Black Lake, NY Forum

Fished on Saturday in the wind. No sign of muskies. Getting close to the end of a somewhat frustrating season.
We had hoped the water would clear up but it was not to be. Can't remember when the lake was this murky all summer.

we were up for the 10th year 7-14 sept. very slow fishing. main lake very murky worse than we ever saw this time of year. had to run thru the main lake to prince island to get better fishing . The water clarity was much better from prince south. Saw 2 large muskeys surface near boat in that area.
caught more crappie with decent size near tavern island than we caught in early JUNE . Our old favorite spots of tin and raspberry islands were dead.Of concern on this trip was the number of. dead fish.we saw at least 10 northern and several pan fish floating. scattered from chapmans to mcclears and also in indian river. We also had northern , both small and large mouth bass jump near the boat but they were not chasing bait fish they seemed distressed like they were needing more oxygen. All this being said as usual we had fun particularly watching the pair of golden eagles and the pair of bald eagles interact.

This was the last real try weekend. We had guest fishermen up and expended nearly 60 total manhours on the water. Friday was dismal but Saturdays rain showers triggered a half dozen follows. Sunday's blue bird weather shut them down again.

Fish Camp is officially closed till next season. 2019 was unusual in that the water stayed cloudy all summer. The bays in the north end did not develop weed growth as in the past, due in part to sun light not penetrating the murky water. The water temps were lower also, probably for the same reason.
I've seen a lot of changes on the lake in the last 60+ summers but I can't remember turbidity like this year. The Indian river was not really much clearer than the lake, but the Oswegatchie was normal (stained but clear).
Still, fish always have to eat, so we did have some action. We just had to work harder! All in all it was a good year for us.

Digging up an old thread as all your information here is extremely interesting (@muskyhunter) I would love to have a in depth convo on the topic if youre willing. Shoot me a PM!