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Fished off Fitch rd yesterday. 5 bass flags and 1 large pickerel. Everyone is saying the same thing about toga. Very slow year.
Anybody think it will be safe enough to drive out on the ice off of fitch? (after this rain..)
Hey buz23-- I have been around long enough to have fished the lake back in the 60's and early 70's as a kid (whenyou could keep 12 inchers). Moved away and just in last couple of years getting back on toga a few times coming from Albany.Knwowing the old spots I was thinking Kaydeross in late season would make perfect sense. How hard is it hit, and are they really putting tha big a hurt on the overall walley fishing? In some ways it should be the plan to fish there to be successful. Also in my memory, is getting walleyes through the ice off Brown's beach, is that still an option in currenttimes?
I think the walleye population took a big hit the last couple of years due to early iceout and the meat hunters that took advantage to fish the mouth of the Kaydeross prior to the season closing. Did a lot of damage.
I love saratoga been fishing it for years. Heres the deal IMO. All access areas are not very good most of the ice season, you really gotta have the drive to understand what these different species do in this lake. Aside from gills and bass which are much easier to pattern and find, the crappie/walleye guys who know what they are doing I can promise you are not on here to post pictures and let the whole community know the details lol. You gotta follow these fish on seasonal patterns, and punch lots a holes and do your home work. I love that this lake is challenging, the weed growth is a huge problem and has relocated seasonal schooling patterns of crappie and walleye. My 2 cents.
Went off of fitch today walked way out to the 28 feet range and still only a smallmouth bass and a couple dink perch and sunny. I had 5 tip-ups out....NOTHING....I also was giving each hole 5 minutes...If I didn't see anything I would move to the next hole...I moved all over that lake today and fished it hard and still...The results were awful AGAIN.
I had a terrible day today too...a handful of dink perch. I ended up walking wayyyyyyy out of fitch road, twice as far as the last group and i walked over near the mouth of the kaydeross(but not too close). I was only out from 2 pm to 3:30 though. I blame the weather.
Watch it near the Kaydeross. The bay right to the north of the creek mouth can have fish at times but it can also have some tremendous springs. I've drilled holes in that area that erupted with water from gas that had been building up under the ice.
That's the only part of the lake I stay away from,to many blow holes for me. And there are new ones every year. Sat was a good day started at Fitch in the dark caught 0 left at 8 am went south with friends caught 40 perch kept 15 keepers,just jigged. Sun a lot slower started out gangbuster then you had to work for them the single fish would not bite if there were 2 you could get 1 to trigger. Ended up with 14 keepers sun.
Some people just cant admit there's bad days....I wish that everyone would just be honest.
no idea why, but the Northern pike population has declined big time and the largemouth bass size is down. All year long during the bass season, winning bags are 7-10lbs for 5 fish. Thats HORRID! 7 years ago you wouldnt be in the money if you didnt come in with a 20lb bag.IMO, if all the dumb weed control stuff that goes on. Screwing up spawning grounds for the fish and baitfish. Without proper weed growth, the baitfish dont reproduce. Without them, well you know whats going on.[/quote there are a lot of smaller bass, but I still think there is a good amount of larger bass in my opinion. People need tobstart keeping the 12 - 13 inches. I fish that lake a lot, tournaments included, spring through fall and see and catch a lot of nice fish. Last spring, trolling around the shallows, I saw a lot of pike that would make you think twice about swimming in that water. Mannings cove to be exact. I really think that lake is turning into a deep fishing lake, meaning most of the bigger, more mature fish, are moving deeper. Not saying that you can't find some in less than 10 ft. As for the walleye, last year, while fishing for bullhead off snake hill, I watch a guy come within 40 yards of us, catch a walleye. There are a lot of guys that target them all night, as there was that night. What they did to the weeds is horrible. I stopped shocking it which is a plus, unless theybstarted that .bs again. They need to get rid of those cutters!
One of the best spots for eyes and crappies is walked right on pass by many people who figure that the area is garbage. Walleye and crappies are looking for the same structure and areas just have to find those areas on the lake. The 7 foot flat holds eyes and don't be afraid to fish near docks near drop offs for crappies. And I learned years ago don't post picks on here that give away your location. Sorry but there are 10000's of guest that are looking for a hand out.