April 20, 2024 Report

I played the wind and fished Lake George today. National Weather Service predicted wind out of the west, 7-11 up to 23 mph. I figured I could hug the west shore and the wind would go over me. To my surprise it was calm/flat till 2 pm.  Water temp is 45-46.  I Landed 2, 26 and 28”Lakers and lost 2.  One was so heavy I couldn’t get it o budge of the bottom.  I ended up pulling the hook trying to get it to move.
The shot of my screen is trout under a pod of smelt.  On top, I saw 9.   4 were salmon. They came right out into the air. Some of the rolling were 30 plus inches.  Every time I’d hook a fish I’d get scared not knowing how big it was going be.  Kinda like buck fever.

Back at it April 13th 2024.

Ice went finally went out on two of my favorite lakes yesterday and I was out today. Water temp is ranging from 40 -43 , air temp was 38 and wind 11-15 gusts into mid 20’s. Smelt are balling up and not too far from the spawning streams. I’ve been fishing a sink tip off a floating line and a full sink on my second rod. Both rods have 20’ of 10# Fluro leader down to a swivel and 20-24” of 8lb fluro. For flies I’m using various Grey Ghost patterns in sz 8 and 6.
My first day I lost a salmon in the 8-10 lb range. Battling the wind and a second rod is tough in kayak now factor in a pissed off salmon, all you can do is enjoy the fight.
Today, I landed this fat rainbow and lost one other fish on a grey colored Ugly Pattern.


Lake George Ice Fishing

February 2,2022

Since my last report I’ve been the ice on Lake George has become thick enough for me to be comfortable. I prefer a minimum of 6 inches before starting to venture out too far. Fortunately the weather has cooperated and although heating bills have escalated so has the thickness of the ice. In the northern basin I marked 11 inches of ice. Last week, I marked 8″ in several southern basin spots and 11″ out toward the tip of Green Island. I am not saying that the entire lake is the same, but for me and the spots I fish, I’m confident I can venture safely.

The main issue with the lake are the Ice Eaters. These devices are used to keep water moving and ice from forming outside the break walls, boat docks and boathouses. More and more home owners are using these devices and we have extended stretches of shoreline that is not freezing. Add this, to constant wind, cold temps and an expanding ice sheet, we end up getting pressure ridges, large cracks and shifting ice. What may be good access this morning, may not be when you get off at night. From my viewpoint a lot of this is overkill and feel someone is going to get seriously hurt. Having worked at several lakeside homes, I know for certain that these devices are not on the home owners property, they are being placed in a public waterway and in my opinion obstructing others from legal access and enjoyment of the watershed. Fortunately there is traction on this topic with recent articles in our local papers. More to come I guess.

Fishing…yes the fishing has been good. As long as I arrive at my spots before daylight and at around the last hour of the day, the perch bite has been pretty good for me. My best tactic is a 1/8th oz fire tiger jig that looks like perch fry tipped with a mousie. When I arrive, I pre drill several holes in a quadrant and start at the center hole. As soon as the perch start getting smaller size I move out either left or right and hope to find where the jumbos moved off to. My theory is when the jumbos see other school members disappear, they move away. I’ll fish this way till they stop all together and then move out to deeper water for lakers and salmon. The perch bite has been fantastic 40 ft mark or less.

Laker and salmon fishing has been equally good as well. Find that 50 ft mark, preferably on an edge and drop a dead sucker to the bottom. This method will not disappoint. With the issue of not having Hunts Shiners this season, Salmon fishing has been a little harder. Try a medium shiner under the ice along shore. Stay far away and approach softly.

Good Luck and if you have questions, pm me.

January 8th 2022

Winter has finally showed up. Not the full force of winter like we experienced in the past, but just enough to make ice safe for me to go out on. My preference is 4″ and better. What I found was a varied thickness from 5″ to 8″ with a few inches of snow on top. Temperatures when we started were -8 with windchill at -18. Bluebird blue skies warmed us up to a high of 21 for the day. In my mind, a perfect day on the ice.

Fishing wasn’t bad nor was it great. On the jig stick front we managed several lookers and 3 or 4 good hits. The best tactic was bounce the bottom a few times, then dead stick the jig a foot or more off the bottom.

Tip-ups with dead bait on the bottom resulted in 4 total and 3 lost bait. We kept 2 Lakers for the smoker which which were respectable 25″ and 26″

This weeks arctic blast should thicken up most of the smaller waters in the Lake George area and add enough ice on the northern lakes for safe ATV or snowmobile travel. My guess is Lake George will start locking up by the weekend as long as we don’t get any wind.

I’m still booking trips for trout, salmon, pike and perch. Tightlines and stay safe

Winter Opportunities

Looking for something to do this winter? The Lake George Region hosts weekly events such as Ice Castles, Ice Bars and Winter Carnival. For those who enjoy the outdoors the region also boasts some of the best ice fishing opportunities in the state. Have your ever caught a Lake Trout on a jig rod or a salmon on a tip up? How about fried perch for dinner? Our waters are starting to freeze and it won’t be long before these opportunities will be available.

New for the 2021/22 Winter Season I have several lodging opportunities thru local VRBO, Home Away and Adk by Owner. Combine your trip with one of our local lodges and get the full Adirondack experience.

Shoulder Season

It’s been a while since I’ve posted.  To be truthful, I didn’t realize how quickly time had passed. I’m writng this while sitting in my dodge dealership as my truck gets its spring service.  The last time I was in here, it was around November 5th, I had severe cold/flu pnuemonia like symptoms and worring whether or not I’d be able to spend the week in camp with the guys. The other thing I remember is it was spitting snow and raw.

Today is a complete reversal of that day.  My guns are still waiting to be cleaned, I have a leaf blower that needs repair and it’s absolutely gorgeous out.  The morning temps have been in the high teens leveling out to mid 40 and low 50’s.  We have plenty of snow on the ground and theres still ice fishing on Lake George.  

These are the kind of days you wait for all year.  If I could find a place that had this 365, I’d live there, instead I’ll take the bruises and wait for the shoulder season.

Overdue Fishing Report

It is now June 26th and I’m posting my first fishing report of the season.  How neglectful and regretful.  I apologize profusely and promise to maintain a steady update from here on out.  But in my defense, I haven’t had much time up until now to do anything.  

Winter hung on for so long that it put me out 2 weeks on the obligations involved with the care taker side of my business.  I still had snow in the shaded area of camps on May 1st weekend.  Under normal circumstances most of my spring clean up’s and camp openings would have almost been completed by then.  This year found me opening up and finishing up cleanups Friday before Memorial Day.  Just this past week I finished my last camp for the season. I can’t imagine where I’d be if we had a wet spring.

Speaking of rain, where is it?  We’re in the preliminary stages of a drought.  Most of the rivers, creeks and streams are at August and September levels.  Lawns are burning up and the woods are extremely dry.  Yes, it has been cool in the evenings and early am but that doesn’t help, all it does is dry things out faster.  

As for the fishing, I’d have to say it’s been good so far.  We’ve had some exceptional days fishing blueline brookies and pond fishing for landlock salmon.  On the rivers, the hatches have been intense with almost too many bugs.  Unfortunately for me the Hexagenia Hatch has been a disapointment. The days and nights we’ve gone, the hatch has been slight and spotty or the wind made it impossible to fish.  

The forecast for this upcoming weekend through July 4th looks very hot, possibly hitting triple digits.  More than likely I’ll lay off the trout and focus on both species of bass with a fly rod and poppers.  This type of weather makes for exceptional popper fishing throughout the late evening into early morning hours.  

If you decide to trout fish please consider fishing a lake, pond or dam released rivers.  Although trout are active, fighting a trout creates a lactic acid build up in their system which only cold water can correct.  If water temps are too high, lactic acid does not displace and the fish with die after it is released.  You’d be better off keeping everything you catch in this situation as opposed to releasing them.  Right now you’re best bet is be armed with emergering caddis imitations, Elk hair caddis in brown, Royal Coachman Wulff,  Adams or Brown Wulff patterns for rivers, streams or brooks.  On the lakes and ponds, Baetis nymphs and dries if it’s cloudy,  Dark Hendrickson’s, Grey Fox, Cahills, Adams, Buzzers, Hexagenia Nymphs, Hexagenia Dries, Brown Wulff’s, Grey Wulff’s and Drake patterns.

That’s it for now. I promise to keep updating and please feel free to contact me if you have any additonal questions.  

AirBnB, Homeaway and Renting Your Vacation Home

Internet websites such as Airbnb and Homeaway have opened  door and simplified renting your vacation home. With the click of mouse, renters using these sites,  can search within their budgeted range, geographic area and get a full view of your rental property minus the hassle of real estate agents,   advertsing costs and incessant phone calls.  The webiste fees associated with these sites are miniscule compared to the ease and peace of mind provided throughout the process.

What these sites do not provide is assistance or advice on how to manage your property once you start renting.  

A Property manager and Cleaning Service are the two biggest factors you need to consider before renting your property.  A good property manager and cleaning service is someone you can depend on and will treat your property as if it’s their own. Without this, the only other option is to be hands on or do it yourself.  

A Property Manager will take care of or supervise your property.  From weekly trash and recycling removal to rebooting the wifi, the property manager is your only solution if this is not going to be DIY.  Whatever they can’t do, they’ll have someone who they recommend do it for them.  Finding someone local, with references is your best bet.  Word of mouth and the local Pennysaver will put you in the right direction.  

Finding a good Cleaning Service will be your biggest hurdle.  A cleaning service has basically 4 hours to clean your property.  It is unusual to find someone who is a weekly house cleaner to come in on a Saturday to clean a rental property.  Cleaning houses and rentals is totally different.  A cleaning service takes that into consideration and cleans your property from top to bottom the same way each week all season long. They are tasked with alot of things such as keeping inventory on all house hold items such as utensils, cutlery etc, reporting damages and providing clean linens.  

The main issue with a cleaning service is expense and dependability.   Cleaners are paid hourly and travel time to your property will be included in the price.  Most services have a referral fee and are eager to take on new business.  Do a search and contact other rental properties in your area and ask them for a recommendation.  In my experience, a cleaning service will provide reasonable pricing if they can make the trip to your “neck of the woods” worthwhile.

Outside of the top two mentioned above some of these other things to consider; 

Garbage and recycling, inside and outside maintenance, security cameras, pets, personal heirlooms, a house rules list, firepit safety, association rental rules, parking, noise levels and existing neighbor conflicts to name a few.  I could go on and on with examples and experiences but think this is enough to start with. 

Today, the costs of owning a second property and the limited time a family has to use it almost makes owning the second home not worthwhile.  On the otherhand, vacationers are becoming accustomed to creating their own experiences.  Done right, renting your vacation property provides financial relief and reason to hang onto the property for as long as possible.

Yes, You Can Fish One Fly All Season

Last winter I read Fool’s Paradise by John Gierach. I won the book at a fundraiser for our local chapter of Trout Unlimited. I really wanted Trout Bum, but a young kid grabbed that first so I ended up with Fool’s Paradise instead. I owe that kid a big thank you because his choice led me on a year long challenge and lesson in fly fishing.  

In one of the chapters Gierach briefly talks about local waters, boredom and a friend who fished a Royal Coachman all season long with reasonable success. It was then I had my A-HA moment and decided on doing the same thing. For the entire season I was going to fish a hungarian partridge soft hackle. I immediately went to my vice and started tying. Within a few days I had my boxes full of soft hackles from size 12 to 8 with a few bead heads thrown in. My colors were yellow, green and red bodies. Hackles were primarily Hungarian partridge and a few pheasant. By April first I was ready.

For whatever reason I didnt get out until the first week of May. I went up the Starbuckle Dam at the end of Schroon Lake, made a few casts to shake off the rust and was into a nice brown trout on the 3rd cast.  It was game on after that.  

For my 50th birthday my lovely wife booked a trip at Tall Timbers Lodge in Pittsburgh NH. It was the 3rd week of May, snow on the ground, windy cold and cloudy. The trout were just waking up from their cold winter slumber and I caught them on that fly. I had a great week and caught a lot fish. When I returned home UPS delivered my birthday gift to me, a 7.5 ft JP Ross Beaver Meadow 3 wt. and I caught Adirondack Blue Line Brookies on the same fly. The Summer Solstice Hex Hatch on Jabe Pond had me catching brookies stripping the soft hackle slowly just under the surface. Another trip to NH in July had me catching trout and landlocks on the Connecticut and Androscoggin Rivers all with the soft hackle. Finally, just this past week on our yearly trip to the Salmon and Oak Orchard Rivers I caught and hooked up with Kings, Coho’s, Chrome and Browns all on soft hackles.

What I learned about this fly is it is very easy to tie and does not require a lot of materials, just a good Hungarian Partridge cape and yellow, green or red floss. Depending on how it’s fished it represents the different stages of flies life cycle. Tie it big enough and you’ll catch bass on it as well.

If you’re looking for a challenge next season give the one fly challenge a try and don’t rule out the soft hackle I promise it won’t disappoint. Good luck and tight lines.

You Blinked

On July 4th I said don’t blink because Labor Day was right around the corner.  Not only was I right, but I also think summer should have gotten a speeding ticket.  It feels like just last week we were finishing up with the summer solstice and Hex hatch on Jabe Pond.  Then came the summer bass fishing invitational and now Labor Day.  Time flies by fast.

The good thing is although most of the vacationers have gone home and we have a month of traditionally great weather where we can enjoy all the local beaches and hangouts.  Now is the time to start preparation for fall and winter.  Are there last minutes chores that need completing? do you have someone to clean your driveway for the winter and what about raking up the leaves?  

September is one of my favorite months.  It’s the beginning of a shoulder season and I get motivated.  The cooler temps will do that.  Over the last week or so I finished up all my odd jobs and chores and now ready for the onslaught of fall projects.  I’m available to finish up whatever you didn’t start or didn’t finish and not really all that selective.  PM or call me, I’ll be happy to assist because before you know it, it’ll be Thanksgiving.

Happy Labor Day,

Bill