Dad and I headed up north a few weeks ago to close up the house for the winter. Naturally, the allure of Lake Champlain was too much for us to resist, so we hauled the boat up to Port Henry to fish Bulwagga Bay.
The water was very cold (approximately 50 degrees here and there), so I was worried it might be tough to get bites. Luckily, the fish were hungry and we ran into them consistently along the western shore. While we made plenty of casts directly towards the rip rap, the largest and most consistent fishing was slightly further out in about 10′ of water.
The cut held fish as always, but they weren’t stacked up there like they are at times. Rather, we caught them along the entire shoreline.
I had started the day with three rods: a jerkbait, a spinnerbait, and a lipless crank. It soon became apparent that the lipless crank was the only thing fish wanted, so that is what we stuck with.
Species Caught
We nearly exclusively caught largemouth bass on this trip, but we did manage to get two pickerel as well. they weren’t really big enough to bother photographing. They too hit on the old red Rat-L-Trap I’ve come to love over the years (check out this old post for some fond memories of fishing with it).
Key Facts about this Bulwagga Bay Fishing Trip
Here are the key facts about this fishing trip. Hopefully it helps one of you on your next adventure to Bulwagga Bay!
- Date: Saturday, November 5, 2022
- Time: Midafternoon
- Water Temps: 50 degrees surface
- Weather: Slight chop with overcast clouds
- Location: Bulwagga Bay, Western Shore near rip rap
- Presentations: Red Rat-L-Trap
- 20 largemouth bass taken, largest approximately 3.5lbs
- Notes: Most fish taken off shore slightly – approximately 10′ of water in submerged weeds.
Other Thoughts
As usual, Lake Champlain didn’t disappoint. While Bulwagga Bay isn’t necessarily on every bass fisherman’s radar, it has deep water along the western shore, and is near a great boat launch that works year round, even in drought. You might consider it if you’re in the area.
Thanks,
John Paxton
