Annual Chippewa Bay Fishing Trip! May 5, 2015

The fishing season started for me with our annual trip to Chippewa Bay, a beautiful lesser known area East of the busy Alexandria Bay. It is only an hour to two hour drive from Central NY depending on where you are. We stayed at Riverbay Adventure Inn, a great place owned by "Mike" who charges very little to stay, very little for boat rentals, and has a great extent of knowledge about the bay. I went there looking for walleye as the season just opened and found that it was mostly bass (to be tossed back, out of season) and bullheads that were hitting. Mike said the walleye population has not been there for years because of the effect of politics and water supplies sent down to Chippewa Bay from Alex Bay.

We rented a pontoon and ventured out around 9 am. First catch was a nice out of season smallmouth bass on a suspending stickbait (I still thought I might catch walleye at that point) in the middle of the bay. The bay doesn't get above 4-6 feet so those who come later in the season for pike and musky mostly venture out to the islands heading toward the St. Lawrence.

Islands heading toward the St. Lawrence

My favorite fishing area is always Chippewa Creek. There are a couple of areas in the bay heading to the creek to avoid with your boat and if you purchase a map from Mike, he will mark the areas for you. We usually start fishing in the main bay waters then move to the creek. Near the bridge in the creek is one of the best areas. 

We caught some bullhead, some bass that were released, and a bowfin. Stickbait and worms seemed to be doing the most. The bowfin was a big surprise, it was large and unexpected. Apparently it is studied for its qualities that make akin it to prehistoric fish, including the ability to breath in and out of water. Here is a link about bowfin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowfin

The next day we stayed on the docks and caught panfish after panfish and a couple of incidental bass. There were tons just lingering around the dock and in the shallow water. All in all, we went home with a little bluegill and bullhead meat.

Sundown

Photo of the trip:

Doh! Locked out! Do these cabin doors actually lock?!