Mohawk River??

[bosco]

Well, I know this is a LOOOONG shot, but heck, this board is my home board so I figured I'd start here. Anyone got any info on the Mohawk River? Particularly the area between between Lock E9 at Rotterdam Junction and Lock E8 just west of Scotia. I've got a 5 day conference in Albany next week and I decided to scrap my hotel reservations and instead I'm hooking up the boat and I got a campsite on the Mohawk at the Arrowhead Marina and RV Park. They've got a launch and slips on site so I figured I'd get in several evenings of fishing as well. Even if the fishing suck, it still beats watching Seinfeld reruns in the hotel eh??

Thanks folks

[Yankee Troller]

I have fished the Amsterdam area a few times for the state federation trail. Summer time is a tough time to fish for smallies. A limit is hard to come by.....especially when there is no water moving. When fishing a river system the bite is always better when there is current.

A few tips.....

slack water - fish migrate to mid river channels and humps

moving water - look for them on the bank on rip rap and trees

Fish the water discharge from the locks with a heavy tube

When fishing river smallmouth its always good to downsize baits

Fish creeks coming into the river and bridge embuckments

[bosco]

Thanks for the tips YT. I'll utilize any info I can get. I figure the worst that could happen is I don't catch much but still get to spend significant time learning a new body of water which is always a pleasure.

[muskybob]

Fish in the Mohawk are fun to catch, but I wouldn't eat any of them.

[Yankee Troller]

No problem! I hear the place is AWESOME in the fall time with a lot of big smallies. WHo knows where they go inthe mean time.

One last tip i learned on my own was.......if you hear a train coming find the nearest rip rap on that side of the river. The smallies go crazy when the train comes by becasue it rattles the crayfish out from the rocks...IMHO....but it works!

If i had to go fish a tourney there today I would start off at the first lock with fast moving water I could find and fish it for a couple of bites then fish rip rap shoreline on outside bends.

[slipbob]

I live about 10 minutes from there and don't fish it very much but the best fishing is usually right below the locks and dams in the fast water where you've got good current and plenty of oxygen. Lots of walleyes in there and if you're into bass there's plenty of smallies also. Grub tails bounced on the bottom in the current are always a good bet. Like someone else said I wouldn't eat anything out of there which is why I don't fish it much but there's plenty of fish to be had in the river.

[bosco]

Thanks slipbob. That's pretty much where I was going to start. I drive down that stretch of the Thruway several times a year and every time I go by those dams I think "damn I'd love to slip my boat in and creep up as far as I could to the bottom of that thing, especially at night". I occasionally see guys hitting it from shore but I'll bet you could clobber the eyes in the evening if you could get up in there. The one's I see from the Thruway are not the same one I'll be accessing. 2 things. First, I'll mostly be fishing at night. Like 7PM to 7AM and if I go through the locks, I won't be able to get back through after a certain hour. Also, New York State Canal Corp. reinstated locking fees after the public outrage over the Thruway toll rate increases. I'll probably fish between locks 8 and 9 Sunday night and Monday and if I'm not liking it, I'll rip the boat out and try the Port Jackson launch. Start with the base of lock 11 and work my way west

[slipbob]

Your welcome and I'm sure you will score plenty of nice fish especially if you're on the water those last couple hours of daylight up near the lock dams. You might be quite surprised at how nice some of the walleyes and bass are in there and there's a good chance you might hook into a tiger musky also.

[bosco]

Welp....I had a blast. Not big numbers. But I caught fish every night out which was good enough for me....brand new body of water and all. Pretty much following slipbob's program. Thanks slip. Biggest was 23". Smallest was 7"...cute as a button...and it BROKE MY POLE (LOL). Must've stepped on it in the darkness earlier or something. Yankee Troller would be happy....I even hooked a couple of really nice smallmouth. Damn I forgot how much fun those fish could be. I haven't caught smallmouth since I stopped taking my boat to Dunkirk for my annual smallie trip a few years back. Kept one eye... a 22" for the frying pan. Tasted fine. I've got no problem eating a meal or two out of almost anywhere. Just wouldn't make 'em a part of my regular diet. I'll get a couple pictures up tomorrow after I find out what my wife did with the camera. Next stop.....Chautaqua for a Musky expedition. My older brother's a recent Musky convert and asked me to join him and my nephew on a trip this Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. How do you say no?? Anyways....any tips for that one?

[NitroMusky]

Hey Bosco,

I was just out at Chautauqua a couple weeks ago for the muskies. This is my first year in seach of the elusive toothy critter. Despite a lot of research we didn't do well- I think the storms that moved through on our way there shut things down (we also got BLASTED on the water by the massive storm that moved through upstate a few Sundays ago). We did raise a couple though. Here's what I found and learned in researching the lake.

best spots in the N basin are typically just off the weedlines.

S Basin is more turbid so they fish like 2 different lakes tactics-wise. We stayed north except for some trolling in the S basin.

I've heard a lot of the bite is around moonset. make sure you're in a prime spot at that time.

not sure if you're equipped to troll, but thats the usual way for the suspended boys out there.

Good luck out there. I just sent in my deposit for a Sept guided trip there to really learn the waters and get some tips and then spend the following day out in my own rig. I'm totally psyched. Sent you a PM too. Let me know if you have other Qs: lodging etc.

Also- If you're boat's been in Ontario or other VHS waters be sure to clean the boat/trailer w 25% bleach solution. VHS there would shut down the breeding program there, Waneta and a couple others.

I want to hear how you do! Also always looking for other true Muskie Junkies to go to Waneta/Otisco/Chaut etc

[slipbob]

Your welcome and glad you caught some fish out of the mighty Mohawk

[RiverEco]

Is there access to wadeable sections of the Mohawk River? It would be fun chasing smallies on the fly!