Adirondack Mountains

Lake George locked up with ice, said Renee from FISH307.com in the village of Lake George. The big, deep lake always locks up finally around now in January, and held thicknesses reported to be 5 inches at Vet’s Beach, 2 to 4 on Warner Bay and 2 at Hulett’s Landing. Obviously not all of that was thick enough to fish, and George was only fished the past two days from the ice. A couple of lake trout were the only catches Renee heard about from George so far. Trout Lake held 6 to 7 inches and gave up rainbow trout. Northern Schroon Lake was covered in 10 inches. Eaton Lake and all lakes around there held 12. No snow covered Lake George but flurries fell this morning when Renee gave this report, and snow is forecast for the weekend. All ice-fishing baits, a large supply, are stocked except mousies. Mousies are expected to be scarce this year because the supplier had a kill. FISH307.com is both an online store and a brick-and-mortar one. It’s the Ice Fishing Super Store, located near the New York Thruway’s south entrance to the Adirondacks.

Weather became colder and in good shape for ice-fishing, said Lou from Fuel-n-Food in Mayfield. Waters froze high, so bays and back-waters could be fished that normally couldn’t. Great Sacandaga Lake held 7 to 9 inches of ice, and walleyes, many of them 17 to 20 inches, bit well there. Limiting out on five – 15 inches is the legal minimum size – should be no problem. The walleyes hit at first light and from 4 to 5:30 p.m., not really during the rest of the day. The ice on Indian Lake served up pretty good lake trout fishing. Canada Lake was a hot spot for lakers, smaller ones but lots, from the ice in the past week. West Lake gave up good yellow perch fishing on the ice. Just enough snow covered lakes so that cleats were unnecessary. Ice-fishing baits stocked include hunts, suckers and medium and large shiners. Fuel-n-Food is a gas station and a café and includes a full selection of bait and tackle for fishing including ice-fishing. The crew at the shop can help point you in the right direction for the angling.

Salmon River and Western New York Streams

Salmon River fished consistently well for Jay Peck and his guides from Jay Peck Guide Service, he said. The river flowed at 335 cubic feet per second but was supposed to be raised to 750 on Monday night, he said earlier that day when he gave this report. He and his guides mostly fished the upper river for the steelheads, unless the river pulsed higher a moment. That can trigger better fishing on the lower. When it does, the steelheads will be scattered in the lower, and you’ll know when you find a pod, because you’ll get a strike. But the upper usually held most steelheads, even if those fish were crabby or less likely to bite because of fishing pressure. Jay and his guides fished golden stoneflies, black stoneflies and a couple of egg patterns including one in Oregon Cheese color and another that was a light- or baby-blue estaz egg. Those were the same flies they’d been fishing a while. Two to 12 inches of snow covered ground along the Salmon, depending on location. Two hours to the west near Rochester, the creeks Jay until now fished for big brown trout began to freeze over, like they normally do by this time of year. When ice covers them, that halts that fishing until the ice clears in late February or March. But browns will still be picked from Oak Orchard River, a medium-flow river that doesn’t freeze as easily as the creeks, this winter. Fishing on the Oak just needs to cover water and fish smartly, because those trout have been targeted for some time now. Weather became seasonably cold, and Jay guessed that ice-anglers will begin to fish local lakes and ponds in the next week. Jay specializes in fly-fishing and catch-and-release, and books trips that fish with conventional tackle with his other guides. Stop by Jay’s booth at The Fly Fishing Show on Jan. 25 to 27 in Edison at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center.