Tim Bromund Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 I know most of you are Canadian and this would be a bit of a drive, but if you just want to go and catch a TON of perch, here's my report from Lake Chautauqua yesterday: We fished out of Mayville this morning. God I love first ice on Chautuaqua. The perch don't achieve the sizes they do on Simcoe, but the 5 of us had our 250 perch limit in about 2.5 hours. In all we caught over 400 perch this morning, tossing back the dinks that were even too small for my low standards . Average fish kept was 7-9". Ice was a nice solid 6" with minimal slush on top, a pleasant change for Chautauqua. Emerald shiners 10-18" off the bottom in 8 feet of water was the program for us today. Took longer to clean em than it did to catch em. Fish were very aggressive, I caught several on a bare, unbaited teardrop. Color didn't matter. I don't think I went 30 seconds at a stretch without getting a bite of some sort. Most times, by the time I let the bobber down onto the water it kept right on going with another fish on. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottydog Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Hey Tim: I live in Crystal Beach about 10 minutes from the peace bridge. How far is it to lake chatauqua. Can I pick up a American licence on the way somewhere. Might want to try there. Everywhere here has been slow. Any info would be appreciated. Good fishing Scottydog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Bromund Posted February 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Scottydog, Chautuaqua is 65-70 miles from the Peace Bridge, probably an hour and a half or so. As far as how to get there, cross the Bridge and head on I-190 south till it ends and pick up I-90 West. Take I-90 west to Exit 60 (Westfield Exit). Make a left onto Rte 394, go through Westfield and 394 takes you right to Mayville. As you are coming up on the lake you should see a bunch of people fishing right out in front of you. That's it. The road will make a right hand bend at the lake and just after the bend on your left will be Mayville Town Park where you can park and walk out. You should see the other vehicles parked there and probably people running their sleds as well, this is a very popular area for snowmobiling. You only have to walk out a couple of hundred yards to get to the fishing grounds. As far as getting a license, most of our tackle stores sell licenses. When would you be coming out? That is, how early? If you get off of I-90 at Exit 56 (Milestrip Rd/Rte 179) and turn left onto 179, right after the 1st big intersection (Mckinley Pkwy) on your left is the Mckinley Mall, Dicks Sporting Goods is a stand alone store at the mall and they sell licenses in the fishing/hunting dept. Another possibility is you pass the Chautuaqua County Hall in Mayville before you get to the lake. You could also stop in there and get it at the County Clerk's Office. If you need bait, the closest bait shop is halfway around the lake called the Happy Hooker. If you need to go, just continue on Rte 394 past Mayville Park and head down the west side of the lake, past the Chautauqua Institution, past the I-86 bridge over the lake into Ashville, 394 will curve off to the left in ashville, make sure you stay on that rte and dont go straight by the Hewes BOCES center. Happy Hooker is on the right side a mile or 2 down from that bend. Both minnows and grubs/spikes/mousies/waxworms etc. work great, but you seem to catch bigger perch on the minnows. Let me know if anything wasn't clear and I'll try again. Good luck. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Bromund Posted February 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Here ya go Tommy. This is from the NYSDEC website: http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/reg9/chaulake/index.html They also do a lot of walleye fishing through the ice at Chautauqua. During the soft water periods, it is considered one of premier muskie lakes in the country. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottydog Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 Thanks Tim for the info: I hope to head that way sometime. I will contact you and maybe we could hook up. Thanks. Scottydog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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