Black Lake, NY Forum

If the lake is anything like the St. Lawrence River - they are hugging bottom somewhere. The fall, early winter bite on the river is generally the best,at least in the opinion of some the most successful fishermen I know.

Maybe break out the trolling gear and Depth Raiders.
Wish I knew what they feed on. Oh well, were done in a few weeks anyway....
Deer season you know.

More from Musky Hunter

awesome pictures. Congrats. looks like it's well worth all the time you put in.

I'm sitting here looking at that amazing fish and asking myself, "is it really worth all the time and effort?".

Obviously everyone has their own answer, but I think oddly enough for me the answer is no. I only get so many hours on the water, and frankly I just love to catch fish. Setting the hook makes me happy, regardless of species or size. The more hook sets, the happier I am.

But, I'm sure glad this thread exists because it's loads of fun to follow along on Musky Hunter's adventures!! Keep it up!

I'm not sure I could keep my self composed doing a figure 8 at the side of the boat and have something that big that I could see heading for my lure. I flinch when a pike at the last second tries biting my lure prior to lifting it out of the water.

Well done sir. Those fish are magnificent and very intrigued by your endeavors in the pursuit of them at Black Lake. Keep us posted.

I am blessed with a family life which allows me to spend many weekends away from domestic responsibilities. If, (when), I strike out, there's always the next trip up to look forward to.
I'm starting to feel the years now, so each cast I can make is worth more than the previous one, and that's the way it should be.

By the numbers-
33 manhours on the water
7 follows
2 strikes
1 fish hooked thru the lip and lost at the net's hoop
That fish is a 48-50 class fatso with a foot long lamprey on her left flank.
The weather change Saturday night shut off the muskies for Sunday but I did catch a big smallie on a spinner bait.
One more try this year I think will wrap it up.

Musky hunter wrote:By the numbers-
33 manhours on the water
7 follows
2 strikes
1 fish hooked thru the lip and lost at the net's hoop
That fish is a 48-50 class fatso with a foot long lamprey on her left flank.
The weather change Saturday night shut off the muskies for Sunday but I did catch a big smallie on a spinner bait.
One more try this year I think will wrap it up.

Everything I've heard about muskies is that the best bite is October and November. Wouldn't the next 5 or 6 weeks be the time to hit it hard?

Probably. If we knew something about the prime fall bait fish schooling locations in BL, AND we had even more time away from home/work responsibilities, AND we had the correct trolling gear, AND we weren't hunting.
Alas, I have an outboard motor, 2- reels and a St. Croix rod ready for the repair shop. It'll be time to start planning for 2018.

Thanks for keeping everyone in the loop about your Musky season. I look forward to the same reporting next year . Have a safe winter and hunting season.

-Mike

Only 17 manhours fished. Water temp. 55 degrees. No muskies encountered. Caught 1 northern. Sunday's wind was fierce so we only gave it a token try.
All in all, 2017 was one of the best I can remember. Three fish boated, but if we were mediocre catchers, we were successful "hunters" given the number of fish located and encountered.
We will plan on 2018 with enthusiasm.

Packing up and closing the camp. Neighbors report a HUGE musky near shore. "Its eye is the size of a golf ball".
See about her next season.

Just think, she will be even bigger next season after eating all winter. I'm a glass half full guy. I'm also closing up this weekend. I will spend now till spring eagerly waiting to fish BL again.

:big-grin:Call me Fishmael.