Canandaigua 9/18

[Pete Collin]

Hello All,

I was going to launch yesterday at sunrise, but when the alarm went off, I couldn't get roused. Saturday my wife and I went down to help her brother, who lives near Owego, clean up after having been flooded. His street looked like a smaller version of Hurricane Katrina. Anyway, I was too exhausted to wake up at 4 AM.

Launched in Woodville at noon. Woodville is pretty busy now that they are the only public access to the whole lake. Many pleasure boaters out and about.

I wanted to target the rainbows because they have been biting so well lately. Ran a two leadcore and one downrigger program. Got a bite right away from a 16 inch rainbow on an orange Mooselook Wobbler. Wanted to test the "bright day, bright lure" motto.

Went some time without another strike. Got to the spot where we hosed them last weekend and had another hit on the same leadcore rig. He came off halfway to the boat.

I had a couple of taps that didn't stay on, when I made a discovery about my new kicker motor. It has a small internal tank. When trolling lakers, I can put-put along all morning at a mile an hour from just that little bit of gas. So I got in the habit of leaving the external tank home to save space. Well there is a big difference in fuel consumption when you are going 2.5 MPH for rainbows! So I was a little suprised when she dried up and stalled after a couple of hours. My main motor is a fuel hog, so I opted to jig for a while. While bringing in the lines, I discovered a very dead baby rainbow that I had been dragging around. Pity.

It seems like all the lakers have come in along the 55-70 foot contour. Just about anywhere on the lake you will find bottom-hugging blips at that depth. This is typical for fall on Canandaigua. Makes finding the lakers much easier. I got chases and taps, but couldn't connect, save for a spunky smallmouth bass that hit when I came in a bit shallow. Lakers hate calm cloudless weather, and I didn't have much confidence or patience. It is a lot of work keeping your boat in that narrow corridor.

So i went back to fast trolling, off the main motor this time. got quite a few hits that came off. The downrigger was very active this time. Had a dalmatian spin doctor with a "Grey Ghost" fly behind it. (Mike, if you are reading this, a Grey Ghost was in that packet of flies I gave you. Google it for a picture. It is a popular pattern.) Finally got a very fat 18 inch rainbow, then a real nice 21 incher that zoomed all over the place and ripped drag. I was ready for a big rally, and the action just quit. With so many other kinds of fishing, you get a big burst of action right as the sun goes down. With Finger lakes trout, they never seem to do much once the sun comes off the water. Strange.

So I didn't get the huge rainbows everybody else seems to be getting, but that's OK. For so long I targetted the lake trout, so it's a bit quaint to catch the prettier and harder fighting rainbows. It's refreshing to use something other than Seth Green rigs for a while, too. There's plenty of fall left!

Pete Collin

http://www.pcforestry.com

[choo-choo]

Nice report......any rainbow is a good rainbow!!!! ....By the way,is this Pete ,the awesome fly tyer,from back onthe Oak days, and Big "D", with MARK S and Jay and JIm and the boy's ?????....just wondering....choo-choo steve

[33canuck]

Sounds like you have them figured out Pete, nice report!

[cdgn troller]

Pete, good to see you get out on your own and get a few!

[ Post made via Android ]

[Pete Collin]

Choo-choo,

Is this Steve R. who took me on an awesome drift down the Deleware? I haven't seen you since Stothard's funeral! How is everything?

Pete

[choo-choo]

Yup,that would be me Pete....I remember that float trip well, especially that humongous wild brown that took your dry fly, super fine tippet ,(Potamanthis ?) in like 90 degree heat, midday,bright sun,dead calm ,few bugs and fewer rises , junction pool (BP) , .......slurp.......all hell broke loose as he dove and jumped and peeled line like a maniac, had us going in circles , fought his heart out ,right up to the boat...and then as I scooped and lifted , he broke through the mesh of my net ....luckilly into the bottom of the boat!!!!! A couple of pictures, a quick revival and release,multiple high fives , and a memory forever!!! I miss you guy's and all the fun we had on the oak orchard and big "D"....I still have my drift boat here on the big D,but havn't floated the river too much the past few years. I've been having much more fun trolling again ,mostly up on lake ontario, and fall /winter steelhead on the salmon river. Shoot me a pm so I can get in touch with you.......stay well.....choo-choo steve

[FLXTroutman]

Way to go Pete, I'm glad you caught fish in high sun, and I will get that Grey Ghost wet next time, the supervisor took a little bow behind that blue chrome flasher.

[choo-choo]

Hey Pete....sounds like you got some finger lakes fly trolling karma going.....keep up the good work!!! Great to hear from you Pete and glad you are doing well and catching fish!!!! I was tring to figure out how long ago that delaware float with you was? 10 years??Say hi to Jay P. and Carl C. and hope you can continue to do well on the finger lakes.....choo-choo steve