Fishing in Irondequoit Bay

[mrasmussen72]

I got a new boat this year and went out on the bay a few times trying various lures and depths with no luck.  I don't have a FF yet, but I do have a depth reader in my boat.  I guess my questions are:

 

Are there any fish in this bay lol?  I really mean, why types, I expect sheepHead, Bass, Pike, BlueGills? 

Any recommendations for location?  There are some nice drop-offs near the bay bridge, where it goes from 60 - 10feet in a short distance.  I have tried jigging there with no luck.

 

I'm guessing I should target a specific fish, and then fish where they are more likely to be.  I would prefer pike or something like that.  I don't mind going out on the lake, but I am not sure exactly where to go once I get out there.

 

I have tried various jigs which I've seen on you tube working for pike.  I also tried various crank baits at various depths.

 

Any help would be appreciated!

[ontherise]

I've had luck along the bridge, walleye , smallmouth bass and pike, early morning or night time is best.

[mrasmussen72]

Do you pick a specific fish?  What are you using for bait?

[ontherise]

When I fished there I used live bait, crayfish for bass, minnows for walleye and pike

[mrasmussen72]

How deep are you going for walleye or pike?   Live minnows?  Where are you getting minnows?  Sorry if there are stupid questions but I'm trying to learn

[FLXTrolling]

The bay is one of the toughest waters to fish - I only really enjoy fishing it in May / June when the Drum (Sheepshead) are in there on a feeding binge.  That time of year you can troll sticks almost anywhere and will hook into them - their bellies are filled with Gizzard Shad that time of year, and they are a blast to battle..

 

I've caught very random Walleyes out there in August, right at dusk in about 5 -10 feet of water, trolling HJ 14's on flat lines, they will skip on the bottom a bit, but for the most part, bottom is mud so you shouldn't foul up too bad.

 

I live near the Bay and have put in a lot of evenings trying to figure it out, but fish/hour ratio is pretty sub-standard as well!

[BSmaster]

I thought the reaction bite was pretty subpar there.  If you want to catch fish bring some worms and catch panfish/gobies.  I thought it was a good place to finesse fish, however, I had to do this in deep water (~20-30').  finesse fishing generally requires less weight to get the plastics down and the deeper you go the harder it is.  I got pretty proficient at throwing a fluke lightly weighted and then throwing a worm also lighted weighted and alternating the two.  By doing this with two rods I was able to work the depths back to the boat and still keep my hands on a rod at all times.  A lot of fisherman do not have the patience to let a soft plastic sink that deep that is why alternating allowed me to cover more water. 

 

The largemouth were in areas where i would expect smallies and they were also very chrome.  To this date the biggest pike I ever had on my line was in that bay and I didn't even come close to landing it but she let me see her and thats better than not knowing.

 

To answer your question - there are fish in IROQ bay - you may just need to slow down some.  BTW, I only use my fish finder for depth - never for finding fish.  Keep at it and good luck.  I take good skunking every now and then but even that is still a good day...

[mrasmussen72]

I don't mind leaving the bay to fish, I have a 19' boat so if the lake is calmish I'm good.  Out there I really don't have any idea where to go lol.