Adirondack Trout Fishing

We travelled north to the Adirondack Mountains for our summer vacation this year and spent  the trip in both Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. I had the opportunity to wake up early and fish some mountain ponds for char. The Adirondacks have three species of char - brook trout, lake trout (makinaw), and splake. The splake is a cross between a brook trout and a lake trout and displays attributes of both parents. Some of the ponds in this area have wild splake supplemented by stocking, so the fishing can be excellent. Splake are one of the rare hybrids that aren't sterile.

I have been traveling up to the Adirondacks for most of my life, and especially over the last 15 years.  Each trip, I experiment with at least one new pond. It helps to broaden my horizons and really gain knowledge about the best fishing in the area.

I primarily targeted splake and lake trout and the fishing was excellent in spite of the hot weather. I looked to fish lakes that were accessible by kayak or canoe only, so almost every pond I fished could only be accessed by trail. My kayak cart was essential to fishing these ponds. Most of these ponds are only opened from April to October, so the limited access and short season leads to extremely good fish populations.

Initially, I was looking to jig for splake. My strategy was to search for pods of alewives or smelt and begin jigging. I found the pods of baitfish, usually on the bottom for smelt, or along the bottom third of the water column for alewives. I only caught one fish on the jig the entire trip - a nice 24" splake, but I snagged more baitfish (smelt and alewife) than splake.

The first time I snagged an alewife, I began trolling with it and caught a 22" splake immediately.

On another trip, I snagged a large smelt, but it keeled over and floated to the surface. While I was re-rigging in 70', a 21" splake came up and took it off the surface and started to run with it. I hooked it, and a crazy surface battle ensued, where the splake took off towards the bottom and I disengaged my reel to let it run. It dragged me around the pond for a couple of minutes but I landed it.

Despite some success with the livies, my best fishing was the result of trolling Suttons. Although the surface temps in these ponds was around 72 degrees, they are all fed by cold springs and the water gets cool quickly only a few feet under the surface. I found that  the zone to look for splake was in 20' to 25', which normally coincided to the location of alewife or smelt schools. Trolling speed was often critical, and 2.0 mph worked best, sometimes I would need to speed up and slow down to trigger a hit. A zig-zag trail would also often induce a hit.

I learned much about lead core fishing this trip. Importantly, I don't view my reel as a conventional anymore, but look at it more like a fly reel, and I disengage the reel as I troll and control the drag with my thumb. This allows me to absorb some shock when I get a hard hit at the beginning of the strike. I learned this lesson the hard way. One morning, I hooked into a fish while trolling. The fish gave the typical head shake when hooked, but when the hook couldn't be shaked, the fish panicked and bolted for the surface. It leaped out of the water and I saw it was a nice landlocked Atlantic salmon, most likely over 22" - the momentum of the leap away from the boat coupled with the lack of drag on my lead core led the salmon to break my 6 lb fluorocarbon line. So, it was an important learning experience.

This was helpful, as I caught many splake in the 25" class and even a 33" lake trout. The lake trout was released and qualifies for a NYS Catch & Release Angler Achievement Award. My largest splake was over 31". I erroneously released the large splake believing that it was a lake trout only to learn from the regional biologist that it was likely a splake. It really hurt when I got home and saw that the NYS record for splake was 31" long. Although it was a disappointment, I now know that these ponds can produce splake in that size class. The knowledge I obtained from learning the fishery the last two years will assist me greatly to catching an even bigger splake in the future.

The battles with the large laker and my biggest splake were very memorable. They both fought similarly hard. After getting hooked, they both bolted to deep water. I disengaged my reel, as I was towed away from the edge of the shallows to the deeper portions of the lake. They both took me down from 3 colors of core to 7 colors of core and went on several runs. Each time that the fish would become winded after a long run, I would nudge her towards the surface. These were both fast and powerful fish. It was almost like hooking a motor boat. I was almost taken to my backing!

The splake moved with the alewives from day to day, but stayed consistently along the edges of steep drop-offs adjacent to medium-depth flats (20'-25'). The sharp drops to up to 35' were the best producers, but the splake were holding shallow. Splake could often be seen pushing the alewives to the surface. The splake were always near the alewives.

All and all, a great trip. I'd like to get up there again next month and hopefully for Columbus Day as well. Next trip, I intend on targeting brookies more, and the final trip will be prospecting more for big rainbows. There are so many ponds and lakes in the area, and the number of cold water species is so diverse, an angler could travel to this area for decades and not cover every good water. The Adirondacks are definitely a paradise for the kayak fisherman.

Special thanks goes to Tim MacNamara, who hooked me up with one of his Paddle Cams for trip. This allowed me to take some solo pics and may have been the MVP of the trip, because now I have some pics that will last a lifetime to memorialize the great fishing. It took really good pics and is now a must have gadget for me on my fishing trips! 

Catskill Kayak Fishing Jamboree - June 29, 2013

On Saturday, June 29, 2013, Frank Healy hosted the 1st Annual Catskills Kayak Fishing Jamboree in Roscoe, NY. The Jamboree was sponsored by Baxter House Fly Fishing, Roscoe Campsites, Roscoe / Rockland Chamber of Commerce, Morgan Outdoor Sports, Roscoe Beer Company, and the Prohibition Distillery. 

The tournament headquarters was located at the Roscoe Campsites, which is on the Beaverkill River. So, for those that camped, fly fishing the Beaverkill for brown trout and wild rainbow trout was also an option. The campsite is beautiful, rustic, and tree-lined. It is well maintained and clean. It is a good option for fishermen and families alike. 

Roscoe, NY is the heart of northeastern fly fishing and is rich with the history of the sport. Nestled in the Catskill Mountains, there are several legendary trout streams in the immediate area. The Beaverkill River and Willoweamac Creek flow through Roscoe. The East Branch of the Delaware River is ten minutes away. The West Branch of the Delaware River and the main stem are within a short drive of the camp. Each of these rivers is a unique fishery and a fly fisherman could spend many vacations learning these waters. 

For kayak fishermen, Crystal Lake is located 8 miles outside of Roscoe. This is a catch and release wild brook trout pond. It is not stocked and the fish reproduce naturally. 

However, the main attraction to the kayak fisherman is targeting brown trout and smallmouth bass in Pepacton Reservoir and this was the fishing location of the tournament. 

This was my second time fishing Pepacton and the fishing was good again. I made the trip up from Long Island with Tom Lowe. After a 2.5 hour drive and a steamcleaning, we got a late start and weren't on the water until 10 am. Shortly after launching, I hooked into a big brown on my second leadcore line trolling an alewife - it was fighting me like a 30" striper and it was easily at least a 10 lb fish. After battling the fish for a couple of minutes, it broke my 6 lb flourocarb like it was a spider web. Bummer. 

So, I re-tied and trolled through the same spot again and my rod bends over and I hook up again with a big fish. I was more careful with this one, and had loosened my drag, but the loosened drag caused my reel to lock, so I had to tighten it up a bit to get the fish in - and it felt not quite as large, but still big but felt huge on light tackle. After a good fight, I get the trout to the surface and it is the largest brown I have ever caught - at least 10 lbs. I subsequently went to grab the net because I see the fish just under the surface. But, it sees me grabbing the net, turns, and takes off away from the boat like a bullet and SNAP! The line breaks again. The reel locked because the leadcore makes the drag system almost unmanageable and it had no give. Too bad because it was a trophy trout. 

After this, I upsized my leader to 8 lb flourcarb and did not get a hit for the next 5 hours. So, it was obvious to me that these browns were line shy and 6 lb was the max on live alewives on a somewhat bright summer morning. 

The only other time that this happened was about 10 years ago in Lough Arrow in Ireland - same reel as well and I bet a brown trout of similar size. 

The fishing was a slow pick for the rest of the day. As the day progressed, spoons produced much better than alewives. I think a big factor in this was that I stayed fishing with 6 lb fluorocarbon on my spoon rod. Not long after losing the second big fish, I hooked into a nice 18" brown trout working inside a cove on a Sutton. After this, there wasn't much action for the next couple of hours. As a result, I decided to experiment and put on a big Stinger Spoon. I immediately hooked up and landed a fat 19" brown trout that earned second place in the jamboree. The fish gave me a spirited fight and hit almost as soon as I stopped letting out line at 3 colors. I ended the day catching one more 15" brown trout. 

Despite losing the two monster browns, the fishing was excellent. Over two trips, I caught 9 brown trout. My three biggest were 22", 20", and 19". Most of the other fish were around 18", and all extremely fat from the big herring they eat there. 

Frank Healy did a great job organizing the tournament, and it is definitely something that is worth attending. The food donations were tremendous, including farm fresh chicken, salad, and pasta. 

Roscoe Brewery donated a keg of their beer, and it was the best local beer that any of us had tried in a long time. Many of us purchased some six packs for future use on the way home and will in the future again. The Distillery donated a bottle of vodka. I didn't try any, but a heard it was very good as well. 

All in all, it was a really memorable event and I would highly recommend it to kayak fishermen. 

Round Valley Reservoir Mackinaw - June 20, 2013

Unfortunately, my best picture of the two fish has a finger in the background! 

I took a morning off in hopes of catching lake trout at Round Valley Reservoir in NJ.

I wasn't disappointed. I fished from 7 am to 11 am and totaled 2 lake trout and one large brown trout.

It was a warm day and a slow pick of fish. The surface temp was 67 degrees and the mackinaw were deep.

While trolling down 7 colors of lead, I had a hard hit and felt like I was stuck. Soon, a fish started to pull hard and I knew I was fighting a good fish. Suddenly, the fish goes vertical, my line goes slack, and I see a big brown trout jumping out of the water. It appeared very large and made a few separate leaps like a smallmouth. As I got the brown near the kayak, my reel locked and a dogged battle ensued. I got the fish boat-side and quickly netted the fish. It measured out at 25" and was tagged.

I covered a good deal of water, but found a point of land where I had quite a few hits. I worked this area for a long time trolling at about 1.5 mph. In this area, I picked away at two lakers for the rest of morning. One was 21" and the other 23".

The mackinaw is a dogged fighter and I engaged with a lengthy tug-of-war with the larger fish. Near the end of the fight, it was pulling so hard that my reel briefly locked again, but I horsed the fish near the kayak once my swivel got caught in my reel and was able to net it.

The surface temp was approximately 68 degrees. Trolling was the order of the day and Mooselook Wobblers produced all fish today. Dodgers and flashers were not necessary and the bare spoon worked best trolled with 6 lb fluorocarbon. I jigged unsuccessfully for an hour.

On the chart, the thermocline was packed with trout. However, none of the fish seemed to be feeding. I also marked sporadic fish under the thermocline, and this was the area that I found actively feeding fish.  I estimate that I was trolling at around 40' in mostly 45' - 55'. Browns usually hold around the thermocline, but this fish was in the colder water near the bottom.