Friday February 8th, 2019

Lake Report as of Friday February 8th, 2019

Photo by Larry Vrooman

I was out yesterday, there is 16 to 20 inches of ice so the ice is good but there is about 2 inches of water on top.

When it freezes today and tonight, it’s going to be glare ice, no lubrication for sleds if it doesn’t snow a little.

Also the water went up a little so it leveled out some of the ice heaves, but they will be back. They are still letting water out so once it starts dropping the heaves will be back.

In my opinion it’s going to be a good weekend for ice fishing, side×sides and 4-wheelers. Not so much for sleds unless we get an inch of snow or more for lube and cooling.

Stay away from any inlets or creeks and you will be fine.

Fishing has been slow with just barely legal walleye’s biting best. Still a few monster perch being caught, and the northerns have mostly been under 30 inches.

Tip of the week: Jack up your shanty.

January 26th, 2019

Lake Report as of Friday January 25th, 2019

As mentioned last week, the Lake Conditions are Changing by the Day, the weather has been wild and they are still letting water out at the rate of 2 inches per day. This report is as of Friday Night, January 25th.

PLEASE USE CAUTION AND BE AWARE NEW RIDGES ARE FORMING OUT THERE DAILY.

Photo by Larry Vrooman

The Lake has changed dramatically since the last report. We have gone from flat and smooth conditions to a lot of snow that you can ride on.
There is 12" - 16" of ice out there.
On Top of that is about 8" of slush and water.
On top of that is about an inch of ice as it begins to re-freeze.
So, Amazingly it is pretty good riding out there.

That being said, there are a lot of pressure ridges.

As of Friday Night:

• 3 Ridges between Lanzi's on the Lake and Wally's.
• 1 Ridge Going from Beacon Island toward Scout Island, it goes almost all the way to Broadalbin.
• 1 Ridge forming at the top of SinClair Point going towards Fishouse.

Please Beware that these are not the only ridges out there and new ridges are forming daily.

IT IS SAFER TO GO SLOW.
The Ice is Good, and you need to keep your wits about you to avoid pressure ridges.

Fishing:

Walleye are hitting good still
Northerns are coming in at about 30"
Perch are quite large
There is no report on Trout at this time

Tip of the Week:

Jack up your shanty!

January 13th, 2019

Lake Report as of Sunday 1-13-19 8:00 p.m.

Sorry for the long delay in lake reports but up until now the lake has been unpredictable.

The Sacandaga froze early this year (right around Thanksgiving) and it looked like it was going to be a blockbuster winter. Then the rain came and the lake went up 5 feet since it froze and 10 feet up since my lake report on labor day, crazy year.

This caused 6 inches of good ice in the middle but open water or very thin ice  around the edges.
Basically there was ice but you couldn't get to it. Which as you can imagine
caused a lot damage to docks.

Now that the cold weather is back that has all changed. The edges are froze with 7" of ice and there is 10" where it was already froze in all the spots where i checked.

By Sport Island Pub there is 12" and there was a pickup truck on the ice by Northampton campground. Its good clear black ice with just a little frozen snow on top.

There are 3 caution spots i found, one is from the point of Griffis road heading towards Scout Island back toward Lasky's marine. This is nothing new its thin or open there every year.
The second is close to Sinclair point on the northeast side its froze but thin, again nothing new same every year.


The third spot is new though. There is a spot on the northeast side of Beacon island aka: (Yacht Island) running towards Sand Island and Broadalbin that is open and it's the size of a couple football fields. This is in the area of the trap islands and, I believe, it's due to the high water. Luckily not much of the main traffic ever heads that way.

This morning though ice fisherman told me it finally froze last night.Use caution under the Batherleville bridge but ice is good all the way to Ponderosa pines. I never went further then there.

Captain Nautis is good, Sport Island, Wally's, Lakeside, and Lanzi's all good. In fact there isn't even a ridge yet in front of Lanzi's or any where else for that matter.

They are dropping the water now though 2" a day so conditions are going to change fast.

The water has only froze this high one other time in 1995 that i can remember so it's going to feel like a whole different lake to most people.

You can fish in bays and back waters that are usually dirt, and there are no rocks or islands sticking up where they normally are for snowmobiling. It's also perfect for getting your shanty out before it snows.  Its flat ice with just enough snow for lube but not enough to slow you down.

If you want to see how fast your sled is now is the time, just use your head and check a mile or two ahead, then turn around and open it up....if that doesn't get you all wound up......SELL YOUR SLED.

Fishing has been good.

Walleyes been biting best at first light and again between 4-5:30 in the afternoon, The big pike have slowed down, perch have been a few here and there, and no reports of trout.

Tip of the week:

bring a spare belt

August 30th, 2018

Water Temperature:

77 Degrees

Lake Level:

Still Plenty of Water – If You know what you are doing!

Lakeside: stay to Port side of the Bay
Griffis Road side at Scout Island: follow the channel buoys – look for the lit buoys.
Wally’s: stay to the left, then come into the dock, Leaving towards Scout island is the deeper way. Watch out for the rock pile.

Lanzi’s, Ponderosa Pines, Sport Island Pub – all other marinas have plenty of water.

Plenty of Beach!!!

Enjoy the Ring of Fire on Sunday!

Getting in and Out of the launches will be the issue

August 10th, 2018

Photo by Martin Dybas

Lake Level

It's been three weeks since my last lake report. The good news is the  rainy week at the end of July helped keep the lake from going down as  much as it would have. The rain saved us losing another foot of depth  that week.

It's been a hot dry summer and most people don't remember the  lake this low for this time of year, but don't worry there is still plenty of water.

With that being said, the lake is exactly 1.5 feet lower than it was 3 weeks ago in my last lake report. I would suggest no boats go all the way through stump alley, there is less than 2 feet of water, although I know a few "brave" pontoon captains who have.

At this water level most of the "gotchas" around the lake are above water and visible, the few that aren't just pay attention to your danger buoys and you will be fine.
On the other side of the coin we have plenty of beach places to escape to and enjoy. Another one of my favorite spots when the water is this level is the sandbar that comes out from Northampton
campground.

There is still 8 feet at the shallowest point going into Lakeside's docks in muscles harbor. Follow the small channel markers and stay to the left of the channel coming in to the bay approaching from the lake and you will have lots of water.

Wally's still has 4-5 foot at the shallowest point, and a little more than that at the end of their  courtesy dock. When approaching here you want to stay toward the center of the bay until you get passed the first set of docks then make your right turn to go towards the courtesy dock, and you will have plenty of water. As for Lanzi's and Sport Island Pub there is plenty of water.

Also I Go Inn and Captain Nauti's have plenty of water, and lets not forget Ponderosa Pines who does have a courtesy dock, Its a smaller one but it works fine. This end of the lake always has the most amount of water so if your nervous about the lake explore this end.

Past Batchellerville bridge there is still approximately 12 miles of lake until you get to the dam. It is more mountainous,and less populated then the southern end, and very scenic.

Don't forget there is the "Dam Tie up" this Saturday August 11Th at the Conklingville dam so its the perfect time to check it out.

Water Temperature

was down to 77 after the rain but has gone back up and hovering between 81 and 82 degrees. Its still
76 degrees at 25 feet down.

Fishing

They have been pulling out some big northern pike, in the shallows around the weed beds. Also bass have been
hitting like crazy, and the walleyes have been steady. Yellow Perch seem to be a little slow, who knows what happened to the white perch, and trout have been hitting average for this lake which isn't saying much.

Tip of the week:

If your going to go out in a small jon boat on a busy, rough weekend.....don't run out of gas.
This Weeks Photos are Great Entries in The Visit Sacandaga 2019 Calendar Photo Contest from Joanne Passero and Todd VIncent! Get Your entry in by AUgust 15th for your chance to win a calendar!

July 20th, 2018

Photo Credit Todd Vincent

Mid-Summer Lake Report

Sorry for the big gap in lake reports. I hadn’t been out in the boat enough until July to give you an accurate lake report.

TEMPERATURE

Water temperature is 81 degrees right now. On July 8th was the warmest reading I’d seen in quite a few years at 86 degrees. The cool nights recently have cooled the water to 81 degrees, which is still beautiful. Even at 20 feet deep, the water is still at 77 degrees.

NAVIGATION

In my opinion, the water is a perfect balance of beach and navigable waters. What I mean by this is there’s still plenty of water to get to Lakeside Tavern, Wally’s and Pirate’s Cove. Sport Island, I-Go Inn, Captain Naughties, Lanzi’s and Ponderosa Pines always have plenty of water throughout the season.

But you do have to start paying attention to your danger buoys. They are there for a reason.

The last couple of years with the high water you didn’t have to pay attention as much. But this year, with the water levels we’ve lost a couple of feet of depth since 4th of July weekend, you have to start paying attention.

Remember, we are about 5 feet lower than we were about this time last year.

As for Mosquito Bay (aka Stump Alley) I would suggest Pontoon boats from this point forward only go all the way through because there’s only 3-4 feet of water in the shallowest spots. V-bottom boats can still easily come from the Northampton side to pick out their favorite beaches.

Because of the water level, there’s plenty of great beaches now and places to stop. One that’s come up nicely is the sandbar from Northampton camp ground that runs south for a couple hundred yards.

Farther south by Scout Island the Trap Islands are out of the water and a couple of them are nice to pull up on but make sure you approach from the Broadalbin side. It will be like having your own private desert island.

And of course Sand Island has plenty of room because the island is much bigger due to the low water.

With so many other spots to go, there shouldn’t be as much pressure on Sand Island because there’s so many great spots to beach for the day.

The south side of Scout Island has very nice sandy beaches. (Just remember you need a permit to visit the island.)

Photo Credit Joanne Passero

FISHING

Fishing was great in late June. It tapered off a bit during the heat wave but this past week has been pretty steady. Walleye’s and Perch are biting the best. Small Mouth Bass have also been biting good since the beginning of summer. Trout seem to be hitting the best they have all season.

Growing up here, living through the years of no water by August, we’re doing pretty good for as hot and dry as the summer’s been.

Tip of the Week

Summer is short, so get out and enjoy!

This Weeks Photos are Great Entries in The Visit Sacandaga 2019 Calendar Photo Contest from Joanne Passero and Todd VIncent! Get Your entry in by AUgust 15th for your chance to win a calendar!

February 27th, 2018

Here is a mid-week lake report.

This one is going to be a little different, mostly pictures, so everybody can see for themselves how good the lake is. I have to admit, this is the second best I’ve seen the lake all season.

The only bad spot I’ve seen is off the point of Griffis Road to the Sandbar off of Scout Island.

If you’re taking a wheeled vehicle from Wally’s to Lakeside make sure to go over the Sandbar on the Scout Island side - do not stay on the ice between the Sandbar and Griffis Road. Snowmobiles will have to stay on the ice because it’s bare dirt and rocks over the Sandbar, but they can skip over the open water no problem.

The way to avoid any of this is stay to the Broadalbin side of Scout Island (aka the main channel) and you won’t have to worry whether you’re on a snowmobile or wheeled vehicle, you’ll be fine.

We’ve got 20”-23” of ice and we haven’t lost the shoreline.

They’re releasing the water out of the lake starting today, so the water will not rise anymore, which is perfect. It’s going to be a great weekend on the lake. And it’s going to be a full moon. Fishing: Mostly bass today.

Tip of the Week:

Watch out for tip-ups this weekend.