Outdoor Journal: Young anglers take center stage

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Kids highlight this week’s fishing report.

Approximately one hundred

eager young anglers lined the banks of the steam that flows through the Indian Kill Nature Preserve in Glenville for the 16th annual Indian Kill Open House and Fishing Day for youths.

In this event, each youngster is allowed to bring in five trout, and the three winners in each of three age groups are determined by the length of their biggest fish.

What made this contest so

exciting and successful was that on Thursday, just prior to the event, the stream was stocked with about 500 rainbow trout, and 90 to 100 of them were hooked by the kids. The fish were then measured, cleaned, filleted and bagged for the children by Conservation Council volunteers.

Nothing like a fresh rainbow trout dinner.

The top three finishers in each age group and their biggest fish were:

Under 7 — Nicholas McPherson of Glenville, 15 inches; Briana Bascom of Rotterdam, 15; and Eliz­abeth DiLorenzo of Rotterdam, 14. 7-11 — Olivia Carter of Rotterdam, 141⁄4; David Currie of Glenville, 13; and Brittany Bascom of Rotterdam, 123⁄4. 12-15 — Dominick Bisco of Glenville, 123⁄4; Becky Svec of Scotia, 123⁄4; and David Crandall of Schenectady, 123⁄4.

The winners of each division received a trophy. The others

received prizes.

Nicholas McPherson was the overall winner, and received a tackle box, rod and reel, and will fish with me on the Upper Hudson River this summer. The trip will include a boat ride through one of the locks on the canal.

STRIPER UPDATE

The striper bite was hit and miss for awhile, but it appears to be on now.

According to River Basin Sports in Catskill, there have been about 10 stripers caught this spring in the 40-plus-inch class. And as of last Sunday, the largest in the River

Basin Sport Shop striper tourn­ament was a 451⁄4-inch fish caught below Albany just after sunup by Frank Green of Beacon, using a live herring.

Several local anglers have had successful striper fishing outings, too.

The Stripers247.com Web site reports that Brian Ravida of Coxsackie caught a nice striper near Henry Hudson Park, using a live herring.

Local striper guide Don Wood recently had a young angler on his boat who did quite well in the Henry Hudson Park striper contest last weekend.

Erin O’Brien of Ravena was fishing with her dad, Mike, when she hooked up with a 23-pound striper that placed fourth in the contest. Erin and her dad hooked up with and landed five stripers ranging from 14 to 23 pounds. They were bottom-bouncing the river bottom using cut herring bait.

The Henry Hudson Park, located just off Route 144 on Barent Winnie Road in Selkirk, has an excellent launching area with plenty of parking, and the shore is also productive.

Right now, the area hot spots include Esopus Meadows, Vandenberg Cove, the mid-river flats both north and south of the Kingston Rhinecliff Bridge, Saddlebag flats around the Glasco area, Catskill’s Bridge Run and the Albany-Troy area.

But these fish are constantly on the move, with more coming in

every day, so there are plenty more spots to be found, as well. Striper anglers are saying that this year’s run may be the best in the past several years, so get out there and take advantage of it.

NORTHERN PIKE/

WALLEYE/BASS

Dave Rooney of Saratoga Springs found out how aggressive and big the largemouth bass can get in Sar­atoga Lake when, while trolling for walleyes, he hooked up with a big one.

He estimates his weighted trolling rigging was down around

20 feet when the five-pound, nine-ounce bass grabbed the three-hook

setup. The fish was released immed­iately, which is still the rule until June 21. The rigging he was using is one you might want to try.

He begins by sliding on two three-eighths ounce bullet weights with the wide ends facing each

other, followed by an eight-inch, steel leadered snap swivel.

At the end of the snap swivel, he attaches a steel leader, three-hook walleye rig. This pre-rigged hook setup, which you can find in most tackle shops, has two size 3, hammered silver Colorado blades, separated by four fluorescent beads and three No. 4 hooks set about two inches apart. To this, he hooks two pumpkinseed, two-inch YamaSenkos.

I am not sure where, exactly, the winning walleye in the Tax and Finance’s annual pike/walleye tournament came from, or who caught it last Friday, but I know it was pulled out of Saratoga Lake.

One of the better ways to find early May ’eyes is to begin trolling right after you go under the Route 9P bridge headed out into the main lake. Slow troll your way with a Junebug spinner and a worm or crankbait, and zig-zag your way out in 15 to 20 feet of water.

When you reach the Water’s Edge wall (old Kaydeross Park), cross over and head back down the other side toward the bridge, fishing at the same speed and depths. Try this several times before leaving.

And should you catch a good one, mark the spot with a buoy marker and fish it with a quarter-ounce hair jig (white or black) tipped with a three-inch minnow.

The winning 11.2-pound northern pike caught by Don Delude of Latham that won this contest came from the depths of little Lake Lonely.

The second-place walleye, a

26-inch, 4.4-pounder, taken by Dave Mattie of Amsterdam also came from there. Both were taken on live bait.

Most of the bigger pike and walleyes are coming on live bait. Big shiners or suckers hooked behind the dorsal fin and fished beneath a bobber over sunken weeds or tight to weed lines will usually get pike bites, while trolling still is the best bet for walleyes.

The best baits and methods are still the traditional spinner-and-worms or bottom-bouncing big- hair jigs tipped with minnows along

the deeper weed edges in lakes or channel drops in the rivers.

Anglers on the lock walls of the Mohawk River, the bulkhead at the state launch site at Saratoga Lake and the shore area along Route 9 at Round Lake are getting pike and even occasional walleye catches.

The most popular technique seems to be fishing live shiners/suckers mouth-hooked just off the bottom. Best times are the crack of dawn and late afternoon, depending upon the boat traffic. Rainy days are

usually the best.

The bass bite on most area lakes and rivers continues to be excellent, as most of the largemouth and smallmouth bass are at their spawning peak.

The largemouths are in the shallower sand/weed areas, while the smallmouths are usually a little deeper.

Remember, use artificial lures only, and release immediately. Good choices are brightly colored spinnerbaits without trailer hooks and Rat-L-Traps.

MORE FOR KIDS

Two of the area’s oldest and biggest kids fishing tournaments will again be held this year at the Six Mile Waterworks on Fuller Road in Albany.

The Helderberg Bassmasters will host their 28th annual kids fishing contest Saturday.

This is the oldest area youth fishing contest, and it’s free. You can register the morning of the event, beginning at 8 a.m. Contest hours are 9 to 11 a.m. Lunch will be served after the contest.

The 10th annual Free Kids Fishing Contest sponsored by W.F. Ryan Produce for the benefit of the Make A Wish Foundation will be held at Six Mile Waterworks on Sunday, June 1. Contest hours are 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

There will be a raffle offering gift certificates to area restaurants and businesses, along with a silent auction of a number of very good pre-owned bicycles. Also, box lunches will be available for $3. All proceeds will go to the Make A Wish Foundation.

Stop by W.F. Ryan’s Produce on Railroad Avenue Extension to register, or do it the morning of the event.

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