Reflecting on a Summer Day at Skaneateles Lake, NY

Article Written by Matthew Borovy. Learn More About the author Below / Article Read Time: 5 Minutes

As we enter the midst of winter in Central New York, it's hard not to reflect on warmer days and start looking forward to fishing some open water. Winter in the North can be a tough, boring time for many anglers. There is only so much pre-season preparation you can do without getting the urge to throw a couple casts. Today, we want to send some good vibes and remind y'all that there are warm summer days ahead.

One of my favorite memories from this past season was a summer day we had on Skaneateles Lake targeting Lake Trout and Smallmouth Bass. Skaneateles Lake is a part of the chain of Finger Lakes located in Central New York. Crystal clear water, beautiful scenery and great fishing makes this a premiere summer destination.

On this particular day, we started the morning off by jigging for Lake Trout in 80-100 feet of water. Our set up for this consisted of a Medium-Heavy rod paired with 5 lb. Yellow Master Braid, 6-8 lb. leader material and a 1 oz drop shot weight. The advantage of using a thinner braid is that, your line will cut through the water more efficiently and get you to the bottom faster. Additionally, the light braid also gives a stealthy advantage in this clear water. Having such a thin diameter braid, spooks less fish and causes less disturbance throughout the water column. When Lake Trout fishing here, the idea is simple, get to the bottom and slowly retrieve up in the water column. Most of the time they will hit it right off the bottom to 20 feet off the bottom but you do have your fish that will chase it way up in the water column as well.

After the Lake Trout bite slowed down, we switched gears and decided to target some Smallmouth bass on Drop Shot Rigs. Utilizing our 5 lb. Master Braid and swapping our 1 oz weights for 1/2 oz weights, we ran over to 15-20 feet of water and started picking apart the bottom of the lake. The first bite we got came on a plastic crayfish variation, and once we dialed in the size of the bait they wanted, we started getting into them almost every cast.

Hopefully this article helped you guys reflect on your own fishing outings from this past season and it certainly makes it easier to get through the rest of winter knowing that days like these will be here before we know it.

About the author

Matt Borovy is a Cortland Line Sales Rep. and a member of the marketing team. A Connecticut native, he began freshwater fly fishing at the age of 15 years old and eventually made the transition into saltwater fly fishing for Striped Bass and False Albacore across the Northeast. He now resides in Syracuse, NY and spends most of his time targeting the many freshwater lakes and rivers in the area while still making regular trips to the salt.