Originally Posted by
Devious 1
Ant eggs - there are tons of ant hills around that will produce eggs up there. I am no entamologist so I can't suggest which types of ants (they are red and they bite, I do know that) produce hills above ground but from how it has been described to me, the locals in the area go out during the morning hours to get the eggs because the ants bring them up during the day so they can feel the warmth and then take them back underground at night. If one finds an ant hill, they usually take great care to put the hill back together so the ants will continue to reside there and thus they can continue to pillage the eggs.
I wouldn't focus too much on the bait though as I have caught more Alpers in excess of 4lbs. over the last two seasons than I have caught in 20+ years prior combined. It takes above all else, time on the water. I have more hours on the water the past two years than I did over the course of a decade prior. I have caught them on everthing from PB to worms to lures to flies and to be honest, haven't seen one bait catch more than any other. 3 weeks ago I pulled 4 fish over 4lbs. out of the same spot on the far side of Lake George. All were caught on a different bait. As the water warms, those big fish go in search of deeper water and if you can locate the "hole" in each lake (or just deeper water for that matter), you are bound to hook into a few toads. To test my theory, I took my pops up to Lake George last weekend and convinced him to hike around with me to the "hole" and wouldn't you know it, he caught his PB 6.5lb. Alper! Next time you go up to the twin lakes, drive up to the waterfall and look back down at the lakes, from that vantage point you can easily see the deeper areas in each of the twin lakes. Start shallow (cast closer to shore) during the morning and evening hours but as the water warms throughout the day, begin looking for deeper water to find the big ones.
I am not doubting they had their own homemade bait, but I don't feel that is the only reason they were catching those fish. Just my 2cents...
D1