Last Saturday, on my way home from turkey hunting driving by the Saratoga Lake boat launch, I saw quite a few boat trailers. I parked and talked to some of the anglers who were coming off the water, and the five I spoke with all said the same thing, “The fish are biting, both panfish and bass [caught and released].”
They were catching crappie and blue gills. And when I asked what they were biting, they said everything, live bait and small lures. As for the bass, they, too, were biting (all of which had to be released). No keeping bass until the season opens on the third Saturday in June.
I wasn’t surprised when a number of them caught bass on the wacky worm. Areas of where they were catching panfish were the weed line from Fitch Road/9P. When
I stopped by Saratoga Tackle, they told me that he was selling a lot of fathead minnows and flashy tiny tubes.
BIG TROUT
In my best kid’s fishing honors this week, 10-year old Logan Hammons of Edinburg caught a 16-inch brook trout. He and his dad Doug were fishing in an Adirondack pond in the Long Lake area. Good job Logan.
NEW YORK BASS
If you are looking for some major league-like bass fishing tournaments in New York State, you will find it fishing the New York Bass Federation tournament trail.
This year, it will have four of them. They are June 21 on Lake Erie in Buffalo, July 18-19 and Sept. 9 on Cayuga Lake in Union Springs and Aug. 10 on the St. Lawrence River in Massena.
There are separate and non-boater divisions. If you are a non-boater and want to fish a pro-like, this is your opportunity. This is how I started 50 years ago, and I am still competing in the Capital District Bassmasters club.
One note: If you are in a local bass club, send me your results to [email protected]. What I need are the angler’s name and city where they live.
STRIPED BASS POACHERS
Earlier this month, a retired New York State trooper was fishing on the Hudson River near the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge when he saw a gill net filled with stripe bass being hauled into a small vessel.
As the boat returned to Charles Ride Park boat launch, the trooper relayed the information to a Town of Ulster police department officer. Officer Michael Miller identified the vessel and interviewed the boat operator until DEC ECO Jason Smith arrived. The two officers located a gill net hidden in the boat that contained 24 striped bass, 12 herring, three white perch and two yellow bullheads.
The gill net operator was issued tickets for taking fish by means other than angling, taking striped bass out of slot size, taking striped bass over the allowable limit, taking herring over the allowable limit and failing to carry a marine registry, returnable to the Town of Ulster Court.
I think they should take these so-called fishermen’s full name and where they live.
LOST AND FOUND
Earlier this month, Saratoga County 911 transferred a call to the DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch from two female hikers in Moreau State Park who were lost and needed assistance trying to get back to the trailhead off Old Saratoga Road the summit of Grant Mountain.
The dispatchers obtained coordinates that placed the hikers on the west side of the mountain when they should have been on the east side. The two hikers were directed to remain at their location until help arrived.
Forest Rangers Joe Hess and Tony Goetke responded to the hikers’ location along with New York State Park police and reported they had located the hikers and were headed out.
Contact Ed Noonan at [email protected].
Categories: -Sports-
