Canandaigua Winter

[UpstateToErie]

Anyone fish Canandaigua this time of year? Also does the lake ever freeze up thick enough to ice fish?

[Sk8man]

There are a few hearty souls that fish it by boat mostly for perch when weather permits and the launch isn't iced up. They usually remove the docks with the exception of the handicapped accessible one..  Usually just the extreme north and south ends freeze up enough for ice fishing and sometimes not even they freeze sufficiently.It is quite a long walk out to decent water at the north end especially for ice fishing there (much shorter walk with no ice). There have been years that have been exceptions but recently not many with the up and down temps. It needs to be very cold for an extended period with little to no wind for good ice fishing to occur.

Edited December 31, 2019 by Sk8man

[UpstateToErie]

Thanks Sk8man. My families place is towards the South end on the West Side. I’ve never seen ice here before but I figured down by the south end would be the best bet for ice with the shallowness. As a kid I always had great fishing from the dock but recent summers have seemed off to me when I’ve visited. Have you noticed any downtick in the fishing?

[Sk8man]

Yes I have fished this lake since the early 60's and the past few years the trout fishing has been off from things in the past. There has been a lot of fishing pressure on the perch especially at the north end so it is very different as well. Bass fishing is very off and on out here especially with the water clarity for much of the year and there have been some die-offs that I think affected the fishing. As with the other Finger lakes the Zebra mussels have messed up the food chain. With that said there are some decent lakers and rainbows if you are very familiar with the lake itself. Brown trout are few and far between but there are some big ones when they are caught. One of my friends who is a guide has had some good success jigging for lakers out fairly deep in the Fall and caught some real nice ones.  The south end can be decent through the ice when it is safe enough to get out on but sometimes it isn't thick enough to get to the spots where you wish to be and the water can be gin clear under the ice making the fish spook easily when you do find them (mostly perch and gills). The chain pickerel are very heavily populated right now in the lake which adds to the problems with the perch fishing.

Edited January 1, 2020 by Sk8man