Adirondack Pond

[lookard]

Hi Guys,

I'm planning a trip to the St. Regis Canoe area in the middle of August to do some pond hopping and fishing. I was wondering if you guys who know/live in that area can give me an idea of the fishing situation? I'm planning to target brookies.

I was planning to spend at least 5 days there. I will not be able to carry everything that I want, so I wanted to get an idea and then pack accordingly. I was planning to bring either

• 9ft 5wt with 200gr opst commando head with 2 sink tips and 1 floating tip
• 9ft 5wt with regular 5wt WF fly line
• an ultra light spinning rod.

Thanks guys!

 

[lookard]

Brought the 9ft 5wt with the opst and the ultralight spinning rod. Turns out its was more a trolling game there while it is still summer. Tried my best to troll with the sink tip but gave up on the fly gear in the end. Tried trolling the little spinners I brought, but I did not get deep enough. Also, I had a small 1000 size reel, so I did not have enough line to "slowly" get down. But it was super enjoyable. In the evenings, there are a lot of rises from the little fall fish. I didn't bring anything small enough, but these fish were also extremely small.

 

[lookard]

Amazing time in St Regis. Got to go up in the spring or fall next time to catch the trouts.

 

[patrick62]

This is where a longish Tenkara rod with a furled sink-tip line excels. The largemouth in my lake were very sluggish and holding on the bottom all through August. I tried everything I could think of with the fly rod -- sink tips, full sink, heavy flies, ludicrous amounts of weight -- and mostly caught weeds for my pains.

When I deployed one of my cheap-o fixed-line rods -- two Goture carp rods, 450 cm (almost 15 feet) and 540 cm (almost 18 feet and rather heavy), and a Maxcatch 13-footer -- with said furled/sink-tip, I was able to get the flies down faster and still have wiggle room.

Resulting in:



Most of this was done from a pontoon boat. The above was while aboard the SS Boy I Hope This Thing Is Sturdier Than It Looks, a collapsible rowboat my buddy picked up somewhere in a trade.

 

[lookard]

I did have some thoughts on bringing my daiwa Keiryu. But decided against it in the end. We were already carrying too much! Later, I went to visit the fly/tackle shop at Saranac Lake to get more info about how I should approach these pond in the summer. I had a ultralight rod that was designed more for the streams and a 1000 size reel. There was no way to "leave" the lure/fly at the bottom half of the ponds cause I did not have enough line to let out. I also tried trolling with my fly rod and the sink tips that I have. But it was really difficult. I've got to plan a spring/fall trip to get these fish.

When we finally finished "packing" our bags for the trip at the parking lot, I got worried for a second because of how heavy the packs were. It was probably more than 45 lbs. But once we set the backs on top of the rafts. I realized these rafts could really take the weight. It became even easier to track straight and it lessen the "slapping" down when there are slightly bigger waves.

This packraft performed flawlessly throughout the trip. I would love to get a canoe but those are still much heavier than my 6lbs raft. We met some groups who rent their equipment from the outfitters in the area. Their boats are seriously heavy, I can't imagine how difficult their portages must be. I've used it on the Esopus from the tubing put-in to the hotdog stand. Its so crazy, it took us about 4 hours to float down but it was a 30min bike ride back up to the car.

 

[patrick62]

tell us about the raft please

 

[lookard]

The category of rafts I'm using is called a packraft. There are two American companies that I know of that produces these rafts. Alpacka and Kokopelli. They are fairly pricey but the quality is very good. However, my budget at the moment is fairly limited. So I bought my raft from Biluta Rafts. They are russian made and so far has performed to my expectations.

We have used this on the Esopus Creek when it was running at 275 cfs at cold springs. I had a small puncture but my wife's rafts was flawless. I would have preferred a slightly higher flow. This attached image was taken at Watch Hill Harbor on Fire Island. We decided to raft it to the Western wilderness area since we had to carry our water supply. It would have been a 5 mile hike in sand. We met a couple who were also heading there. I think we both got there in about 4 hours. But it really depends on the wind because the return trip took 5 hours.

All in all. This raft is great! It is very stable and I can even kneel in it. I'm planning to do some trips on the west branch of the delaware with this raft. I can put a bike on the bow.

 

[patrick62]

Definitely affordable compared to one of these, which I have been actively coveting ever since I met a group on the Housatonic who come regularly, using these:

Water Master Kodiak Raft - Water Master

The Kodiak Raft Package was designed to meet the needs of our most demanding customers. The Kodiak Raft is larger than the Grizzly, and features a pointed bow and stern that increases stability, weight capacity, and rowing efficiency. The Kodiak Raft features the same hardware as the grizzly and...

www.bigskyinflatables.com

The great advantage here is you either tuck your feet up and float or, if you want to stand and fish, just stand.

 

[lookard]

Oh those are great! You can really navigate some technical class rivers with those. That material will not rip!