Willsboro Lakers

[hooks40]

We went on our annual 3 day trip on Saturday 7/18. After hopping around a bit jigging for lakers, here is what we found. The fish were located anywhere between 75 and 115 feet, but the fish in the 95-105 range were much more likely to bite your jig than the shallower or deeper ones. The fish also seemed to prefer a subtle presentation rather than an aggressive one. White and green/white were very good although pink accounted for some fish as well. All jigs had either Gulp or some other plastic on the back. Depending on the wind we used anywhere between 1/2 oz to 3 oz. Many fish were caught reeling the jig up after they failed to strike the jigging motion.

We landed about 20-30 fish per day per boat, with most being 6-10lbs. The largest was 15.5 lbs. We found lamprey scars on many fish and some live lampreys on others. What a fantastic fishery....already looking forward to next year!

[Gecha (Gerry)]

Thanks for your report.
Glad your trip was successful and the fish were active.

[Sawyer]

it's nice you had a good time. you obviously know what your doing.
Do you jigging fish just on the bottom? or could you get them at other depths for instance like 60 feet down when the water was 100 feet ?
Were we fish we see a lot fish suspend and think their lakers . Will they bite if they are not working the bottom?

[eatsleepfish]

What size jigs were you using?

I have never jigged for Lakers - always just troll with down riggers.

Headed to Champlain later this month for a week because we can't go to Canada.

[Reelax]

Jigging for lakers is cheating...

No... seriously welcome aboard and thanks the the report.

A 15 lb slimmer is a trophy on LC...

We love pics!!!!

Looking forward to any other trip reports. You probably just got 20 new people to try jigging lakers...

Thanks!

[striper192001]

HI.....
Can I get some help with what you are using for jigging ?? Just started with miserable results.......haha Type of jigs and what are you using for Gulp please.......pics would be great. Thanks so much.

[hooks40]

Sorry, was away from the board for a while. I would suggest going with as light a jig as possible to get down to the bottom depending on the wind. We use primarily 2 setups.

1) Spro jig (or similar) with plastic or gulp on the hook. Let it down to the bottom, jig it a little, let it drop to the bottom, jig it a little, let it drop to the bottom, etc. If you are drifting, the jig will get further from the boat, that's ok, just not too far. You have to be able to feel the jig hit the bottom. If you can't, use a bigger jig. You'll get used to the feel after a while. You are always looking at your fishfinder. If you go through a bunch of fish and don't get a bite, reel up your jig about half way at a medium pace with a few stutter stops mixed in. The lakers will slam it on the way up. Start at 1 oz and work your way up, but it would have to be pretty windy to go above 2 oz. My dad couldn't feel bottom as well so I gave him 3 oz and he got plenty of fish. Look for areas that have a decent amount of fish spread over a football field. The wind is your friend to move you over that area. Run out of fish? motor back up and do it again.

2) Light jigs (1/2 and 3/4 oz) with swim baits or curly tails. Same approach, but you'll have to let way more line out. Think of it as trolling the jig over the bottom, letting line out regularly to keep the jig near the bottom. This can be deadly if done right.

Both approaches will take strikes which can be rather subtle. If you feel anything weird, set the hook. Little tap, nibbling feeling, jig seems to hit bottom too soon...set the hook. We also got a bunch of fish deadsticking, including a nice whitefish.

Don't be mad if I'm giving a lot of information. When I first joined this board, I got a lot of locational information from some members of this board. Consider this a "pay it forward". Enjoy the fishery. We water released almost all of the fish. After a long fight in warmer water, taking it out of the water for a bunch of pictures is a death sentence. Be kind to this great fishery!

[hooks40]

In approach #1, we use 20lb power pro on a baitcaster with a 6 ft 20lb flouro leader. In approach #2 we use spinning gear with 6-8 lb fireline with a 6 ft 10lb flouro leader. I suppose you could also use light bass baitcasters but light line is crucial. Good Luck!

[striper192001]

Thanks so much...... I will be releasing any and all. Usually take one silver to eat. I appreciate it

[Crayfish]

As "hooks" said, take care to release the fish quickly and don't take them out of the water, if you can help it. The surface water is just too warm for them. My son caught a 28"er this past weekend and it was hooked and got lassoed by the line. By the time we got him off, there was no reviving it. I cut it's gills, tied a rope to it and threw it over the side of the boat for a minutes to let it bleed out. We had it the next day and it wasn't bad at all.

Good luck!