SARATOGA LAKE BS THREAD

[xxxbeer247]

Had an awesome day on the lake today. Caught my limit of gills all good size and let another half dozen dinks go. Also got a nice crappie and a nice perch. Released a dozen bucketmouths all keeper size. Caught everything jigging on a lindy toad ultra light setup.

[chessieman]

Caught a lot of bass and dink perch yesterday, just a few gills - all on a white w/orange dots Catty teardrop - maybe it's getting better

A WARNING - someone chopped out a 16" hole off Fitch - about 300 yds out on the east side of the north/south tracks - I don't know why anyone would do this because there is nothing in Toga that BIG and the only thing that will come of this is someone or something going in it and getting injured - I seriously question the thought process or if there was one!!!

[tankdelivers]

WOW I wanna try to get on Toga Lake now after seeing that PIG of a perch. NICE!!!  Jake's Fishing For a Cure tournament is Saturday March 1st on Million Dollar Beach, Lake GEorge...Great prizes, Great people, Even BETTER cause!!! Sign up at Fish307 in advance!!! SEE YOU THERE!!!

[ThisGuy]

Hey chessieman, are you sure some one chopped out a hole that big? During that warm spell water will flow into the lake through open holes. I was fishing through a few holes yesterday that were about 15 inches wide on the main ice. I had to stomp through the top layer to get to them, which made it look chopped out. Also not to start trouble, but there are carp in toga that you couldn't get through a 20 inch hole.

[trapper2000]

Caught a lot of bass and dink perch yesterday, just a few gills - all on a white w/orange dots Catty teardrop - maybe it's getting better

A WARNING - someone chopped out a 16" hole off Fitch - about 300 yds out on the east side of the north/south tracks - I don't know why anyone would do this because there is nothing in Toga that BIG and the only thing that will come of this is someone or something going in it and getting injured - I seriously question the thought process or if there was one!!!

i seen  people  do  that on big bay  and i  honestly think it was  to  hurt  someone  ...i  marked  the  holes so  no one  fell in 

[NatefishNY]

Hey chessieman, are you sure some one chopped out a hole that big? During that warm spell water will flow into the lake through open holes. I was fishing through a few holes yesterday that were about 15 inches wide on the main ice. I had to stomp through the top layer to get to them, which made it look chopped out. Also not to start trouble, but there are carp in toga that you couldn't get through a 20 inch hole.

Yep, one of those holes tried to eat me... Good thing you had an extra pair of socks or my foot would have froze...lol

[buz23]

Went out today just off the marina South of the 9P bridge and had no luck at all jigging or with my tip-ups using flatheads.  Every step was an adventure cutting into 8" of slush and the water filling in every step.  First time I've ever fished that area with no flags or hits on my tip-ups and I drilled over 20 holes.  Quite a bit of wind, but nice temperature.  Spoke to several guys in the parking lot and they had the same luck.

Eagle Ed

Ed,

I went out late afternoon and jigged in your holes (10", right?).  Nothing biting, nothing on the scope.  One of my old 4" holes had a lot of little stuff around in about 13 FOW but I couldn't even get a bite.  Waiting for it to firm up so I can do some walking.

[iceangler442]

The holes resulting from the water draining can be very dangerous...during January we had a big rainstorm and I had gone fishing a couple days later..from all this rain it caused these holes to form....we had came across these all over the lake...I was very surprised that these had formed when there was 8 inches of ice.. There was only about a 3/4in of ice covering this big hole...If I wasn't paying attention I could have easily fallen through. (Thats my 4 inch auger I use for panfish)

[Jazzangler442]

You have to very observant when your on the Ice.

[hunt4perch]

X1

[buz23]

Got caught in a snow squall 1 mile from my truck today.  A long upwind walk back.  Fishing was crummy - didn't catch much (1 each 5 species) and marked few fish.  Gave up at 10am when the wind got unbearable - my rod was shaking so much I couldn't detect a bite.

Good and bad news.  Its locked up tight again.  But slippery and 10 more turns on the auger to get through (was 30 now 40).

[iceangler442]

Im a little confused about 30 or 40? What are you referring to?

[ice tripper]

Im a little confused about 30 or 40? What are you referring to?

how many turns on the Hand Auger

[Fish-N-Adventures]

30 to 40 turns on the hand auger....must be 15" to 20" of ice.   

[iceangler442]

Sorry guys I'm a little tired tonight haha

[Fish-N-Adventures]

Sorry guys I'm a little tired tonight haha

lol, I would be too after hand drilling thru 15"-20" of ice.   

[SnotCicle]

I hope the first hole this weekend is a good one

[buz23]

lol, I would be too after hand drilling thru 15"-20" of ice.   

Its not bad.  4 (4.5"?) fin bore II.  I figure about a half inch a turn.  They only trouble is you have to keep it vertical otherwise its tough to see your jig with the sounder. 

[SnotCicle]

Bad morning. My buddy went through the ice between riley cove and snake hill. He is ok just cold. Didnt know there were springs in that area, be careful out there.

[ship of fools]

Bad morning. My buddy went through the ice between riley cove and snake hill. He is ok just cold. Didnt know there were springs in that area, be careful out there.

Wow .....  glad he is ok!

I was cold just taking the dog out to the bathroom ....  i couldn't imagine swimming today 

[ThisGuy]

Lol! You guys be careful. There are springs all over that part of the lake. Some of them can swallow a car. It will get worse as the season goes on. When it's cold like this you won't be able to see them. Don't walk around by yourself if you don't know the lake, that's for sure. Last year I marked the bigger hole. Didn't get that far this year.

[buz23]

I was under the impression that the springs were mostly in fairly shallow water and once you got out in deeper water you were pretty safe.  Is that spring hole between riley's cove and snake hill out in the middle??? If so I may have to rethink.

[ThisGuy]

They are out as far as 12-15 fow. Which is out pretty far. That whole side of the lake is a mine field if it's unfamiliar to you.

[rvz]

Went out this morning from 7AM till Noon.  Fished middle of lake off Manning's then moved closer to into Manning's.  20" to 24" ice.  Got 1 walleye jigging.  Lots of lookers but you really had to work hard to get them to come up off the bottom.  When the South wind kicked up, even the lookers were gone.  Quite a few people driving on the ice (including us) which I don't recommend unless you really know the lake and the locations of the usual spring areas.  Also keep you eyes out for thin areas from the drain holes that formed as the lake drained during the last warm spell.  Even though there is more ice than we've had in years...proceed with caution.

[P Merrill]

Is it a minefield from Fitch Rd to Manning Cove via ATV?..wanted to try it there tomorrow but wasn't  unaware of the springs till now

[SnotCicle]

They are out as far as 12-15 fow. Which is out pretty far. That whole side of the lake is a mine field if it's unfamiliar to you.

We had fished that spot once before and from that experience I would guess we were probably in 15 FOW. The drop off to deeper water is out toward the center of the lake. Crazy thing is that day we were checked by ENCON and he was on a quad. Snowmobile tracks are everwhere out there as well. Guess you gotta have a little luck on your side. I'll be saving that area for soft water!

[IcefisherSteve]

Saratoga definitely has sketchy spots, even with thick ice. Last year we were checked by DEC, he was walking the whole lake checking guys. I asked why he doesn't use quad or sled. He said he barely feels safe walking it. He also asked us if we knew the name of guy in a blue truck that has been driving all over the lake. I said no why? He said they want to know his name so when they pull his truck and body from the bottom of the lake the can ID him quicker. LOL. That's all I needed to hear to never even think about driving on the ice on Saratoga.

[combsey]

I fish toga a lot and I still found one of the soft spots.  I was drilling 15 inches of ice and did a half circle around the area but took a stupid pill and thought I could cut across no problem.     So when I got home later that night I explained to the women why I always keep a change of cloths and something to dry off with in the truck at all times.   

[mikerudy]

I fish toga a lot and I still found one of the soft spots.  I was drilling 15 inches of ice and did a half circle around the area but took a stupid pill and thought I could cut across no problem.     So when I got home later that night I explained to the women why I always keep a change of cloths and something to dry off with in the truck at all times.

Combsey, I'm confused' thought your change of clothes were bell bottoms and a tied dye shirt...Just joshing!

Mike

[IceNeck9292]

Lakr can be deadly.. new springs every year... its a lake that you really need to have a gps device to mark all of them ...