dpcj2
New Member
Posts: 4
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Post by dpcj2 on Jul 22, 2005 17:26:32 GMT -5
So I bought a boat this year and have been trying my hand at fishing Lake Champlain. I grew up on Cape Cod where you could pretty much go down to any lake, cast from shore and it was a safe bet you could pull in a bass, perch or sunfish. I launch my boat out of Shelburne Bay. I have tried wobblers, spoons, rapalas, nightcrawlers, liver and all I seem catch is the occasional sunfish near the landing just before hauling out my boat. Going out on the lake fully geared up for hours and catching nothing or one sunfish can be pretty depressing. Is there a particular spot in the area that is good? time of day? lure? bait? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I took my father out fishing last week and between the 2 of us and 4 rods, we caught one small fish over pretty much the entire day. I must just plain stink at fishing.
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Post by Scott Johnson on Jul 24, 2005 17:50:26 GMT -5
Are you fishing for Bass? Lakers?
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dpcj2
New Member
Posts: 4
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Post by dpcj2 on Jul 28, 2005 7:39:48 GMT -5
I have fished for both...
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dpcj2
New Member
Posts: 4
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Post by dpcj2 on Jul 28, 2005 10:02:55 GMT -5
Is there anything in particular in the Shelburne bay area that is good to target and fun to fish? As you can see, I'm pretty new to real fishing. Up until this year, I pretty much just fished small sunfish and the occasional smallmouth recreationally. I have always been pretty much a catch and release type of person in freshwater.
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Post by basstracker5000 on Aug 1, 2005 13:05:22 GMT -5
The lake is loaded with bass. you gots to fish the senko worms , texas style, find the weed beds, rocky shoals, they be all over the lake. just get a depth finder if you is naive to the contours of the bottom. i caught me a bowfin last week on my texas rigged rubber senko worm. that sucker was mean, scared the dickens out of me when i netted that sucka....ohh what a fight. go out and get yourself some bass capecodder...out
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Post by centralct on Aug 1, 2005 15:30:13 GMT -5
Basstracker's right on...LOTS of bass, LM and SM in the lake, but the lake's BIG too.
I just got back from a week's stay on Keeler Bay and my kids and I had a great time. I'd post a couple of pics if I could figuer out how...Caught a 17" SMB off the old rail bed near the cut on the 28th. Probably about 3 to 4 lbs. Used a Kinami 4" green grub (with tail), Texas rigged. Also had luck with the same thing in Keeler Bay from the shore behind the house. There's a very large weed bed area in the southern corner of Keeler Bay...I hear it's very productive.
The rock bass were killing my yellow fluorescent spinner. Also had luck with a Rapala rattling sinking silver Shad.
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Post by 4570 govt on Aug 9, 2005 22:22:38 GMT -5
Maybe these tips can help you for smallmouth. Even if you have no depth finder, you can still locate large amounts of large smallmouth by understanding this. Smallmouth love ROCKS and ROCKY POINTS. They DONT like soft bottom. Get yourself an FHS map of your area of champlain and start fishing rocky points only. Fish a point until you stop catching them and move on to the next point. The biggest mistake I see unproductive anglers make is that they waste their time fishing areas(like shallow bays in the middle of the summer) that will not hold the type of fish that they are after. They do this because they havent educated themselves on the behavior of the fish that they are seeking and the types of terrain that each species prefers. At this time of year, the smallies will be deep during the day(roughly 25 deep on rocky points or shoals). They will move shallower after dinner(10 to 15 feet deep of rocky points). It is not uncommon to catch 10 to 15 2lb plus smallmouth off 1 point or when the bite is good even more than that. You just need to use a lure or bait that will get you down that far.(deep diving crankbaits or soft plastics-the guys that told you senkos are right on). I dont waste my time fishing for smallies during the day because they are less active. I only go out after dinner when I am at champlain and sometimes dont start catching them until an hour before sundown. Most times we catch 10 to 15 big fish each night using these tactics. I have been to champlain for my summer vacation the last 2 years and have caught good numbers of big smallmouth each time. I am by no means an expert but have done my homework on where to locate fish and usually am succesful no matter where I go because of it. Even my wife and two small kids(5 and 3) catch big smallies on lures at champlain. If they can you can too if you follow these instructions to the letter because champlain is possibly the best smallmouth lake in the country. As far as trout go I have no idea(except that they are deep now and you need downriggers). Good luck! Post your reply and let me know if you do any better. P.S. These areas will also hold line snapping sheepshead so be wary.
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Post by dpcj3 on Aug 17, 2005 16:10:48 GMT -5
so.....I went out and tried some of the rigs/lures suggested and some rigs I read about in a weedy area in the back of Mallets Bay and out by the reef and caught a whole bunch of fish....bass, bowfin, perch etc. Thanks. Was much more fun than sitting there in the sun getting nothing.
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Post by 4570 govt on Aug 23, 2005 22:07:10 GMT -5
Way to go! Sounds like you are on track and picking your spots carefully. 10% of the lake holds 90% of the fish. Quick tip; Use a fast moving bait like a deep diving crankbait(jointed shad rap JSR-5 in firetiger is deadly) until you locate a few fish in one place and then switch to slow moving soft plastics to catch the less aggresive ones(4 in senko style worm on a gamakatsu G-lock worm hook in 3/0 or 4/0-watermellon seed is a good color).I fished a senko on a point one night for an hour and the lure never touched the bottom once(just cast it out and let it sink) because a fish picked it up everytime. Keep us posted on you progression. Good luck!
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