Fishing Trips from the Cabins

A fishing trip from the cabins has more water within an hour's drive than a long weekend can cover. The stocked Salmon River runs through Malone, about ten road miles north; the pike and bass water of Mountain View Lake starts about six road miles south; Meacham Lake is about 21 road miles away, with the trout ponds of the Saint Regis Canoe Area beyond it. This page covers what any trip here needs: the license, the seasons, the stocked streams, the launches, bait and tackle, ice fishing, the state's advice on eating your catch, what the cabins provide, and a long-weekend plan.

Where to fish for what

The site's guides take the lakes and rivers near the cabins one at a time, with the access points, the history and each water's special rules. This table sends you to the right one by the fish you are after. Road miles are from the cabins.

Two of those lakes come with access limits: Lake Titus has no developed public launch, and Indian Lake's shore is private, so you reach it by boat through the channel from Mountain View. DEC also holds public fishing rights on about a mile of Hatch Brook, which joins the Salmon above Chasm Falls and holds trout; the Debar guide lists that stretch along with the rights on the branches of the St. Regis River.

New York fishing licenses

Anyone 16 or older needs a New York freshwater fishing license, and children under 16 fish free. A license is good for 365 days from the day you buy it, so a license bought for a June trip still covers the next May. Anglers who live outside New York, Canadians included, buy the non-resident license. These were the fees in 2026:

For a trip of three days or more, buy the week. Three non-resident day licenses cost $30 against $28 for the seven-day license, and three resident day licenses $15 against $12. A non-resident planning two week-long trips in a year would pay $56 in seven-day licenses, so the $50 annual license is the better buy.

DEC sells licenses online, by phone at 1-866-933-2257, and through license-issuing agents, many of them town offices and sporting goods stores. Reduced-fee and free licenses exist for active-duty military, veterans with a disability rating of 40 percent or more, legally blind anglers and full-time out-of-state students at New York colleges, so check DEC's list before you pay full price. DEC's HuntFishNY app carries the regulations and maps the boat launches and stocked waters.

Where to buy a license near the cabins

DEC's agent finder, checked in October 2026, lists these sellers. Call ahead for hours.

• Runnings, 230 West Main Street, Malone, about 10 road miles from the cabins. The store also carries fishing tackle, bait accessories, coolers and camping gear.
• Walmart Supercenter, 3222 State Route 11, Malone.
• The Village of Malone office, 343 West Main Street, and the Town of Malone office, 27 Airport Road.
• The Town of Bellmont clerk, at the Town Hall, 9 Hill Road in Brainardsville, about 27 road miles from the cabins. The clerk keeps short hours (in 2026, the second and fourth Tuesdays from 4 to 6:30 p.m., or by appointment), so check before you go. The cabins are in the Town of Bellmont.
• The Town of Chateaugay office, 191 East Main Street, Chateaugay, on the way to the Chateaugay River.
• Patriot Firearms, 5426 NY 374, Merrill, about 35 road miles away near the state launch on the Chateaugay Lakes.
• Blue Line Sports, 81 Main Street, Saranac Lake, about 43 road miles south.

Free fishing days

On New York's free fishing days nobody needs a license, though every other rule still applies. In 2026 they were February 14 and 15, June 27 and 28, September 26, which is National Hunting and Fishing Day, and November 11, Veterans Day. That leaves Wednesday, November 11, as the last one of the year. DEC announced the 2026 dates in February, so look for the 2027 list early in the new year.

The fishing year near the cabins

New York's statewide seasons, in effect from April 1, 2026, set most of the calendar. Franklin County adds two rules of its own. Black bass may be fished only from June 15 through November 30, and fishing for bass outside those dates is banned, catch and release included. And ice fishing is banned on any water inhabited by trout unless DEC lists that water as open. Here is how the year runs.

The pike, walleye and pickerel seasons closed on March 15 in 2026, but DEC has proposed moving the close to March 1 to protect spawning fish, so check the rule before a late-winter trip. Many waters also carry special rules that override the statewide ones; read your water's entry in the regulations, or its guide on this site, before you keep a fish.

Stocked trout streams

The Salmon River gets the largest share of the trout DEC stocks in Franklin County each spring, but far from all of them. The county's spring 2026 plan called for about 57,100 trout across 21 waters, and the Salmon's share was about 24,400, or 43 percent. The rest went to the streams below and to ponds, most of them farther south, so a trip can follow the stocking from one river to the next. DEC gives these as planned numbers that can change with fish supply and weather.

Most of these fish are 9 to 10 inches long, and most streams also get a smaller batch of 12- to 15-inch trout. The Chateaugay River is the one to pair with a Salmon River trip. It leaves Lower Chateaugay Lake in the Town of Bellmont, the cabins' own town, and runs north past High Falls and the village of Chateaugay toward Quebec. DEC holds public fishing rights on the river in sections near Lower Chateaugay Lake, in the Town of Chateaugay and toward the Canadian border, each usually a 33-foot strip on one or both banks, and its map of those sections notes wild brown and brook trout in the river as well as stocked fish. The village is about 22 road miles from the cabins. DEC's online copy of that map was not loading in October 2026, so ask the Region 5 fisheries office at 518-897-1333 for the current stretches, or find them in the Tackle Box section of DEC's HuntFishNY app. At the falls, High Falls Park, a private campground, sells day access to fish the river inside the park; the Chateaugay guide has its hours.

DEC's list of the county's top brown trout waters includes the Chateaugay, Deer, Little Salmon, Salmon and Trout rivers, and its rainbow trout list adds the St. Regis River. The Little Salmon runs through Brushton and Bombay before it joins the Salmon at Fort Covington; Brushton is about 21 road miles from the cabins.

Stocked lakes and ponds

The lakes get fish too. In 2025 DEC put splake into Meacham Lake in May and again in November, splake and young landlocked salmon into Debar Pond, and 1,350 young lake trout into Lake Kushaqua. Near Saranac Lake, the spring 2026 plan for Lake Colby called for 3,540 rainbow trout and 3,060 brown trout, and Lake Colby is one of the trout waters where Franklin County allows ice fishing.

Boat launches

No cabin listing includes a boat, canoe or kayak, so bring your own or rent. These are the launches within about an hour, nearest first.

DEC closed the Narrows launch on September 21, 2026, for about three weeks of road repairs, so check that it has reopened before you tow a boat to the Chateaugay Lakes.

Three state rules go with the boat. A motorboat launched in the Adirondack Park, or within ten miles of it, needs proof that it was cleaned, drained and dried. Anyone driving a motorboat needs a New York boating safety certificate; the lakes guide explains both rules. And every boat needs a life jacket aboard for each person; children under 12 must wear one, and from November 1 to May 1 everyone in a boat under 21 feet must wear one.

Bait, tackle and guides

Buy bait and tackle on the way in. In Malone, Runnings carries tackle; the live bait, the fly shop and the guides listed here are in Saranac Lake and Ray Brook. Hours change with the season, so call before you drive.

• Runnings, 230 West Main Street, Malone, about 10 road miles: fishing tackle, bait accessories, coolers and licenses.
• Blue Line Sports, 81 Main Street, Saranac Lake, about 43 road miles: fishing supplies from waders to live bait, and licenses.
• Wiley's Flies, 1179 State Route 86, Ray Brook, between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, about 47 road miles: flies, fly-tying material and fly-fishing gear, plus guided fly and spin trips, including float trips by raft.
• Battle Fish Charters, Saranac Lake: guided trips from fishing kayaks on Lake Flower, Oseetah Lake, Upper and Lower Saranac Lake and Kiwassa Lake, with rods, reels, bait and lures supplied, and guided ice fishing in winter. Its customer reviews run through September 2026.

Bait has rules of its own. Buy baitfish certified as disease-free, and never dump leftover minnows or bait-bucket water into a lake or pond. Many Adirondack trout ponds ban baitfish altogether; DEC's Franklin County fishing list marks those waters, and the whole Saint Regis Canoe Area is closed to them. Where loons nest, as on Meacham Lake and the canoe area ponds, use sinkers and jigs that contain no lead; the Meacham Lake guide explains why.

Ice fishing

Where it is allowed

Because Franklin County bans ice fishing on trout waters unless DEC lists them as open, check the water before you drill. The closest listed water is Meacham Lake, about 21 road miles away. Others within about an hour are the impoundment at St. Regis Falls, about 30; Lake Kushaqua, about 40, where lake trout stay open all year with a 21-inch minimum and three a day; and Lake Colby, Lake Clear and Kiwassa Lake near Saranac Lake. Upper Chateaugay Lake, across the county line in Clinton County, is open to ice fishing for lake trout and other species. For Mountain View Lake, Indian Lake and Lake Titus, the lakes guide explains the trout-water question and whom to call before you set a line.

Safe ice

DEC's general rule is a minimum of three to four inches of solid ice, and its table runs from there: two inches or less, stay off; four inches for fishing on foot; five inches for a snowmobile or ATV; eight to twelve inches for a car or small pickup; twelve to fifteen inches for a medium truck. Those figures are for new, clear ice on water that is not moving. Lakes do not freeze evenly, so drill test holes at regular intervals as you walk out, with an auger or a spud bar. Fish with a friend, tell someone where you are going and when you will be back, and carry ice safety picks, a pair of handles with spike points that help you climb out if you break through. Take extra care near shore, over moving water and where streams come in or go out. The lakes guide adds how slush, white ice and dock bubblers change the numbers.

Clothes and gear

Dress in layers, starting with one that wicks moisture away from your skin, and leave cotton at home, since it stops insulating once it is wet. Wool and wind- and water-resistant shells both work. Bring spare gloves, because the first pair gets wet, and waterproof boots with cleats for grip.

The kit is short. An auger or a spud bar cuts the hole: hand augers are lighter and cheaper, power augers faster but heavier and restricted on some waters, and a spud needs a lanyard so it does not follow the chips down the hole. A skimmer clears slush and ice from the hole. Tip-ups hold a baited line and raise a flag when a fish takes the bait; rig one with about 50 yards of backing, a two- to three-foot monofilament leader on a barrel swivel, and a split shot 18 to 24 inches above the hook. A jigging rod of two to three feet with a small spinning reel covers the rest. A sled hauls the gear, a shelter blocks the wind, and a five-gallon bucket carries the small things and doubles as a seat.

Pike are the usual target on these lakes. Set tip-ups with large minnows, four to seven inches long, in five to fifteen feet of water around or over weed beds, two to three feet off the bottom or above the weeds, on a wire leader, since pike have sharp teeth. Perch hold near the bottom anywhere from shallow weeds to deep flats and take small minnows or small jigs tipped with spikes, fly larvae sold as bait. Early morning and late afternoon fish best, which suits the short days: the sun sets at about 4:20 p.m. near the winter solstice, and the winter driving guide covers the roads home after dark.

Eating what you keep

The state health department publishes advice on how often to eat fish from New York waters, mainly because of mercury, and it splits anglers into two groups. The sensitive group is anyone under 50 who can become pregnant, plus children under 15, which takes in a 12-year-old on the trip. Everyone else is the general group. One meal means an 8-ounce fillet. This is the regional advice for Adirondack waters that have no listing of their own:

Some nearby waters have stricter advice. At Meacham Lake, nobody should eat the smallmouth bass or the yellow perch. On the Upper and Lower Chateaugay Lakes, everyone should hold yellow perch to one meal a month, and the sensitive group should not eat perch over 10 inches. On Lake Flower and Oseetah Lake at Saranac Lake, nobody should eat a northern pike over 26 inches. The department's Franklin County map, dated April 2026, shows which advice covers each water. The Salmon River through Malone and the Chateaugay River below Lower Chateaugay Lake lie outside the Adirondack region, and the map marks them as best-choice waters under the state's general advice; the lower Salmon, below the High Falls Dam north of the village, and the lower Little Salmon follow the St. Lawrence River advice instead. Smaller fish of a species usually carry less mercury than larger, older ones, so if you keep fish to eat, keep the smaller legal ones and space the meals out over the month.

What the cabins have for a fishing group

Each cabin sleeps four, in a main bedroom and a bunk room, with one bathroom. A group of eight can take The Modern Pine and The Aviator, which share one property and one gravel drive; see group stays. This is what the listings include, and what they do not.

• Kitchen. Every cabin has a refrigerator and freezer, a stove and oven, a microwave, a coffee maker, pots and pans, oil, salt and pepper, and a grill outside with barbecue utensils; The Modern Tiny Home's grill runs on gas. The Modern Pine and The Aviator add a dishwasher.
• Laundry. A washer and dryer at each cabin deal with wet socks and rain gear.
• Parking. All three list free parking on the property. The listings for The Modern Pine and The Modern Tiny Home say the parking area has room to bring an ATV or a snowmobile; none mentions boat trailers, so ask the host before you tow one. The Tiny Home's parking area is shared when the neighboring cabin is booked.
• Gear. No listing includes boats, canoes, kayaks, rods or tackle. Bring your own, or see the rentals in the Meacham Lake guide.
• Early starts. The Aviator and The Modern Tiny Home keep quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., so load the car the night before and leave quietly on a dawn start.
• Bait and garbage. All three listings warn that wildlife is around. The Modern Pine asks guests to keep garbage secured, the Tiny Home to secure garbage and food in the appropriate containers, and The Aviator to leave no food or garbage outside. Treat bait the same way.
• Dogs. Pets are allowed for a fee under strict rules, and the listings say a pet may not be left alone in the cabin, so a dog on a fishing day comes along or someone stays with it; see bringing your dog.
• Times. Check-in is after 4 p.m. and checkout before 11 a.m. at all three cabins, so fish the last morning close by.
• Ages. The Modern Pine and The Modern Tiny Home say they are not suitable for children under 10 and require the booking guest to be 25 or older, and all three listings carry Airbnb's flag that they are not suitable for children and infants. A family fishing trip here is for anglers 10 and up; see family cabins.

A long weekend of fishing

This plan fits a Friday-to-Monday trip from mid-June, when bass open, through September. The notes after it change it for spring and winter.

1. Friday afternoon. Stop in Malone for licenses at Runnings or the Walmart Supercenter, groceries and a full tank, then check in after 4 p.m. If there is an hour of light left, drive the six road miles to the Mountain View launch and work the weed edges for pike.
2. Saturday morning. Be on Mountain View Lake or Indian Lake at first light for largemouth bass around the docks and weed beds, fishing from the boat. Be back by late morning for lunch and the hot tub.
3. Saturday evening. Wade a public stretch of the Salmon River between Chasm Falls and Malone, a few minutes from the cabins; the Salmon River guide lists the six public sections and their parking.
4. Sunday. Give the day to Meacham Lake, about 21 road miles away: pike along the weedy south end, and smallmouth bass on the east side, released, given the health advice for that lake. If the wind is up on Meacham, fish the Deer River Flow instead, a few miles back toward the cabins.
5. Monday. Checkout is before 11 a.m. Fish the Lamica Lake access north of Malone on the way out, or the Chateaugay River if you are heading east on US 11.

In April and May

Follow the stocking. The Salmon gets fish in the second and fourth weeks of April and again in May, the Chateaugay River from the third week of April, and the Trout River in the fourth week of April. Pike and walleye open May 1, while bass stay closed until June 15. From mid-May, pack a head net for the black flies.

In winter

Trade the boat for an auger. Meacham Lake is the nearest water listed as open to ice fishing, and Lake Kushaqua stays open all year for lake trout. Plan to be off the ice before dark, which comes early, and finish the day in the cabin's private hot tub. The winter page has the rest of the season.

Before you go

• Fall fishing overlaps the hunting seasons. In the state's Northern Zone, which takes in the cabins, bear season opened on September 19, 2026, and the big-game seasons run into early December, so wear blaze orange on state land and along public fishing stretches.
• Public fishing rights let you walk and wade along the bank only to fish. Stay inside the marked strip, and where there is no lot, park fully off the road.
• Blacklegged tick nymphs peak in May and June, the same weeks as the black flies; check everyone after a day on the bank.
• In an emergency, call 911. The hospital in Malone is on the health and safety page, and the lakes and paddling guides cover the rest of the water near the cabins.

Questions

Sources

Facts on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. Hours, fees and schedules change; confirm before you go.

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