Cooperstown Bass Guides
Guided fishing trips on Otsego Lake
Fishing report
Augut 22:
We fished the Susquehanna Bass Association tournament on Saratoga Lake today. Caught lots of fish in heavy rains. Most of our fish were caught on docks, using jig n pig and Senkos. Only managed 9th place out of 14 boats, but we're (barely) staying in the lead in the Angler-of-the-year standings! Got very wet in heavy rain.
August 18:
Fishing has been a little slow for the last few days, as it often is in the middle of August. Two of us today caught two largemouths and two smallmouths in the morning. The largemouths were caught from weed beds on Senkos, and the smallmouths were both caught on tube jigs. With a front approaching for the next few days, fishing should pick up quite a bit.
August 14:
Fished today with Bill from Chicago, and his son (also Bill) from New York City. Fishing was a little slow, but we
wound up catching around 10 bass (2 smallmouths, the rest largemouths) plus a pickerel. Strong SW wind made fishing tricky, but we had a good day. Most of the fish were caught on frogs fished over the lily pads and Senkos.
August 10:
Fished this afternoon and evening with Bob and his son Chris from St. Louis. We started around 3 PM and it was hot, humid and very still, and the fishing was slow. But later on as the sun went down the fish really turned on, and we wound up catching around 15 bass (one smallie, the rest largemouths). Most of the fish were caught in shallow lily pads on frogs and flukes. Great trip.
August 8:
We fished the Susquehanna Bass Association tournament on Otsego Lake today. Fishing was a bit slow, but we caught our limit by 7:45, caught a few more and brought in a five-fish limit weighing 11.89 pounds, which was good enough for 4th place. Most of the fish were caught shallow, in lily pads and eel grass.
August 2-6:
Spent the week fishing Lake Champlain. Caught a fair number of bass (mostly largemouths), but fishing was slow compared to previous years. Wind and muddy water led to tough conditions. Highlight of the trip was a big Northern pike caught by Terry
August 1:
Fished with Joe from Virginia today. Caught mostly largemouths, and a few smallies. Largemouths were mostly caught on Senkos, plus one nice fish on a buzzbait.
July 28:
We survived stong SW winds today, and fought rough water. Despite the strong wind the fishing was good, and we put quite a few largemouths and seveal smallmouths in the boat. Most of the largemouths were caught on flukes and toads, and the smallies on tubes.
July 25:
Fished the Susquehanna Bass Association tournament on Oneida Lake today. Fishing was slow, but we managed to get our limit of smallmouths. Finished in 6th place out of 15 teams. Got very wet when our boat took a couple of direct waves over the bow on the way back to the ramp in very rough water. An exciting end to the tournament!
July 22:
Fished with Sam and Sharon from Florida today. We started by catching some nice largemouths from lily pads, then focused on smallmouths for most of the day. We caught good numbers of smallmouths to about 3 pounds, and several more nice largemouths. Most of the smallmouths were caught on tube jigs in fairly shallow water, and the largemoths were caught on tubes and Senkos.
Here's Sharon with one of several 3-pound smallies:
Here's Sam with a nice 3.5 pound largemouth:
July 14:
Fished with Frank Sr. and Frank Jr. from PA today. A strong Southerly wind made the fishing challenging. Despite the wind we managed to catch a decent number of fish, mostly smallmouths, and some were a pretty good size. The fish were caught on tube jigs. Forgot the memory card for the camera, so no photographs from this trip (Frank Jr., if you're reading this, please email the pics you took to allan@cooperstownbassguides.com).
July 11:
Fished the Susquehanna Bass Association tournament on Otsego Lake with Peter today. Smallmouth fishing is still excellent, and most had limits of good fish. We caught lots of fish, but didn't quite make it into the money with a 13.7 pound bag (took a little over 16 pounds to win). We caught fish all day long, mostly on tubes and grubs. We also caught several largemouths on topwater lures. Especially in view of the hot weather, the fishing is still outstanding.
July 5:
Fishing has been great for the last week. Somewhat unusual for the time of year, in that the smallmouth fishing has been great. Today started slow, with only two fish by 9 AM. But later in the afternoon the smallmouths seemed to turn on quite a bit, and we lost count of the fish, including some around the 3-pound mark. We've been catching them on tubes all day long, despite the unusually high temperatures and sunshine. Largemouth fishing was a little slower, but we caught some decent fish on jig 'n pig and Senkos.
July 3:
Had an outstanding day with Eric and his son-in-law, Tom, from Kansas City today. Just like yesterday, the day started out slowly, but picked up, and the fishing was excellent, especially for smallmouths. We caught most of the fish on jigs and tubes, plus some largemouths on horny toads and senkos. Even caught a nice walleye. Fishing was even better in the afternoon, and was topped by some excellent topwater smallmouth fishing as the sun went down. The smallies were hitting a Rapala, a Sammy and a Pop-R about equally. Another great day of fishing.
July 2:
Fished with Kipp from New Jersey today. The day started slowly, but as the wind picked up, so did the fishing. It was sunny and windy, but we managed to catch plenty of smallmouths and a few largemouths. Most of the fish were caught on tube jigs in shallow, rocky areas in bright sunshine. Great trip!
Here are some pictures from other recent trips:
caught a big carp on a Senko (see picture below). Very unusual catch!
We fished the Susquehanna Bass Association tournament on Saratoga Lake today. Caught lots of fish in heavy rains. Most of our fish were caught on docks, using jig n pig and Senkos. Only managed 9th place out of 14 boats, but we're (barely) staying in the lead in the Angler-of-the-year standings! Got very wet in heavy rain.
August 18:
Fishing has been a little slow for the last few days, as it often is in the middle of August. Two of us today caught two largemouths and two smallmouths in the morning. The largemouths were caught from weed beds on Senkos, and the smallmouths were both caught on tube jigs. With a front approaching for the next few days, fishing should pick up quite a bit.
August 14:
Fished today with Bill from Chicago, and his son (also Bill) from New York City. Fishing was a little slow, but we
wound up catching around 10 bass (2 smallmouths, the rest largemouths) plus a pickerel. Strong SW wind made fishing tricky, but we had a good day. Most of the fish were caught on frogs fished over the lily pads and Senkos.August 10:
Fished this afternoon and evening with Bob and his son Chris from St. Louis. We started around 3 PM and it was hot, humid and very still, and the fishing was slow. But later on as the sun went down the fish really turned on, and we wound up catching around 15 bass (one smallie, the rest largemouths). Most of the fish were caught in shallow lily pads on frogs and flukes. Great trip.
August 8:
We fished the Susquehanna Bass Association tournament on Otsego Lake today. Fishing was a bit slow, but we caught our limit by 7:45, caught a few more and brought in a five-fish limit weighing 11.89 pounds, which was good enough for 4th place. Most of the fish were caught shallow, in lily pads and eel grass.
August 2-6:
Spent the week fishing Lake Champlain. Caught a fair number of bass (mostly largemouths), but fishing was slow compared to previous years. Wind and muddy water led to tough conditions. Highlight of the trip was a big Northern pike caught by Terry
August 1:
Fished with Joe from Virginia today. Caught mostly largemouths, and a few smallies. Largemouths were mostly caught on Senkos, plus one nice fish on a buzzbait.
July 28:
We survived stong SW winds today, and fought rough water. Despite the strong wind the fishing was good, and we put quite a few largemouths and seveal smallmouths in the boat. Most of the largemouths were caught on flukes and toads, and the smallies on tubes.
July 25:
Fished the Susquehanna Bass Association tournament on Oneida Lake today. Fishing was slow, but we managed to get our limit of smallmouths. Finished in 6th place out of 15 teams. Got very wet when our boat took a couple of direct waves over the bow on the way back to the ramp in very rough water. An exciting end to the tournament!
July 22:
Fished with Sam and Sharon from Florida today. We started by catching some nice largemouths from lily pads, then focused on smallmouths for most of the day. We caught good numbers of smallmouths to about 3 pounds, and several more nice largemouths. Most of the smallmouths were caught on tube jigs in fairly shallow water, and the largemoths were caught on tubes and Senkos.
Here's Sharon with one of several 3-pound smallies:
Here's Sam with a nice 3.5 pound largemouth:
July 14:
Fished with Frank Sr. and Frank Jr. from PA today. A strong Southerly wind made the fishing challenging. Despite the wind we managed to catch a decent number of fish, mostly smallmouths, and some were a pretty good size. The fish were caught on tube jigs. Forgot the memory card for the camera, so no photographs from this trip (Frank Jr., if you're reading this, please email the pics you took to allan@cooperstownbassguides.com).
July 11:
Fished the Susquehanna Bass Association tournament on Otsego Lake with Peter today. Smallmouth fishing is still excellent, and most had limits of good fish. We caught lots of fish, but didn't quite make it into the money with a 13.7 pound bag (took a little over 16 pounds to win). We caught fish all day long, mostly on tubes and grubs. We also caught several largemouths on topwater lures. Especially in view of the hot weather, the fishing is still outstanding.
July 5:
Fishing has been great for the last week. Somewhat unusual for the time of year, in that the smallmouth fishing has been great. Today started slow, with only two fish by 9 AM. But later in the afternoon the smallmouths seemed to turn on quite a bit, and we lost count of the fish, including some around the 3-pound mark. We've been catching them on tubes all day long, despite the unusually high temperatures and sunshine. Largemouth fishing was a little slower, but we caught some decent fish on jig 'n pig and Senkos.
July 3:
Had an outstanding day with Eric and his son-in-law, Tom, from Kansas City today. Just like yesterday, the day started out slowly, but picked up, and the fishing was excellent, especially for smallmouths. We caught most of the fish on jigs and tubes, plus some largemouths on horny toads and senkos. Even caught a nice walleye. Fishing was even better in the afternoon, and was topped by some excellent topwater smallmouth fishing as the sun went down. The smallies were hitting a Rapala, a Sammy and a Pop-R about equally. Another great day of fishing.
July 2:
Fished with Kipp from New Jersey today. The day started slowly, but as the wind picked up, so did the fishing. It was sunny and windy, but we managed to catch plenty of smallmouths and a few largemouths. Most of the fish were caught on tube jigs in shallow, rocky areas in bright sunshine. Great trip!
Here are some pictures from other recent trips:
caught a big carp on a Senko (see picture below). Very unusual catch!