Neil McCauley

What is so different about Motor Guides? I think all electric tms this size burn out or fail eventually.

New Top Knockers (heh ) arrived from Germany. Looks exactly the same as the old Top Knocker except these are a slightly smaller version. Guess I will have to keep searching for the full size ones. Brown one is my old one. By far my oldest lure with the most fish to its name.

"Lake George is, without comparison, the most beautiful water I ever saw; formed by a contour of mountains into a basin... finely interspersed with islands, its water limpid as crystal, and the mountain sides covered with rich groves down to the water-edge: here and there precipices of rock to checker the scene and save it from monotony." -- Thomas Jefferson, May 31, 1791 I grew up fishing this lake, for 25+ years, but hadn't until this summer spent serious time on it the entire season. I ice-fished a few times in Feb-March, and went out a few days after ice-out, then over the next 3 months made about 25 trips, about 300 hrs on it this summer... mostly dawn-dusk trips, a few overnights, and two very grueling 24 hour marathons. I mainly fished for SMB/LMB, catch and release but did keep bunches of rock bass and pumpkinseed for eating a few times, they were everywhere. Perch were here and there, a few jacks but nothing consistently, probably because I wasn't jigging much. A couple trips I targeted either Northern Pike or Lake Trout but had very little success. Overall what I learned is: - LMB and SMB populations are doing great here - Most people I see out in boats fishing seem to fish way too shallow - Shallow water (<20 ft)- any time, any day, any weather- is never productive for LMB/SMB >12" here in July or August. Period. - The key with both species is finding structure where the thermocline (30-32') and bottom intersect- humps, submerged points, sunken islands, drop-offs, or even just flats- at 28-38' deep and near deeper water. - Locating and fishing around "cover" (fallen timber, weedbeds, docks, et) is not very helpful on this lake in the summer - Best baits are the ones that stay at the target depth (20-30') the longest - jigs, drop shot rigs, texas rigs, etc. - ...But the most efficient methods (catch the most fish in the least time) keep the baits at target depth while also covering the largest area in the least time. For me this was speed trolling (3-4mph) deep diving crankbaits and weighted plugs. Honestly, the bigger the better. StrikeKing 10XD, 2-3oz Matzuo Kinchou plugs, etc. The boat: Pants: Fjallraven Vidda Pros. There are inserts for foam knee pands so they were great for a canoe or small boat where you can be on your knees a lot. Also plenty of pockets, and reinforced seat because, well, you're sitting a lot. Some of the routes and fish: I covered a lot of the South Basin, mainly around the major islands and open water structure. Humps and reefs. Only parts I didn't get to were Diamond Island, Dunhams Bay or any of the very southern end. Since I was in a canoe I didn't just jump spot to spot, I trolled along everywhere I went and found some fish in very strange places. Dink SMB will suspened 10-15 ft down almost anywhere in the lake, but esp over structure 30-40 ft deep. And the larger SMB and LMB will also suspend 20-35 feet down sometimes in up to 60 fow. Didn't really weight or measure any of the fish this year but I think largest of each species was around 20" and 4-5 lbs, not necessarily pictured. Storm approaching: Got caught between 2 thunderstorm cells north and south of me on the lake, this one to the north dumping huge amounts of rain. Wind and waves got a little sketchy. I headed into a small bay and some people offered to tie up to their docks. It passed and I survived. 1. Northwest Bay at sunset, 2. Moonrise in Harris Bay, July 3. This was an awesome night. Full moon, calm waters, tons of people at the lake but not much boat traffic since it was at night. When I first got there around 6-7pm the entire bay smelled like grilled steak. Fishing was great until around 11pm when it slowed down a little. Even though it was early in the season and at night topwater wasn't producing. Shallow crankbaits over 15-20 ft weedbeds on sunken humps worked best. 3. Sagamore Hotel at night. Lac Du St Sacrament - largest of one of the cruise ships on the lake. Snuck up on me one time while anchored at a mid-lake hump when the wind was from the opposite direction. It came within about 100 yds. Dome Island about 10mi down the lake. I did fish Dome quite a bit and it does have prolific numbers of SMB around it and the extensive reef structure to its north. The drop-offs to the south seem hold the bigger fish, but overall I found Dome Island to essentially be just a big dink sanctuary... tiny smallmouth after tiny smallmouth. It was hard to fish deep enough to avoid them while still catching something. There seemed at times to be hundreds, even thousands, of 3-5" smallmouth bass around the island and the reefs and it became a real hassle compared to other places. I have not once caught a LMB around or near this island. SMB have taken over, and I've started to think the lake is overpopulated with smallmouth. Most productive lure of the season and the year by far. Perch were there but I wasn't able to target them specifically. I plan on focusing more on them in the fall. Small cottage on the lake... Owned by Red Sox owner John Henry. No one was ever really there until August when the Sox were 15+ games back. One of many very nice SMB. It was very hard to fish for SMB and LMB separately. Toward the end of the summer SMB have been a bit harder to find. Beat up bass. I have been noticing a lot of jaw and mouth wounds in various stages of healing on basses mouths as the summer has gone on. This LMB actually had the entire lower jaw bone broken in the middle, bones no longer connected. It looked like it was healing though and the fish looked well fed. If anyone is interested I have 4-5 very specific spots that always produce big fish, PM me. I trade info for fluorocarbon line.

They make a great meal when you catch a bunch of them.

Yep. I hate weekends on LG. I have had my line run over and ripped out and have also been swamped by speedboat wake and had to bail out 5 inches of water. I regularly have to give speedboats the bird, blow my whistle at them, shine them with my 1000 lumen strobe.... Some lakes are a ******* zoo in the summer.

FYI the Top Knocker is available in Europe under the name "Hart Knocker." A seller on ebay has a bunch and is shipping to the US for reasonable prices. http://www.ebay.com/itm/201269025953 Mine arrive in a week or so, will share results.

Deeper. Deep diving crankbaits trolled, 1 oz jigs, drop shot rigs, wind drifted worms on split shot or texas rigs. Yep. Re: summer time nightfishing...it can be slow going. IME you will catch a ton of great fish between 8pm-10pm then maybe just one monster from then until sunrise, at which point it picks back up. Those hours 10p-5a can be pretty boring.

Big waters = big fish. Yes, there are a few exceptions, but the numbers of large (for the Northeast) fish in the Great Lakes, Champlain, and other similar lakes, is incredible. If you play it right, every time out is a great day and you can catch dozens of fish the size of the largest pond/small lake fish. Monster after monster. Just can't find that experience on small lakes. I will say the experience of small back-country ponds with no road access or shoreline development is nice, too. Panfishing with a fly rod from a canoe is a blast.

My canoe: -Old Town Guide 14'7" -MinnKota C2 55lb trolling motor -Bullnose TM Rudder -Kipawa deep pitch weedless propeller -Kayak Fin Skeg mounted at the bow end -Kayalu Kayalite Navigation lights -custom motor mount Fin skeg at the front end has improved tracking somewhat. It can maintain course a lot better with a headwind. It would probably work better if it was mounted more forward but the bottom of the boat isn't quite flat enough past this. Attached the skeg to the hull with JB weld epoxy. The first job was kind of half assed and it actually came off. Second time I made sure to sand it down, clean it, blow torch it, and used a lot more epoxy. Much stronger now. C2 55lb is about as much thrust as my canoe mount will take. It is abut 4.0-4.2 mph on a full battery in calm water according to my navionics. Mount I made out of maple and has held up well the past 4-5 years. No concerns about anything coming loose but I do keep a safety rope tied to the motor just in case. If you ever make a mount like this for a canoe make sure to use 1/2" or bigger carriage bolts. I think mine are 5/8. It's important because you need to torque them down every trip out without stripping the threads. Maple or another quality hardwood is important too. Pine will definitely not last, and anything plastic will warp. Don't think any commercial products will hold up long. Bullnose rudder has helped with turning, adjusting the direction of the boat when going longer distances. The Kipawa prop is deeper pitch so acceleration is less, top speed is more. Kayalu Kayalite Navigation lights from amazon. Nav lights will last about 72 hrs on AAs

Happened AGAIN yesterday. Right thumb this side, the distal joint. Hook was a #2 KVD and a little past barb deep. I worked it out backwards. It was a great LMB though, almost worth it.

I slather sunscreen on as soon as the sunrises and repeat every 2 hours thereafter. SPF 30 or better. SPF50 is best imo. You really want to protect the tops of your ears, your nose, and your upper face. That is where basal cell carcinoma will appear someday with too much sun exposure. Everyone is afraid of the killer Melanoma, but it's pretty rare compared to basal cell, and basal cell can disfigure you badly if you don't recognize it soon enough and have it removed when its small. Anyone out in the sun 10+ hrs a day needs to take it really seriously... put sunblock on thick and frequently. Happened to Hugh Jackman:

My theory on this....A lot of the time a small fish takes a big bait it isn't feeding on the bait-it's attacking it. If you've ever sight fished for sunfish you might notice that when one takes a bait or lure and runs off the rest run after it. Even if it's hooked sometimes they will follow the hooked fish. Sometimes they will ram into the fish with the goodies and try to knock it from its mouth. I have caught 2 fish on one lure this way a few times. Many lures like crankbaits, spinnerbaits, etc that simulate the swimming of a fish aren't necessarily simulating an injured fish but one weighed down by carrying something in its mouth. Lures also catch non-feeding fish during spawning when they're defending their nests. Just because a fish takes your lure/bait doesn't mean it was intending to eat it.

No question here- Long Lake, in the Adirondacks. IMO it's the ideal summer getaway...remote but still has one boat ramp access site at the southern end. There is a lot of state owned shoreline but some summer cottages as well, only reachable by boat. May be pricey to rent. It is deepest, and best to fish, in the northern end which is an 8 mile boat/paddle up the lake. I have caught some great smallmouth there, a lot on a fly. Never even caught one dink LMB there, but they apparently exist, too. It's a very good pike fishery, and has some brook trout and yellow perch as well. One of the most beautiful, well preserved and enjoyable lakes I have found in NY. My alternatives would be Indian, Sacandaga, Lake George, Saranac chain, Tupper, Cranberry. I like Hemlock and Canadice too but 100% of their shoreline is state owned.

Lately it's a baguette cut into small section sammiches with proscuitto, sharp cheddar cheese, salami, lots of mayo and this incredibly spicy mustard I bought in Paris. Plus salt/vinegar potato chips, sour patch kids, a monster energy drink and a few ice cold PBRs. Again yea I'll die a few years (decades) early but it will be worth it.

You purchased wut?

I fish the same usually unless it was a massive cold front and a true high pressure system moves in afterward. That calls for small plastics, slow finesse presentations, live bait, possibly even large quantities of beer.

Is it worth it? Yes, the experience alone is like no other I have found in the outdoors/fishing. Fishing productivity wise though it can be hit or miss. I have been night fishing 7-8 nights this summer, on LG. There are good periods around sunset and sunrise and then it is slow. I did catch a huge LMB trolling a giant 9" plug at 2 AM. Aside from that it has been a lot of dink smallmouth and rock bass, but only between the hours of 11pm-3AM. In the few hours after sunset and before sunrise the water becomes like it is caffeinated and the bass go crazy. Staying from 6PM-6AM for those two period alone is worth it. But again the late night hours things seem to slow down significantly. That 2AM LMB on the 9" plug, this is the only pic I could get. As for fishing tactics I've found the same things that work in the day-time to produce at night. I absolutely have not had success with topwater in the summer at night, again except dink fish. Jitterbugs, skitterpops, buzzbaits, nothing has worked on the surface at night for me except around those periods at dusk and dawn, but even then none of the fish were big. I have done best with loud rattling crankbaits and huge oversize plugs.

I would guess it's not much different from the healing time for humans. Which is 48 hrs to granulation- point when it is most fragile and prone to damage/re-opening- and about 2-3 weeks until it close to normal strength. I have pulled a lot of LMB from the lake recently with jaw wounds in various stages of healing. These fish are beaten up this time of year. Ooops sorry back to fish slime.

I have used the Mustad KVDs now for about 10 trips. Losing fewer fish but still losing a few, I have noticed mostly on the smaller hooks. I may try the Gamas and Owners for the heck of it.

In my experience waders will last as long as you treat them nicely. Don't wear them hiking through thorn bushes and thick brush. In fact try not to walk far in them at all. Put them on before entering the water and take them off when leaving it. Hang them carefully to dry after every trip. Even a "cheap" $100-150 pair will last years if you do this.

Really? No one has had a pike eat a bass they were retrieving? I am disappointed.

Have been to Middle but haven't fished it. Never been to Lower. I would guess that lower has better SMB fishing because it is deeper.

Honest question but where do all these delayed mortality dead bass end up? I do see occasional pike washed up on the *****. I do see dead perch and sunfish quite often floating or dying at the surface. But I have never even once seen a SMB or LMB.

Speaking of fishing with wives... here is the wife unit upon arrival to the lake the one and only time we ever went fishing. A perfect June morning! As you can see, even at 5AM, she could hardly contain her excitement. And... back in the car 30 minutes later.

Yes I'd say the answer is almost always "deeper" when people have this problem, assuming the lake has areas >30' with structure and is fairly clear. I've found at least on my lake that bass fishing doesn't really slow at all in the summer, it just changes. I spent quite a few years getting frustrated every July/August by the "slow fishing" but now realize it's because I would still be fishing the shallow 6-12' areas with topwater/spinnerbaits/plastics because that's what produced in the Spring. The only fish there in the summer were dinks under 12". I got fed up with it and just started trolling the lake with crankbaits. I found that there were a lot of fish out way deeper and much further from structure than I ever expected. Weed beds also existed much deeper than expected, as deep as 40' sometimes. Mid lake humps and submerged islands 40-50' deep were holding bass suspended at 25' a hundred yards away. And these were almost always big fish, the borderline trophy class size that are basically non-existent in the shallows in the summer. There are some real monsters out there if you are willing to fish deep. Trolling does pay off also. I will long cast a crankbait and not catch much. Fan cast it 50 yards out 20+ times and not catch anything, but as soon as I start trolling it and approach a hump or submerged island 30' down it very predictably produces a big fish. I think it just spends significantly more time in the 25-30' target zone where the fish are. Dragging around crankbaits is obviously not as fun as sightfishing or topwater but it really does produce big fish in the summer where I am. It's a tactic that is very under-utilized imo.