...after that?? The biggest problem has been intense algae blooms the past few years, with all of the problems that entails, including some toxin worries from the blue-green algae. Honeoye is also known for having bluegills with shoulders, but there has been crossbreeding with punkinseed it seems, and this time of year the fish can be grubby. Ice fishing is generally good, especially early ice. All in all, it's a great lake though. I hope he enjoys it!

 

Keith

[BSmaster]

What Gator said and would like to add that spring/early summer is good time to fish it.  Pleasure boaters on this lake make me nervous.  There should be a speed limit.

 

Joe

[muskiedreams]

I used to get some decent LMB casting Fat Free Shads and similar lures along the weed lines where it drops to patchy weeds. There would also be an occasional walleye mixed in. Plastic worms work around docks and along edges of paths cut in weeds in front of docks.

[Sk8man]

Gator gave you some good scoop on Honeoye and BSmaster hit on a legitimate concern as far as the boat traffic situation...I would add especially at night to that. There are a lot of heavy "partiers" on the lake and a lot are out there at night going back and forth going to cottages or just screwing around and often at high speed. Caution is advised. As Gator mentioned some of the bigger fish are caught at night and there are a lot of big large mouth in there especially in the Spring just as walleye season starts up (in shallows catch and release because of closed season). If your friend has a dock you just wait until about a half hour before dark and cast Rapala like lures ( Bombers, Renegades, Rebels etc about 4 inches long) off the dock. The largemouths will hammer them until about 1/2 to 1 hr after dark usually and then the walleyes come in (as long as the wind isn't too strong....if it is real choppy they won't come to play). In summer the lake goes through some drastic changes as mentioned above (very significant algae blooms etc.) and in addition the weed growth is very rapid and extreme often clogging up the trolling lanes so that you have to look for "paths" largely up the middle of the lake (about18  ft of water or so). Worm harnesses are often effective when trolled all during the season (excluding the ice ).The deepest spot is near the middle-south (out from Log Cabin Point on the east side across diagonally  from California Ranch (west side) and is 30 ft deep and despite what might be thought....during the summer it seems devoid of life (probably because of reduced oxygen levels).  The perch are often difficult to find in numbers and size and best time seems to be ice fishing but the spots are a long hike from the available entry points (unless yo have access to the cottage then) and happen to be located near one of them). The nematoads seem to be present in the gills and sunnys especially in summer but as gator noted there are some HUGE panfish in the lake and you cull through them for fish without the parasites (not viewed to be harmful to people by the way just a bit on the ugly side) There are some real decent walleyes in the lake but the most frequently caught ones are about the minimum 15 inch size to about 22 inches or so. Most are caught at night but sometime right in the bright sun trolling as well....pretty unpredictable sometimes and very elusive to those who don't know or understand the lake peculiarities. Also of note Spring/Fall Crappie fishing can be exceptional if you can locate them and they are fished just as you are used to doing Kevin (bobber etc.)

Edited August 3, 2014 by Sk8man

[Kevin J Legg]

Thanks for all the insight. I'm sure I'll be down there on occasion in the future. My buddy will figure it out over time, as he's a passionate fisherman, but a little direction from those with experience is a big help.

[Kevin J Legg]

While I'm at it, has anyone fished Canadice or Hemlock? Since they're nearby and probably get less pressure, my buddy may also give them a shot.

[zackblain]

Kevin shoot me a private message

[Gator]

What zackblain said. Those two lakes can be like hidden gems...with a steep learning curve. And have your buddy give me a shout when he comes down. 

[Sk8man]

Zack and Keith are certainly "go to" guys for those bodies of water Kevin so have your buddy contact them...it will accelerate the learning curve for him. They are indeed tough lakes to consistently fish.

[Kevin J Legg]

Thanks so much everyone. I'll have my friend Rich contact you.

[devoknevo]

 Does anyone know some good approaches to try there?

 

 

 

Try throwing a spinnerbait over the weedtops, the walleye love them.

[panfisher]

Some of the easiest because of lower weed densities and cooler waters is in the spring. Sometimes the ice can be gone and you still may have a few days to catch and keep 'eyes before the short season closure in March. Honeoye is the shallowest of the fingers and always has had good weeds. The cyanobacteria issue is a problem all around the country now (witness Lake Erie) in similar (shallower, more eutrophic waters). And the reasons for that are well known. But there have been no fish die-offs there. The bass fishing for both largemouths and smallmouths used to be awesome. Especially in April. All C&R of course.I've caught 5lb. 'eyes, 5lb.+ smallies, and 6lb+ largemouths there. And have seen bigger. I like the early to mid spring because of the cooler waters and less weeds and because gamefish will be close to shore all around the lake and you can fish sticks, swimbaits and jigs toward shore and catch black bass and 'eyes "grab bag style". Middle to late fall at dusk (Oct- Nov) is also good for the same reasons, particularly for walleye. Like others say here, there are some beautiful 'gills, 'seeds, crappies and rockies there too. Canadice and Hemlock are very nice. A picture of what the lakes used to look like in pre-settler (native American) days.....without the housing. Also pretty good fishing in those lakes, with salmonids because of the deeper waters. Have been some huge 'eyes coming out of Hemlock (occasionally) picked up by trout trolling. I've fished Canadice from shore a few times just stopping through for a short time.....After ice out a few lakers and more frequently 'bows can be had casting with sticks. By May they have been replaced with smallies and largemouths, from the same spots with the same lures. Also, there are some nice pickerel in these waters as with all of the fingers. And I saw a photo of a 20lb.+ northern from Honeoye....did not even know they existed in there 'till I saw that!  All in all, a great place to be....centrally located with great fishing opportunity, both lake and stream (warm water and cold) in all directions....  

[Kevin J Legg]

Thanks again for all the great information. My friend Rich has already talked to a couple of you and I'm sure will be posting once he settles in. Lots of information available for the asking from a great group of guys.