Sitting in my cozy warm truck watching the giant seas pour violently over the harbor seawall, I actually began to think about spring and the excellent brown trout fishing that will certainly occur partly because of the mighty Oswego River and the huge protected harbor area that is the home port of the Dixie Dandy.

    Most times during April, May and often in June, we do not have to travel too far to find the lakes now famous schools of football browns. Spring conditions mean fast moving river currents carrying plenty of nutrients to the open waters of the lake. The huge flow provides warmer stained water that acts like a magnet to hungry browns. Simply put it is a huge advantage to fishing out of the Oswego area. Even though I own a summer place on a dandy tributary that provides good spring fishing, several years ago I decided to move my boat to Oswego and I never looked back. I am convinced that for me and more importantly, for my valued customers, it was the right thing to do.

     The beauty of the harbor location is the fact that in itself is like a mini lake. It has currents, structure, differing bottom types and almost always warmer stained water. Certain areas always seem to hold fish and you can catch many different species. Early season weather patterns sometimes prohibit lake trolling, but the protected harbor lake is very rarely too rough to troll. I hate it for my clients when they drive to Oswego anxious to fish and are sometimes thwarted by an angry lake. The harbor eliminates that problem. Many times on a blustery day most other port boats cannot fish on the lake while we in Oswego can productively fish the harbor. Thats nice for us.

     Another important thing to consider when charter fishing, is to book during a week day if possible. Weekends are usually heavy on boat traffic that can make trolling more difficult. If at all possible, charter on a week day which means using a full time service. The best weekday? I like Mondays since most weekenders leave for home Sunday night.  Lots of room to troll. That is also nice for us.