| This
year was the 10th anniversary of our trip, that in itself is
unbelievable to me. We decided we would celebrate by adding an extra
day, it always seems like it goes way too fast. We headed up on a
Thursday fully expecting to be able to get our pick of the islands. What
we didn't expect was the fact that we had to sign in and pay for each
nights stay. I guess we were lucky that our island was available because
many of them were reserved throughout the Saranac Islands Campground
jurisdiction. The State has decided to manage the islands through
Columbus day now, so October might be back on the schedule for next
year. We'll see. Anyway, we got our island and the weather started out
real nice. We were expecting some rain during our stay so we set up a
tarp shelter as usual to be prepared. |
Nice set up, eh?  |
| After
setting up our "home away from home" for the next 4 days, we
headed out onto the lake to see if the fish wanted to cooperate this
year. The bass were fairly active in the creek mouth and all of us
scored on that first afternoon. The northern pike were less cooperative,
I think I had one follow but turn at the last second on the first day. |
This largemouth bass
hit a top water bait in the creek. We caught a few smallmouth's as well. |
| That evening we
enjoyed some wild turkey soup under a bright waxing moon and warmer than
expected temps for Saranac Lake. We brought some firewood but there was
a dead birch tree with a hollowed out center available so we decided to
make our own homemade chimney fire. |
Looks cool but doesn't throw off that much heat.  |
| The next day we
woke up to clouds and the threat of rain, although it remained warm. We
decided to hang out and weather the storm rather than go out on the lake
initially. We did a little fishing from our island point, old school
style. That's right, a chair, a bobber, a beer, and a worm. We weren't
very productive in the fishing department but we managed to relax which
is really what this trip has always been about. Later that day, the
weather brightened a bit and it looked as if the rain was going to end
so we decided to give the lake another crack and see if we could entice
a pike to hit. Once again, the bass were more cooperative, we actually
scored on a few nice small mouths while the only pike that hit for me
jumped in the air and spit my spoon back out. |
Jon with his best fish of the trip. |
| The following day
we had really nice weather, unseasonably warm. We spent a lot of time on
the lake, fishing or just drifting and listening to music and relaxing.
We even managed to get back into Weller pond this year for the first
time in a while. The water level was higher then we are used to because
of the wet summer. We were in a favorite cove on Weller when Jon decided
that the water just looked too inviting and over the side he went.
Apparently it wasn't bad at all. No pics of Jon in the lake but I did
get it on video. |
Here's Roger doing his best to get
something to bite in Weller Pond. |
| The final morning
we awoke to fog and some drizzles. Not wanting to pack in the rain, we
started cleaning up right after breakfast. It didn't seem like we'd been
there for 4 days already, it really flies by! |
From the point on our island on
the last morning, a frame by frame panorama of the lake. |
|
|
|
|
|
