newbie needs help with L.G lakers

[1 fish on]

 Being new to the site i would like to say hi and being new to the area i could use a little help i am from out west so i do not have much ice fishing time under my belt i just bought some tip ups and a new jig rod and now could use some advice on where on lake george to start i drove around the lake and man is it big not looking for your honey hole but where i can park and get on the lake where i should be able to get some lakers and i have never jigged for fish before so any help would be good as to what to use and how to jig and where in the water column do you jig i know i am asking a lot but any help would be appreciated and thank you in advance for any info you might be willing to share

[bballs]

Common access points in the southern portion of  LG

  - Million dollar beach, South end, village of LG (large p-lot, very crowded during februrary (LG winter Carnival))
  - Harris Bay, south end, Rt 9L (on road parking)
  - Fort Ann Beach, East side, Pilot knob Rd. (large parking lot at YMCA camp, 1/4 mile down the road)
  - Hearthstone, West side Rt 9N (campground property, parking is tricky due to slope and plow schedule)
  - Vets Beach, west side, Rt 9N

That will get you there and parked.  Now for the lakers.

Good laker territory is the water near fort ann beach (north of the access), or water near Vets Beach (Straight out of the launch, just south of the LG narrows).  Typically i like to find 60 to 90 feet of water, and then get a large white jig of some sorts down to the bottom.  Large pimples, buckshots and bucktales have all produced for myself and the guys I fish with.  I even had a guy pull one from the bottom with a white plastic worm. 

Jiggin for lakers is a lot of fun, but the Big Boys come on the tipups.  For your best results with tip ups, get some big bait (big shiners or med to big suckers) and put them 15 to 30 feet below the ice.  usually i use 6 foot, 8 lb flouro leaders with a 14 or 16 treble for the lakers.  Ive had the best luck on suckers, but the shiners also leave the opportunity for a rouge salmon.

that will get you on some lakers for sure, and I expect you to let me know how ya did.  Where out west are you from?
 

[hardwater68]

 I've had good luck this year with a do jigger jigging spoon in silver/blaze orange, I have been jigging it in 3-4 foot long sweeps and drops then mixing in some shorter hops. Watch your line as it falls, if it stops bofore it gets back to the end set the hook. I hopes this helps, good luck.

[1 fish on]

bballs thanks for the info i am from saratoga wyoming which is funny because it is near albany wyoming just like here in new york   and thanks to hardwater also

[bballs]

Very nice, Ill be driving thru Wyoming in June on my way to flyfish the waters near Missoula MT.

[elkguide1107]

Very nice, Ill be driving thru Wyoming in June on my way to flyfish the waters near Missoula MT.

If you get a chance, check out the beaverhead river just south of Dillion, MT.  Fish the tailwater right below the dam.  Best trout fishing in the lower 48.

[bballs]

Nice, Ill have to check it out.  Im soooooo pumped to go out there.  We plan on fishing The Blackfoot, the Bitterroot, Rock Creek, Clarks Fork, and the bighole.   Well thats the plan anyways. We usually go to the Deschutes River in oregon at that time of year.  But we just got done watching "A river runs through it" and said why the hell not.  So we fly into Spokane, Drive to missuola, fish for 5 days, then drive back to the deschutes in central oregon to fish for another 5 days.  The expenses doubled, but i feel completely confident that it will be worth it.

[elkguide1107]

BBalls - Just a suggestion, if you really want good fishing, ditch the missoula area and forget about clarks fork, bitterroot, rock crick, and the blackfoot.  Go past missoula on I-90 and take I-15 south to Dillion.  Fish the beaverhead and big hole tailwaters as well as the Madison River near Ennis.  The rivers in the missoula area are overrated, hard hit, lower fish populations and in general, smaller fish.  The views arent as breathe taking in Dillion as compared to the Missoula area but the fishing is by far and away superior in the Beaverhead, Big Hole and Madison (check out the jefferson and gallitan as well, Gallatin valley is just as scenic maybe more so than Missoula area).    Here are some photos of AVERGE fish from the Beaverhead:







About to enter the Gallatin River drainage from Yellowstone:

[bballs]

man o man, you may have just changed my plans.  thanks for the knowledge.  Ive been looking at it on the map.  How far do you think dillion is from missuola? 

[elkguide1107]

Missoula to Dillon is 2.5hours, just a hop skip and a jump by western standards.  Drive fast and you can make it in 2hrs.  Last year I spent 3 days fishing a half mile section of the beaverhead right under the dam at Clarks Canyon Res. The Beaverhead at one time was touted as having the most catchable fish per mile of river of any river in the country and its no lie.  At any point in time you will have 5 or 6 20"+ rainbows chilling in the eddie behind your legs using you as cover - practice your San Juan Shuffle!  The fish are so big and well fed that it often requires you chase them downstream, and your stepping on 20"ers the whole way.  words cannot describe it.  Im taking a detour up there in may or june on my way out to colorado for work

The Best Western in Dillon is VERY nice for a Best Western, was probably the nicest hotel I stayed in out there, good rates as well.  There is also a campground right under the Clarks Canyon Dam so you can stay literally 100yrds from the best fishing hole in America.

[ICE WANDERER]

            Go to Fish 307 & get get your self the waterproof fish map, study it, lakers are in a lot of the parts of the lake. You should target 70-80-90 ft of water, they are in deeper water also but that a good range to start. I don't know which way you like to fish but you can jig them using a #7 Swedish pimple glow white, or yuo can use tip ups use suckers or shiners for bait. You should set bait from 2' off bottom up, the lakers are suspended @ times. Good Luck & welcome to the site.

          Check out Who Fished The KING today pg 20 Got those jigging

[lockdown199]

Great pics and welcome to the area. You definitely picked the best site for advice.

[elkguide1107]

The beaverhead's definitely great, it's best fished (imo) from boat.  There's not a lot of public access to it so the driftboat helps.  The Madison's my favorite river anywhere. 

One of the days I was fishing there I was just a couple hundred yards below the dam and where they put the drift boats in, one of the boats came by and the guide pulled it off on the shore opposite from me -  they sat there all day and the two clients put on a CLINIC!  I watched those guys land 43 rainbows and browns with at least a dozen in the 24-27" range, granted they had a guide to chase the fish down (which helps A LOT with big fish), but they also lost or broke off just as many fish, it was ridiculous.  Ive since gained some new information on flies/rigs for that river and im going back with a vengence this year  . 

[TROPHYMAN]

never jigged that much for lakers but on tip ups i like to put a dead shined sucker on and put it right on the bottom   good luck

[huletts1]

I was born and raised on LG, and I can confidently tell you there are lake trout in every depth of that water column. Theyre cruisers and they go everywhere. I've caught them jigging for perch in the winter, on spinner baits off rock piles for bass in the summer, while trolling for salmon in the summer etc. Get out there and put some lines in the water and you will hook into them.

[McHayHam]

WOW  This is why this site was started.   These are the best exchanges of fishing information I have seen on here.   Awesome pictures also.    Thank You

[bballs]

I just booked two nights at the best western in Dillion!!!!!!  I also couldnt sleep a wink last night. I kept thinking about Montana.  Once i get there, I may not come back. 

[JAGER61]

As an extra bonus if you like elk and whitetail hunting Dillon MT is fantastic! Hunted there 3 times in the last 7 years and always get into the bulls! Pretty decent muleys too! If you ever need a referral I have a good buddy who's an outfitter in Dillon. He has a 30,000 acre ranch that he hunts on. Excellent prices as well for elk/deer combo hunts! Tim, if you are ever interested in extending your guiding season out there I can connect you to my friend in Dillon anytime!

Sorry to digress from the topic.

Mike

[lakerman]

this is an ice fishing site, if you want to book a room in where ever, go to another site. This is a new york ice fishin site, read the name, not fly fishin

[bballs]

this is an ice fishing site, if you want to book a room in where ever, go to another site. This is a new york ice fishin site, read the name, not fly fishin

Ill be sure to take your narrow minded views into account.  If your not interested in it, dont read, dont comment on it, dont pay attention to it.  Dont sh*t on the topic that other people are obviously interested in.  I cant believe you would waste your time writing that as opposed to picking a different topic.

[JAGER61]

this is an ice fishing site, if you want to book a room in where ever, go to another site. This is a new york ice fishin site, read the name, not fly fishin

Oh sooooo tempting to let you have it for that remark but I'm gonna let you live this one time!  . It was just coincidence that the topic drifted towards the beauty of Dillon, MT a place I have spent considerable time at. In case you missed it, I offered a preemptive apology at the end of my last post just in case I would have encountered a remark such as yours. Perhaps a little bored are we or too much caffiene? Haha! Again my apologies, no harm intended.

Peace Bro!

Mike

[elkguide1107]

I never would have imagined that a tangential discussion of football sized rainbow and brown trout in the fishing MECCA of the world would have offended someone.  SORRY DUDE

[bballs]

anyways ... I really appreciate the knowledge.  Thanks for sharing.  Beaverhead has been added to the trip!

[lakerman]

ICE SHANTY.COM     GOT IT !

[bballs]

Hey Lakerman,  I wasnt sure about it, maybe you could tell me, what is the name of this site?

[oletimer]

I see the lakerman has struck again.
Lets hear your input for the newbie on jigging lakers from LG. Maybe a few pics of them. Or have you never caught one???
Yeah now I'm bustin on someones a$$, yours. You are quick to question someone, argue with someone, you don't agree with the states laws, you wanna act as site police here. You need to take a break from here, it obviously upsets you to much to be a worthwhile addition to the site.

[Wind Flag]

I regularly post on different message boards on a wide variety of subjects. I'm used to all the sudden thread derails.

Anyway, to the newbie, just head to one of the spots that were suggested. Fish near a crowd strike up a conversation. One way or another, you'll learn something. Most guys on the ice are very friendly and are willing to help. People on this site might be able to point you in the right direction, but on the ice is where you'll pick up the real tips.

[JJ]

ICE SHANTY.COM     GOT IT !

How come you didn't comment on the "CUSE" thread? or the snowmobile trails thread. A least this one involves fishing.

You better not look at the thread about "Michigan Wigglers" on the New York page. Can you believe someone posted that.

[ship of fools]

If your not interested in it, dont read, dont comment on it, dont pay attention to it.  Dont sh*t on the topic that other people are obviously interested in.  I cant believe you would waste your time writing that as opposed to picking a different topic.

my thoughts exactly....  don't read the thread if you don't like it   

[lockdown199]

Hey! How bout those Yankees??? Oh wrong site or maybe not? I got some helpful tips about lakers from this post and also enjoyed the pics. Thanks Newbie.