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Lake Placid sits at 1,800 feet in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, a region of six million acres of protected forest, 3,000 lakes, and 30,000 miles of rivers and streams. The fishing here is mountain fishing in the truest sense: cold, clean water; native brook trout; landlocked Atlantic salmon; and lake trout that hold in the dark, deep water beneath the surface.
This isn't trophy-fishing country in the way that Montana or Florida is. The Adirondacks reward patience, exploration, and an appreciation for wild fish in wild places. The brook trout are native, they've been here since the glaciers receded, and catching one on a dry fly in a stream that looks the same as it did 500 years ago is a connection to something older than the sport itself.
The Lakes, Landlocked Salmon and Lake Trout
Lake Placid (the lake, not the town) is a deep, cold body of water that holds landlocked Atlantic salmon and lake trout, two species that define Adirondack stillwater fishing.
Landlocked salmon are the glamour species. They're the same Atlantic salmon that run the rivers of Maine and Canada, but these fish are permanent lake residents, they don't go to the ocean. They average two to four pounds, with fish over five pounds available, and they fight like nothing else in freshwater for their size: long runs, acrobatic jumps, and a stamina that makes them feel twice as big as they are.
Salmon fishing on Lake Placid is a trolling game in spring and fall, pulling streamer flies or small spoons behind a boat at 2 to 3 mph along the shoreline and over the shallow reefs where salmon chase smelt. The fish are near the surface in spring (April–May) and fall (September–October) when water temperatures are in their preferred range, and they drop deep in summer.
Lake trout live in the deep water year-round and are the more reliable target. They hold along the bottom in 50 to 100 feet during summer, rising to shallower structure when the surface cools in fall. Lead-core trolling and downrigging are the standard methods. Lake trout don't jump, but they pull hard and fight deep, and fish over 10 pounds are caught on Lake Placid every season.
Saranac Lake, a short drive from Lake Placid, offers similar fishing with less pressure. The chain of Upper, Middle, and Lower Saranac Lakes holds salmon, lake trout, northern pike, and smallmouth bass.
The Rivers, Native Brook Trout
The rivers and streams around Lake Placid hold the Adirondacks' most cherished species: native brook trout. These aren't stocked fish, they're the descendants of populations that have occupied these waters since the last ice age, and they're the reason many anglers come to the Adirondacks.
The West Branch of the Ausable River is the headline water. It flows past the base of Whiteface Mountain through the town of Wilmington, cutting through a gorge of exposed bedrock, plunge pools, and pocket water that holds brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout. The brook trout in the upper stretches are wild, brilliantly colored, and willing to eat dry flies, though they rarely top 10 inches. The lower sections hold larger brown and rainbow trout, some pushing 16 to 18 inches.
The Ausable is designated catch-and-release in many sections, and the fly-fishing tradition here is deep. The pocket water and plunge pools demand short, accurate casts and a willingness to scramble over rocks, it's physical fishing in spectacular scenery.
Smaller streams, unnamed tributaries, backcountry creeks, headwater seeps, hold native brookies in water so small you could step across it. These fish are measured in inches, not pounds, but their colors, orange bellies, blue-haloed spots, white-tipped fins, are among the most beautiful in freshwater. Finding these streams usually requires a hike, a topo map, and the willingness to explore.
Pond Fishing, The Adirondack Tradition
The Adirondacks hold hundreds of remote ponds, some accessible by trail, others requiring bushwhacking through spruce forest, that hold brook trout, splake, and sometimes lake trout. Pond fishing is the Adirondack tradition: a canoe, a fly rod, and a thermos of coffee at dawn on glassy water surrounded by old-growth forest.
Many of these ponds are stocked by the state (some by helicopter), and the fishing can be excellent, naive trout in small water that see few anglers. The New York DEC publishes stocking lists that tell you which ponds received fish and when, and planning a trip around a recently stocked backcountry pond is a time-honored Adirondack strategy.
When to Go
- Late April–May: Landlocked salmon near the surface, ice-out on the lakes, early brook trout
- June–July: Brook trout in the streams, lake trout on the deep structure, the best weather
- September–October: Fall salmon and lake trout near the surface, brook trout spawning colors, peak foliage
- Winter: Ice fishing on the lakes for lake trout, salmon, and pike, an Adirondack winter tradition
