Friday was a day my cousin Alan and I explored new water (new for us anyhow). We were in the #Adirondacks for the annual Lansing cousins’ weekend, but arrived a half day ahead of everyone else to do some #exploring and #fishing. We arrived back to the cabin tired, severely bug bitten, thirsty, hungry, and smelly, but not skunked or out of beer.
From the parking area, it was supposed to be a ½ - ¾ mile carry to the water. We had a plan. Carry all the fishing gear down and come back to carry the #canoe down. It was a simple plan and it worked out that way, but after we tacked on some additional mileage by missing the unmarked fork to the lake. Realizing our mistake, be backtracked, found our fork and carried on with the plan. The additional distance we hiked our gear will be left for your imagination. It was more than a ¼ mile, but less than a 100. Then we tackled carrying the canoe, which had somehow gained weight since the time we loaded it in the truck earlier. It wasn’t bad.
None of it was bad, except for the #mosquitoes. Alan and I came to the conclusion that this particular strain of mosquito in the area was of chemical resistance and had a titanium poker needle blood extraction device. They were killer mutants. No amount of bug spray kept them at bay and they jabbed right through the shirts on our backs. Our only reprieve was on the lake, which had turned quite windy.
The canoe was at the water. The gear was at the water. We were at the water. After a lunch break at the water’s edge, in the wind and out of the mosquitoes, we paddled hard to the other side of the lake. The fly rods got tucked away for the day. Being in a canoe and with a fairly stiff breezy, it just wasn’t going to happen. It was a day for the spin gear.
After a few drifts along the shoreline produced a few smallmouth bass, we turned our attention to #laketrout in deeper water for the remainder of the day. Using my sonar, we covered water and found the deepest parts of the lake and found the thermocline. Vertical jigging spoons through the deeper areas produced a couple bites and follows, but luck was not our side. Our best opportunities came with Alan having a nice fish follow his jig to the surface, only to refuse and swim back to the depths. I had a heavy trout give two very strong head shakes in 65’ of water and throw the hook. We might have had better success with smaller jigs as I had a couple other bumps as well, but with the wind blowing us along at a pretty good clip, we were forced to jig bigger and heavier.
Regardless of a tough day as far as results. It was #beautiful. 72 degrees with a mix of sun and clouds in the middle of August is tough to beat. We had a lake to paddle to ourselves. No camps. No houses. No cars. No people. I will certainly be going back to this lake again to check it out. I was encouraged by the marks and bites we did see and manage. I was even more encouraged a day later when we encountered a New York State Environmental Conservation Officer on another body of water. After checking our licenses, we had a pleasant chat about the area, other places to check out, and the fish we caught this summer.
We called it a day after 5 hours of paddling and fishing. Everything was hauled back to the truck and we made the short drive down the road to the cabin to meet with the rest of our cousins who had begun to trickle in. Burgers, catching up, and enjoying a cold beer around a hot camp fire was plan the remainder of the night. #Flyfishing for pickerel was the plan in the morning.