Skaneateles Lake 8/26 + 27

Reports

Did a couple full days on Skaneateles Lake guiding bass. The fishing is markedly more challenging than it was last time I was out here, around 2 to 3 weeks ago. That being said, nice catches are still possible, though versatility is important.

8/26: Guided Richard and his son Titus starting around 7:30 am. We had quite a bit of action on smallmouths and rock bass in a lot of areas, but fish over 13″ were hard to come by. Fish came on topwater, dropshot, tubes and soft jerkbaits. The guys had a great time working some new techniques (for them.) We worked from shallow out to around 25′ to 30′ FOW. The beauty of this lake remains beyond compare and we spent some time a ways down the lake. The boat launch was packed when we got back. Water temps on the surface were around 70 to 73 degrees.

8/27: Guided Leo and Ada, who fish this lake every year around this timeframe with me. The advantage of being out yesterday was that I came in with a different game plan and we worked completely different areas. Smallmouths are scattered right down to the thermocline. We caught fish up to nearly 18″ long (that one came in over 50′ FOW dropshotting.) More sizeable fish made it to the net today with a fair number of solid 15″+ bass. The dropshot, tube and topwater all worked today. There is a lot of “grass” from the 5′ to 15′ range, so tubes have been more difficult to fish. I’ve been experimenting with some Keitech baits and other things, but overall the dropshot was probably best. The forecast resulted in most people staying home and only a couple rigs were in the parking lot today. Another fun day.