bridget

You guys did real good. It is kind of exciting going out of the Oak this time of year with the fish jumping and a good screen. Similar to Salmon River, but not as crazy. But many times you see other boats with fish on or have a lot more action for at least an hour . It was nice to get the first fish right off the bat, but to tell the truth is was boring after that. Maybe a little to flat and sunny? But to be out there on the lake with those conditions this time of year, it was great - catching fish or not.We left at 4:15, but should have left sooner. Back in the 80's we fished an hour plus befor light with glow green and boxed several fish before the sun came up. Not sorry we took the drive. Should have been camping a Lakeside this weekened. I'd love to be able to fish the OAK and start about 6 AM or earlie for the next couple of weeks. Pulling glow green J Plugs I'm sure would catch a lot of Kings.

Decided to take the trip to the Oak. Got to the launch about 6:30. Headed out on the west side and started to set up in 25 FOW. Many Salmon jumping so set the first line down the chute with a glow green J. Started to set up the first rigger and the chute rod started screaming.Nice start with a mature king. Set back up again in 45 FOW and headed east. Most boats actually looked to be in 80 to 100. Fair marks in 45 FOW; 25 to bottom but no hits after we got all the rods in so turned out and swung back around out front. Had a hit on flasher and squid 45 down, but no one home. Made another pass and got a screamer on the same rod, but lost it. Fished to 80 to 100 back and forth a few times. Lots of bait and some hooks. Never moved a rod or so a fish caught. Got back to the launch at 10 to get back to watch football. Great weather but appeared to be the typiical first light action and then nothing doing. Would liked to have had an earlier start. Might have been the last LO trip for the season.

Thank you both.

HUGHES / OAK ORCHARD Bridget and I are trying to make a decision on where to go Sunday. If we were equal distant between either ports, we would definitely go to the Oak where we camped over Labor Day Weekend. Oak however is a 2 hour drive, Hughes is 25 minutes. Any reports appreciated. Thanks.

To the guys going up on Columbus Day. I've never been up there then (hunting) but the folks at the Log Cabin Bait Shop have told me that at Pope Mills or Rossie they slam the crappie at that time of year. Not sure if it's all talk, but might want to check with them to see what they have to say?

Thank You. The locals for Crappie go with electric with a helper with a fillet knife. I make a cut behind the head with the serrated electric and do about a dozen fish, then take the fillet kinfe and finish them off with fillets and skinning.The fillets get rinsed in a calander and go on ice. The process is then repeated. I got it down pretty good but when you have over a hundred to clean at a time it does get old. Sometimes I think it's too much work. But when I get to my hunting camps the guys love the fish, so all is good. When I'm at BL I suspose I'd rather be sitting around and having a beer than spending time in the fish cleaning house? But during the process other folks often stop in with their fish, so we compare notes and ask where they are from. Many from PA. The fish house is across from the resturant, so some folks just stop in ask if they can watch and chat.We made three trips this year and on every trip I get more selective on what i keep. Just got back from Salmon Fishing and for Salmon get more meat in 5 minutes then hours on the pan fish. Only problem is, the cats won't even eat the salmon and they would kick me out of camp if I brought in salmon. I do have some guys however that take the salmon to smoke.I wouldn't want to waste any fish, too valuable, if they won't be eaten, throw them back. With the BL population of panfish, I don't think it hurts on keeping pan fish to eat.

BLACK LAKE AUGUST 12 TO 19 2017 On August 12 we headed of for our third and final week at Black Lake for 2017. Arrived at McClears about 1:30 P.M.. Had a bit of an issue in that some-one was set up on the site that we had reserved. Didn’t make much difference to me but Bridget was upset. Janet at McClears told them to move, but I convinced Bridget it was not a big deal, why make those folks pick up and move with another site available. So we set up on site #20 which was fine with me. After setting up the camper we checked out our dock. That was a little concerning with the water level. Not that the water level was unusual for this time of year, only where we were assigned. As typical for Black Lake afternoons there is often a breeze, but we got the boat in and docked with no issues. Relaxed with the locals and talked about what was going on. Previous week was stormy and one of our friends had damage to his camper awning. We can relate to that since it happened to us a few years back. Fishing wise, not glowing reports. With the lake a little choppy, we invited one of the local couples over for dinner and had a campfire. Sunday A.M. Decided to set up on the NW side of Raspberry by the second buoy. Discovered something I had not realized but there is a big hump that comes up on the outside of the buoy. Probably the reason I caught all the rock bass there on the last trip? Caught two nice blue gills but not much else worth keeping. Decided to head to the SE side of Raspberry on the weed-line where I did good for crappie last August. Soon as I set up got two keepers and some throw backs and thought I was into them, but not the case. Backed out a little deeper and with not a good anchor hold drifter slowly North. Some crappie doubles but throw backs. A few nice perch and pumpkinseeds and keeper crappie. Got a little windy so headed in at about 10:00 A.M.. Not a stellar A.M. but 25 keepers. Also release a SMB. The locals we had dinner with got some huge perch, just north of McClears by Rogers. Monday A.M. Decided I would give the SE side of Raspberry another shot for Crappie. Mistake, did nothing. Moved and set up South of Rogers by the Flag Pole and anchor drifted. Good choice. Non-stop action. Released four SMB including a 18”. Some slob perch. 70 Keepers. Bridget decided to go out with me for the evening. Pretty slow. 3 keeper Crappier and some Perch and SF. 10 kept, dozens of throw backs. Tuesday A.M. Back to Rogers. Some very nice perch. 4 keeper crappie and dozens of SF. 62 Keepers. Wednesday A.M. Back to Rogers. Excellent actions. 3 Keeper Crappie. Some slob perch. Many SF,. 64 Keepers. Thursday A.M. Amazing Bridget went out with me in the A.M.. Lake was great. Went to Rogers. No slob perch this time, but game on for SF. Also caught 4 keeper crappier including a 12.5” slob. A little after nine, Bridget had enough and wanted to go in. Had major engine problems in that at idle – 1800 RPM. A little issue getting it docked, so with an iffy forecast for Friday, pulled the boat. Ended up with 81 keepers. My plan was to drop Bridget off and go back out so who knows how many I would have caught by noon??? Storms did come in during the night. Friday Cleaned the 81 fish in the A.M. and then got a good shower. Went to Alex Bay for Pirates Weekend and had drinks and BBQ wings at Coleman’s. Sitting on the dock with brew, wine and wings; not much better? Until, we hit the Clipper Inn in Clayton. This place is pricy but worth it. Bridget got the Fillet with Crab and I got the Crab Legs. Bridget was jealous. Hers was very good, mine was fantastic. I wanted to get back and go to bed, but our seasonal campers came over and set up a camp fire. Nice to say good-by until next year. So the final count was 312 keepers with 5 bass throw-backs. I didn’t mention that the small perch were a pain. Hundreds and hundreds of throw backs and the funny thing was the next thing up could be a slob perch. Go figure. With that and throw back SF and Crappie definitely caught a 1000 Fish this trip and didn’t even fish on Friday. Came back with 5 one gallon bags of fillets which is great for hunting camp. Can’t fit another bag in my two freezers. As said many times before, if you like to catch fish and eat pan fish Black Lake is the place to go. While I don’t target Bass or Walleye they are there to be caught. Now on to Salmon Fishing. On July 15 we headed up for our second week at Black Lake for 2017. We arrived at Mclears a little after 2 P.M. It was sunny but a little breezy. The yard crew was lowering the docks. Apparently the lake was up but was coming down quick. After setting up camp we headed up to launch the boat. Thank God for the improvements made in the launch a few years back. With the wind the way it was before it could have been a struggle, but today, not all that bad. Pleased with the dock this year, water level doesn’t look to be an issue. With the breeze we decideT 12 T TTTT to relax and have dinner and pass on fishing for the night. Unlike in June, glad to see the regular campers are back to talk and see what’s been going on. Fishing by Black Lake standards apparently has been a little spotty but one of the guys picked up a 26” walleye in 19 foot of water between Tin and Big Island. Sunday A. Set up on the East Side of Raspberry in about 14 FOW. I caught only a dink perch so I decided to move into 11 FOW. Good action on pumpkinseeds, bluegill and a few keeper perch. Suddenly the action just stopped. Moved to the SE buoy off North End of Raspberry and got back into the same action as earlier. I culled through the sunfish until I had a limit of 50 keepers and about 25 perch. Thought I had a bass, but it ended up with a decent size catfish I threw back. Decided to go in and clean fish. I had a weird thing happen on the way out of the fish cleaning house. Dropped my long time fillet knife and heard a strange sound. The blade broke in half. Not happy. Afternoon was again breezy so we didn’t fish. The buzz around camp was the Monday could have Thunder Storms with hail and be nasty, so we decided with Bridget’s free room to go to Turning Stone on Monday. Monday I had a conference call for work at 9 A.M. so the morning wasn’t a waste. On the way to TS just had to stop in Gander Mountain in Watertown for the Going out of Business Sale. Got a Wüsthof fillet knife, a new graphite crappie rod, a 650 lumen small flash light for deer hunting and some socks (sweet). The showers at Mclears are not bad, but glad to clean up at the TS hotel. We have had some mixed experience at the TS buffet, but tonight it was excellent. Tuesday On the way back from TS I just had to stop at Gander Mountain in Syracuse. I had been looking for boat shoes at the stores in Rochester and Watertown, but couldn’t find my size. Just happened they had my size there. We stopped at TGIF’s in Watertown on the way back for lunch (not impressed). We got back to camp and Bridget decided to go out for her first and only fishing outing for the trip. Set up on the SE buoy off North End of Raspberry. It was a little breezy. Didn’t do much so decided to move to where I started Sunday. I’ve been having intermittent engine problems since the Seneca Lake Trout Derby and took the boat in, but the problem hasn’t been apparently solved. The engine started to spit and sputter. With that happening decided to fish on the west side north of Mclears in about 11 FOW, just on the weed line. We had very good action on the sunfish and perch. We ended up with about 35 keeper sunfish and 15 perch. Wednesday The perch minnows at Mclears were very small so I went to the Log Cabin to get bait. They ended up being the same size and to my dismay the guy at the shop say’s, he heard it’s going to be windy today- not good. Wind was coming from the North so I set up by the flag pole North of Mclears on the west side and even with two anchors out, drifted south. Good sunfish and some perch action on each drift. Did the drift half a dozen times and culled though the sunfish and perch. By 10 A.M. I had my limit of 50 sunfish and about 15 perch, but it was getting a little too fish comfortably. Got back to the dock and one of the local campers asked if I wanted a perch he caught (they know we like the pan fish for hunting camp). Not sure if I have seen a bigger perch anywhere (Erie, Seneca, Sodus included). He caught it East of Raspberry in about 19 FOW. Breezy in the afternoon, didn’t fish. Thursday I went to the SW buoy on the North end of Raspberry. The screen looked great but didn’t do much. Pulled up and anchored on the NW buoy off Raspberry. Right off the bat I caught two keeper Crappie. After that Crappie action was spotty. Got one double on the same rod but only got a few more keepers. Bluegill and Pumpkinseed action wasn’t bad, but it got to breezy to fish. I ended up with about 10 Crappie, 20 Sunfish and 15 Perch. I also release a nice catfish. Yard crew had to again lower the docks, with the water level dropping. Bridget and I decided to go to Alex Bay for the afternoon for some shopping and cocktails. While we have been there, and done that many times before, but always fun. Picked up some stuff and had cocktails and appetizers at Coleman’s on the dock. Smoked BBQ chicken wings were OK as was Bridget’s lobster bisque. When we got back to camp it was again breezy so we had a nice camp dinner. Friday Again very breezy, but had to fish. Went out to the NW buoy off Raspberry but it was too windy to anchor. I decided to fish on the SW side of Raspberry in the lee of the wind. I did nothing but dink perch after 15 minutes, so I decided to brave the wind and fish the NW buoy of Raspberry. Bluegill and Pumpkinseed action was good with a few perch. I was surprised not to catch a Crappie. Was also surprised to catch and release six very large rock bass (don’t like the flavor). Also released one small mouth bass. I culled out 50 nice Bluegill and Pumpkinseeds with some perch. With fish cleaning, didn’t get out in the P.M. We had a great fish fry at Mclears with the clam chowder (one of the best chowders we have had anywhere). We had a great campfire to end the week. We can’t wait to get back in August. Saturday As it turned out, this A.M. was the calmest of all week. Oh well, that’s the way it works out. At least a nice ride from Mclears to the boat launch to get the boat out with no issues, piece of cake. Our target it to catch a 1000 fish a week. I don’t think we made it this trip but it was probably close. We kept about 300. It is only a guess on how many released, bust estimate about 900 caught. We brought back 5 one gallon freezer bags full of fillets, which will please the guys at hunting camp this fall. With four mornings and one night of fishing (all but one solo), averaging 60 keepers and 180 fish caught per trip, that’s a lot of action. Except for the catfish, crappie and rock bass; the majority of fish were caught using an ultra-light rod with two dropper flies tipped with worm bits with a jig on the bottom. I had multiple triples and dozens of doubles on the same rod. Based on reports by the long term campers I could have done better for Crappie and bigger perch in the deeper water (18 to 20) but it’s hard to leave fish to catch fish. If you like catching and eating fish, Black Lake is the place to go. Can’t wait for our August trip.

BLACK LAKE JULY 15 TO 22, 2017 On July 15 we headed up for our second week at Black Lake for 2017. We arrived at Mclears a little after 2 P.M. It was sunny but a little breezy. The yard crew was lowering the docks. Apparently the lake was up but was coming down quick. After setting up camp we headed up to launch the boat. Thank God for the improvements made in the launch a few years back. With the wind the way it was before it could have been a struggle, but today, not all that bad. Pleased with the dock this year, water level doesn’t look to be an issue. With the breeze we decide to relax and have dinner and pass on fishing for the night. Unlike in June, glad to see the regular campers are back to talk and see what’s been going on. Fishing by Black Lake standards apparently has been a little spotty but one of the guys picked up a 26” walleye in 19 foot of water between Tin and Big Island. Sunday A.M. Set up on the East Side of Raspberry in about 14 FOW. I caught only a dink perch so I decided to move into 11 FOW. Good action on pumpkinseeds, bluegill and a few keeper perch. Suddenly the action just stopped. Moved to the SE buoy off North End of Raspberry and got back into the same action as earlier. I culled through the sunfish until I had a limit of 50 keepers and about 25 perch. Thought I had a bass, but it ended up with a decent size catfish I threw back. Decided to go in and clean fish. I had a weird thing happen on the way out of the fish cleaning house. Dropped my long time fillet knife and heard a strange sound. The blade broke in half. Not happy. Afternoon was again breezy so we didn’t fish. The buzz around camp was the Monday could have Thunder Storms with hail and be nasty, so we decided with Bridget’s free room to go to Turning Stone on Monday. Monday I had a conference call for work at 9 A.M. so the morning wasn’t a waste. On the way to TS just had to stop in Gander Mountain in Watertown for the Going out of Business Sale. Got a Wüsthof fillet knife, a new graphite crappie rod, a 650 lumen small flash light for deer hunting and some socks (sweet). The showers at Mclears are not bad, but glad to clean up at the TS hotel. We have had some mixed experience at the TS buffet, but tonight it was excellent. Tuesday On the way back from TS I just had to stop at Gander Mountain in Syracuse. I had been looking for boat shoes at the stores in Rochester and Watertown, but couldn’t find my size. Just happened they had my size there. We stopped at TGIF’s in Watertown on the way back for lunch (not impressed). We got back to camp and Bridget decided to go out for her first and only fishing outing for the trip. Set up on the SE buoy off North End of Raspberry. It was a little breezy. Didn’t do much so decided to move to where I started Sunday. I’ve been having intermittent engine problems since the Seneca Lake Trout Derby and took the boat in, but the problem hasn’t been apparently solved. The engine started to spit and sputter. With that happening decided to fish on the west side north of Mclears in about 11 FOW, just on the weed line. We had very good action on the sunfish and perch. We ended up with about 35 keeper sunfish and 15 perch. Wednesday The perch minnows at Mclears were very small so I went to the Log Cabin to get bait. They ended up being the same size and to my dismay the guy at the shop say’s, he heard it’s going to be windy today- not good. Wind was coming from the North so I set up by the flag pole North of Mclears on the west side and even with two anchors out, drifted south. Good sunfish and some perch action on each drift. Did the drift half a dozen times and culled though the sunfish and perch. By 10 A.M. I had my limit of 50 sunfish and about 15 perch, but it was getting a little too fish comfortably. Got back to the dock and one of the local campers asked if I wanted a perch he caught (they know we like the pan fish for hunting camp). Not sure if I have seen a bigger perch anywhere (Erie, Seneca, Sodus included). He caught it East of Raspberry in about 19 FOW. Breezy in the afternoon, didn’t fish. Thursday I went to the SW buoy on the North end of Raspberry. The screen looked great but didn’t do much. Pulled up and anchored on the NW buoy off Raspberry. Right off the bat I caught two keeper Crappie. After that Crappie action was spotty. Got one double on the same rod but only got a few more keepers. Bluegill and Pumpkinseed action wasn’t bad, but it got to breezy to fish. I ended up with about 10 Crappie, 20 Sunfish and 15 Perch. I also release a nice catfish. Yard crew had to again lower the docks, with the water level dropping. Bridget and I decided to go to Alex Bay for the afternoon for some shopping and cocktails. While we have been there, and done that many times before, but always fun. Picked up some stuff and had cocktails and appetizers at Coleman’s on the dock. Smoked BBQ chicken wings were OK as was Bridget’s lobster bisque. When we got back to camp it was again breezy so we had a nice camp dinner. Friday Again very breezy, but had to fish. Went out to the NW buoy off Raspberry but it was too windy to anchor. I decided to fish on the SW side of Raspberry in the lee of the wind. I did nothing but dink perch after 15 minutes, so I decided to brave the wind and fish the NW buoy of Raspberry. Bluegill and Pumpkinseed action was good with a few perch. I was surprised not to catch a Crappie. Was also surprised to catch and release six very large rock bass (don’t like the flavor). Also released one small mouth bass. I culled out 50 nice Bluegill and Pumpkinseeds with some perch. With fish cleaning, didn’t get out in the P.M. We had a great fish fry at Mclears with the clam chowder (one of the best chowders we have had anywhere). We had a great campfire to end the week. We can’t wait to get back in August. Saturday As it turned out, this A.M. was the calmest of all week. Oh well, that’s the way it works out. At least a nice ride from Mclears to the boat launch to get the boat out with no issues, piece of cake. Our target it to catch a 1000 fish a week. I don’t think we made it this trip but it was probably close. We kept about 300. It is only a guess on how many released, bust estimate about 900 caught. We brought back 5 one gallon freezer bags full of fillets, which will please the guys at hunting camp this fall. With four mornings and one night of fishing (all but one solo), averaging 60 keepers and 180 fish caught per trip, that’s a lot of action. Except for the catfish, crappie and rock bass; the majority of fish were caught using an ultra-light rod with two dropper flies tipped with worm bits with a jig on the bottom. I had multiple triples and dozens of doubles on the same rod. Based on reports by the long term campers I could have done better for Crappie and bigger perch in the deeper water (18 to 20) but it’s hard to leave fish to catch fish. If you like catching and eating fish, Black Lake is the place to go. Can’t wait for our August trip.

Black Lake 6/4 t0 6/10 Well we are heading up to Black Lake today. With the high water and work schedule haven’t been out once to Lake Ontario, which is a first. When we pulled into McClear’s I was surprised with the water level. Actually it looked a little low for this time of year. According to the locals a few weeks earlier the docks were under water. Got the camper set up and launched the boat. So great the improvements they made on the launch lasts year. It used to be an “experience”, now a piece of cake. With the good weather, wanted to take advantage of the evening and went out about 5:00 P.M.. Set up on the SW side of Tin Island and never moved. I set Bridget up with the double fly dropper rig and before I could get set up, she had a half dozen perch and sunfish. I started to get a few crappie on minnows but all through backs. We basically had constant action until 7:00 P.M. and could have kept catching but decided to go back in for dinner. A mix of sunfish and perch with a couple of crappie. 48 total. Sunday A.M. the lake was great. Went back to Tin. Came back about 10:30 with limit of Perch (50) and Sunfish (50) with a few Crappie. With fish cleaning duties, never went out for the P.M.. Monday A.M. the fishing was great. Never left the spot at Tin. Released two Small Mouth Bass and again culled sunfish and limited with about 30 perch and few crappie. Weather report for Tuesday was crap, so we Monday afternoon we left for Turing Stone. Good dinner and a hot shower. Hit Gander Mountain in Syracuse on the way back and picked up some stuff, and stopped at 1000 Island Bait Shop and got some more. When we got back to Black Lake and the camper it was nasty. High winds and rain. Wednesday A.M. actually was great. Back to Tin and constant fish. Limited on Sunfish and Perch with a few Crappie and went back in at 9:30 for Bridget. Bridget and I went back to Tin and came back before 2:00 P.M. with another 108 fish. Back to fish cleaning, and never went back out. Thursday A.M. was again great and back to Tin. Again limited and culled Sunfish with about 30 good perch. Never went back out, back to cleaning fish. Friday I decided to try some different spots. Went into Lonesome Bay, but didn’t do much. Went back to Tin and looked for my phone, since I told Bridget I would be back by 10 and phone was not there. Headed back to the dock and found I left it in the camper. About 8:30 so I back to Tin. Nothing doing. Decided to hit the East side of Raspberry. In shallow, constant fish. Since I told Bridget I would be back at 10 for the Clayton Food and Wine doings, reluctantly I had to quit. Total 42 fish kept, Perch, Sunfish and a few Crappie. Well it I added it up right it was 579 fish kept. A lot of cleaning and I actually was culling quite a bit. Had to be 1000 fish total. 7 one gallon freezer bags. All in 5 mornings and 2 afternoon trips. Since fishing at Tin was so productive, didn’t go for Crappie. Did see two locals over the week come back with limits of Crappie. They are out every day and keep tabs on them on for the most part fish back in towards Indian River. Also saw one day guys from PA with an awesome catch of big Blue Gill. So in spite of a good catch there are better fish to catch if you know the spots. I’d estimate 35% Pumpkin Seeds, 25% Blue Gills, 35% Perch and 5% Crappie. Also four Bass. While hundreds of throwback Perch, some nice ones mixed in.

Our Plant Manager said his Dad was in town from Arizona asked if I could take them out. Had to replace one of downriggers with a new cannon electric since our last trip out, so it worked out well for a shake -down before going to the Oak later this week. Set up right front in 110 FOW with a good screen and headed east. Didn't get all the rods in and got a 23 lb. female, 107 on the rigger on flasher and fly. About 45 minutes later hooked again on the same set up with a 20 lb. female. Guys were happy, but the slight roll was making of them a little sea sick, so we chalked it up. Will see what goes on at the Oak .

Well on Saturday August 6, we headed up for our third and final trip to Black Lake for 2016. Temperature was high, water level low. Was concerned about my dock with the low water level, but being prudent of keeping the motor up to the maximum, it worked out OK. After being greeted by the locals and exchanging hellos the word was fishing was slow. It was a little breezy and with the fishing report what it was we decided to relax, have dinner and enjoy the evening. Got out about 6:00 A.M. on Sunday. Breeze started out from the south so I started at the NW side of Tin and drifted to Raspberry. Many very dink perch with only a few keepers. Headed over to the markers on the NE side of Raspberry. Breeze changed to the west and I drifted to the other side of the lake. Caught a few crappie with a couple keepers. Breeze went down to next to nothing. Motored over to the Pimple and by now the little breeze was from the North and drifted slowly south. Drifted almost to Devils Grave Yard and most action was dink perch and sunfish. Kept a few. Decided to pack it in about 10:30. Not a very promising start. The wind picked up after lunch so we never make it back out for the day. You never know what the perch bait situation will be at McClears. Sometimes OK, other days poor or non-existent. Sunday’s situation was a supply of very small minnows in not so good shape. So on Monday after getting the boat set up I headed to the Log Cabin about 10 to 6:00 A.M.. They were open and the bait was great – good size and very healthy. Breeze was from the south so I started up on the NW side of Tin and drifted. Again many dink perch, and a crappie or two and some sunfish. Fortunately as I almost hit the end of Raspberry and was getting in a little shallow I hit some good Perch and quite a few crappie. Did the drift and a couple of times and anchored once. I noticed that the crappie were right at the eight or nine foot weed line. This proved to be very useful for setting up the rest of the week. Not a bad morning. 22 keeper Crappie, A couple dozen keeper perch and about 10 keeper Sunfish. Too breezy to fish in the afternoon. Got bait again Tuesday at the Log Cabin. Started at the NW side of Raspberry at the weed line. Got a few keeper Crappie, Perch and Sunfish but not hot. Decided to hit the SE side of Raspberry and drift North at the weed line. Game on for Crappie. Limited out on keeper Crappie by about 11:00. Also had a 5 second surprise right on the weed line. One of my minnow poles doubled over, I grabbed it and herd and saw a terrific splash and saw line peel only to come up with limp line. One of the two dropper leaders was cut. Not sure what pound test it was, but definitely more than my 6 lb. main line. I believe a pike cut it? Not sure if it one of the minnows or maybe I had a small fish on and it hit that? Will never know. Again, after lunch, to breezy to fish. Bridget and one of the local gals took a trip to Ackwasanne to spend the night. Wednesday to breezy and unsettled to fish, so I cleaned fish and did some on-line time for work. Thursday again got bait at the Log Cabin just before 6 and headed to the East Side of Raspberry at the weed-line. My morning would be short today, since I was the host for an on-line meeting at 10:00 A.M.. Was doing well and by 9 and had 13 keeper crappie and few perch and sunfish. Drifted in a little too shallow and bumped it out just a little. Before I got my lines back in I got a check by DEC in a 14 foot Aluminum Boat. He checked my license and took all my fish on to his boat to examine. In view of the number of Crappie I had been catching, some immediately go into the bucket, some immediately went into the lake and few were measured. Glad I did. DEC comment was that I could only keep 12 more and that a couple of fish were just nine inches. I knew both. Not worth keeping the shorts. I was wondering about the precision of measuring when one the crappie of kept was gill hooked and bleeding and just nine inches. Better to throw away a 8 and 15/16 inch and see it picked up by the gulls than to get a day ruined with a ticket. With the very high throw-back to keep ratio, it gets tempting, but my advice is don’t. That would have ruined my week, for a few fillets I definitely don’t need. The heat Thursday afternoon was brutal. Bridget passed on going out after lunch. I did. Crappie action was pretty steady right where I left off. Caught another 11 keepers and at about 4 decided to go in to see if Bridget would like to give it a try. She didn’t – heat was too much. She also commented on that one of the locals that was packing it in for the season just pulled his boat and that I should as well given the forecast for Friday and Saturday. After checking my phone for the weather reports, I agreed with Bridget and pulled the boat. Friday A.M. I cleaned fish from the day before, showered and we went on a road trip to Alex Bay, Clayton and Tibbets Point. Nice way to end up the week, although the heat was brutal to sight see for any length of time. Strange this was that it was 92F when we left Alex Bay. Heading back to Black Lake with dark skies the temperature dropped 20 degrees. With showers Saturday A.M. not many boats outs none of the locals, Always sad to see some ending and leaving for the last time. We planned on going back with 3 gallon bags of fish (less than normal) when while we checking out, Mrs. McLear told us she found another bag of our fish at the bottom of the freezer from the July trip. So it’s on to Point Breeze and Oak Orchard for Salmon fishing. While we anticipate catching big kings in the weeks to come, can’t wait for next year for our excursions for Black Lake Pan Fish. The guys at the hunting camps this fall are going to have some tasty treats.

Thanks. You are spot on about the crappie. I haven't seen much improvement in size or the keeper ratio in the few years we have been coming up, but have seen some better perch - although you probably have to catch 100 to get 5 decent ones. Most are dinks, We keep some margial ones since Bridget prefers them to crappie and sunfish - me or the guys at deer camp don't care. Of course I'm the one that spends hours cleaning. Bridget always say's don't leave fish to fnd fish, whether it is Black Lake or LO, but I'm thinking of trying back in near Indian River, at least one day when we go up next Saturday for our last week. Good Luck.

We got to Black Lake on Saturday July 16 for the second of our three trips this year. I can’t say enough about the great improvements to the boat launch. What up to this year was often a difficult experience has been a piece of cake thus far, even with the lake level way down. After setting up camp, got out solo about 4:00 P.M.. Tried the NE side of Raspberry, but didn’t do much. Went to the SE side and started a semi anchored slow drift towards Tin Island using my ultra-light with dual dropper flies tipped with worms. Action was constant for the next 3 hours. With mixed emotions picked up to go in (since I figured Bridget was probably getting impatient about getting the ribs on the grill for dinner). Released a nice small mouth and kept over 50 perch, pumpkinseeds and blue gills along with a lone keeper crappie. Sunday the wind shifted from north to south and a started a semi anchored drift from the SW side of tin. Did so –so until I got back between Tin and Raspberry. Caught some of the best sized perch caught to date at Black Lake. Again kept about 50 perch, pumpkin seeds and blue gill – did better today on minnows. Too much wind to fish in the afternoon. Monday was stormy so we went to Ackwasanee. For us Senior Citizens the dinner buffet is only $9, and very good. Bridget walked away $700 richer – I don’t play, so took a trip up to the Eisenhower Locks and the Power Dam. Tuesday A.M. went back to between Tin and Raspberry and did very well with by Black Lake with some slob perch, pumpkinseeds, blue gill and couple crappie. Again the afternoon was too windy to fish. Wednesday A.M. wind was still out of the south and did a very long semi anchored drift from the SE side Raspberry to well beyond the North End. Crappie action was on, particularly the father north I got. Caught well over a hundred with many doubles on the crappie / perch rigs. With the nine inch minimum, many throw backs, with most just under. Ended up with 15 keepers along with some perch, sunfish and throw back small mouths and bull head. Again, P.M. to windy to fish, so we took a trip to Alex Bay for a nice launch at Admirals and some shopping. Just had to stop a 1000 Islands Bait Shop for some browsing and picking up some tackle and trinkets. Thursday was a work day, since I had to go to Clarkson University for a meeting, but I did get for a few hours early. Crapper action was pretty good. Caught over 50 and kept 8 along with some perch. Friday A.M. was a repeat of Thursday. Although I had nowhere to go, by about 8 it got too windy to fish in comfort, although I could have went back into the bays. Decided not and go in for breakfast and clean up the boat. Saturday A.M. lake was beautiful so fished from 5:30 to 7:30 before pulling the boat and breaking camp. Did a semi anchored drift from the NE side of Raspberry with a South Wind. Action was so-so. Caught and released two big bullhead. Threw back about a dozen perch and crappie. Did keep one lonesome Crappie. By our Black Lake standards, not one of our better fishing trips (fishing wise). In part because the way the wind was, expect for the Saturday we arrived, never fished one evening; which of course reduces fishing time in half. Did end up with 4 gallon freezer bags of fillets, which combined with those from the June trip will be more than enough for deer camps this fall. We have one more Black Lake trip scheduled in early August before we hit Oak Orchard and Lakeside State Park for Salmon. In June I had a lot of company at the fish cleaning house, with some great catches of blue gill. Not much company there this trip (or signs in the dumpster). Some guys from PA did bring in three nice bass one day, that was it. One of the locals told me they caught a walleye and reportedly lost a sturgeon. Can’t say I saw anyone at the camp with better catches than us. All and all, I’d say fishing was slow. I think the strong P.M. winds had something to do with it, but ???

Thanks for the info.

Have the boat hooked up ready to go on Sunday. Any action or report of a Thermocline setting up. Will it be LO or the FL. Haven't to much promising from either. Thanks.

Thanks. We like the diversion from the Finger Lakes and LO Trout and Salmon Fishing. As much as we like that fishing, it's relaxing to just walk down from the camper with a thermos of coffee and just motor out and drift or anchor and catch fish. To easy to get stuck in a rut. We like the mix. I wouldn't trade it for going out of the Oak in late August before dawn and catching Kings;but fortunately don't have to. The other thing is the humbling experience just when you think you have the lake kind of figured out,folks come into the fish house that blow your catch away. That is the great thing or trying to figure things out on what to do on the next trip. As Black Lake goes, Bridget and I are rookies and learning and having fun as we stumble along.If one can catch that many fishi while learning, that's a great option. Given the miles of shore line and shoals, I'm not sure how long it would take to explore it all, but that's a good thing.

On Saturday A.M. we left for our first of three trips this year to Black Lake. This will be our first camping trip of the season. We messed up on reserving a camping spot this year for the Lake Trout Derby at Seneca. By the time we went on line for reservation in February, it was overflow only. While we were excited about our first trip, our expectations were dampened by the weather forecast. It looked poor for the entire week. When we got there Saturday afternoon however the weather was great. Another thing that was great was the significant improvements to the boat launch. Launching and retrieving the boat had been the worst part of the trip, especially if there was much wind. With the improvements made, it was a breeze. Kudos to the folks that were responsible for the much needed improvements. We decided to take advantage of the weather and fish. Started on the SW side of Tin Island and did zero. Didn’t bother staying long. Moved to the NE side of Raspberry and again did nothing. Again, didn’t bother staying long. Moved to the SE side of Raspberry and started a slow South drift. Had a brief flurry of some decent perch and sunfish but drifted out of them. Decided to head back to McLears and drift out in front. Very good action on perch and sunfish. Bridget caught and release (of course) one nice largemouth bass. Most action on worms, and when we ran out, we called it quits. Three dozen keepers. A pretty good start for the trip. Woke up at about 5:00 A.M. on Sunday and looked out of the camper window. Sky was red to the east and drizzle of rain. With the old adage of Red Sky at Morning, decided not to take the boat out, fished off the dock for about a half hour and caught about a half dozen keeper perch and sunfish before the rain and wind picked up. In that I had the opportunity to attend a work related seminar in Syracuse on Monday, we decided to head to Turning Stone to spend the night (forecast for Monday was for a lot of wind). Tuesday A.M. got up again about 5:00 A.M. and again weather didn’t look good. Fished off the dock for the entire day. Caught and released seven largemouth bass, one nice one. Caught probably over 200 sunfish and a few perch. Kept our limit to 100. Wednesday A.M. again got up at 5:00 A.M. and got the boat ready. Decided to cast the rattle trap of the dock before going out. Second cast, got a decent pike. Headed out to the middle side of the East of Raspberry and didn’t do anything. Again, didn’t stay long and moved off to the north. Constant action on fairly decent perch. Had the fish swimming around in two five gallon pails an in a cooler and decided I better start counting. Opp’s 54 perch, so threw four back and fished for a little while longer, culling before heading in about 10:30 A.M.. Wind had picked up so Bridget and I fished the dock in the afternoon and evening. Ended up with a limit of 50 keeper sunfish and a few perch. Thursday A.M., again the weather was very windy. We (or Bridget) decided to go to the Ackwasanee Casino. On the way back stopped at Alex Bay and had a great rib dinner overlooking the town dock. Nice evening. Friday A.M. again at 5:00 A.M. I’m up and the weather is a little windy, but fishable. Fished East side of Raspberry with and picked away at a few perch. Fished lonesome bay with not a lot of action, but a few more perch and sunfish. Decided to try in front of Mclears and had some decent action. Called Bridget to meet me at the dock and join me. I caught and released a nice smallmouth and we did get by Black Lake standards some nice perch and some sunfish. Spent the afternoon cleaning about 60 or 70 fish. Saturday A.M. got up about 4:30 A.M. and was going to fish to about 8:00 A.M. before pulling the boat and pulling up camp. Unfortunately again, weather looked bad, so decided to pull the boat and get an early start home. Bridget drove the trailer up to launch to meet me. Just before the launch I see a deer swimming towards the West shore. I told Bridget I almost hit a deer, which she laughed after being dumbfounded. Funning thing was that on the way back to McLears, a water soaked doe, ran across the road in front of us. Glad we decided to break camp, because it started pouring just as we hooked up the camper. Just outside of Watertown it was raining so hard we had to pull of 81. Can’t say it was our best Black Lake trip ever (in fact maybe one of the worst), but we left with five bags of fillets, which we make those at the deer hunting camps at Speculator and Almond happy this fall. One thing I did learn (too late for this trip) from spending hours at the fish cleaning house was the great male bluegill fishing this time of year. Some folks from PA had some great catches of slab gill caught on the beds in 3 to 5 foot of water. We have been going up in July, August and September and didn’t realize that great opportunity. Will remember to do so if we go up again in early June. First time in any of trips, we didn’t catch a crappie. Have Black Lake trips scheduled for July and August, so will see what happens. Next camping trip in for the July fourth weekend at Hamlin for trout and salmon. Haven’t been too rosy so far, but may be the thermocline will be set up and fishing improves?

Thanks for the info. I submitted the form to the state.

Thanks for listening guys. Just pent up frustation, from every time I travel that road and somehow hope it has been fixed. I hope Sunday afternoon i can give a positive fishing report. Somehow I think if we get an early start, with glow J-s we can do some damage out front?

We did take the shoulder approach for a stretch. Knock on wood I haven't had back problems in several years, but wishing I was wearing my Jock Strap. Getting near retirement and many friends have gone down south. I say I won't because I love LO, the Finger Lakes, Black Lake, the Adirondaks, etc..The actions of state however really make you think. Bridget and I are paying thousands in taxes (and working everyday) and have to put up with a situation like that? Don't want to get into politics, but something is wrong here.

This post is not related directly to the fishing, but I wanted to comment on the shameful status of the parkway, particullary between Hamlin and Point Breeze. I see a recent tweat from Captain Vince on this. Labor Day Weekend I pulled the boat up to Lakeside and Bridget pulled the camper. We had to slow down to about 20 mph and even at that rate I hope we didn't damage either vehicle or the boat and camper.I've never seeen a road in that bad of condition.In a few weeks we will be in the Adirondaks at Perkins Clearing on the logging roads. Those road are far better than the Parkway from Hamlin to Point Breeze. Does anyone know who has repsosibility to the stretch? Thanks for listening - it makes me so mad every year I travel that stretch,and instead of getting repaired, it gets worse. Going back up on Sunday, but will be taking 104. Its really a shame because the Parkway is such a scenic route, with little traffic.

I appreciate the info Thanks a lot.