Thanks to an abnormally wet and cool month of June, the prospects for enjoying some excellent fishing well into the normally slow weeks of summer look very good this year. This should prove true in both the still and flowing waters throughout our area. Whether you’re seeking to latch into a few trout, bass, walleye or whatever, the odds of connecting should remain above average for the next few weeks.
Our area rivers and streams have been blessed with plenty of rainfall this month – in fact, maybe too much since the rivers are currently high and roiled. But a few days without rain and they’ll be dropping and clearing, and that’ll be the time to start casting your baits or lures. Trout streams, due to their smaller drainage areas, will lower and clear far quicker, but should still produce some excellent fishing, especially for fly and lure anglers. Anglers using worms will probably be bothered with shiners and chubs gobbling the baits before any trout have an opportunity to get to them.
I’ve often thought of this time of the year as being somewhat of a “pot luck type” of fishing since there are so many different species of fish that you may encounter, especially in the lakes and rivers that contain a large variety of fish, both pan- and game-fish types. You might be casting spinners or spoons for pike or pickerel and end up catching bass or walleye. At other times jigs meant for walleye might end up being gobbled by pike. Of course if you’re fishing with night crawlers or minnows, you can never be certain what may end up on your line. And that’s part of the fun.
While stream trout present a bigger challenge due to the lower and usually clear water, they become very susceptible to catching if a sudden rain roils the water and washes fresh prey such as worms into the stream. Otherwise, this is when fly fishing can prove very effective, especially at dawn and particularly at dusk. In between, it’s best to use terrestrial patterns such as ants, crickets or hoppers, and cast them close to the pools’ bankside flora, which would be where real insects might drop into the water. On larger trout waters such as the Otselic or upper Chenango, hardware is often effective, with the favorites being Phoebes, Mepps, Panther Martins and similar type spoons and spinners.
Although any time I can drift along in a canoe while fishing is a favored method, it is especially enjoyable during the next few weeks. I get to cover just about all the water in the total length of the drift trip, and because our rivers harbor abundant bankside trees, I can enjoy being in the coolness of the shade for most of the trip. And that’s not only my preference, but also most of the fishes’ preference, which means I’ll be fishing where the majority of the fish are holding.
Of course if you’re fishing a large pond or lake, the shade—at least for you-- will be concentrated along shore, but it’ll be a different story for the fish, as they’ll also be seeking shaded areas under the water. Shoreline trees that have fallen into the water, the outside of lily pad areas, or if present, the shady side of rocks, boulders or cliffs will usually be the fishing hotspots.
If you’re specifically targeting one lake or pond species, such as largemouth bass, almost any structure that offers shade is where the bass will be. It may the weedy areas, the deepwater end of shoreline trees that have fallen into the water, underneath docks and floats, or submerged trees and stumps, if they’re present. Sometimes you may entice a strike with a surface lure, but slow sinking lures and plastic baits will usually produce better.
From now until October, I’m partial to river fishing for several reasons. Not the least of which is the variety – both in the fish present as well as the types of waters I encounter, from deep pools to shaded, snaggy bends to long deep cuts that snuggle up to the submerged bankside structure. Each presents its own unique personality as well as a fresh chance to connect, regardless of how poorly the previous water may have produced.
I recall one late June morning when I was drifting a purple plastic jig the length of what had always been one of my favorite walleye pools on the Unadilla. Six casts and the resulting passes through that pool yielded five smallmouth bass that ranged from one to two pounds, but nary a walleye did I catch there that morning. Just a couple weeks prior, the opposite had occurred in that same pool—I caught all walleyes and not a single bass.
Another time I was canoe-fishing the Chenango in early July with long-time friend Ron Gugnacki, who for many years ran the Annual New York Sportsman Fishing Contest. We were approaching the area around Sherburne and catching the occasional walleye or bass. I advised Ron that we were a bit too far downstream now to reasonably expect to catch any trout. Sure enough, my very next cast saw an 18-inch brown trout smack my Mepps spinner. If that wan’t pot luck, I don’t know what is.

Kids/Family Fishing Day At Rogers Center
Rogers Center is hosting a Family Fishing Day this Saturday, June 27, 10:00 a.m. to noon Spend a few hours catching and releasing fish at Rogers Center under the experienced tutelage of members of the local Trout Unlimited chapter. Learn some fun fish facts and observe aquatic insects. Free, open to the public.