**Chautauqua Lake BS**

[adkRoy]

Checking Toms Point in AM with Hanger, and Chautauqua Lake Eddy.  Only have till 9AM.  Buddy ad 1 sub par keeper at LP, today..  managed to feed a pack of Hungry coy dogs a pile of  perch..

what a sad waste of fish 

[waltman]

any reports on mayville or vikings thinking about taking a run to vikings or mayville friday

[jolie]

Well, it took to February 13th to lock up the Chaut. report page, happens every year.  Nobody ever learns...reports only!  Jeez

so what happens now? will they reopen it??

[pshootr]

A sad waste of fish sticks.lol..theres millions more where those came from adkroy.

[Stryder444]

I know where you are coming from, adkroy.  I am one of those guys that hates to see people just taking bucket after bucket of fish and then complaining when there aren't any.  Especially if they are what you consider "throwing them away".  Please understand this this is a very different matter.  I have fished dozens of lakes in this area and have never seen the amount of small perch the are in chautauqua.  This has been going on for several years.  As as avid fisherman of that lake, I can tell you that other species have really suffered due to the sheer numbers of perch that have exploded.  What pshooter is doing is both legal and a big help to the overall health of the lake.  When I go there again this weekend, if I am once again swarmed by small perch, I will be taking my 50 small ones out of the lake as well. 

[thegoods]

to bad they don't stock chautaqua like they do to oneida.   i read a thing on oneida that they stock 50million walleye fry a year. crazy and doesn't even account for natural reproduction.  Oneida is only 5 times the size of chautauqua to.  I'd take 10 million fry. hahah  need abundance of predators in that lake to thin them out. 

another thing is of the thousands of perch myself and friends of caught... i've never caught or seen one that i would call a "jumbo".  place like honeoye is a fraction of chautauqua and they have jumbos?  just doesn't make sense

i'd love to hear from a DEC biologist on why.

[pete/ny]

I know where you are coming from, adkroy.  I am one of those guys that hates to see people just taking bucket after bucket of fish and then complaining when there aren't any.  Especially if they are what you consider "throwing them away".  Please understand this this is a very different matter.  I have fished dozens of lakes in this area and have never seen the amount of small perch the are in chautauqua.  This has been going on for several years.  As as avid fisherman of that lake, I can tell you that other species have really suffered due to the sheer numbers of perch that have exploded.  What pshooter is doing is both legal and a big help to the overall health of the lake.  When I go there again this weekend, if I am once again swarmed by small perch, I will be taking my 50 small ones out of the lake as well.

               Just to set the record straight, Pshter has not caught perch and left them on the ice for scavengers. If he did I would not be fishing with him.It was another fisherman who left them to waste and rot. I don't think a DEC Officer would like to see this done or I am sure whoever did it would be reading about it from his wallet.

[Postletown]

Anyone have an ice report for Burtis Bay? I got yelled at for asking on the reports and conditions page after I mentioned that there have been guys out there every day this week, just wasn't sure how much ice there was.  I didn't mean to offend anyone, I am just trying to get out and do some fishing this weekend, but I don't want to be on iffy ice.  Thanks!

[Duke]

depends on your definition of safe? friends are fishing right now, and for the first time since 2011 I am taking the kids out because I feel it is consistent enough, may not be too thick, but at least in the area I am fishing it is the same thickness throughout the area. My friends are saying the ice is about the same thickness as it was this past weekend minus the snow on top. Conditions are far from ideal, but good enough for me.

Marcus - where you going out of? I would like an area of consistent ice to feel better with my kids also! Thanks, Duke

[jolie]

they really ought to .. temporarily... allow unlimited harvesting of yellow perch.

after all, Isn't the PURPOSE of game limits to help us as fishermen be sustainable with the fishery??  well, the most "sustainable" action that could possibly happen with all these yellow perch is some massive kill, and preferably a heavy harvest (rather than some kind of disease that would dampen the fishery after numbers have been brought under control).

think of an aquarium, if somehow we don't deal with the overcrowding, some kind of disease is all but inevitable.

If you want an example, within this very waterway.  think white perch.  I remember when there was everywhere, now that some rot has set in their numbers have plummited. 


besides, is there not lakes within NY that actually have unlimited creel limits of Perch?  if not NY, somewhere regionally.  I recalll reading about folks selling whole buckets of fish.  This  kind of pressure might be enough to move the needle on the problem.

unfortunately, with a sketchy ice year, I bet harvest is low.  and just as likely winterkill will be nonexistant.  NY Dec the really IS a problem- are you going to do something!?? (prolly not  )

[youngster]

what did they ever do before us humans came around and made everything perfect... bwahahahaha   ,inevitable fish kill = mothernature at her finest,,  thins the herd and stops the weak links from propagating.   

[thegoods]

parts of jefferson county are no limit on perch and those are jumbos. haha  ya last  year chaut had no real ice and i can't remember about the year before that so atleast 2 years of no winter kill off.  To bad there wasn't a Chautauqua Lake Walleye Association.   I'd join if my dues went to stocking eyes in the lake.

[hard4ice]

to bad they don't stock chautaqua like they do to oneida.   i read a thing on oneida that they stock 50million walleye fry a year. crazy and doesn't even account for natural reproduction.  Oneida is only 5 times the size of chautauqua to.  I'd take 10 million fry. hahah  need abundance of predators in that lake to thin them out. 

another thing is of the thousands of perch myself and friends of caught... i've never caught or seen one that i would call a "jumbo".  place like honeoye is a fraction of chautauqua and they have jumbos?  just doesn't make sense

i'd love to hear from a DEC biologist on why.

well said and a VERY good point. i know Walter is in there but maybe make a lesser creel limit for the eyes and stock fry for couple years to balance it out

[thegoods]

2012 they stocked chautauqua with 75,000 musky.  not sure how many walleye but i know they do stock fingerlings.  no clue if they are in there but some smelt wouldn't be bad either.

[Hijinks]

My buddy Christopher keeps as many small perch as he can. He pickles them whole and we pick at them during hunting season. I'm not a big fan of the skin, but the flesh is superb. Not to mention battering and blanching the roe. Divine meal. If anyone has eaten Baluga Sturgeon caviar, then you know what I'm talking about. Liquified heaven that just eases down your throat.

[waltman]

any ice  reports for vikings or mayville was going on planning on friday but warm temp  don't want to take that 70 mile ride and have unsafe ice  heard that snow in the forcast 1 or 2 feet but may make a run out sunday

[kyle870]

Im affraid that fingerlings are what you need on your lake and they cost money to raise so guess what.The senecas have built a fingerling program on the river not real far you guys. Egg sack fry are wiped out by the hoards of perch. The squeakey wheel gets the grease or in this case the walleye fingerlings.  ORGANIZE and get squeakey.

[EyEsNiPeR]

Its hard to understand what yoy guys are actually saying abiut the perch on chaut. As a die hard walleye fisherman I can tell you that even when I'm out strictly for eyes, I catch perch. If its a size issue then stop fishing the perch daycares at mayville and ither well known places where there water is shallow and is safe fir tons of small perch. Big water equals bigger fish, plain and simple.  As to the comment on reducing the creel limit for walleye, thst is crazy.  Just a few yrs ago the creel was 5 15's, now its 3 18's. I've been hitting the lake hard for years and have only limited a handful of times. I have respect for any fisherman, but when you catch tons of fish, whether big or small and still complain, that's when I start to disagree. Its not like perch fisherman are in it for the fight of the fish, theyre in it for the meat. So stop complaining, put yout time in, find a new spot, and enjoy the fishing we have on the great lake of chaut.

[walleyety]

To my knowledge Chautauqua is stocked with fingerlings annually, the coastline is far too inhabited to sustain a walleye population without help.

[marcus]

Eyesniper there is just so many of them and most are small. Me and the wife are headed down to help with the perch population in a few minutes.

[EyEsNiPeR]

Marcus, I wish more perch fisherman had the attitude that you have. Just enjoying fishing for what it is and for the sport snd traditions. I just don't like to hear complaining and them not doing anything about it. Bottom line is small fish will grow to big fish, just gotta find those big ones. Believe me they exist.. As a die hard walleye fisherman I'm very familiar with disappointment, but my didappointment is not catching a single walleye in hrs of fishing. As opposed to perchers catching tons of small fish and being disappointed. Once again I applaud your attitude marcus and wish they all thought like you.

[pshootr]

botom line is this boys!they all fry up the same,whether they are 6 inches or 12 inches,if you know how to artfully work an electric filet knife you will get a filet off a 6 inch perch.bottom line!keep whatever size you want on the perch,it aint nobodys business but yours!!just dont go over the daily limit,which i think it should be 100 in that lake anyways.if you guys get out give me a shout,dying to get a bucket of perch sticks,the freezer is mt.

[8POINT]

i agree with this guy. i will filet them up if u guys dont want then. my kids eat them like they are candy...  can anybody tell me how the ice conditions are? i would like to head down tomorrow and try to fill a bucket myself.

[EyEsNiPeR]

I agree too. Ice is good most places, depends where you go though. Bring a spud bar just in case and spud out to where you wanna fish.

[BIGFISH]

        be there in the am to weed out the little one     yum     bigfish

[85champ]

is there safe ice on pendergast or bell tower? Or just long point?

[FISHN NIK]

If you chase smelt in the spring,then whats the difference,a 4" smelt or 2 4" perch fillets?

[marcus]

I fished misway park the ice is goos there 2 layers but 8-10" total white and black hard and slick, it was snowing pretty good when we left to get lunch at Tom's had an excellent burger. Fishing was very fast but tiny perch up to 5" or so 24' 32' 12' 6' 9'   it didnt matter the depth same results everywhere. ice is  looking nice people all over. I would still suggest the spud bar especially near shore. 

[btabz]

Fished Midway yesterday 35 FOW Caught 45 perch & kept two at 9". Ice was fine although pressure crack behind us 1' wide w/no ice was covered with snow...Be careful!! 

[btabz]

We were at Midway too. Beautiful day for fishing but only 2 keepers! Some big pressure cracks around...