Tennity's Guide Service & Fishing Charters

Spring is here and with the ice gone, everyone wants to get on the water and do some fishing. No problem, provided that you have taken the time to go through your equipment and make sure that it is in top condition. Load test batteries, check lower unit oil, check your bilge pumps, and go easy the first couple of times you venture out.

The very first thing to do before taking your first trip of the season is to make sure all the safety equipment is in the boat and in excellent condition. These are the last things you should neglect, as it may make a difference should something bad happen while you are on the water. Check your fire extinguisher, life vests, day signal flag, flares for expiration date, anchor and rope, and make sure your navigation lights work.

Most of all, wear your life vest, especially during this cold water period. Falling into the water this time of year with heavy clothing makes it next to impossible to swim back to the boat and climb aboard. Drive at a reasonable speed and maintain a proper lookout, as these are the two main causes of boating accidents. If you haven’t taken a safe boating course, it is a good time to do so, as most boat operators have no formal training.

The water is very cold so fish slow, and then slow down even more. Northwest sections of the lake will warm first as do the bays and protected areas. A temperature increase of three to four degrees will increase fish activity. If you do not have a surface temperature gauge, either install one on your boat or get a swimming pool thermometer that you can hang over the side of the boat on a string to check the water temperature.

Be safe and good fishing.

Frank

The weather is starting to make short advances toward Spring conditions, and with this comes the urge to get on the water. Now is the time to do the early season maintenance on your boat, motor, trailer, and fishing gear. If you are not too adept at doing your own work, call and make an appointment to have normal PM’s performed.

Your tackle needs to be cleaned, hooks replaced and new baits ordered. Take the time now, before the ice goes out, to get these jobs taken care of so you won’t have to wait in line. If you ice fish, this can be a great time in the season, but it can also be dangerous. The ice will start to thin, get water on top, and in a few days be gone, so use extreme caution as we near the middle to end of March.

Remember that the new boating rules require the wearing of life jackets. Be safe and we will see you on the water in April. If you are coming to central Florida this Spring, consider a guided bass fishing trip at our winter location. We guide on several of the top lakes in Central Florida and have a few dates available.

Good fishing,

Frank and Melody

BASS has hit a grand slam. A special THANK YOU to BASS and especially the anglers for supporting the interviews as they come off the water. The professional way the anglers handle interviews after a tough fishing day will give the average angler renewed confidence to fish hard as they see the best fisherman struggle. This coverage has stripped away the wrapped boats, fancy shirts, and media hype, giving the viewer an opportunity to experience, both, the highs and lows of the competing anglers.
As a footnote, my wife and I, have struggled in the past to get good coverage, and through some additional cable purchases and investigation on how to connect our computer to the television, we had a front row seat for several hours.

Thank you.

Frank and Melody Tennity, Longtime BASS member

I thought that a little sound advice might help some of my Northern friends if they decide to travel Souith and do some bass fishing. One of the hardest things for me to learn, was that even though the conditions are comfortable to us, it is winter to the bass. The fish are accustomed to much warmer water. That being said, when the temperature drops 4-5 degrees, they pretty much shutdown. Shiners can save the day, and if you are a hardcore artificial fisherman, there is a definite process for using shiners. This method is your best choice when weather patterns and conditions are effecting bass behavior.

Frank

We are down here in central Florida fishing and enjoying the nice weather. That does not mean that we do not keep up with the conditions in New York. There has been some ice, but be cautious and do not venture out too early. There are multiple areas on Honeoye lake where gas bubbles keep the ice from forming. A slight wind will blow snow across these holes, hiding them, and they are a trap just waiting for an angler not paying attention.

If you are on a lake with open water remember to wear your life vest. It is the law.

If you are coming to central Florida, consider a guided bass fishing trip. The bass are in their transition with the water cooling and as soon as warming trends start,they will start migrating to the shallows to spawn. This is the perfect time to try for the fish of a lifetime.

Frank

The docks have been pulled at Conesus, so launching a boat by yourself can be a test. With that said, if you have some good weather and free time, now is your chance to catch some big fish. Pike have been active over the last month and the smallmouth bass are feeding up for the long winter ahead. You will practically have the lake to yourself and it is a beautiful time to be on the water.

Canandaigua Lake is also prime for good smallmouth action. You will have no problem launching at the north end ramp. I would avoid the Woodville ramp at this time.

Keuka Lake was giving up some smallmouth earlier this month on Bass Pro Shops tender tubes in melon pepper and green pumpkin.

I normally use tubes, jerk baits,spinnerbaits and drop shot rigs this time of year.

Be sure to wear your life jacket, under the newest rules. Accidents happen quickly and at this time of year can be fatal with the cold water. There are also less people using the lakes, so if you need assistance it could very well be a long time coming.

We are at the end of October and have made the trip to Florida for the winter season. Honeoye was cooling fast and the bass were in their fall patterns. Basically scattered and unpredictable. Any depth from 1 to 20 feet and the one pounders are all over the lake. At our last outing a mix of baits and methods worked. Try small crank baits, wacky rigs, drop shot and Texas rigs until you find what the bass prefer on the day you are fishing.

Thank you to all our customers this year and we hope you had a great time. If you come to Florida over the winter, consider a bass fishing trip to try for a trophy.

Peter and Barbra, from Deleware, booked a week of bass fishing on Honeoye lake for the week of 9/22-9-27. The weather was cool and some days were a little windy, but overall for September, you would be hard pressed to get a week this perfect. Every day they caught a good creel of bass with some nice quality fish mixed into the group. The wind was from the north all week but the water temperature crept up slightly during the week. For the angler out on the water, the temps needs to cool a little more to put the bass into their full fall patterns, so move in and out until you locate fish. Baby brush hogs worked, wacky trick worms, and small, shallow diving crank baits all caught fish. Colors for the plastic baits were green pumpkin and black. The crankbait that worked best was a Timber Tiger, made by Wordens in a chartreuse green color. It’s hard to beat Honeoye lake bass fishing for numbers, and it’s a place to find active fish when most lakes are turned off.

I made the trip to Seneca on September 10th, and the day started off with problems right away. The power pole on the Triton experienced a leak in the hydraulic line, and I had to stop and tie the pole in the upright position. When I arrived at the Seneca Lake St. Park, there was a large sign stating that the boat ramp would close on September 9th. My wife then called and told me it was storming in Honeoye and the weather was headed my way. Seneca was really rough at the north end of the lake. My clients and I drove to the south end at Watkins Glen, waited for the showers to clear, then headed out for a day of fishing. As soon as we started, I noticed a problem with the electronics. The temperature was reading 54 degrees, but when I checked the other unit, it read the same. Needless to say, we had a tough day with the ultra cold water, but later, when we talked to three fishermen at the boat ramp who had been using live bait, they had not done any better than we had.

The next morning we met and launched at the Geneva ramp and headed south about a mile past Roy’s Marina. Using a mix of baits, we managed four largemouth bass and one northern pike. Actually, all the fish were caught on Stanley spinnerbaits.

Finger Lakes Fishing

Honeoye has been fishing quite good the past two weeks. The water temperature is in the low to mid seventies and the bass are starting to make their transition to Fall patterns. Wacky rigs are still working, but some of the better bass have been caught on jigs and brush hogs. Use darker colors as the algae bloom is still keeping the watercloudy.

Tuesday night tournaments on Conesus have still been producing some great weights for a 3 hr. event. A mix of baits have been working and a jig has produced some nice bass. Move in and out until you find the right depth, then slow down and work the area.

Keuka Lake proved to be a challenge in late August and I never got a good pattern figured out.  I caught a mix of bass, pickerel, and pan fish.  Many of the bass were in the 11-11.5 inches, so there was a good spawn 3-4 years ago. Managed to catch a couple of short smallmouth bass on tubes. Hindsight tells me that I should have fished much deeper water. With the water starting to cool down, the smallmouth should start moving shallower and the bite should improve.