Fishing Trip Plans

[MSFishing]

Hey all, completely new to the forums here so I want to say 'Hi.' I am from SW PA and looking for some tips on when to plan a fishing trip to the finger lakes.  My cousin and I went on a fishing trip for bowfin in NW PA last year and had a blast. He called me yesterday and asked if I wanted to plan another trip, this time to the finger lakes. We will be on kayaks (mines a true fishing kayak while his is a more budget option for fishing kayaks). We are bass guys at heart but would most likely make Lakers our target species. 

 

I've browsed thru some threads and saw a lot of guys saying to jig in 90'-120' and also seen some bait/lure recommendations. I think we will be jigging with white tubes, swimbaits, kastmasters, and bucktails. I guess my biggest question is when and where. I'm not looking to steal spots, just get an idea of where we could expect to see success. We are pretty open to any of the lakes, I'm just not sure which ones would give us the best shot. 

 

I'd also like to ask what time of year. Being from SW PA, I can get an idea for seasonal weather patterns up there but I'm not sure when its easiest to target Lakers.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. We are always open to trying anything to catch fish!

 

-Matt

[Reel Doc]

Welcome aboard!  Regardless of the time of year, if the weather allows for launching a kayak,.then there are.fish to catch on Cayuga.  I'm a troller so can't help with techniques but can say anywhere from about Union Springs South on Cayuga lake has potential to catch lake trout.  Looking back on posts here will guide you and you can launch at the State launches, or at Meyers Point on the East side, or Sheldrake Point on the West side. 

Just be sure to post here with pics of your trip!!

[muskie141]

I vote hemlock. If you're in a kayak it's definitely the best lake! Very scenic

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[MSFishing]

Thanks Muskie! I'll definitely check the area out! 

[MSFishing]

11 hours ago, Reel Doc said:

Welcome aboard!  Regardless of the time of year, if the weather allows for launching a kayak,.then there are.fish to catch on Cayuga.  I'm a troller so can't help with techniques but can say anywhere from about Union Springs South on Cayuga lake has potential to catch lake trout.  Looking back on posts here will guide you and you can launch at the State launches, or at Meyers Point on the East side, or Sheldrake Point on the West side. 

Just be sure to post here with pics of your trip!!

Thanks for the tips!! I will definitely post some pics and give an update of how it all went. We are both pretty excited about the trip! 

 

Quick question: Where do you park when you launch from Sheldrake. I've been google mapping for an hour and have no idea. Do you just park at the winery?

Edited February 3, 2022 by MSFishing

[Reel Doc]

I suspect parking on the shoulder along the circle is what folks do.  I only see the activity there when trolling by on the water.  Perhaps others who have launched there will chime in

[JJBat150]

Hobie Kayaker here - Look at my previous post regarding the finger lakes.   

 

Sheldrake and T-Falls on the west side are good for kayaks and jigging laker - the Finger Lakes have prevailing winds out of the west - so keep that in mind when looking at the forecast.

 

For Sheldrake, Reel Doc is spot on about parking  - room for 20-25 vehicles.   During the off-season or weekdays it's pretty wide open, I'll even leave the SUV & trailer right on the beach when I'm the only one there.

 

Hemlock and Canadice lakes are small boat lakes (under 10 HP) and no development, so very scenic.   Issue with those 2 lakes are the cidiot kayakers that show up on the weekends and plug up the launches.  Both lakes have a healthy laker populations, but there's a lot of smelt in the lake, so they're well fed and not always willing to bite.  

 

 

[MSFishing]

12 hours ago, Reel Doc said:

I suspect parking on the shoulder along the circle is what folks do.  I only see the activity there when trolling by on the water.  Perhaps others who have launched there will chime in

Thanks Reel Doc! That makes a bunch more sense!

[MSFishing]

11 hours ago, JJBat150 said:

Hobie Kayaker here - Look at my previous post regarding the finger lakes.   

 

Sheldrake and T-Falls on the west side are good for kayaks and jigging laker - the Finger Lakes have prevailing winds out of the west - so keep that in mind when looking at the forecast.

 

For Sheldrake, Reel Doc is spot on about parking  - room for 20-25 vehicles.   During the off-season or weekdays it's pretty wide open, I'll even leave the SUV & trailer right on the beach when I'm the only one there.

 

Hemlock and Canadice lakes are small boat lakes (under 10 HP) and no development, so very scenic.   Issue with those 2 lakes are the cidiot kayakers that show up on the weekends and plug up the launches.  Both lakes have a healthy laker populations, but there's a lot of smelt in the lake, so they're well fed and not always willing to bite.  

Thanks for the tips JJ! I've been trying to read up on all the old forum posts but there is so much info...which is a good thing. If I can ask one more question: Will June or July work for the trip?

[JJBat150]

Either month is good.  Thermocline will be set-up nice by July, so they'll be under it by mid-day.  I have found lakers early morning in 30 FOW and higher - to the point that they chase all the way to the yak.  

 

Obviously, Sheldrake & T-Falls will be a bit crazy July 4th weekend, but if you get off the water mid-morning, you'll be OK.

[MSFishing]

1 hour ago, JJBat150 said:

Either month is good.  Thermocline will be set-up nice by July, so they'll be under it by mid-day.  I have found lakers early morning in 30 FOW and higher - to the point that they chase all the way to the yak.  

 

Obviously, Sheldrake & T-Falls will be a bit crazy July 4th weekend, but if you get off the water mid-morning, you'll be OK.

Thank you so much for your help! We were thinking August originally but I want to miss out on the MLF guys coming in since we will be Laker fishing in the morning/afternoon then moving to bass in the evenings.