Plattsburgh, New York

On the board once again with a gorgeous little muskellunge on the chatterbait! It was a brisk 38 degrees this morning when I hit the water, and it didn’t help that the extra clothes I brought on the kayak fell in the water as I was launching. Along with the clothes falling in the water, I slipped in as well losing grip of my kayak and accidentally letting it float away down river. I thankfully had my rod nearby to cast a spinner bait and snag it so I could reel it back in. Despite the hiccups, I eventually found success with the musky. I managed to hook one prior to the only fish landed, and I had it by the tail before it freaked out and spit the hook.

The musky success continues! After class today, I had some time to try for the only fish that’s been on my mind lately. After about 6 miles of paddling and no signs of life, I finally set my hooks into a muskellunge! This guy is my smallest musky ever, which I estimate to be around 24-25 inches. Despite his size, he was extremely spunky, launching himself into the air numerous times during the fight.

An incredible afternoon on the kayak today! Had to get through a tricky exam, but once I was free I booked it to the river. Today I managed to land 2 gorgeous muskellunge coming in at 32 and 30 inches long. The first fish of the day came on the second cast with a brand new chatterbait. I would end up losing it after a near third musky ate it as it was suspended above the water in front of my kayak. The fish almost jumped into my boat before swiftly biting through my 40lb line.

Spent some time kayaking around today and yesterday and ran into some neat fish. Yesterday started with an unsuccessful musky mission, as I lost two Muskies and the river was completely flooded. After that, I visited a jetty that has produced in the past with some rare species. This time, I landed a pickerel, which I have never caught in Lake Champlain before. Today, I visited a spot on the Saranac River that I heard may hold some walleye, but I had my suspicions. Four dams stood in the way of any fish traveling upstream from Lake Champlain, but sure enough, I landed my doubtful target species!

An unreal morning of kayak fishing! Today I hit the water bright and early to target some toothy river monsters, and I struck gold! I managed to land two beautiful Muskie’s on my 6th sense whale. These guys came in at 34 and 35 inches long. You’d think after two Muskies, my day couldn’t get any more exciting, but I had so much more action from these fish. In total I had 8 follows, and of those 8 follows, I hooked 5. Unfortunately I lost three of them, including a giant that ate my bait the second it hit the water, I must’ve landed on his head!

Had a great morning on the water targeting some pike and largemouth. I managed to catch about 20 small pike and 10 bass. Two of the largemouth came in at 3.5lbs and some of the pike I landed had some cool neon blue mouths. Hopefully I can finally get my hands on a large pike this fall!

Back in Plattsburgh and on the board already. Got to take the kayak out for some pike and bowfin, and successfully landed about 7 pike and a turtle that stole my bowfin bait.

My 10th musky! Today I had tons of time after my final exam, so of course I had to hit the water. My first goal was to catch some bowfin at an old honey hole, so I caught bait and made my way to the spot. However, the water was too low, which meant there was no water in this hole that is typically only about a foot or two deep. I decided to transition to musky, and I spent the rest of the afternoon targeting them. After a while with no bites, I spotted a ton of smallmouth close to shore, so I tied on Gino Rosauri ’s special lure, and it worked like a charm! I eventually moved to a different spot and quickly got a bite from a very large musky on my glidebait, but I pulled the hooks out of his mouth. About 20 minutes later, I hooked into this gorgeous 37 inch muskellunge on my glidebait! I only have one morning left of upstate New York fishing, so I will be taking full advantage. What an incredible spring it has been thus far.