Post by Brian on Oct 22, 2010 13:34:21 GMT -5
I was pretty excited this season by the VTF&W's Master Angler Program. I still am and hope to enter another species (or two)before I have to put away the boat. Next years my goal will to enter more species than I entered this season. All caught and released on artificial lures.
1. A 29" bowfin which hit a TX rigged Zoom Super Hog in 6' on 4/20. I certainly wasn't "trying" to catch a bowfin, but it is the most exceptional fish I've caught so far this year. That's why it ended up actually being measured as well as weighed. Only the third bowfin I've ever landed. Went on to get two more this year.
2. A 10.25" rockbass I caught at Lake Sadawga. It was the second rocky I caught there that made the Master Angler Program. Hit a TX rigged Zoom Super Hog on a milfoil hump in 5' on 9/29. The lake has a good population of large pan fish and I went there looking to bag rock bass and big 'gills. No luck on the 'gills, but fell .25" short on a Master Angler largemouth there.
3. A 26" pickerel I caught at Lake Champlain on 10/ 18. It was the third time I tried for a big pickerel there. The first two unsuccessful attempts were south of Benson, this fish came from Shoreham. Hit a chatterbait w/ swimbait trailer in 3' of dirty water. I found the bigger pickerel, both south of Benson and Ti area to be in or near the dirty water.
4. A 19" smallmouth....bonus fish! Lake Champlain at the Lachute Delta on 10/18. I rarely target small mouths at Champlain because there's a lot of good smally fishing close to home. But when I fish the delta in fall I always take a 10 lb. test medium action spinning rod. Because the water is clear there, the fish have seen a million lures by now and I've had success with down sizing. Plus, I'm always curious about the surface feeding fish there that I can never catch. So I was casting a #3 chartreuse Mepps in 3' of water when this brute hit. Caught one other "18.
5. A 20" largemouth that hit a chatterbait w/ swimbait trailer on 10/19 . Fishing in 4' of stained water near some loose milfoil in Shoreham. This one I was looking for. In fall brown water I up size every lure with trailers and slow roll the best I can. It was interesting how many big largemouths my wife and I caught that wouldn't stretch to 20" with the mouth closed and tail compressed.
Thanks for the great program and hard work Shawn!
1. A 29" bowfin which hit a TX rigged Zoom Super Hog in 6' on 4/20. I certainly wasn't "trying" to catch a bowfin, but it is the most exceptional fish I've caught so far this year. That's why it ended up actually being measured as well as weighed. Only the third bowfin I've ever landed. Went on to get two more this year.
2. A 10.25" rockbass I caught at Lake Sadawga. It was the second rocky I caught there that made the Master Angler Program. Hit a TX rigged Zoom Super Hog on a milfoil hump in 5' on 9/29. The lake has a good population of large pan fish and I went there looking to bag rock bass and big 'gills. No luck on the 'gills, but fell .25" short on a Master Angler largemouth there.
3. A 26" pickerel I caught at Lake Champlain on 10/ 18. It was the third time I tried for a big pickerel there. The first two unsuccessful attempts were south of Benson, this fish came from Shoreham. Hit a chatterbait w/ swimbait trailer in 3' of dirty water. I found the bigger pickerel, both south of Benson and Ti area to be in or near the dirty water.
4. A 19" smallmouth....bonus fish! Lake Champlain at the Lachute Delta on 10/18. I rarely target small mouths at Champlain because there's a lot of good smally fishing close to home. But when I fish the delta in fall I always take a 10 lb. test medium action spinning rod. Because the water is clear there, the fish have seen a million lures by now and I've had success with down sizing. Plus, I'm always curious about the surface feeding fish there that I can never catch. So I was casting a #3 chartreuse Mepps in 3' of water when this brute hit. Caught one other "18.
5. A 20" largemouth that hit a chatterbait w/ swimbait trailer on 10/19 . Fishing in 4' of stained water near some loose milfoil in Shoreham. This one I was looking for. In fall brown water I up size every lure with trailers and slow roll the best I can. It was interesting how many big largemouths my wife and I caught that wouldn't stretch to 20" with the mouth closed and tail compressed.
Thanks for the great program and hard work Shawn!
