Lake George Fishing Guides and Conditions, New York

About the Lake George

Lake George runs thirty-two miles north through the southeastern Adirondacks between steep forested mountains, and it is one of the clearest large lakes in the eastern United States. The clarity and the depth are the two facts that govern the fishing: it is a two-storey lake, with a coldwater fishery below the thermocline and a warmwater fishery above it.

Lake trout are the signature species, caught deep through the summer and nearer the surface in the weeks after ice-out and again in late autumn. Landlocked Atlantic salmon share that cold water and are the prize most anglers would rather catch. Both are pursued by trolling, and the lake has a long tradition of it.

Smallmouth bass on the rock, the drop-offs and the islands are excellent and heavily fished, and largemouth hold in the weedier bays at the southern end. Northern pike, yellow perch and crappie fill in the rest.

The lake is a major summer resort destination and the recreational traffic between the end of June and Labor Day is genuinely heavy. Fishing here in July is an early-morning activity or a deep-water one.

Winter brings ice fishing, which on a lake this deep and this large is a serious undertaking requiring local knowledge about where the ice is dependable.

The lake has also been the subject of an unusually long-running water quality effort, and the clarity anglers rely on is not an accident. Invasive species control, milfoil management and a boat inspection programme at the launches are all part of visiting here, and the few minutes they cost are the reason the fishing is what it is.

The gauge below reports lake elevation. Lake George is a natural lake with a controlled outlet at the north end, so the level moves slowly with the season rather than with an operator schedule.

Access

Rogers Rock and Hearthstone Point: state campgrounds with ramps in the north.
Lake George Village and Bolton Landing: public ramps and marinas.
Mossy Point and Norowal: additional launches along the lake.
Island campsites are reachable by boat and permitted through the state.
Extensive shoreline is private, so boat access is the practical choice.
Ticonderoga and Lake George Village have services and guides.
Note: very heavy recreational traffic from late June to early September.

Seasons

Winter: ice fishing for lake trout and perch where the ice is dependable.
Spring: lake trout and salmon near the surface after ice-out, the best trolling weeks.
Summer: deep coldwater trolling, smallmouth on the rock, crowded afternoons.
Fall: trout and salmon shallow again and the lake almost empty of boats.