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Post by dukdog on Mar 15, 2011 7:54:12 GMT -5
Over where I live in Maine, there is a time honored tradition of trolling with sewn smelt or streamer flies. I don't believe that trolling with spoons is anywhere near as popular as the other 2 methods. Do any of you guys use either of these methods on Lake Champlain? If not, why not?
I'm a spoon man myself, I've only been doing this a few years but my best catches have been on spoons. Thanks
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Post by fishinmachine on Mar 15, 2011 8:32:15 GMT -5
I'm sure we would try trolling smelt here if we could only get some
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Post by Cas (Mike) on Mar 15, 2011 8:32:29 GMT -5
I had wondered that as well, growing up trolling for togue on Maine lakes using sewn bait. It was the only thing that really worked. From what I gather, fishing with spoons here yields such good results, there's no reason to change given it's much easier and faster to rig up a spoon rather than sewn bait. I'm determined to give it a try sometime on LC, though. I don't have as good (thin) of a needle for sewing bait as I used to have, though. People do troll flies some.
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Post by drachma on Mar 15, 2011 9:21:28 GMT -5
I grew up in NH trolling with my father on Winnepesauke and Winnesquam. We trolled with flies and also with smelt. I tried smelt here on LC and they definitely work for Lakers. I use to keep the dead ones used as bait when I use to ice fish, freeze them and use them sewn on trolling in the Spring and Summer. They're best use behind Dave Davis or Cow Bell spinner strings. We also used single large copper spinners about 8 inches with red beads on the shaft with the smelt behind that. Haven't done that in years, but, it does work.
Michael
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Post by coonmtman on Mar 15, 2011 10:18:18 GMT -5
I've never used sewn smelt, but have used streamers for years. Many times the streamer is run about 15 inches behind a spoon to give it action. Sometimes its run behind a flasher/dodger to get the same affect. I also run spoons by themselves, but I find Rapalas also to be extremely effective in trolling the lake.
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Post by in t h e o f f i c e on Mar 15, 2011 11:03:45 GMT -5
.... use to keep the dead ones used as bait when I use to ice fish, freeze them and use them sewn on trolling in the Spring and Summer.... As irritating as the current baitfish law is for a lot of reasons, it is meant to thwart VHS. Transporting, storing, and returning bait to a waterbody is now regulated: against the law to do this anymore. You may already know that, but if you don't...well, read your Fish And Wildlife digest for the scoop.
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Post by fishfarmer on Mar 15, 2011 11:43:42 GMT -5
I started to fish landlock salmon in Lake Champlain with a flyrod since that is how my buddy showed me how to do it. He even went to tell me back in the 90's, "you don't need those downriggers and such to catch salmon." He was one of the select few at the time who trolled sping and fall when the fish were on the surface. The rest of the year you stream fish for trout.
So when I got my boat it came with downriggers, so I learned to do both, run flyrods and run riggers. When it is really rough out and I'm solo, I'm usually running flyrods since it is too much of a pain to run riggers when it is rough.
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Post by sonny88 on Mar 15, 2011 17:05:57 GMT -5
I've never used smelt but have fished flies alot. I either fish them on top with fly rods or with dodgers. Some of my biggest champlain salmon have come on dodger/fly.
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Post by sleepswithdafishes on Mar 15, 2011 17:30:39 GMT -5
A lot of guys up here in the kingdom use live bait I mean a lot!!!! I think its partly tradition also it works well! I have tried streamers on champlain a number of times and have good success!! I fish champlain with a group that almost uses live bait all the time but they target mainly lakers!! I think with the new bait laws you cant use dead smelt but I may be wrong!!! Sleeps
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Post by fishinmachine on Mar 15, 2011 18:06:21 GMT -5
you can fish dead smelt or live ones for that matter,IF they come from LC ,you can't trransport live ones from LC,you CAN transport dead ones but only if you deep fry them when you get home
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Post by voyager on Mar 15, 2011 20:40:47 GMT -5
Trolling with streamer flies can be quite effective on LC. I frequently run tandem streamers behind a small, size "000" dodger off of lead core line. This set-up also works off of down-riggers. Running clean singles or tandems in the prop wash works too.
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Post by dukdog on Mar 16, 2011 6:32:36 GMT -5
Great Information, Thanks!!
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