Black Lake NY

[redbeard79]

Thanks fishforpike I try to stay away from crowds are you going to be fishing this weekend

[FISHFORPIKE]

Thanks fishforpike I try to stay away from crowds are you going to be fishing this weekend

Tomorrow and Sunday - working the fish & game club's derby on Saturday. I usually go out from Chapman's and make way around to "places" and "spots".

[Gary Minckler]

As of right now there are no jumbo Pike minnows at either Bait shop in Black Lake.

[shanestramba]

No big minnows. That's not good. Where do I get pike minnows before Derby and where do I sign up?  And Derby brochers around

[travis.kling]

Did you check fish creek bait and tackle. He's just up the road from rollaway and I think he has bait.

[FISHFORPIKE]

Everyone gets their bait from the same supplier.  Sign-ups at Chapman's and Black Lake Marine.  I was in Chapmans tonight and he had large shiners.

[Archoeandy]

Thinking about heading out there next weekend.  Is there vehicle access to rollaway bay?

[FISHFORPIKE]

Thinking about heading out there next weekend.  Is there vehicle access to rollaway bay?

Yes.

[Archoeandy]

Thanks.  I heard there used to be tons of walleye until the runoff made the lake more fertile increasing the pressure from the crappie population.

[FISHFORPIKE]

Thanks.  I heard there used to be tons of walleye until the runoff made the lake more fertile increasing the pressure from the crappie population.

That's one theory.  The two major creeks that provided spawning areas were also demolished, both by changes in human use - silting in the rocky bottom and draining some of the area.  Both of those areas have been "recovered" and spawn runs are returning to some extent.  Along with a great stocking program by the DEC; they are making a comeback.
I have had some luck the last few years - finding them is a real chore though.

[Gary Minckler]

How did the Derby go?  I opted for Cranberry and the wind was brutal.

[FISHFORPIKE]

How did the Derby go?  I opted for Cranberry and the wind was brutal.

We did pretty well this year - 135 entries, I think - it was a profitable day for the club thanks to all the great prizes and donations.
Weather was a little breezy but temps were up a bit, making for a decent day.

How was Cranberry?  Busy? 

[Gary Minckler]

Cranberry had a huge field, big payouts per hour, awesome door prizes. and really well organized  by the local FD.

[FISHFORPIKE]

Cranberry had a huge field, big payouts per hour, awesome door prizes. and really well organized  by the local FD.

Money is a BIG part, for sure.  Can bring its own problems with it.   They do a great job with their derby.

[PERCHIN101]

Heard the top 2 walleyes in the black lake derby were huge.  Any pics?

[FISHFORPIKE]

Heard the top 2 walleyes in the black lake derby were huge.  Any pics?

Someone might post some PICs -

Top EYEs were 29 1/8" 11.77 lbs. - 29" 11.77 lbs. - 16 7/8" 1.61 lbs.
That last eye came from one of the Indian River Lakes, I think.  We had a good day for the Club.

[gillmaster77]

How is the fishing on black lake this winter ?

[FishnChef]

I think the five previous pages of posts talking about itwould be a good place to start to get your answer. now that you have 3 post you can check the reports and conditions board also.but keep in mind its only for reports and conditions not questions

[jlaclair]

caught an eye in one of the tribs one summer a few years back, it was shallow in the weeds I was throwing a daredevil for pike, hooked into a good fish, brought him in to see that it was a walleye close to 30" but really skinny...how is the lake doing after this snow?

[thinktwicez71]

its a tough go out there unless you have a snowmobile or atv with tracks .  I have been out there in peoples trucks that just about get stuck off the beaten path , and that was before last night and todays snow. 

[Shannon]

Yeah brutal....what a work out. Fished out of roll away . Drink after drink perch. Only 10 keeper c rappies. Hit red lake and did great 30 of water. Crappies were suspended 20 foot mark. Great day

[dehnmachine]

How much snow on the ice up there? Planning a trip up in a couple weeks from Rochester. Thanks.

[GenesCamp]

Just got back from my first ice fishing trip at Black Lake.  The pike were biting all weekend.  Caught one real nice 30".  All released.  Tons of dink perch with a few keepers here and there.  All about 200 - 300 yards out in front of Butternut Cove where we were camping.  4*4 SUV didn't have clearance to navigate the snow, but walking wasn't too bad.  Ice was very deep.  Probably 2' +

To answer question above - on our last day of fishing (Sunday 2/16) snow was probably about 6-8 inches, packed down pretty tight.  It wasn't that bad but need a truck with clearance and good tires to drive on it. 

[Bigguy560]

Going out tommorow

[builtright716]

We've been ice fishing Black Lake for the past 5 yrs. One or two trips a year since its 4.5 hrs from home. This year was a shockingly horrible trip. We have always done well on 12-15" crappie and palm sized bluegill. It was our favorite trip each year. Only a few keepers between the six of us in three days this time. All the fish in the bay were tiny. After spending most of the second day in the Narrows searching for bigger fish, I finally managed a 20" walleye on a tipup at last light. Caught a 3-4 lb. Largemouth the last day and a TON of 5" perch. Blew out a wheel bearing just as we got on the road and was stranded for 2.5 hrs. to make matters worse.

[builtright716]

[serveprotect]

I fished the st lawrence nearby and the bite was terrible.  We caught a few pike, but the perch were all tiny and were not biting.  We were in a spot that we could see to the bottom and saw several large pike swimming right under us and they could care less about our lures or tip ups.  We did not see a single perch worth filleting.  They just are not there.  Is the amount of ice affecting perch movements? Or time of year?  I have never seen it this slow before.  Usually we can hammer jack perch but we were catching fish the size of our minnows.

[builtright716]

Feb is always a tough month, but usually with a lot of holes drilled and moving around, I can scrape together something resembling a decent day on the ice. This year has been extremely tough and the once consistent spot on Black Lake was the dagger on my hopes this month. I'm hoping the late ice period is on fire to make up for this slow fishing

[serveprotect]

Builtright,

Nice fish! how deep did you have to setup for the walleye?  I am still new to catching them through the ice and they have proven difficult to catch.  I heard they were in black lake but from what I gather, they are tough to catch consistently.

[builtright716]

In my experience, this time of the yr especially, you have to fish the dawn and dusk periods for walleye. I set up on the edge of a shoal in 12-16 FOW next to a 20-30 foot deep basin. It was just before a low pressure system so the barometer was falling which is ideal. Walleye fishing on unfamiliar lakes is not easy but the panfishing wasn't working that day so it was worth a shot. I had the spot picked out from contour maps before hand and just had to execute. 6-7" sucker chubs on a treble hook with a glow bead above set 3' off bottom. We jigged for them as well and would get followers but no takers. I'm pretty new to walleyes through the ice too but enjoy the challenge of figuring them out and the reward of seeing that head come up through the hole at the other end of my line.