Happy Friday! I am a day late, but there is lots of great content for you this week so let’s dive right in!
I think I jinxed myself mentioning that I was going up to Lake Bomoseen last week because let me tell you, the fishing was not so hot. We went out in the kayaks and fished off shore and gave it one heck of a try for the few days we were there and we ended up landing nibblers and bluegill. We did SEE some larger fish, and we threw everything but the kitchen sink at them but they were not having it. Talking with some other folks up on the lake they were having luck in the channel with shiners catching some nice bass and pike as well. All in all, we still had fun!
Jerry got out this week for his first KBF Trail Tournament on Lake Champlain. I’ve always wanted to fish Champlain for smallmouth. I was invited to stay with Nelson and Shawn, who have both fished Champlain. Jerry said that they found some fish prefishing Friday and the water temps were 63 degrees, but then they had little rain overnight putting temps for the tournament morning around 60 degrees. Jerry said his first fish was a largemouth followed by a 32″ northern pike. The water warmed up to 64 degrees and the smallmouth moved up on beds. He came across a flat 4 to 6 feet of water and just fan casting all over the flat throwing a ned all day long with black and blue and chartreuse. He said that this produced his biggest bag of any tournament coming in at 92.75 inches for tenth place. I encourage everyone if they have a chance to fish Lake Champlain! It just may be the fishing trip of a lifetime. Congrats man!
Shawn the Fisherman also fished Champlain and said that the pike were biting. He also reports that the bass were just heading onto beds.
Nelson reported his trip to Champlain as well with Shawn, Jerry, and their buddy Russ to compete in the Kayak Bass Fishing (KBF) tournament on Lake Champlain. He said that they prefinished on Friday and we all found some fish including largemouth, smallmouth, and a few pike. Nelson found fish running a crankbait and spinnerbait over the top of submerged weeds in 8-10 feet of water. He caught a Pike doing the same with a chatterbait. On tournament morning he started on a couple of humps where he caught his first few keepers on a crankbait and a drop shot. Then he moved to shallow water with a chatterbait where he filled his limit including his two biggest bass (smallmouth).
Throughout the rest of the day Nelson said he fished a very small area where smallmouth were on beds and he was able to upgrade several times catching them with a drop shot rig. He ended the tournament with 90.5 inches, which put him at 17th place out of 88 anglers.
It was an amazing day of catching mostly Smallmouth and I can’t wait to go back. I would encourage anyone that has never been to Lake Champlain to make sure you plan a trip up there. Absolutely amazing fishery. Congrats to Jerry for a 10th place finish, Shawn for 20th place, and Russ for 38th.
Berkshire Brett reports that over the past two weeks he has been navigating his way into the fly fishing world. He said that with a little guidance from a friend, he has managed to pull in a few on his own. Brett said that they are mostly Browns and a couple of stocked brookies, but the water temps are still very good in the rivers here for trout. He also says that the best time for light spinning gear would be after a quick heavy rain on a cooler day. I even managed to find some decent browns in the smaller streams.
Jon got out for a bank send with his little one this week – and she is a cutie! He said although there was nothing of substantial size at the local pond, they were hitting ned rigged creature baits sitting on the bottom. Charlie did get a little aggressive with one of the nibblers, but very interested in the fish when they came out of the water!
Tim reports that he was able to get out once to his local lake amidst switching over to the new boat. He said that the blue skies provided tough fishing along with getting used to the new boat. Soft plastics around docks produced his fish, and a couple came on random cast to drop offs.
Bobby Roast Beef reports that he has been hyper focused on two super local bodies of water lately. He said that between the two he’s been mainly focusing on the smaller pond of the two spots and that life is simply EXPLODING under the water’s surface. Lots of schools of fry spotted, and the grass is growing fast! Bobby said that the first wave of post spawn is happening and it seems as if fishing vegetation and weed edges has gotten some fish to move off the shallows and get into the salad. That’s not to say you can’t still get them in the shallows!
The majority of his catches have been very shallow and tight to cover in most cases. He has been having success on smaller swimbaits and jigs when he’s been pitching into the heavier cover. Bobby also mentions that he managed to catch my biggest LMB of 2022 this year! After looking at my records I’ve caught more fish over 12″ this past week than the rest of the year so far. Not a bad start to summer 2022.
Although it’s going to be on the cooler side this weekend, it doesn’t look like it’s going to rain, so get out and fish! As always, stay safe out there everyone. Tight lines!
Wild Woman 