There is a little place near Saratoga Race Track called Lake Lonely! The lake is about the size of Oscawana, but the Bass are the size of Mahopac Bass! Lake Lonely feeds into Saratoga Lake, and is much less crowded than Saratoga Lake (hence the name "Lake Lonely"). We go there at least once a year and totally baffle the locals who stare at our bags of Bass in total amazment! They snap Poloroids of us to hang in the tackle shop right there at the launch area and ask "How did you catch all of those bass?" "And what did you get them on?" are the usual questions we entertain there annually! This year my cousin John and I nailed them all on tubes and Senko's! The locals at Lake Lonley all "blanked" that day but I gave them all a lesson on rigging a tube Shaw Grigsby style while wearing my L.I.B. Jacket! They also told us that they hold Wednesday night tournaments there every week, and for the past couple of weeks 1lb, 8oz has been the biggest fish! We wieghed in at almost 13 pounds (six fish) with three over 3lbs!!! It's too bad the lake is so far up north. It is a great fishery, and would be a dynamite tourney lake for our club! As for the locals up there, they will probably be using tubes until we return next year to teach them something new!

Ed,

What is the predominate cover in this lake? From a structuaral standpoint, what lake would you compare it to? How is the ramp access and are gas motors permitted?

Thanks,

BC

Brendan..... The lake like I mentioned, is about the size of Oscawana, and the structure varies. There is a small amount of boat docks, and a cool little creek that starts at the launch ramp and is about 30 to 40 feet across and about 4 to 6 feet deep. The creek is only about 100 yards from the mouth of the lake. The lake holds very healthy weeds, both scattered and very thick in certain areas. The weed lines remind me of Copake Lake. They start at about 20 feet from shore in about 4 to 8 feet of water, and are about 10 to 20 feet wide in most areas all around the entire perimeter of the lake. You would go crazy fishing the outstanding drop-offs that go to near 50 feet deep! The lake is extremely healthy and underfished mostly due to the fact that Saratoga Lake and Lake Goerge are where most people choose to go, and are only a hop skip and jump away! Just beware of the 10 to 15 pound "Monster" Pike and the 20 to 30 pound "Giant" Carp! They are everywhere! Gas motors are absolutely permitted, but the lake can easily be fished without one. The launch area is very accomodating, and the launch fee is only five bucks! Plenty of parking with a cool little tackle shop right at the ramp! I've seen big boats like yours launch there without a problem! The launch area opens at 5am on weekends and 6am weekdays. I wish the club would consider this little slice of heaven for sometime in our future! If you are thinking of heading up there Brendan (or anyone for that matter) let me know, and I will try to make the time to give you a personnal escort! The trip is about 3.5 hours from the Throgs Neck Bridge, but you will be happy you drove the extra miles! Believe me!

Ed,

Man... you've got me all pumped up to go. When can you take off? You know, maybe L.I.B. should consider doing something like some of the other clubs do... Have a two day classic (Paid for by the club) and go to a place like this! Could you imagine that meeting? I think I'd rather skip it... I have set my sights on Candlewood for the remainder of the season, but I would definately consider a 2-3 vaca/trip to check this place out. Maybe we can figure something out. Drop me a line if you think you can get away before things start to freeze up.

Hey Brendan......We are thinking of heading up there agian sometime after Labor Day. All of the lakes will be less crowded at that time. The only problem is finding a place to keep the boats over night where we would have an electric hook up to charge the batteries. Boats could be kept over night at Lake Lonely for five bucks a day, but no electric! My Uncle has a beautiful brand new house in Saratoga, just two minutes from the lake, but his community does not allow boats on the road or in driveways! He also has a much smaller house 20 minutes away in Lake George on a dead end street where we could probably keep the boats on the road and hook up to electric with extension cords. Most motels up there will not allow for electric hook ups, but if you were to rent a cabin, a boat could be pulled right along side of it and hook up to electric without a problem. This is what my brother usually does. Only other alternative is to drive up for the day, fish, and then drive right home! It's a lot for one day, I've done it already! I also wanted to fish Saratoga Lake while up there! My cousin John is getting information about a weekend tournament coming up at Lake Lonely, and is open to anyone! As soon as I get the info I will pass it along to you! I think it is $20 per person, and only one person per boat, but I will find out.