Black Lake, NY Forum

Hi All. I hope everyone had a fantastic cold and snowy winter. Well its that time of year where I get to go fishing in the best place in NYS... Black Lake NY! I wanted to start this thread before we leave, i use a phone to post so i will be brief each day. This will be my 17th consecutive season at the same camp, and i am still the newbie. Please folks if you want to post how well you are doing start a new thread. I would like to keep this thread on topic where folks can read each post without getting side tracked. Thanks and tight lines to all, Bob-O

Well we made it, rain all the way from Hudson valley to black lake. The public launch is in and the water level is high but not out of the norm this time of year. We did not go out for crappie. The temp outside was 50F and water temp is 53F. Wind was from the north and moderate. The channel was a little bumpy but not bad. Tomorrow is opening day and feel confident that the pike will be active. Tight lines, Bob-O

Opening day, wind was not bad and it rained on and off. Outside temp 55F water temp 55 to 56F. We didn't move around due to the rain but fishing in the rain was not bad. Most of the pike we caught were in big bay 8FOW. We boated 10 pike the largest was 25". We did get a few nice perch on our pike spoons. Really did not fish for crappie much but the usual places were dead. I guess lack of sun did not cause any warm spots for them to hang around. We will try fish creek in the near future and will let you know if we find them. The evening outing was short, getting cold out and with the wind made it pretty miserable. We only fished a few hours and stayed close to camp due to the weather. Tomorrow is supposed to be below freezing so a late start will be in order. Mostly because we don't want to fall on the docks, they are slick now and freezing will make them risky. Bob-O

Day 2. Well it was cold but not freezing. Did not go out until 9, rain on and off at air temp about 39F. Water temp was 54 to 55F, wind from mostly from the west light to moderate. The morning fishing was bad, fished hard and moved around without a single bite. The water is still rising i'd say 6 inches today. The evening outing was a bit better, we boated 4 pike the largest was 23. Tried for crappie with no luck. Our neighbor went to fish creek and said he got nothing. I expect tomorrow to be a repete of today, I hope not. Good luck all, Bob-O
On a side note be careful, talked with some folks who said that a lot of boats are comming close to running over flooded docks.

Day 3. Not much to report. We went out this morning late 10 or so. It was cold and snowing, wind from the west moderate. Water temperature was 54F and the water still rising. We boated 3 pike and lost a few before we could net them. We did not get out for the evening. They were raising the docks and having problems and with the weather we decided to stay in. I'm surprised that there are no other opening day reports! It would be nice to compare notes with other folks...oh well. Good luck, Bob-O

Our trip begins next week, but I have been following your posts anxiously awaiting your updates. Water seems almost unsafe with how high it is. Hope the fishing gets better this week for you. Good luck and keep the updates rolling.

Came up to the Lake from 5/5 to 5/8 with 5 other guys... Fished Saturday and Sunday and by far our toughest fishing conditions after 15 years of visiting the lake.

I myself caught 3 pike (largest 20inches), 1 bowfin, and 1 bass. Other guys didn't have much luck either, I don't think we caught 10 fish in our entire group. Didn't seem like the weed growth was quite what it usually is but that could also be cause the water was extremely high. I'm sure the constant rain and cold weather didn't help at all either!

Best luck I had was with Jerkbait or 5 of Diamond spoon just clipping the top of the weeds. Also had some luck with Bobber and Shinner float.

Oh and we fished Fish Creek, Upper Big Bay, and Lonesome Bay.

Same here, four of us will be up Sunday...I sent you a PM Bob

This thread is for wkly fishing rpts only - so when your up, you will post your daily fishing report under your weekly thread date.
Those of us, like you, who are going up annually like to know whats happening in real time but, (just the facts jack) and not chatter on other stuff. The rpts. helps.


best to communicate in the general section - lots there!!


...Fish On!!!

Day 4. Went out late 10 or so, our dock was under water but the dock guy was working hard to raise them. As soon as he raised ours we hit the water. We headed straight to big bay. The wind was from the west and not to bad. It was cold again no sure the air temp maybe 35 or so water is staying around 55. We boated 5 pike largest was 22. We tried upper deep bay with no luck. Went back out around 4 and headed to big bay again, this has been the best place so far. The wind is now from the north but not bad. We boated 3 pike largest was 23. We tried other bays and the bite slowed down. Just want to add we only fish with spoons, I think its the most natural presentation for pike. They like to follow their prey and peck at them then swallow from behind. So spoons allow the to bite at them during the retrieve and then bite on the treble hooks. Its really a good time and should try it if you haven't. Bluschen I didn't get your PM so try to resend if you want. Good luck, Bob-O

Thanks for the reports!

A quick tip for fishing spoons for pike .... put a twister tail grub on the hooks (it works even with trebles) and put some pauses into your retrieve. The flutter of the spoon and the wiggle of the grub when it falls is hard for pike to resist.

After I learned this trick, I doubled my pike catch. This seems to work especially well on Black Lake when fishing over weed beds. The lure flutters down into the weeds and kind of rips back out when you start reeling again. It's killer.

In the past I have experienced trying to comment on a previous post is sometimes a waste of time. I would go to post my reply and then I see a different subject being discussed. Making sure I didn't try to post a new subject I tried again. Unable to I guess it is just the nature of things with internet web sights. Nothing is perfect. Fortunately it doesn't happen often. Catch & Release!!!!!

Day 5. Went out 8am, warmer and nice wind and overcast. The water is warming 55-56. The bite was slow we boated 4 pike the largest was 26". The evening fishing was tough, no wind and bright sun. Pike was not biting caught only one 22" so we sat in 8-9FOW on big bay and caught 6 keeper crappie and nice perch. Tomorrow will be the last report. It was a tough year but that doesn't matter. Nice to be here and see our old friends at camp. MrSimom tried the grub on the spoon and action seemed affected, just felt like it was not fluttering right. Thanks for the tip new tactics are always welcome. I do tip Johnson silver minnows when fishing heavy weeds and do pretty well. Good luck, Bob-O

Day 6. Went out 8am and the wind was strong from the north. Water temperature was 55F. We fished hard in big bay all around big island, lonesome bay and bowman island with not a single pike. The lake was rough, 2 to 3 foot white caps maybe bigger in the middle. Went out around 5 and drifted the main channel for a good mile and caught one pike at 19" and not one crappie, the water was still rough. We did go up fish creek all the way to the bridge, the water temperature was 53 and only small perch. Our trip total for northern pike was 32 in the boat all but a few released. That's the end of my post and look forward to reading all the reports from the folks comming up after we leave. Tight lines, Bob-O

Thanks for the reports. Sounds like rough weather and tough fishing, but you still chose to make it fun .... good for you!!!!