Fishing should pick up in August
Published: 12:31 a.m., Friday, August 13, 2010
August usually brings the start of cooler days and nights. New York State area fishing action has been good, even during the warmer weather in many places, and it should be even better heading into fall.
The NY area is primarily home to warm-water fisheries. The best local fishing for the most part is for smallmouths, largemouths, pike, panfish and tiger muskies. With the exception of the muskies, the fish populations manage themselves. While we sometimes think there aren't many fish around, they're there, it is just a matter of changing tactics.
Saratoga Lake and Lake Lonely get fairly heavy fishing pressure, and Saratoga Lake has a lot of recreational boating. Yet, each of these lakes has prolific bass, pike, and panfish populations. It is just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, with the correct presentation.
Bass action on the two lakes has been good so far this summer, especially for largemouths. With the typical August cool down, action on the surface should pick up now in the morning and evening hours. During the rest of the day, the fish should remain active, but it takes a slower presentation and finesse to score. Jigs or drop shot rigs are good during the day, and many anglers still do well with Whacky-rigged worms.
Albany's two rivers have been a little slow this summer. The Mohawk had a couple of times when it got murky due to heavy rainstorms and colored up for several days. As long as the water clears, bass will start feeding heavily on the outbound baby herring this month, which will include good action in the shallows and on the surface.
The Hudson, by a number of reports, was also a little slow in July. Anglers were picking up decent numbers of smallmouths with soft plastics and crankbaits near deep-water rock piles. Largemouth action on shallow bays was decent on soft plastic frogs worked on the surface over the weeds and on jerkbaits. The Hudson has a reverse herring run near the Troy Dam, and the fishing should pick up. Look for bass breaking the surface as they chase the herring.
The Schoharie Creek, has been a little difficult this summer. Water levels are down and the bass are pretty spooky. It has taken a lot of stealth and covering a lot of water to do well on my trips there. Hopefully, the water level comes up a bit and the fishing will get a little more consistent. In August, the surface fishing there is usually good and it is hard to go wrong with jigs when the sun gets high.
While there are other bass and pike waters, these five are the best bet in the area.
If warm-water fishing isn't your thing, trout fishing is also improving. Stream temperatures were pretty high in July at times, but look for the fishing on the Battenkill to really pick up. The fishing there has improved for serious trout anglers in the last couple of years. A slight drop in water conditions and a little rain will improve conditions as we head into fall. The trout are on the usual late summer hatches, including: Tricos, Caddis (several species), small Blue-winged Olives, midges, Sulphers, and both yellow and brown stoneflies.
We have other trout waters in the area, but most of them are smaller and don't provide consistent fishing in August. Make sure to use a stream thermometer and avoid streams when they are low and up in the high 60 degrees range.
August fishing around here should be good, so before summer ends, load up your gear and squeeze in a couple of more outings before Labor Day.
Published: 12:31 a.m., Friday, August 13, 2010
August usually brings the start of cooler days and nights. New York State area fishing action has been good, even during the warmer weather in many places, and it should be even better heading into fall.
The NY area is primarily home to warm-water fisheries. The best local fishing for the most part is for smallmouths, largemouths, pike, panfish and tiger muskies. With the exception of the muskies, the fish populations manage themselves. While we sometimes think there aren't many fish around, they're there, it is just a matter of changing tactics.
Saratoga Lake and Lake Lonely get fairly heavy fishing pressure, and Saratoga Lake has a lot of recreational boating. Yet, each of these lakes has prolific bass, pike, and panfish populations. It is just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, with the correct presentation.
Bass action on the two lakes has been good so far this summer, especially for largemouths. With the typical August cool down, action on the surface should pick up now in the morning and evening hours. During the rest of the day, the fish should remain active, but it takes a slower presentation and finesse to score. Jigs or drop shot rigs are good during the day, and many anglers still do well with Whacky-rigged worms.
Albany's two rivers have been a little slow this summer. The Mohawk had a couple of times when it got murky due to heavy rainstorms and colored up for several days. As long as the water clears, bass will start feeding heavily on the outbound baby herring this month, which will include good action in the shallows and on the surface.
The Hudson, by a number of reports, was also a little slow in July. Anglers were picking up decent numbers of smallmouths with soft plastics and crankbaits near deep-water rock piles. Largemouth action on shallow bays was decent on soft plastic frogs worked on the surface over the weeds and on jerkbaits. The Hudson has a reverse herring run near the Troy Dam, and the fishing should pick up. Look for bass breaking the surface as they chase the herring.
The Schoharie Creek, has been a little difficult this summer. Water levels are down and the bass are pretty spooky. It has taken a lot of stealth and covering a lot of water to do well on my trips there. Hopefully, the water level comes up a bit and the fishing will get a little more consistent. In August, the surface fishing there is usually good and it is hard to go wrong with jigs when the sun gets high.
While there are other bass and pike waters, these five are the best bet in the area.
If warm-water fishing isn't your thing, trout fishing is also improving. Stream temperatures were pretty high in July at times, but look for the fishing on the Battenkill to really pick up. The fishing there has improved for serious trout anglers in the last couple of years. A slight drop in water conditions and a little rain will improve conditions as we head into fall. The trout are on the usual late summer hatches, including: Tricos, Caddis (several species), small Blue-winged Olives, midges, Sulphers, and both yellow and brown stoneflies.
We have other trout waters in the area, but most of them are smaller and don't provide consistent fishing in August. Make sure to use a stream thermometer and avoid streams when they are low and up in the high 60 degrees range.
August fishing around here should be good, so before summer ends, load up your gear and squeeze in a couple of more outings before Labor Day.