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Where To Fish Post-Weed Control

It’s been some time since I gave my input on current weed control on Chautauqua Lake.

Before somebody or some group gets their undies in a knot, this just my personal observation as a sportsman. Again, I will say that I am not a biologist, weed specialist, politician or lake property owner. What I am is a hard-working resident who pays taxes that are being spent poisoning the jewel of Chautauqua County, Chautauqua Lake.

Also, I am just a one voice that has been singing the same song for over 25 years. What I am is a licensed New York State Fishing and Hunting Guide who has seen the good and bad over the years. From over 45 years of fishing, guiding and promoting Chautauqua Lake experiences, I — and others — feel that there is some credence to my insights/experience.

I have seen weed edges/beds one day that produce a good limit of walleye before 8 a.m. and have watched green heads by the hundreds come into any sound one makes on a call.

I have also seen the very next day the weed edge that produced limits dead due to spraying. The loss of vegetation and cover affect a flock of mallards. I have also seen the weeds that have been poisoned become feed and nest to local waterfowl. This is not good.

We hear little about what putting poison in the lake does to local wildlife. It seems that not many want to discuss the true conservation of the complex, biodiverse 13,000 acres we call Chautauqua Lake.

It seems everybody has an axe to grind when it comes to the lake and weed control. Think about elected officials who have to listen to property owners fuss over their lakefront. Property owners are concerned with — rightfully so — their investment and comfort.

Each individual group, party or organization has their own dog in the fight — so to speak.

I am not saying they that any of these groups are wrong, but they are impatient and misguided. When a small group starts fussing about an issue and the issue is a hot button, it doesn’t take long before the fanning turns into a raging inferno. Once you throw gas on a fire, well you all see where am going.

For those that say they haven’t seen me at any recent “meetings,” I would say you are correct. What I would say is this, when there is meeting giving by a person that doesn’t want local tax money spent with their company, I will be the first to be there. Until that time, I have heard enough sales pitches in my day. I don’t need to sit through another one.

For those that still aren’t familiar with my view on spraying poison into Chautauqua Lake or any public fishery for that matter, it’s a waste of time and money, and it’s killing our lake.

With all that said, it doesn’t take a Ph.D. to understand that there is a weed problem on Chautauqua Lake. The question of the new century is, how do we fix it? An old saying comes to mind during times like this, “Why are we putting a band aid on a heart attack.”

History is the best teacher and it doesn’t take much to time to the research the history of weeds on Chautauqua Lake. It seemed back in the early 1960s the main concern regarding Chautauqua Lake was weed growth. The Post-Journal and other local publications have run many articles dating back almost 50 years into the early 1970s regarding weed control.

The same continued into the 1980s and guess what, the main concern and topic that seemed to be at the top of most folks’ minds was weed growth on Chautauqua Lake.

If history teaches us anything, it teaches us that if we don’t learn from our mistakes, we are sure to repeat them. Well the issue with weeds on Chautauqua Lake will, I am sure, continue until some major issues are dealt with and everybody gets on the same page.

With that being said, anglers still have an excellent fishery in which to chase their favorite species of freshwater fish.

During the past few weeks, the talk amongst anglers is the change in the southern basin, where fishing was hot, then your tax dollars were put to work and the fish homes where sprayed. Again, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know what happened next, the fish all but left.

Our lake is changing and there are different species of weeds that are showing up. This isn’t something that has happened overnight. Some would suggest it has taken decades for Chautauqua Lake to get to this point. The non-indigenous vegetation we are seeing has been showing up for a few years now. Those that spend time on the water instead of talking about it would know these simple facts.

Did the fish that called those weed beds home die or move on? This is a question that hasn’t been answered by the many who claim to have the health of Chautauqua Lake as their priority.

I am not saying that all the fish in the areas that where sprayed died, no I am sure they didn’t, but then again who knows. All we know is the cover/weeds that held fish days ago aren’t there so they don’t hold the fish.

Some would say when I call spraying, poison, I am over exaggerating. I would say to that, what else would one call it? It’s only common sense when areas in and around the spraying are off limits to many things like swimming, drinking or my favorite, keep your pets out of the lake during the post-spray off-limit time period. Folks, what would you all call spraying?

Remember we discussed the word conservation earlier; this is word that hasn’t been used lately and maybe we all should take time to understand what it means. Then we can go about and practice conservation.

OK, with all that being said, where are anglers going to catch fish? The answer likely lies in the northern basin or deeper water in the southern basin.

First, deep weed edges. Yes, Chautauqua Lake has them this year but one has to search them out. When found, the deep weed beds tend to hold good schools of bait fish. Where the bait fish are their larger cousins aren’t far away. Earlier this past week we found schools of bait fish with deep water and weeds 2 feet down off Lighthouse Point and in the upper Dewittville Bay. Over a couple of days several nice smallies and three muskellunge were caught off these spots.

No matter what the temperature, fish have to eat to survive. Now, they may not eat as often or they may change their feed patterns, but nonetheless they still have to eat sometime.

Matching your bait selection with the natural forage fish of the fishery your fishing is the key.

Next, keep your offering close to where the bait is hanging out. With warmer-than-normal surface-water temperatures, large fish aren’t going to hang out in the shallower water long. If they do, they will end up like the floaters that have been showing on the lake this week.

Finding and keying your fishing on deep water with shallow water close by will increase your creel. When the surface temperature gets in the high 70s and into the 80s, larger fish can’t handle the warmer temperatures and they get stressed out much faster. It’s like we do when our body tells us its warm and we need to cool down.

Knowing where these critters go is important to your success. Understanding why fish go where the go will make you a better angler.

The great thing about Chautauqua Lake is its diversity. The lower end of the lake offers some great shallow-water fishing opportunities with the upper end playing home to some of the finest summer deep-water action in the Northeast.

For years, I would troll for muskellunge in 20 feet in what I thought was deep water. The past few years I have been able to find areas that hold good numbers of big toothie critter in 30-40 feet of water. When presented properly with the right bait, the fish can be caught and safely released alive back into the lake.

Now I am not saying that we are pulling all our fish off the bottom at these depths but they are hanging on drop-offs at these depths. Here again I prefer to fish the shelves close to deep water. What makes shelves great is their close proximity to shallow and deep water.

Fishing and releasing fish to be caught another day under these conditions isn’t easy, but with a little work and changing your way of thinking, it can be done and done successfully.

Remember the word conservation, it affects everything we do to our fisheries.

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