Post by rgang4 on Apr 20, 2020 19:13:56 GMT -5
Can’t recall a year when April nights have been so cold and days so cool as this year has been. March sure, it’s the norm, but temps often in the 20’s and three snow storms the first 18 days of April, WTH?!
Frosty start to the day at 28
Tried to get up last couple weeks but weather was awful one day I had free and the following weekend when I took the boat out for a short test drive my starting battery was dead.
Got things ready in time for Saturday only to be stymied again by cold and snow. Sunday forecast was okay but I wondered about road conditions after the snow Saturday. Got a favorable report for the Champlain Valley right from Bouy 39 😉👍 so I decided I’d take on a little salt and sand if it meant going to the lake. Actually found none going north😎
Air temp was 38 when I got to Benson. Water looked okay, dirty but not too bad. Temp was a bit of a surprise at 45. Thought it might have been worse so that gave me confidence. Wind not as bad as predicted but it was steady and blowing 10-15, but hey it was going to calm down right NOOA?🙄👎
The plan was to get a Master Angler drum and hit two community holes in the area for bass and then decide what to do.
Had to pass by the first community hole to get to drum spots. Made no sense to pass it up so I stopped. Two casts with a Trap and I got slammed but fish came off. Tried a jerkbait but no response. Maybe too dirty? Threw a square bill a bit and got the first bass of the year in the boat🙏
and brown one at that. The SM in the CTR have been moody like the LM so I was happy to see one so early in the day.
As it turned out I milked six more from the spot switching back and forth from the Trap to the square bill before catching the last on a finesse jig.
Drum spot was next. Looked perfect as I approached. Made kind of a haphazard cast on approach and got bit as I hopped a blade bait along the bottom.
Not a monster but qualifies for Master Angler at 27”
Figured I was on an epic bite. Wrong. First wasn’t a fluke but I never did land another. Hooked up two more that popped off and one fish that may have been something else. Fish were there but I couldn’t trigger bites.
By now it was getting windy just like the forecast said it wouldn’t. Did not like anything I saw, especially water color, current ( too heavy in spots) and the farther south the worse it got. Decided to go north.
By the time I got north of Chipmans it was really cranking. Looked around but any points were just too tough to fish. Would have been willing to try but being I had a good morning I wasn’t going to ruin it by having a bad afternoon so I ducked into a back bay. Water was cold, dirty and appeared lifeless. Stuck it out for a bit nonetheless but only got a small pike and and small pickerel.
Went north a bit and found some nice clear water in a wind protected area. Found a few willing LM there. They were a bit lethargic but I got four on the square bill and had a few nippy bites on a jig. Nothing big but nothing small. All nice chunky females in the 3-3.5 lb range. Would have made a move to another protected area but wind had shifted giving me smoother sailing to get back south and it was beginning to sprinkle.
Bagged it about 3:50 and headed home. Not the greatest first day but better than the last two. Everything worked as it should and I had a nice day except it sucked not having Brian as my co pilot. I’ve been working the whole time and given I’m exposed to lots of people and some who don’t seem to get it I figured I had to go alone.
Our campground will open on time with some restrictions so really have a lot to happy about. Stay safe and hooked up!
Frosty start to the day at 28
Tried to get up last couple weeks but weather was awful one day I had free and the following weekend when I took the boat out for a short test drive my starting battery was dead.
Got things ready in time for Saturday only to be stymied again by cold and snow. Sunday forecast was okay but I wondered about road conditions after the snow Saturday. Got a favorable report for the Champlain Valley right from Bouy 39 😉👍 so I decided I’d take on a little salt and sand if it meant going to the lake. Actually found none going north😎
Air temp was 38 when I got to Benson. Water looked okay, dirty but not too bad. Temp was a bit of a surprise at 45. Thought it might have been worse so that gave me confidence. Wind not as bad as predicted but it was steady and blowing 10-15, but hey it was going to calm down right NOOA?🙄👎
The plan was to get a Master Angler drum and hit two community holes in the area for bass and then decide what to do.
Had to pass by the first community hole to get to drum spots. Made no sense to pass it up so I stopped. Two casts with a Trap and I got slammed but fish came off. Tried a jerkbait but no response. Maybe too dirty? Threw a square bill a bit and got the first bass of the year in the boat🙏
and brown one at that. The SM in the CTR have been moody like the LM so I was happy to see one so early in the day.
As it turned out I milked six more from the spot switching back and forth from the Trap to the square bill before catching the last on a finesse jig.
Drum spot was next. Looked perfect as I approached. Made kind of a haphazard cast on approach and got bit as I hopped a blade bait along the bottom.
Not a monster but qualifies for Master Angler at 27”
Figured I was on an epic bite. Wrong. First wasn’t a fluke but I never did land another. Hooked up two more that popped off and one fish that may have been something else. Fish were there but I couldn’t trigger bites.
By now it was getting windy just like the forecast said it wouldn’t. Did not like anything I saw, especially water color, current ( too heavy in spots) and the farther south the worse it got. Decided to go north.
By the time I got north of Chipmans it was really cranking. Looked around but any points were just too tough to fish. Would have been willing to try but being I had a good morning I wasn’t going to ruin it by having a bad afternoon so I ducked into a back bay. Water was cold, dirty and appeared lifeless. Stuck it out for a bit nonetheless but only got a small pike and and small pickerel.
Went north a bit and found some nice clear water in a wind protected area. Found a few willing LM there. They were a bit lethargic but I got four on the square bill and had a few nippy bites on a jig. Nothing big but nothing small. All nice chunky females in the 3-3.5 lb range. Would have made a move to another protected area but wind had shifted giving me smoother sailing to get back south and it was beginning to sprinkle.
Bagged it about 3:50 and headed home. Not the greatest first day but better than the last two. Everything worked as it should and I had a nice day except it sucked not having Brian as my co pilot. I’ve been working the whole time and given I’m exposed to lots of people and some who don’t seem to get it I figured I had to go alone.
Our campground will open on time with some restrictions so really have a lot to happy about. Stay safe and hooked up!
. Jim was up too and had a similar day, maybe a few more Drum. South wind isn't the best for the bite in that area. Hopefully we'll have real time test kits by November and we'll cold water it again.... 
. Soloed on the 'Dawg yesterday got some good ones,no real big ones but nothing under 2 lb.
