Chautauqua Lake is swimming with rock bass

Rock bass may not top the list of most anglers' favorite species, but they are fun for those who like to catch a lot of fish and aren't especially fussy about what kind they are.
If you are one of those anglers, western New York's Chautauqua Lake needs to be in your fishing plans.
At 17,000 acres, Chautauqua is nearly five times bigger than Berlin Reservoir. Much of the lake is festooned with boat docks, which are magnets for a variety of cover-loving species. The docks are surrounded by lush weed beds growing on a sandy bottom in clear water.
The lake is a mecca for those who like to catch muskies, walleyes and largemouth and smallmouth bass. A case can be made, however, that Chautauqua may very well be the rock bass capital of the world.
OK, I confess I'm no expert on rockies. But I'm also here to tell you that I've caught more than my fair share of the aggressive sunfish this year while poking around the thousands of docks and miles of weed beds at the big lake.
There may be other lakes with more rock bass than Chautauqua, but I can't imagine that possibility. During three visits there in July and September, I landed dozens of them and I wasn't even targeting the species.
Where to go
An angler who wants to fill an ice chest with panfish could do far worse than visiting Chautauqua with an ultralight spinning rod and a tub of worms. Baits pitched to the shady areas near docks will quickly attract the rock bass' attention. If you don't get a bite in a minute, simply cast to the next spot and wait another 60 seconds.
It's no secret among bass anglers that largemouths -- smallies, too -- like to lurk in the shadows under boat docks. Bass feel secure with the overhead cover and relate to the posts and hardware associated with boat lifts. Add a pontoon boat to the equation and you've got a veritable bass haven.
Apparently the same environment appeals to rock bass. An angler with reasonable eye-hand coordination -- to get the bait close enough to the cover without snagging it -- can catch dozens of rockies in a few hours.
At dock after dock two weeks ago at Chautauqua, rock bass pecked relentlessly at our bass lures. A number of them actually managed to get their hungry mouths around our plastic baits and catch themselves on our 4/0 hooks -- designed to hold big, strong largemouth and smallmouth bass.
Yellow perch
Anglers outfitted with little size 6 or 8 hooks dressed with bits of nightcrawlers would have no trouble whatsoever catching all the rock bass they want, as long as they could keep the yellow perch away long enough for the rockies to find the bait.
Perch are a major part of the food chain at Chautauqua. They are so important, in fact, that fishermen use lures that resemble perch to increase their chances of hooking up with muskies, walleyes and bass.
The dock perch tend to run on the small side, but the rock bass grow to respectable proportions. While they don't put much of a bend in a bass flipping stick, several of the fish we caught last weekend were chunky 10- to 11-inchers that would be great sport on an ultralight outfit. At that size, they also would make a pretty decent meal.
Whether you eat them or not, Lake Chautauqua rock bass are a lot of fun to catch -- unless you grow frustrated by their willingness to attack your bait before a bass can home in on it.
That aggressiveness actually is an endearing characteristic for those who want to fish for something that keeps children interested. A good cluster of docks will keep the kids busy for hours, providing the kind of fishing experience that generates cheers the next time you suggest going to the lake.
Come to think of it, a lot of adults like rock bassin', too.
jwwollitz@aol.com