Saranac Lake Fishing Adventure (part two)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
| Nope | Spring | Spring | Spring | Spring | Spring | Spring | Spring | Spring | Spring | Spring | Spring |
| Fall | Fall | Fall | Fall | Fall | Fall | Fall | Fall | Fall | Fall | Fall | Fall |
September 23-27, 2026
Another year in the books, 28 and counting, hard to believe, I know. I feel very blessed and fortunate to be able to continue doing this trip each fall with the same crew. On that note, our second mate could not make the trip this year unfortunately. All I'll say is going 25 miles per hour on a bicycle is asking for trouble, especially at our age. Kidding aside, I knew Roger was super bummed that he could not make it. Take care of that knee and we'll see you in the spring buddy!
Just me and Isla doing the chores this year I guess.The fall colors were coming in nicely and we had a weather forecast promising blue skies and typical fall temps. A couple nights were expected to be in the 30's but as you know we bring heat with us.
The before and after at the portal (aka gateway to freedom)
As you can see, we did indeed have bluebird skies and the air was crisp and clean
Coming out of the river and onto our lake, home away from home for the next 5 days.
We were hoping to get the lean-to site and we did, not that we were expecting any rain but it's nice not to have to setup a tarp shelter. We utilize the lean-to as our dry storage area.
I know what you are thinking, 5 days, 2 guys. That's a lot of beer. Don't worry, we brought some home. You need to have choices and also beer is currency in the woods. You might need someone's help sometime, and a 12 pack is a nice way to say "thank you".
Looks like the boat is unloaded and camp is setup
Plenty of sticks around for Isla to play with .... or eat
Looks like we did venture out onto the water at some point in the afternoon and I managed to catch a feisty little smallmouth bass.
DAY 2
The next morning we woke up to a promise of another bluebird day, and the cool night air made for some interesting morning fog.
Don't think it would be wise to launch the boat just yet.Starting to clear off
What a view to wake up toFinally, let's go fishing. Once the fog rolled away, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, the air was brisk but the sun was warm, awesome!
The water was low this year again, and the weeds were thick in some spots and just non-existent in places where we normally find them. We have a handful of spots that we always fish with some consistent success, but every year we need to adjust our tactics just a little, as the previous year's hot spot may not be producing. With all that said, we eventually found the fish and a pattern.
Captain is on the board with a chunky little largemouthI managed to trick this very healthy largemouth from one of the spots we usually drift past at least once every year. It's a deep edge with some remnants of a sizeable fallen tree under the surface. We almost always catch at least one nice bass here, they are usually smallmouth though.
After this drift, I recall we headed back to camp for lunch since we got a late start due to the fog. Anytime we get the lean-to site, we also like to take a walk down to the next closest site as long as it's not occupied. There's a nice beach there for Isla to swim and it's just a nice spot to hang out on a sunny day as well.
Along the way, we found this. It's a floating bar that was washed up on the complete opposite shore a few years prior. Actually it's a piece of a dock I assume, but it served as a floating bar back then - Check it out from 2021 here
After a good lunch and a little break, time to head back out, it's still a beautiful day after all
We found the pike, this location is quickly becoming the most productive spot on the whole lake.
God willing, we'll be back next year