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In: Ice Fishing

The winter of 2017/2018 was NOT a typical winter in upstate New York. A typical winter around here has become difficult to define. A traditional winter in the northeast is one in which lake ice forms in late December, grows thick in January and  stays solid through February before beginning a slow decay as winter transitions into Spring. Here in central New York we experienced several days above 45 degrees in late January and a couple days above 50 degrees in February. Such warm temperatures were coupled with rain and had a big impact on ice conditions. On some lakes and bays ice went from safeRead More →

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In: Central New York Fishing, Finger Lakes Ice Fishing, Ice Fishing

Fact: As the winter progresses the thickness of ice on lakes will increase. In Central New York…Not-so-much. Global warming, climate change, NAFTA…I don’t know the cause but ice thickness on average has decreased. It was not uncommon for someone to drive up to us in a pick-up truck or a jeep while we sat on buckets jigging walleyes on Oneida Lake back in the 80’s. The ice often grew to two feet in thickness. Those days are gone. The fact is that recent trends in local weather seem to feature more extremes in un-seasonable temperatures.  As an outdoor guide weather is the biggest factor I cannotRead More →

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In: Ice Fishing

Each winter the arrival of safe ice on local lakes is something keenly anticipated by many. As deer season comes to an end and the Holidays arrive, hardcore hard water anglers can be found preparing gear, watching the thermometer and soliciting reports of safe ice from fellow anglers. For those that do not ice fish the following series of blogs will likely not entertain. For those who do ice fish but are new to the pastime, I will share with you some things I have learned in over 30 years of exploring frozen lakes in search of fish. Throughout the following posts I will defineRead More →

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In: Fly Fishing, Trout fishing, Trout Fishing Guide In New York, Trout Fishing In New York

In Leon Chandlers’ boyhood he fished the same waters that I do today. I imagine him a teen with a fly rod in his hand roll casting a hand-tied callibaetis at dimpling browns. He was most likely fishing a nightcrawler at that age. The reason I fly fish the boyhood home of Leon Chandler is due to geography and proximity. Just coincidental. But, if not for Leon Chandler I may not fish with a fly rod at all. Leon Chandler was the catalyst of fly fishing and fly fishing products in America. He was a Catskill fly fisherman, Cortland native, and a gentleman who introduced American flyRead More →

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In: Trout fishing, Trout Fishing Guide In New York, Trout Fishing In New York

May was the month for Lake Trout for Upstate Guide Service. This blog showcases a few pics of some of the finer specimens brought to net and released on board The Grey Ghost 2 this past month. All fish were caught on medium fast action spinning rods and 10# test with jigs. The handsome male above is a native, or wild Lake Trout. This fish was seen before it was caught. I was out with guests in early May and noticed it chasing and eating stock trout next to a shallow shoal in 14 FOW. The next day I went back and caught it. It’s bellyRead More →