East Aurora Advertiser

Column: Solid Time for Spring Fishing and Hunting Turkey



No matter where you go in the outdoor world of Western New York, there is activity in motion. Some go fishing for crappie at Chautauqua Lake, some are perch fishing the Lake Erie deep, others are casting the creeks for early-run smallmouth bass giants that can strain your writing elbow, still others are creeping into the fog and darkness of the midnight woods well before sunrise to hunt for wild turkey. Activity choices in WNY are solid!  

Results are solid, too. With icebergs now diminishing from view, yellow perch and walleye hunters access Lake Erie from Buffalo at the Buffalo State Harbor launch and from the two Hanover boat launches at Cattaraugus Creek.

For yellow perch fishermen, when you find the fish schooled above a rock pile in 42 to 55 feet of water, it doesn’t matter if you are using emerald shiners, fathead minnows or Rosie red’s for bait, the perch are biting in a competitive frenzy. That makes for fun fishing and a cooler full of tasty fillets to last a few weeks at the dinner table. The best part of perch fishing this year? The by-catch can be a half-dozen walleye or more! There are so many fish in Lake Erie right now, we need more fishermen. Honest.

Of course, if you don’t find the fish, despite the latest electronics on your boat and an anchor lock bow motor, dress warm, it’s cold out there fishing in that 40 degree water. Take a hand warmer and some hot coffee to be sure. When the fish are found and biting, somehow, I never have cold hands or feet. Go figure. Need help? Call perch guide Capt. Brent Snyder at 585-591-4620 (Sea Otter).

At Chautauqua Lake, spring walleye anglers are scoring at night from boats and from shore. The right bait is a F-11 black-silver floating Rapala and 8-pound test monofilament fished from an open-face spinning reel using a lightweight rod of about 6-1/2 to 7 feet in length. Trollers use an electric motor to maintain stealth in about 4 to 8 feet of water. Anglers in chest-high waders score equally well right now, casting the same bait, except they need to tether a stringer to themselves and carry a net too, so this requires some planning on the process of hooking, landing and then adding a fish to the stringer. Bottom line is that either way, fish catching fun is rampant for so many. Need help? Call Chautauqua guide Frank Shoenacker at 585-406-5764 (Infinity Charters).

With the water temp at Chautauqua Lake already at 58 degrees, the crappie are also active. The bigger crappie are starting to move into the shallow bays of the south basin to spawn and are prime for catching right now. It’s daytime fun time for kids with a minnow and a bobber. White crappie and black crappie both reside in Chautauqua, both offer delicious fillet size and are really fun to catch. Thing with crappie is to take your time reeling them in, as these fish are called “paper mouth” due to their gentle jaw bones. Horsing them in will result in a lost fish. Need help? Call Chautauqua guide Mike Sperry at 716-763-2947 (Chautauqua Reel Outdoors).

Lake Erie perch fishing is hot right now, but anglers need to go prepared with warm external layers.
Photo by Forrest Fisher

In the turkey woods, there have not been so many turkey harvested in our southern tier in many years (my view). Our social media allows us to track success better than in the early days before we all had instant “beam-me-up Scotty” communications. We can share where we are with GPS coordinates, pull down a satellite map to see property boundaries and talk with two or more friends all at the same time. Pretty amazing, really.

Hunters that are scoring on thunder chickens are getting into the woods well before daylight, setting up a decoy near an open field, yelping just once or twice right at first light, and waiting in the quiet for a big tom turkey to visit that hen decoy. An extra-full choke with 12 gage number 5 shot will get the job done up to 50 yards. Chautauqua County has been hot for bird hunters, and busy with hunters too. Canadaway State Forest is one place open to the public. Week 2 and 3 should be best.

On the way back with your bird in the Yeti, stop at Canadaway Creek on Route 5 and walk to the creek mouth. There is a trail there on the south side of the bridge. Cast simple jigs with Twister tails to score on 2-5 pound smallmouth, catch and release. Real, all-day, line-stretching fun there. Need help? Phone stream guide Marty Kleeman at 716-410-3720 (Canadaway Outfitters).

Lovin’ life in spring!

Outdoors Calendar

May 10-19: Lake Ontario Counties (LOC) Spring Trout and Salmon Derby, info call: 1-888-REEL-2-IN or www.loc.org

May 11: Bison City Tackle Swap-Flea Market, 8AM-1PM, Willie Sieber; 716-626-0660

May 13: Adult learn-to-shoot archery, 7PM, West Falls Conservation, 55 Bridge St., West Falls, 826-4621

May 14: Open Trap/Skeet Shooting, 4PM till dark, East Aurora Fish & Game, 1016 Luther Rd., 597-4081

May 15: Open Trap Shooting, 7PM, West Falls Conservation, 55 Bridge St., West Falls, 548-0153

May 18: Southtowns Walleye Assoc. Perch Tourney, 7AM-2PM, Lake Erie, weigh-in: 5895 Southwestern Blvd., Hamburg, NY; 649-8202

May 19: Teach-Me-To-Fish for kids/parents, Bison City Rod/Gun, 511 Ohio St., FREE, 2-5PM, 597-4081

May 19: Crappie Team OPEN, Chautauqua Lake, Chautauqua Bassmasters,– Lakewood Launch, contact Bill Hice: 814-726-7819

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Share life with others, make new friends in the outdoors, lead by example. Send comments to nugdor@yahoo.com.

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