lake george laker rookie needs help

[aj454]

wanna start fishing for lakers so i need info on how to rig up the line and where to put it. what type of bait (dead or live) and how to use it. Went to fish307 and got somewhite tubes, dead suckers in salt, smelt oil,and a large white Swedish pimple for jigging. Went to vets in  80 foot of warter dropped 5 tips with med shiners to the bottom. Nothin. Jigged with dead sucker nothin.  Any info will help thanks

[Ed D]

put tips up 2-3 ft up off bottom,try perch beds 35-40 ft.

[Eaglecrg]

I haven't fished Lake George (plan on going this week) but when targeting Lake Trout at other lakes, I will hang the baits from my tip ups at varying depths.  A couple near the bottom and the others up through the water column to include within 5 or 10 feet of the surface.  While lakers spend the majority of their time near the bottom, the more active feeders are often found higher up in the water cruising around.  When you are jigging, I start at the bottom and about every 5 minutes take a couple turns of the reel, then jig another 5 minutes and so forth until it is near the surface, then repeat.  If I'm not having success, I keep changing whatever it is I'm jigging with.  I don't jig with bait unless its at the end of a jig or spoon.  Lakers do seem to like fish scent though so I use some kind of fish scent or strip of fish on my jigs.  I don't have a favorite scent, but do want to try some of that smelt oil you purchased.  I have also heard today that people on Lake George are now catching lakers in shallower water than usual.  I'm going to access the lake by Hague on Tuesday (I think) and see how it goes.  Keep at it, you will experience success eventually and don't be afraid to ask questions of others you see on the ice.  Some don't like to talk, but many will share their experience, especially if you tell them you are new at it.  

[mealworm]

and don't be afraid to use perch themselves as bait,the 28"er we got had a 11" perch in his belly and still pounded my jig

[JAGER61]

AJ, if you plan to get serious with laker fishing I would highly recommend you consider purchasing a flasher if you have not already.  Tip-ups are fun but jigging puts the numbers on the ice!  Moving frequently also contributes to success.  These fish are predators and nomadic in their travels in search for a meal.  As Eagle mentioned, they quite often suspend and it has been my experience that those are the more aggressive fish.  While jigging without a flasher has and continues to produce, without one it's easy to miss a lot of the suspended fish.  My suggestion is to set your tip-ups for Salmon and jig for lakers.  Besides, who wants to reel up 120 feet of line off the bottom on 5 tip-ups when you're fingers are freezing and the wind is howling?   Shoot me a PM and I'll get into greater detail as to jigging technique for Lakers and rigging for LLS.

Good Luck!


Mike

[carcaju]

AJ, if you plan to get serious with laker fishing I would highly recommend you consider purchasing a flasher if you have not already.  Tip-ups are fun but jigging puts the numbers on the ice!  Moving frequently also contributes to success.  These fish are predators and nomadic in their travels in search for a meal.  As Eagle mentioned, they quite often suspend and it has been my experience that those are the more aggressive fish.  While jigging without a flasher has and continues to produce, without one it's easy to miss a lot of the suspended fish.  My suggestion is to set your tip-ups for Salmon and jig for lakers.  Besides, who wants to reel up 120 feet of line off the bottom on 5 tip-ups when you're fingers are freezing and the wind is howling?   Shoot me a PM and I'll get into greater detail as to jigging technique for Lakers and rigging for LLS.

Good Luck!


Mike

x2

[aj454]

AJ, if you plan to get serious with laker fishing I would highly recommend you consider purchasing a flasher if you have not already.  I got a fl8vex. only goes to 120feet. thanks!


Mike

[Reel_Force]

Tony you were probably right next to me .... I had the black Cabels 5x6. I was off the northern tip of Crown. Tried to call ya but your cell was off ....

[aj454]

I hear alot of different rig set ups for both jig rod and tip-ups. Thansk for the info. Going out off of Hearthstone on Sat. for our first serious try at those lakers. Let you know how we made out. 

[hardwater68]

and don't be afraid to use perch themselves as bait,the 28"er we got had a 11" perch in his belly and still pounded my jig



 my friend got a 35" 14.6 pounder two weeks ago that had 10 perch and 2 bluegills in various states of decomposition in his stomach... also caught over a perch bed. The largest was 8". something to think about...

[Eaglecrg]

aj:  FWIW.  Fished Lake George today and got skunked.  However, we met 2 guys at the parking lot who had 4 lakers and they said that they were hitting on suckers over the weekend but wouldn't touch shiners.  We were using shiners and never had a hit.   Struck out jigging as well.  So if you get bait, I'd try suckers as opposed to other types.  The two guys we met said they ran out of suckers on Sunday because the bait shop they went to was almost out and they got the last few they had.  They were fishing them right on the bottom and didn't have any electronics, so they thought the depth was about 50 ft.  Hope this helps.

[HomerJay]

AJ, if you plan to get serious with laker fishing I would highly recommend you consider purchasing a flasher if you have not already.  Tip-ups are fun but jigging puts the numbers on the ice!  Moving frequently also contributes to success.  These fish are predators and nomadic in their travels in search for a meal.  As Eagle mentioned, they quite often suspend and it has been my experience that those are the more aggressive fish.  While jigging without a flasher has and continues to produce, without one it's easy to miss a lot of the suspended fish.  My suggestion is to set your tip-ups for Salmon and jig for lakers.  Besides, who wants to reel up 120 feet of line off the bottom on 5 tip-ups when you're fingers are freezing and the wind is howling?   Shoot me a PM and I'll get into greater detail as to jigging technique for Lakers and rigging for LLS.

Good Luck!


Mike

x3

No question the flasher is the way to go. tipups are a nightmare in deep water and it is much more fun with a flasher i wouldnt fish for lakers if it wasnt for my vex.

[sinkergurl]

x3

No question the flasher is the way to go. tipups are a nightmare in deep water and it is much more fun with a flasher i wouldnt fish for lakers if it wasnt for my vex.

Well I would have to disagree. We use no flasher and we happened to pull 13 lakers up onto the ice using tip ups. When you have a big fish hooked you don't notice your fingers are freezing. We have never targeted Lakers until this past weekend. We did some research asked alot of questions and we set up all the tip ups specifically for Lakers and we were successful. Would I like to catch one on my jig pole? Of course but you can't knock the tip ups. It was a blast pulling up those fish even if there was 130' of line coiled on the ice when it was all said and done.

[fishdoggg]

whoooaa slow down there sinkergirl.  You had a nice weekend and congrats.  you still have a bit to learn.  Don't get cocky on us.  Just when you think you have it figured out things change. Thats fishing.    Try fishing lakers with 20 mph winds at 15 degrees.  Your hands will be cold.  A flasher is a big help.  I would rig a couple for salmon and 2 or 3 tipups for lakers depending on the weather.

[ship of fools]

Of course but you can't knock the tip ups.

sure we can    ....   and will! 

seriously though if you were in an area with a hot bite and got 13 on tipups we would have hammered em on the jigs .....

i have had two different friends make the statement that they do just fine with tipups....   then we fished together.....   and they are now jiggers

i get to my spot, drill a hole, setup my shanty and i am fishing.....    it takes a looooooong time to drill a hole, sound it, get the tipup baited and down in the water... then you get to do it again, and again, and again and then one last time .....       then reverse the process at the end of the day

after fishing both ways i am a convert

[elkguide1107]

whoooaa slow down there sinkergirl.  You had a nice weekend and congrats.  you still have a bit to learn.  Don't get cocky on us.  Just when you think you have it figured out things change. Thats fishing.    Try fishing lakers with 20 mph winds at 15 degrees.  Your hands will be cold.  A flasher is a big help.  I would rig a couple for salmon and 2 or 3 tipups for lakers depending on the weather.

Friends dont let friends use tipups, simple as that !  My dad had quit ice fishing until I bought him a vex!

But ya, your first time targeting lakers with tipups happen to be on a hot bite.  Wait until you sit there all day without a flag, song might be a lil different then

And when you do buy a flasher, get a humminbird!

  Ship if your posting at 238AM are you already out on the water at otsego!?  Im eating my eggs, about to leave.

[wish4fish]

Hey dont forget the wd-40 and the dog food..lol   but seriously a flasher makes a world of difference and tip-ups in 100ft. or more is a real pain in the arse

[aj454]

Yes everyone i have a flasher. What i do is put the vex in the hole then lower my bait to where i want it. No need to sound the hole. Works alot faster. I can't help it but im gonna use tip-ups and jig pole  on sat. Im going all out with this seeing its my first serious try for lakers. Thanks for all the info people. I will post here how i did. Hopefully you will see a sucessful response.

[oletimer]

Wow you guys are brutal. Don't let 'em get you down Sinkergurl. I've also been on a lake with tip ups, and out fished the guys jigging. Sometimes they just don't want anything except live bait. Even took one of their holes(the jiggers) and set a tip up in it and caught fish. I hate to limit myself to one way of fishing. Put the tip ups in and then start drilling holes to jig. I also believe that jigging near your tip ups helps to attract fish into the area, and you have double the chance at a fish. You can cover a pretty large area and still be in legal limits for tip up fishing. So if NYS allows you 5 tip ups and two hand lines. why not use them to your advantage?
Cold fingers and hands and toes and what ever else that can get cold is a by product of "ice" fishing.

[aj454]

Wow you guys are brutal. Don't let 'em get you down Sinkergurl. I've also been on a lake with tip ups, and out fished the guys jigging. Sometimes they just don't want anything except live bait. Even took one of their holes(the jiggers) and set a tip up in it and caught fish. I hate to limit myself to one way of fishing. Put the tip ups in and then start drilling holes to jig. I also believe that jigging near your tip ups helps to attract fish into the area, and you have double the chance at a fish. You can cover a pretty large area and still be in legal limits for tip up fishing. So if NYS allows you 5 tip ups and two hand lines. why not use them to your advantage?
Cold fingers and hands and toes and what ever else that can get cold is a by product of "ice" fishing.

Very well said. Put everything you can down the hole and increase your chances. Im thinkin the same as you oletimer.

[IcemanADK]

If the fish aren't there, I can tell from my flasher. If I haven't iced or marked a fish in a while, I'm going to be moving somewhere else, be it 100 yards or a half-mile. I certainly don't want to deal with pulling tip-ups each time this comes up. I used to love fishing tip-ups. Some people fish them effectively. But, you will never convince me to go back on the grounds that it is better fishing.

[blue_lund]

I've been out there days where the fish wouldn't touch the jigs no matter what you did while guys 50 yards away were running flags and putting lake trout on the ice all morning.  Jigging isn't the only way to skin the lake trout cat and at times will out produce jigging.  Cut the lady some slack.  She is having fun and that is all that really matters.    

Dwayne

[Ed D]

Its what works for you,some guys and gals bait and wait and some run and gun.traps can be perfected to produce some hogs.just fish,mix it up.just when you think youre the best, a first time lucky comes along and beats youre fish.

[ship of fools]

Anybody ever want to make a friendly wager i'll fish with my jigging rod and flasher and you can have 5 tipups ............   i'll match whatever you want to wager   

[Eagle Ed]

Like the ladies said "We targeted lakers, used tip-ups and got 13 lakers in two days!"  Even had pictures to show what they got and weren't bragging, but saying what a great day they had without a Vex or jigging.  Surprised how upset guys get when someone does what they say they are going to do and then they do it.  Just a quote from my dad about critics "SOUR GRAPES MAKE THE BEST WHINE!".  Give the ladies some credit for a job well done.

Eagle Ed

[slekeith]

XL bait on tip ups for the XL fish then jig for the what ever will hit.

[oletimer]

Anybody ever want to make a friendly wager i'll fish with my jigging rod and flasher and you can have 5 tipups ............   i'll match whatever you want to wager   

I'm sure you do well SOF...I've seen the pics. But even though I know your just ribbin, there lies a problem. We aren't in some kind of competition to see who catches more fish or the biggest or anything.(this is why I hate derbies)
But for someone starting out, it would be better in my opinion,(I know everyone's got one) to have tip ups and jig. Raises the chance of getting a fish, therefore enhancing the experience so they stay in the sport longer.

[Ed D]

Anybody ever want to make a friendly wager i'll fish with my jigging rod and flasher and you can have 5 tipups ............   i'll match whatever you want to wager   

hows your derby winnings this years

[icefishinsteve]

I have to admit that I am more of a jigging person on LG than I used to be. The Vex/Marcum system that SOF uses is great and I have witnessed it firsthand. That being said, I will always still put out tip ups at different depths. Its always great to see those flags go up and land a nice fish. My dad and I have caught some of our nicest fish (Lakers included) in less than 3 feet of water. There's no rhyme or reason to this sport sometimes.

[Reel_Force]

Steve stay outta this ... get back to 365 .....