Chautauqua, NY: Fishing & Hunting Dream Adventures

Crappie, Yellow Perch, Walleye, Bass, and Giant Gobblers:
Warm Spring this Year Means Hot Fishing Happening Early

There is no time like the present! It's time to redefine your bucket list! Are you looking for a place to catch a 2-pound crappie, a 2-pound perch, a 10-pound walleye, or a 6-pound smallmouth bass? How about bagging a giant Eastern Wild Turkey touting 1-inch spurs under a 10-inch beard? Fishing and hunting in Chautauqua County, NY, offers unforgettable adventure and opportunity.

At Chautauqua Lake, we have about 40 miles of shoreline that offer access to spring crappie fishing with no closed season here. Giant white and black crappie schools have started their spring ritual spawning movements. A bobber and a minnow work best for most crappie anglers, but savvy anglers use tube-jig baits fished from a weighted bobber to score in the canals and on the lake weedbed edges. An unofficial NYS record crappie (4.33 pounds!) may have been caught from Chautauqua Lake this past weekend, more on that later. NYS Crappie Rules: 10-inch minimum size, 25 fish per day. The new crappie size and bag rules speak to the expanding fishery and increasing size of Chautauqua Lake predator fish. The walleye, bass and musky: they're getting larger each year. Crappies are among their favored feast foods.

The Yellow Perch fishery in Lake Erie has been on fire this year. Most anglers use 2-dropper hooks offering emerald shiner minnows with a ½ to 1-ounce sinker at the bottom of the line. The Lake Erie perch are running 1 to 2 pounds each, schooling in waters 25 to 50 feet deep. Along Lake Erie's 48-mile Chautauqua County shoreline, boat access is from Barcelona Harbor in Westfield, Chadwick Bay in Dunkirk, and Sunset Bay in Irving. Lake Erie perch rules: 50 fish daily bag limit, no minimum size.

That's not all! Monster smallmouth bass in Lake Erie during this same time period are hungry. Early season catch and release bass fishing is open in NYS, with some fish pegging local digital scales. The special early catch/release-only black bass season (with artificial lures only) is open through June 14. Chautauqua Lake smallmouth bass to 6 pounds have been caught and released in the last few days, and even larger bass on Lake Erie. Anglers work tube jigs and vibration-style artificial lures near the bottom to hook up.

The walleye season will open on Monday, May 1, at midnight for all NYS waters. Lake Erie midnight walleye trollers with mini-planer boards and 3-1/2 to 5-inch stickbaits score early. Most month-of-May walleye caught in Lake Erie are males between 18 and 26 inches long, and 4 to 6 pounds. Trophy fish exceeding 30 inches and 10 pounds are not uncommon either. Lake Erie walleye rules: 6-fish daily bag, minimum size 15 inches. There is such a healthy population of Lake Erie walleye (estimated to be 120 million) that NYSDEC is considering a 12-inch minimum size limit.

Chautauqua Lake shoreline anglers in waders cast 3 to 4-inch stickbaits (F-11 Rapala) standing in 3-foot deep waters all around the 42 miles of lake shoreline to score on early season walleye. The shore action will last for 2 to 4 weeks following May 1. The walleye have completed their spawning cycle in Chautauqua Lake. They emerge from their bottom-hugging daytime habits at light transition periods for binge-feeding antics, making night-time casting the best time for shore anglers. It's great fun for anglers without a boat visiting the Chautauqua area. A light-action, extra fast-tip fishing rod (i.e., St. Croix ASWS70LXF) filled with 6-pound braid will ensure a long cast with slippery endurance as the lure slides through emerging weedbed tips. Savvy walleye anglers attach a 2 to 4-foot fluorocarbon leader for bonus durability and stealth in the clear spring waters. Chautauqua Lake walleye rules: 5-fish daily bag, 15-inch minimum. Charter Captain Frank Shoenacker says, "The fish shelter along the deep emerging outside weedline, and simple trolling tactics can work well." Early morning Chautauqua trips with Shoenacker (Infinity Charters, 585-406-5764) usually yield limit walleye catches in May. Visit https://www.sharetheoutdoors.com/2018/05/27/chautauqua-lake-ny-26-walleye-fun-rod-in-hand-fishingmemorial-day-treat/.

While some parts of the country are starving for turkey numbers, the Chautauqua turkey woods is doing well! The NYS spring turkey season runs May 1 – May 31, with hunting hours 30 minutes before sunrise to 12 noon each day. Turkey Rules: season bag limit-2 bearded turkeys (limit of 1 per day). There are more than 1,500 square miles of hunting paradise in Chautauqua County, with significant public hunting zones in State Forests. Area residents report record numbers of young birds that have survived the winter season. Good news for the Chautauqua turkey future and the season ahead. There are 14 State Forest lands in Chautauqua County where public access is open. State Forest lands in Panama, Boutwell Hill, Mt. Pleasant, and North Harmony are popular turkey hunter areas.

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