Post by rgang4 on May 15, 2018 20:12:30 GMT -5
Seems like every year we are all saying the same things, crazy weather, weird year, when’s it going to warm up etc., etc. This year is no exception. But the thing that’s weird to me was how good ice out fishing and early prespawn fishing had been down here in SOVT considering how damn cold it was. Skim ice in the morning and then Good fishing in the afternoon. Crazy. While enjoying the good fishing down here I watched as the lake level kept going up and up. I couldn’t wait to get to Champlain even though I was doing well here.
First trip was like most first trips are, fishing good but catching not so much. Second trip things went much better. Bigger and many more fish including all the drum I’d ever want to catch. Sorry B☹️ Third trip was a major bummer. Fished 4.5 hrs. before putting a fish in the boat. Never seen it so bad this time of year. Part of it I’m sure was where I was fishing. Lots of stagnant brown water with hardly any life in the backwaters I fished north of Ti. Had a good afternoon rally, good enough to save the day. No real big ones but lots of nice fat three pounders. Found most of my fish on the main lake on points and or rocks in deeper water. Shallow stuff be it treelines, flooded cattails or buck brush just wasn’t working. I thought then it was an abomination being that stuff always works when the water is high. So I tried it again last Saturday, didn’t work for me again😱🤔 with maybe one or two exceptions.
Have to admit though I did have a lot more bites but nothing stayed hooked. Probably had a personal worst by missing the first ten bites in a row and 12 out of 14. Chatterbait, swim jig, crankbait or jig, didn’t matter, none stayed on 😡😡😡😡😡 Just before I lost my mind things changed for the better when I went back to what had worked last time fishing points,rocks, ledges etc. Ended up having one of those bites you can only get on Champlain.
Found them with a jerkbait but switched to a crank bait and cleaned up catching one after another for more than an hour including a personal best for Champlain.
Towards the end of the evening I threw everything that was on deck once the crankbait died and everything worked if you made the right cast.
Ended with a Spook though that was a long shot given the set up but you never know. Now I know🤓
Why do people head in before sunset?🤔
Long day on Saturday. Up at 4. In work at 5. Out at 11 and on the road at 12. On the lake at 2:45 and off the water at 8:40😎. Back at the camper and in bed at 10. Of course I was either too tired to sleep or too excited after the afternoon and evening I had.
Sunday I completely blew off anything other than rocky points. Got reacquainted with some bigger deeper running crankbaits I haven’t used in sometime. Squarebills caught more fish but the deeper divers got bigger fish. Lots of smaller fish on Sunday but plenty of good ones too. Best one I weighed was 4-9 . Had a few others about that size as well but had eyes on me a few times so figured I better honor the immediate catch and release rule. No restrictions on bowfin though😄🤗
Don’t know if it’s just me or if the shallow stuff is just not as good as it usually is. I do know the fish I am getting on the main lake are feeding on alewives. Those fish are incredibly fat. Maybe that’s why they are near deeper water? I know I’ll keep fishing the way I have been until it doesn’t work.
Water is warming up quickly,58-63 on the main lake. Weeds are growing up too. Might see some curly leaf pond weed on the surface soon. Pike are active. Water clarity was poor above the paper mill but decent south to Chipman.
First trip was like most first trips are, fishing good but catching not so much. Second trip things went much better. Bigger and many more fish including all the drum I’d ever want to catch. Sorry B☹️ Third trip was a major bummer. Fished 4.5 hrs. before putting a fish in the boat. Never seen it so bad this time of year. Part of it I’m sure was where I was fishing. Lots of stagnant brown water with hardly any life in the backwaters I fished north of Ti. Had a good afternoon rally, good enough to save the day. No real big ones but lots of nice fat three pounders. Found most of my fish on the main lake on points and or rocks in deeper water. Shallow stuff be it treelines, flooded cattails or buck brush just wasn’t working. I thought then it was an abomination being that stuff always works when the water is high. So I tried it again last Saturday, didn’t work for me again😱🤔 with maybe one or two exceptions.
Have to admit though I did have a lot more bites but nothing stayed hooked. Probably had a personal worst by missing the first ten bites in a row and 12 out of 14. Chatterbait, swim jig, crankbait or jig, didn’t matter, none stayed on 😡😡😡😡😡 Just before I lost my mind things changed for the better when I went back to what had worked last time fishing points,rocks, ledges etc. Ended up having one of those bites you can only get on Champlain.
Found them with a jerkbait but switched to a crank bait and cleaned up catching one after another for more than an hour including a personal best for Champlain.
Towards the end of the evening I threw everything that was on deck once the crankbait died and everything worked if you made the right cast.
Ended with a Spook though that was a long shot given the set up but you never know. Now I know🤓
Why do people head in before sunset?🤔
Long day on Saturday. Up at 4. In work at 5. Out at 11 and on the road at 12. On the lake at 2:45 and off the water at 8:40😎. Back at the camper and in bed at 10. Of course I was either too tired to sleep or too excited after the afternoon and evening I had.
Sunday I completely blew off anything other than rocky points. Got reacquainted with some bigger deeper running crankbaits I haven’t used in sometime. Squarebills caught more fish but the deeper divers got bigger fish. Lots of smaller fish on Sunday but plenty of good ones too. Best one I weighed was 4-9 . Had a few others about that size as well but had eyes on me a few times so figured I better honor the immediate catch and release rule. No restrictions on bowfin though😄🤗
Don’t know if it’s just me or if the shallow stuff is just not as good as it usually is. I do know the fish I am getting on the main lake are feeding on alewives. Those fish are incredibly fat. Maybe that’s why they are near deeper water? I know I’ll keep fishing the way I have been until it doesn’t work.
Water is warming up quickly,58-63 on the main lake. Weeds are growing up too. Might see some curly leaf pond weed on the surface soon. Pike are active. Water clarity was poor above the paper mill but decent south to Chipman.
