Post by Brian on Jul 28, 2010 10:05:11 GMT -5
Well, it's been six weeks since we've been up to Champlain. We just don't get the chance to travel much in mid-summer. But Tuesday was a blue bird kind of day so... off to Bensons Landing.
Hit the ramp at 11:00 and much to my surprise the parking lot was empty. Water was turbid, maybe 2' visibility, light sw breeze, lake level at the ferry dock 96.1, and we saw water temps anywhere from 78 to 83 degrees.
The plan as usual was to do some shallow water slop frog fishing. Looking for bass but willing to take on all comers. Didn't find much in the way of algae mats, but plenty of dense mixed grass canopy. Had some action pretty much everywhere we went but the pattern was boat wakes. Lots of big cruisers and go-fast boats were out and about. When their big rolling wakes would hit the 2'-3' flats we were fishing it would "wake" up the bass. They would hit the toads and frogs aggressively which made for a good hook up to bite ratio.
The odd fish of the day wasn't the nice sized white perch that hit a shallow crankbait, but a 2 lb. 8 oz. smallmouth that hit my spinnerbait in 3' of 82 degree water. All day between us we caught and released 17 LM, 1 SM, and the white perch. A few bass came on 3/8 oz. TX rigs, but most were on topwaters.
It was nice meeting up with fellow forum member opsarge back in Pickerel Bay and again on the ramp. Alway good to talk fishing and boats! We counted 28 deer and one coyote on the long ride home.
Best one of the day 3 lb. 10 oz. ate my River2Sea frog in 2' water.
Diane angles one to the boat, but it un-hooked itself before the photo shoot.
This one decided to come in for a pic after eating her frog.
Off loading harvested water chestnut at Benson Landing. To be used as compost at a local vegetable farm.
Hit the ramp at 11:00 and much to my surprise the parking lot was empty. Water was turbid, maybe 2' visibility, light sw breeze, lake level at the ferry dock 96.1, and we saw water temps anywhere from 78 to 83 degrees.
The plan as usual was to do some shallow water slop frog fishing. Looking for bass but willing to take on all comers. Didn't find much in the way of algae mats, but plenty of dense mixed grass canopy. Had some action pretty much everywhere we went but the pattern was boat wakes. Lots of big cruisers and go-fast boats were out and about. When their big rolling wakes would hit the 2'-3' flats we were fishing it would "wake" up the bass. They would hit the toads and frogs aggressively which made for a good hook up to bite ratio.
The odd fish of the day wasn't the nice sized white perch that hit a shallow crankbait, but a 2 lb. 8 oz. smallmouth that hit my spinnerbait in 3' of 82 degree water. All day between us we caught and released 17 LM, 1 SM, and the white perch. A few bass came on 3/8 oz. TX rigs, but most were on topwaters.
It was nice meeting up with fellow forum member opsarge back in Pickerel Bay and again on the ramp. Alway good to talk fishing and boats! We counted 28 deer and one coyote on the long ride home.
Best one of the day 3 lb. 10 oz. ate my River2Sea frog in 2' water.
Diane angles one to the boat, but it un-hooked itself before the photo shoot.
This one decided to come in for a pic after eating her frog.
Off loading harvested water chestnut at Benson Landing. To be used as compost at a local vegetable farm.
