fishing on canadarago lake

[Kov619]

I'm coming up to visit some friends I love hard water fishing I live near Pittsburgh Pa. Would love to try this lake when I come up bringing my  jigging  rods and tip ups.. I have a NY licenses for my 1st time ..hope to make more trips if it is as good as they tell me  would like some help on where to fish. Because  I don't have a lot of time..will post my email address if you don't care to post all help would be great thanks...we have no ice yet in Western PA.        [email protected].           Thanks  to the ones  that can help  me.   Be safe.and tight lines to all

[TheSystem]

just a few posts back I posted access locations and good fishing spots..

[G.Warner]

I live about an hour away,Would like to hit this place on monday.Would like to hear from someone that went there today. How much Ice? How deep are the fish ?etc... thanks.

[TheSystem]

Reply #49 on: Jan 14, 2012, 07:07 PM »

  "4-5" of hard clear ice, with another 2" of frozen slush ice on top of that, all very hard.  Will have my sled out there this weekend."

This was last night.....is anybody actually reading the thread or just skipping the info and posting questions?

[G.Warner]

New to this site.It will take a few trips here to figure it out.Will be on canadarago Mon .Will let ya know how I made out.

[TheOutdoorsman]

This was last night.....is anybody actually reading the thread or just skipping the info and posting questions?

Some are probably just looking for the fastest, most up-to-date information so that they can go catch their limit or more, without actually having to put any effort into finding a spot.

[bigZin315]

System...are you planning on going on the lake if it warms up i think were heading up around 1230 should be on the lake at like 130

[PeterC]

System-- Thanks for the great post. I live in Albany and fished Candarago a few times over the last three years with various success. Year before last nice perch near sunken island, last year the perch class was pitiful in size not numbers-- Glad to see the ones you got into so far this year are decent. Would like to fined Wally as well as perch. When you say the point by Hyder Creek is it better to set up on hte inside by the cove or closer to the main body. Spoke wiht a guy from the lake association (Pete Komanderek) over the summer and he said near the buoys in front of the cove-- same for winter?

[Floatman]

I started ice fishing Can when I first moved into the area, more than 30 years ago.  Back then the YP fishing was all dinks, 2 at a time, as fast as you could get your line down.  Hardly anyone else out there then.  Slowly over the years the average size of the perch started to increase.  Maybe it was the tiger muskies thinning out the population.  Anyway, by the mid 90's you could catch a mess of respectable fish and have alot of fun.  Then the commercial guys moved in, carting away buckets of fish every day.  Down went the quality of the YP fishing.  Alot has changed over the years, esp. the ice fishing pressure.  The DEC noted that pressure and decreased the daily limit from the statewide standard of 50 down to 25 fish. 
I've had years of fun panfishing on Can, both on the ice and in a boat.  I love the lake and I'm sure alot of you feel the same way.  We're not talking about Oneida Lake or the St. Lawrence River Bays.  Its a relatively small lake and there's no question it can be impacted by fishing pressure.  The school of thought used to be that you can not fish down a panfish population because they're so prolific but that has since been disproven by many scientific studies.  That is why the state instituted a statewide and sometimes waterbody specific daily limit, and in the case of crappies, a minimum size, too. 
Everyone wants to see good fishing quality maintained on Canadarago.  It is my belief that in order to do that we all need to practice some discretion on the harvest of mature YP.  From the previous posts it sounds like several of you guys feel the same way.  If we can get more people to jump on the bandwagon lots of people can participate and not negatively effect the fishery.           

[perchpopper]

I have owened property on Canadarago for 25 yrs and i have to agree with Floatman . I can remember years back when large groups would form a line for several yards and if one area of the line got into a school the rest of the guys would pull up and form a circle around them and put a hurting on the school . You would actually see filleted perch piled up on the ice which went unnoticed by the DEC and shortly thereafter the limits were changed . I think we should be able to fish and enjoy ourselves but we have to be selective and use common sense so our fishery will be there for future generations to enjoy .  I also love this lake and enjoy taking the grandkids out and watching them have a good time .

[filetandrelease]

I to agree with float man ,and perchchopper i live quite a long ways from cando ,and have been going there for many many yrs4-5 time a year just to fish some place different , and noticed that the fishing pressure is without a doubt more than this lake can handle, your lake is very nice and clean ,and the fishing pressure has increased tremendously ,due to the internet ,sometimes progress isn't always a good thing just an olbuzzards .02

[TheSystem]

Outstanding day on Cando.  5-6" of great ice everywhere I went.  Many guys out around the sunken island/bakers beach, some out by the island, and some in the deep channel.  windchills were brutal!  Perch bite where I was was HOT.

Floatman, my family has lived on cando for 4 generations and I must say that is the best post I have ever read.  That lake is my families lifeblood and I'm so glad to hear other people respect it just as much as me.

Bigzin- I was out there from 11:30-5 and could not keep my jig line in the water for more than a minute or two the entire time!  My father and I and BigJim223 put well over 150 perch on the ice, with the 90% over 8".  None over 11" though.  I will be out there all day monday, in a bay on the west side, just north of the island.

PeterC, Glad to help a fellow fisherman.  Hard to say where on that point they'll be...a lot depends on traffic and wind (which does affect fish even under ice).  I'd work the southern edges of the point/bouy line.  Don't be afraid to set some tipups shallow as I often see walleye while I'm fishing for perch in 6-10ft.   Check the ice often as there is a lot of current there.

GWarner - good luck out there - there's a lot of info on this site, take your time and use it to develop the best plan you can before you go out there!

Perch, Fillet, Float, I am SO reassured to hear there are actually some fisherman on Cando who understand the importance  of selective harvest.  I know a lot of guys who rip every fish they can out of that lake as often as they can, they just don't understand how that devastates the lake.  This year the average size of the perch class is way up from prevoius years, and next year, if most of the guys fish it as smart as you, will be stellar..

[BIGJim223]

Good post!^^^^^^   And he is not kidding, in the hour and a half I was there, at least a hundred perch were caught and released! The trick was NOT catching the dinks, and going for the mature fish which just were not as aggressive and stayed down on the bottom. You just had to get them chasing and they were caught! I will be out on Monday to give it a go from the Kenai. It will be warmer tomorrow. No heater needed- except to cook lunch!

BIGJim223

[bigZin315]

system- i was headed up to cando but we saw some people on the barge canal and decided not to make the hour drive my buddies caught 2 perch each and i got ZERO wish we went up to cando sounds like you guys had a productive day!!

[TheSystem]

Can't beat the action we had.  very few fish smaller than 7-8", but I would have traded dozens of them for some perch up at the 12"+ range.  Got only 3-4 at 11, the biggest of which had been swimming under my shanty all day snobbing my bait till my father finally tricked it t the last minute.  Very fun day. come on up tomorrow!  I'm a mile (on the road) past the lake house

[PeterC]

Thanks System will be up next weekend-- Will watch for  ice conditions but should be locked for awhile--
Thanks again --

[bigZin315]

i think im coming up tomorrow look for my kenia shanty!

[northernmaddness]

it would  be hard finding someone in a blue flipover considering there were at least 20 of them out there today. didnt see to many people catching fish. we kept a few nice perch and put put a few smaller ones back. wasnt to impressed compared to how we made out on lake pleasant yesterday

[bigZin315]

how were the fishing/conditions at pleasant?

[northernmaddness]

good conditions. 7" of ice with 3-4" of snow. caught a lot of nice perch with my buddies personnel best 14" caught on a tip-up. fished in 20' of water. ON LAKE PLEASANT

[bigZin315]

im thinking of getting a vexlar this week are they really worth the money?>

[AugustWest]

Nope...get an LX5

I agree 100% with the proper maintenance of all bodies of water. Each and everyone of our watersheds are EXTREMELY important
I have only fished 'Darago a few times. I was fortunate enough to experience some great YP fishing. C&R is 95% of my fishing.
 If I didn't eat breakfast, I keep at least a dozen
BE SAFE!!!!!!!
AW

[adkRoy]

im thinking of getting a vexlar this week are they really worth the money?>

yes, I've had my Vex fl8 for 7 years now. Don't know how I ever fished without it.

[poor man fishing]

Marcum vx1 pro works great $239 to your door from glens army navy Great price

[northernmaddness]

they all work great, just depends on how much money you want to spend

[kowboyup]

Never fished with i finder till acouple yrs ago, but decided to get my vexlar and i like it. Dont want to say its the best as ive only had this one so what i can say is it works great for me it was simple to use for a newbie to finders and ive had no trouble with it. Guess it will come down to how much u want to spend and the reviews u read. Gd luck on ur choice

[billybob851]

if you go with vexilar get at least the fl 18 because the bottom zoom is worth the little extra money

[bigZin315]

poor man--- took your advice and went on glens outdoors and ordered that marcum for 239.99 reviews look good just cant wait for it to get her so i can learn how to use and and get it on the ice hope it doesnt take long with today being a holiday...thanks for the advice

[northernmaddness]

easy to use. i use an fl-8 but fish next to a marcum all the time both great machines and easy to use. good luck to ya

[bigZin315]

thanks ive never used one so im sure it will take some time to learn how to use it