by Capt. Jeff Smith
Jeff’s Charter Fishing
Hi, just want to start off by saying how much I truly love Lake George and the mountains that surround it. I just rolled into my fifties and have been fishing the lake since I was three. The fishing has always been excellent most of the time, unless a cold front comes in, then it slows down a little.
The lake trout fishing is great. They spawn on their own and do not need to be restocked. In the spring they are on the surface and right in front of the brooks gorging themselves on the smelt running up the brooks to spawn. By June, they start heading out deeper as the water warms up from 80 to 120 feet which is a good depth to fish for them. I like using small lures (copper/red with light line/ also #9 Rapalla, no swivel) so it looks natural as they seem to hit more consistently.
The salmon in the lake are Atlantic Land-Locks, a beautiful silver/blue in color and fun to catch. They really like to jump out of the water and are the hardest to catch of all. They have to be stocked every year by the state. I like to use lead core line for them and jig it up and down. When the line falls back, that triggers them to bite. I like using small lures (copper/red and small thin silver lures) that resemble a smelt. A good depth in the summer is 45 to 110 feet down.
Bass is another good fish to catch. Kids really enjoy this for more action and hands on. Small mouth bass like the rocky points and shoals from 10 to 50 feet down. Live bait works good, small plastic worms, and green/red flakes work great; also, #2 hook with a few split shots plain and simple. When they strike it, they don’t steal it. So if you miss them, just pause and they will come right back. They really like to jump and give you a great fight. Large mouth bass like grassy/weedy areas, and you can catch northern pike and pickerel at the same time while fishing for bass. I like casting a plastic 6″ worm for them. The color purple or black works well. I hook the worm up so that it runs weedless through the weeds by sticking the barb of the hook back into the worm. And remember, keep the slack out and your line tight, and enjoy all the different fish beautiful Lake George has to offer!!
