Saratoga Lake

[Eric M.]

Anybody ever fish this lake? I will be fishing a tournament
on the above lake on Oct. 10, 11 and 12. Looking for any
seasonal pattern, hotspots and presentations. any info
would be appreciated.

TIA
Eric

[RichZ]

Eric wrote:
> Anybody ever fish this lake? I will be fishing a tournament
> on the above lake on Oct. 10, 11 and 12.
>

Look for the thread on worst conditions ever fished under. My contribution
to the thread has a lot of detail about October patterns on Saratoga.

RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing

[Josh]

Eric,
you may also run up (east) fish creek. It goes quite a ways towards the
Hudson before you hit the first dam. I fished it a ton as a kid and did well
there back in August too. Lots of good cover and decent water. Just a
thought. Good luck let us know how you do. Would be very interested to know.

--
God Bless America

Josh The Bad Bear

[RichZ]

Josh wrote:
> you may also run up (east) fish creek.
>
The water level is usually down a few feet in October, and those pads empty
out quick.

RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing

[Eric M.]

I'm having trouble finding that thread on the NG.
Who started the thread?

TIA
Eric

"RichZ" > wrote in message
...
> Eric wrote:
> > Anybody ever fish this lake? I will be fishing a tournament
> > on the above lake on Oct. 10, 11 and 12.
> >
>
> Look for the thread on worst conditions ever fished under. My contribution
> to the thread has a lot of detail about October patterns on Saratoga.
>
> RichZ©
> www.richz.com/fishing
>

[RichZ]

Eric wrote:
> Who started the thread?
>

Me. Here, I'll copy/paste the relevant text. (remember, the thread was
about extreme fishing conditions)

__________________________________________________ _____________________

The NEBA TOC was the weekend of October 3rd & 4th, 1987 at Saratoga Lake in
NY. The organizers had set up a smaller tournament for locals to get the
contestants "observers". So it really worked like a pro-am. We each had an
"amateur" in the boat to act as an observer and keep us honest. He was
fishing for a piece of a $2500 pot. We were fishing for a new Ranger.

My plan was to spend the whole tournament in front of "rattlesnake hill" or
Whatever it's called. I had a bunch of smallies in 15 to 25 feet of water
at the north corner and some bigger LM at the south corner. I was fishing
1/8 oz marabou jigs on 4 lb test for the smallies, and a smoke grub on 6 lb
test for the LM. I wished I could catch either on a bigger/heavier lure,
but hadn't been able to in practice.

The first day, I had a small limit. a couple LM that totaled about 5-1/2
lb, and 3 SM that barely made 3 pounds. Had to sort through about 20 little
smallies to get the 3 keepers. First place was about 15 pounds.

While I was unhooking the battery charger the next morning, it started to
rain. Not hard, but I swore I noticed a couple large, wet snow flakes mixed
in. By the time I launched the boat, it was snowing steadily, but of course
melting on contact. Everyone was joking about it at take off. It had been
in the 60s the day before, and was predicted to be warmer today.

My "observer" for the day shows up with (I kid you not) a garbage bag and
waders for rain gear. I had a spare poncho in the boat, so I gave it to
him.

We all took off into the snowstorm. I had decided that come hell or high
water, I was spending the day at the southern tip of the point, fishing
those LM. It was my only shot, I thought, to get a check. Within minutes
after getting there, I was freezing. A big West wind had come up and the
snow wasn't melting on contact any more. By 8:30, it was snowing harder
than I've ever been outdoors in. The wind was a sustained 20 to 25 with
gusts to 35. I had one LM in the boat. Then my observer, who was fishing a
1/2 oz jig & pig on 10 pound line, set the hook. A little later, he was
crying "I can't turn the handle, my fingers are too cold and the fish is
too big." I was doing all I could to keep the boat from drifting in.
Eventually, I picked up the net. Then I saw a flash of the fish's belly,
and put it down. "Big Pike," I told him. Then the fish rolled on the
surface. Pike, hell, that's a giant bass. The length of the white belly had
fooled me. I grabbed the net again, while still working with the TM on
high, trying to keep us from blowing right in on the rocks. The kid is in
tears. "I can't turn the handle!". The fish rolls over the line and is
gone. Never close enough to the boat to even try with the net.

I fire up the big motor and get myself out far enough to take a break from
the foot pedal, and grab a heavy rod and box of 3/4 oz jigs from the rod
locker. Rig up and 1st cast once I get back in position, I get a 7, out of
35 feet of water. Just as I put it in the livewell, the first lightning
bolt strikes. Here I am, fishing in 20 mph winds with gusts to 35, while
more than 20 inches of snow falls in 6 hours, and there's lightning!

Thankfully, the electrical part of the storm only lasted about 15 minutes,
but it was a VERY scary 15 minutes. My observer is huddled in the bottom of
the boat, wimpering. I ask if he want me to take him in, and he says no,
not unless the lightning starts again.

By 11:30 I have 4 LM that weigh over 18 pounds. I figure that with my poor
catch of the day before, I need a 3 pounder to have a realistic shot of
winning, so I take the punishment and keep on fishing. I never got another
bite. I kept thinking about the smallies a couple hundred yards away. I
KNOW I can catch my limit fish there, but I'm convinced that a pound won't
help me.

About 1:30, the snow starts to ease off. I realize I haven't seen or heard
another boat in a long, long time. I begin to wonder if my watch has
stopped and I've missed the weigh-in completely. Finally, at 2:30, the snow
stops completely and I head for the marina. I have to pass the state ramp
on the way there. There are only 6 trailers in the lot. Counting mine.

I'm dead sure I missed everything. No, my watch is fine and I actually get
in almost 15 minutes EARLY. Just that except for a half dozen lunatics who
were actually catching fish, everyone else went home.

I ended up in third place, but only 1 ounce behind 2nd and 4 ounces out of
first. A keeper smallie would have certainly given me 1st place. But who
was to know?

Luckily, I filled the tank in the truck the night before, because there was
no power anywhere along the northway or the NY pike until I got across the
Hudson on I-84. The funny thing is, the moutain 10 miles or so east of the
river was iced over, and not a vehicle had been over it since early
afternoon, so all the guys from around here who left the lake early were
stuck in the same jam that I pulled into on 84 after I came across the
river. Just that they'd already been there for 3 hours.
__________________________________________________ ___________________

Back to present time...

I've been there several times in Oct/Nov since, and that steep, rocky point
has never failed to produce fish. The colder the water (and the lower the
lake level) the more fish there seem to be using it. It's a VERY obvious
spot. The only steep, rocky point on the East side of the lake.

If the water level hasn't started falling yet, the outlet creek (lots of
pads, fallen trees, etc.) can be excellent. That's where I fish first when
I go to Saratoga, other than late in the year. When the fish start pulling
out of the pad fields in numbers as the water temp & level drop, a lot of
good LM have been known to stack up on the wooden pilings near the mouth of
that creek.


RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing