By Frank Geremski, Publisher Upstate NY Angler Magazine
Get Real!! That’s what Richie Ortiz told the www.Fish307.com crowd at the 2016 Fish307 open Ice-fishing seminar. Think in Real Time. Think what’s happening on the ice right now. What type of weather has occurred recently or is forecast to occur? But most importantly, what’s happening now!! Ask yourself, what are they eating now, where are they now? The big trophy fish. That’s what Richie is after. His focus is on finding the trophies of Lake George and other neighboring ADK lakes such as Schroon, Sacandaga, and others. He shares his passion for big northern pike with big lake trout, and is particularly excited about the landlock salmon this ice-season on his favored Lake George. This summer and fall brought great action for nicely sized 5-10 lb salmon for both boat and shore anglers, and Mr. Ortiz feels it’s the season to dial-in on some beautiful hard-fighting trophies. He will share his tips and tactics with special thanks to www.Fish307.com for providing a great forum for local, regional and statewide anglers.
What’s refreshing about Richie’s advice is he wasn’t selling or representing a product, just sharing the love. Many local, regional and even national product reps and ice-fishing experts braved a snowy drive to share new products and tactics through demonstrations, and hands on instruction. The event occurs annually at www.Fish307.com Lake George Outlet location each December. Richie Ortiz shares his passion and talents of ADK fishing like he shares his musical talents. For our readers outside the Lake George/Saratoga area, Richie Ortiz is among the areas highest followed musicians/performers. Richie also shares a passion like many for the health of our ADK waters and encourages correct releasing practices especially on Lake George for certain species and sizes. When fishing for trophy fish, consider the time a large lake trout or pike needs to achieve that size, and the importance to the fisheries’ health to their successful return.
Here are Richie’s tips shared that can also be viewed by video along with other seminar highlights at Fish307.com facebook page.
TROPHY PIKE – For big fish, Richie favors big dead bait. Richie uses large native baitfish, panfish and suckers fished with tip-ups off the edges of perch grass in depths around 36-44 ft of water. He pops the dead baits air bladder to allow them to suspend naturally, in variable lengths starting at 4 ft. from weed bottoms. Richie spreads out his offerings, utilizing his electronics (GPS, flasher and sonar) to clue him in on what’s happening now, and to pinpoint his targeted water. His typical spread may encompass several 100 yards, with consideration from and for other ice-anglers. Focus is on big fish, so the utilization of bigger baits reduces smaller fish activity. Richie stays out of a shelter and is constantly moving on the ice. Adjusting leads off the bottom which become shorter as the day progresses, and jigging other surrounding holes with Rapala rattlebaits attracting active fish into his spread. Richie is constantly watching his electronics for activity of what is occurring now. He will continue altering and adjusting based on the clues he is collecting from his electronics, the fish’s daily behavior, and experiences from past trophy catches. Especially on Lake George, Richie insists on a stealthy approach and swears by fluorocarbon leaders (17lb test) and small #12 treble hooks. Richie hooks his baits once just below the dorsal fin to allow a natural suspension and uses no sinkers with dead bait.
TROPHY LAKERS – Richie’s tips for Trophy Lakers will concentrate on jigging. He has taken many Trophy Lakers during his lifetime of ice-fishing ADK waters that began with him fishing with his grandfather at age 5, and then venturing out himself starting at a youthful age of 8. Richie claims that there is a good population of big Lakers over 30 inches in Lake George and other ADK Lakes and that these fish should be highly considered for catch and release. Richie prefers white tubes jigs like Venom bad blood series with ½ oz and ¾ oz jigheads. He also prefers the traditional classic white bucktail jigs and will tip them with a small fillet of sucker meat. He also will use Smelt-Rite attractant to add to his jigs attraction. Richie is constantly watching his electronics while jigging for lakers, playing cat and mouse with his retrieve, trying to figure out what will draw a strike instead of a follow. He will use these clues to figure out “what the fish want today”.
LANDLOCK SALMON – Richie Ortiz is very excited about the salmon fishing on Lake George right now. 2016 saw many 5-10 lb beautiful landlocks taken in open water, and he believes that this population will produce lots of excitement on the ice this season. Once again, Richie insists on a stealthy, quiet approach, since he is always targeting the wiser trophies. He uses 6lb test fluorocarbon line for landlocks with size 14-16 treble hooks. He sets his bait below tip-ups in the top 10 ft. of water, knowing that the salmon strike up on the baits. He favors baby suckers and rosy red minnows. He threads bright beads onto his line, especially red, to add attraction to his offering. Richie often concentrates his efforts on the edges of pressure ridges on the ice, and covers his holes to avoid spooking these nomads.
Richie also pays close attention to solar/lunar charts and his experiences’ support their accuracy. He also favors the couple of days prior to a weather change to increase the activity of trophy fish. Though it sounds simple, Richie claims you catch trophy fish when they are active. Richie’s emphasis is to use the clues of what is happening in real time to help you better predict when and where those trophy strikes may occur.
To learn more about Richie’s music, and to view his performing schedule and more trophy photos, go to www.richieortiz.com, or https://www.facebook.com/richortizmusic.