Back Country Adirondak Lake Fishing

[ScowardNJ]

Any of you guys have any experience fishing some of the smaller back country lakes in the ADK's? I'm doing a 3 day/2 night kayak camping trip on Lows Lake/Bog River Flow this weekend. From what I can find on the web there is decent LM fishing. Would anyone know what those fish would be feeding on? I'm figuring senko's and top water stuff, but any inside info would be appreciated.

[ChaosStarter]

Originally Posted by ScowardNJ

Any of you guys have any experience fishing some of the smaller back country lakes in the ADK's? I'm doing a 3 day/2 night kayak camping trip on Lows Lake/Bog River Flow this weekend. From what I can find on the web there is decent LM fishing. Would anyone know what those fish would be feeding on? I'm figuring senko's and top water stuff, but any inside info would be appreciated.

Smaller, shallower lakes up there will have lots of veggies and be pretty warm at this point and keep under the weeds with the high hot sun. Frogs on top, senkos, spinnerbaits, and paddletails near weed lines.

[Skunk City]

Scott my buddy who fished with us at the Pike meet and greet has some experience fishing up there, as his family owns a house in Indian Lake. I haven't had a chance to fish up there with him yet, but I know he's done well on the usual 4"-5" Senkos and jitterbugs in the early mornings.

[ScowardNJ]

Thanks for the intel guys! Weather isn't looking great, but we have a plan to have plenty of cold beer for 3 days! I'll post the report if i survive....hopefully with some fish stories...

[baetis]

I know someone that did a multi-day ADK canoe trip. The best advice I can give you is 100% deet.

[ScowardNJ]

Originally Posted by baetis

I know someone that did a multi-day ADK canoe trip. The best advice I can give you is 100% deet.

Yessir! This isn't my first rodeo up there, just new territory. Black flies are out, mosquitoes and deer flies are in. Thanks though!

[bulletbob]

Give it a shot, I don't want to discourage anyone but the Adirondacks have disappointed me.. lakes are usually dark and tannic and have sandy bottoms without much structure.. They are certainly over rated in my book... Mostly by local merchants, and chambers of commerce, that want the business the tourists bring..
I may have gone to the wrong places, but I see much better catches posted in local downstate NY and NJ lakes and rivers.. there are fish to be caught in the Adirondacks, but its mostly the locals that know when, where, and how... I have always had a problem coaxing a lot of fish from that dark brown water, and there is a lot of it in Adirondack lakes and streams... Let us know how you do.... bob

[FASTEDDIE29]

I vote for drinking a massive amount of BEEEER!!!!!!! So much great fishing up there, it's insane!!!! Good luck bro!!!

[ScowardNJ]

Well…we pussed out, but still managed to salvage a fun weekend. The weather report Thursday night said 2-3 inches of rain for Friday at Tupper Lake with possibilities of up to 4” at isolated ADK areas and landslide warnings with thunder storm warnings all weekend. A call to my buddy in Watertown, NY who we were supposed to meet up with sealed the deal. He said they have been getting pounded with rain for the past month (who hasn’t) and 2-4 inches of forecasted rain for Friday made us all agree the 5 hour drive up was not worth it. The 4 of us Jersey guys were at my place at 4PM Thursday and we started drinking, and thinking, and planning.

6 PM on Friday, haha, we were loading 2 ½ cases of IPA’s, a 30 pack of Miller’s and a bottle of Fighting Cock Whiskey into 2 kayaks and a canoe at Dingmans Ferry and banged out a 2 night-40 miler down to Belvidere, NJ where the Pequest dumps in.

Friday evening we paddled through a lightning storm that dumped at least an inch on us, coincided with a dam release we heard of up in NY had us flowing at 6mph according to the Garmin- We eventually invaded a campsite inhabited by crew of jabronies from Long Island who had no choice but to welcome us in. Good dudes!

We woke up Saturday morning to a river that rose at least 5 feet over night, flooded with chocolate milk, it looked like the Amazon. The river remained totally unfishable for the rest of the trip so you can probably guess what the only thing left to do was. Lots of nice eye candy in rafts between Smithfield and the Gap. We ran out of adult provisions around 10PM Saturday night at a campsite we poached just down river of I-80 on the Jersey side.

Stopped in Portland, PA Sunday at noon to resupply hearing the news of a missing guy in the river who was tubing, we paddled by the search effort-not a good scene, I think he is still missing. Got to Belvidere at around 4 yesterday, loaded our gear and finished the trip with a stop at Bea McNally’s in Hacketstown (def recommended). It wasn’t the trip I hoped for, nor the fishing report I wanted to share, but man do I have some stories to tell from this weekend!

Got a text from my buddy in Watertown last night who stuck with plan A. He said they had torrential rain Friday morning until noon, the weather mellowed out and on Saturday they got over 20 LM to 3lbs and fried up a stringer of 12 inch plus’ers at camp Saturday night fishing top water in Bog Lake.

[Fish n Jeep]

Mmmm, chocolate milk.