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Canandaigua Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Clear water and steep drops: Canandaigua holds lake trout, smallmouth and the region’s cleanest reputation.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
43 cfs
Air / High
74 / 74 F
Wind
WNW 8 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 04235000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Canandaigua Lake offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. The river is running 43 cfs, on the rise. Today brings a mixed sky, wind WNW around 8 mph, rising pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 74. Water sits around 66 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Smallmouth bassGood

Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Northern pikeGood

Weedline spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits; bays with fresh green weed hold the active fish.

Lake troutFair

Transition depths: work 40-80 ft structure edges with white tubes and flutter spoons. Early mornings can find fish surprisingly high over deep water chasing bait.

Yellow perchFair

Drifting flats and weed edges with small jigs tipped with bait.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 69 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Canandaigua Outlet at Chapin.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 04235000.

42577243 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp74 F
High / Low74 / 61 F
WindWNW 8-14 mph
Pressure1012.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain31% cloud, 27%
Sunrise / Sunset06:37 / 19:38
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~66 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 74/61 F, wind 9 mph, rain 27%

Fair or better. A 9 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Canandaigua Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Lake trout illustration

Lake trout

Best: ice-out and fall turnover

The char of the deep: 40-year-old predators patrolling the cold basins of glacial lakes, from the Finger Lakes to the Rockies. Transition depths: work 40-80 ft structure edges with white tubes and flutter spoons. Early mornings can find fish surprisingly high over deep water chasing bait.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: May-Oct

Current and rock. Finds gravel flats, boulders and drop-offs, and fights far above its weight. Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: spring, early winter

The ambush predator of weedbeds and cabbage edges. Aggressive, big and always worth a wire leader. Weedline spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits; bays with fresh green weed hold the active fish.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Good most of the year

The great lakes and northern panfish staple. Schools tight to bottom; where you catch one there are fifty. Drifting flats and weed edges with small jigs tipped with bait.

When to come: the Canandaigua Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Lake trout
Smallmouth bass
Northern pike
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 66 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~66 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Canandaigua Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 78 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 80 F, wind to 12 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 81 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

New York requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

New York license. Trout and salmon limits per current DEC Region 8 rules.

Access

Canandaigua City Pier and boat launch (north end), Woodville launch (south end), state marine park.

About this water

A 10,500-acre Finger Lake, 276 feet deep, in Ontario and Yates counties, New York.

Fishing Canandaigua Lake: the full guide

The chosen spot

Canandaigua Lake stretches 16 miles through Ontario and Yates counties, 276 feet at its deepest, with water clarity that ranks among the best of the Finger Lakes. That clarity shapes the fishing: lake trout hold deep and demand precise presentations, smallmouth bass see everything on the rocky drop-offs, and the whole lake fishes better in low light than under a bluebird sky.

Trout in clear water

Lake trout are the primary target: troll copper and lead core with spoons at 60-100 feet through the summer, moving shallower in spring and fall. Rainbow trout and brown trout hold higher in the column and come to trolled stickbaits in the top 30 feet during the cool months. Jigging over marked lakers is efficient and increasingly popular, especially near the deep south end.

Smallmouth and the shallows

The smallmouth fishing is genuinely good: gravel points, shoals and the drop-offs along both shores hold fish from June through October. Clear water rewards long casts, light fluorocarbon and natural colors: drop-shots, Ned rigs and tubes. Largemouth hold in the weedier north end near Canandaigua, and yellow perch schools provide steady action for panfish anglers.

Access and the north end

The main public launch sits at the north end in Canandaigua, with additional access at Woodville on the south end and the state marine park. The city of Canandaigua supplies everything; the south end is quieter and closer to the deep water. Wind builds along the lake’s length: mornings are the reliable window for small boats.

Common questions

What makes Canandaigua distinct?

Water clarity: it is among the clearest Finger Lakes, which makes the fishing more technical and the low-light windows more important.

Where do I start for lake trout?

The deep south end basin, trolling spoons at 60-100 feet in summer. Spring and fall bring them within 40 feet.

Is there shore access?

Limited but real: the city pier and Kershaw Park at the north end, plus the Woodville area at the south.

Is fishing good at Canandaigua Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Keuka Lake16 miSeneca Lake19 miCayuga Lake31 miGenesee River32 miOwasco Lake40 miLake Ontario49 mi
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