My first time fishing. Captain was patient & taught me a great deal. Fishing at the lake was fun but during this time of year (August) the vegetation was tall and abundent so I did not particularly like those spots.  When we were a little deeper was more enjoyable but not too many fish were biting.  Definitely will not do an 8 hour, but my husband enjoyed it. No cover on the boat so thank God it was overcast not sunny & blaring. Would do a 4 hour next time and around June early July. Thank you Captain John. Overrall experience was good.

Captain John was excellent!! Very knowledgeable, and very friendly !! My husband and I had a wonderful time and caught over a dozen fish!!
Definitely would book him again next time we are in the area!!

Thanks to John for finding the fish and giving us the tools we needed to catch them. Lots of memories created.

Simply put, John was great.

Some background on the trip: we were originally scheduled in June but there were thunderstorm warnings and i didn’t want to risk going out and then back in if we saw lightning. So I asked to cancel. He was accommodating and said he’d move it. So my son and I went July 23rd, and it was HOT. Talking 93 when we got on the boat. There was a change of venue, we went on the Hudson rather than Saratoga Lake. He said the fishing was a bit rough on the lake. That was fine with me. Was doing catch & release anyway. I would say I am a beginner to moderate skilled fisherman, I know how to cast and hook but have had very little lure casting experience, usually use live bait or fake worms.
His boat and poles/lures are perfectly suited to catching some smallmouth. He is clear that the boat gets cramped at 4, and he’s right.
He knew some good places to go, got us some fish, hooked some and let my 6 year old son bring them in when he got bored.
He brought a good amount of water and ice. He had other drinks but with the heat, we stuck with the Gatorade we brought and his water.
He was personable without being overbearing. He’s quiet when he needs to be but answers questions.
He clearly isn’t in this for the money but more for getting out there and getting people some fish. What more can you want?
I will likely book another trip with John next year, maybe even this year. Hope this review helps you consider him too.

Everyone enjoyed using only fishing lures, no live bait. It made us all better fisherman. We will use this knowledge for all our lives. We appreciated the challenge. Captain John was great and knew the Saratoga Lake like the back of his hand. We would certainly do this again