Those of you who have followed my blog know that Spring Lake/Pond at Fisher Meadows in Avon, CT is one of my favorite places to fish in Connecticut. There are multiple greats places to fish it right from shore, and I’ve caught my largest largemouth bass in Connecticut here. In an effort to help others, I’ve decided to break down how I go fishing at Spring Pond at Fisher Meadows in Avon, Connecticut.
What Makes Spring Pond Such a Great Connecticut Fishing Spot?
Spring Pond featured prominently in my post about the best spots in Connecticut to take kids fishing, and for good reason. I have long found it to be one of the best producers of giant largemouth bass in Connecticut. While it has never been a particular “numbers” fishing hole for me, every species of fish I’ve caught or observed there gets BIG. Further, it is a small enough pond that it can be adequately explored on foot, especially if you have a good pair of waders.
I have caught fish at Spring Pond throughout the year and it has an especially great season around April, when most of its largemouth are heavy and in pre-spawn, and in the fall, when you can catch some absolute monsters on buzzbaits.
Further, there is a pretty active “bucket brigade” at Spring Pond that actually seems to have the benefit of culling many of the smaller fish, allowing the larger ones to grow massive.
The Best Fishing Spots at Spring Pond, Avon CT
I’ve taken the liberty of drawing on a Google Earth Pro map below to show you my favorite spots to fish on Spring Pond at Fisher Meadow. I will break down each point in detail, going south to north as that is the most likely way you’ll find yourself fishing. Note that access to points 4, 5, and 6 can be limited by floodwaters at certain times of the year.
Spring Pond at Fisher Meadow in Avon, CT offers a number of great fishing spots.
Area 1: The South Eastern Corner & Shore
I’ve found the southeastern corner and shoreline of Spring Pond to be the most consistent fishing spot throughout the year. While there are plenty of good spots, many of them are very condition-specific. This isn’t. The western shore is very shallow, but the eastern shoreline is deeper and can be worked with a jerkbait or jig year round. At times, you’ll find fish absolutely stacked here. Other times, you’ll be able to pick a few off as you move north.
The woods are sparse enough that once you’re in them, for the most part, you can move along freely and make multiple casts at different areas. It’s a rocky shoreline that drops off fairly soon (maybe 3-5 yards out) and if you’re quiet, you’ll find fish get close to the shore. Depending on which hand you cast with, either approach it from the north or the south to ensure you’re making strong forearm casts and covering a lot of water.
The eastern shore of Spring Pond holds large fish year round. I caught this one on a jig in November.
Area 2: The Island Channel
Another popular fishing spot at Spring Pond is the island channel on the western shore. On a windy day this area produces current which can hold fish. While it’s not my favorite spot, I do make a point of stopping there and often catch fish. In fact, Tristan caught his first bass ever there.
Tristan’s first fish was caught in the island channel at Spring Pond on an unseasonably warm February day.
The channel itself drops off a few yards from shore and you’ll often find bass staging within it. If you have some good waders, or a canoe, you should also check out the shoreline both south and north from this area. There’s a lot of fallen timber to the north, and the south has 3 large submerged rocks that are hidden under the trees and hold fish, if you can get to them.
Any time the water is being driven by the wind, I like to try and present lures in this area, imitating prety that’s being driven by the wind.
Area 3: Deepwater Point
As you walk along the eastern edge of Spring Pond, you’ll eventually come to a place with a few picnic tables. Just beyond these are a few paths that allow access to a deep water point. This is a favorite location for carp anglers, who hang out on the bank and watch for a bruiser to swim through.
The southern end of this point is also a good spot for bass. I’ve had good luck fishing along the shoreline here. You’ll note that year to year there are often some large logs or sticks that stick up here. The only challenge is trying to cast to them without snagging a tree, as it can be awkward.
Finally, I’d add that if you have a boat, there is a weed line that forms a bit southwest of this point. Try fishing offshore here with jerkbaits for some giant perch and other fun.
Area 4: The Northeast Corner
The northeast corner can be fished from shore, though you may need to brave a bit of poison ivy to get there. There’s an alluring half-submerged tree right in the corner that can hold fish, but you’ll find them scattered in this area in general. I’ve found this to be a good spot to catch crappie.
Crappie caught at Spring Pond, Avon, CT.
This area is basically a little bay. When the water is high enough to hold fish, you’ll find them stacked along the southern and eastern edges of it. However, when the water levels are low, much of this is very shallow.
I’ve also observed huge carp cruising the shoreline just south of here. This is extremely shallow water though – a large flat that doesn’t drop off for some time.
Area 5: The Northern Shore
The northern shore of Spring Pond is wide open ground. This makes it ideal for fishing with kids, as there is plenty of space. The only problem is there isn’t always plenty of fish. It can be challenging to catch them here for a few reasons. First, this is a very popular spot that gets fished a lot. Secondly, the best cover for the fish is hard to reach without careful casting. There are almost always fish hanging out along the east (towards the northeast corner), but it takes a precise cast to catch them and not a tree. Likewise, you can usually find some fish along the western shore, but you need good muck boots. Note that there are a few submerged rocks along the west that can hold a good fish.
Another plus for this area are the little frogs. I have no idea what species they are (maybe wood frogs? Perhaps spring peepers?) but my son loves catching them when the fish aren’t biting. Once, we were able to get about two dozen all in this little area. When I write about fishing with kids, I talk about distracting them when the fish aren’t biting. This spot has that going for it.
Largemouth bass caught along the northern shore of Spring Pond, Avon, CT.
Area 6: The Cut and Spawning Bay
It took me years to write about this area before because I was afraid of spoiling the secret. The news seems to have gotten out somehow, given there’s almost always someone there. This can be one of the best spots to fish at Spring Pond at Fisher Meadow, but it is very condition-specific.
The northwest corner of Spring Pond is a spawning bay for largemouth bass, chain pickerel, and carp. Just adjacent to it is a small, rocky cut that is a glorified stream for much of the year. However, at certain points, enough water gets into this area that fish (and BIG ones) absolutely STACK.
Water can either flow in OR out of this culvert, depending on what is going on. When it is LEAVING Spring Pond, the area right before the culvert, which can only be fished from foot, can hold tremendous fish. They stack up on the other side of rocks waiting to ambush anything being swept along.
This entire area, frankly, is fantastic for fishing. If the water is deep enough, the northern side of the culvert (the stream itself) can hold dozens and dozens of panfish. I took a few hours off of work one year and took Tristan there and we just slayed them. It’s definitely a spot worth checking out.
A largemouth bass caught near the culvert at Fisher Meadows, Avon, CT.
When Can You Go Fishing at Spring Pond?
Spring Pond at Fisher Meadows is open for fishing year round, but there is no ice fishing allowed per town ordinance. If you’re planning a trip, you should be aware of a few things unique to this fishing spot:
First, be aware that Spring Pond is next to extremely active athletic fields. While I’ve never had a problem parking, if I were trying to launch a rowboat on a Saturday morning, I’d get there very early so I could park near the few openings that can accommodate this.
Around April or so each year, Spring Pond tends to flood heavily. It is connected to the Farmington River by a stream in the north, and there is also a culvert that dumps water into the southern corner of the pond. When it floods, it is impossible to access much of the western and northern shores without waders.
During the height of summer, the shallow, western shore of the pond can dry up. This can make launching a small boat difficult unless you’re willing to carry it a bit.
Does Fisher Meadow Have a Boat Launch?
There is no boat launch at Spring Pond, but there are a few places along the shore where you can safely launch a kayak, canoe, or small rowboat. If your boat is particularly heavy, however, you’re definitely going to want another person helping, as it’s hard to get right next to the water for much of the year.
In the map above, I placed two yellow circles where you can launch a small boat easily. The western shore has several places where you can back up quite close to the water, though I wouldn’t risk dunking a trailer in most times of the year.
What Types of Fish Are in Spring Pond at Fisher Meadows?
I have personally caught or observed the following species of fish at Spring Pond in Avon, Connecticut:
Largemouth Bass
Chain Pickerel
Common Carp
Crappie / Calico Bass
Yellow Perch
Bluegill
Pumpkinseed
Fallfish
American Eel
There may well be other species of fish at Fisher Meadows, but I have yet to catch them. However, I can attest that all of the species I have caught get HUGE in this pond. In the years when I was able to fully commit to it (read: before fatherhood) I would often pull a few largemouth bass approaching 6lb per year, but I’ve also seen huge pickerel and massive carp. Here are a few of my better catches over the years:
Helpful Links Regarding Spring Pond, Avon CT
Check out the following links for more information on this great fishing hole.
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station has an interesting page with details of aquatic invasive species in Spring Pond.
CTFishTalk.com has a number of people who frequently fish Spring Pond and offer fishing reports. Check it out and see if you can find a report from around the same time of year for some good hints on what to expect.
I hope this article was helpful. Spring Pond at Fisher Meadow is one of my favorite places in Connecticut to fish, so if you see me there, be sure to say hello!
2022 was a tough year for me personally, so I didn’t have much time or inclination to write about my fishing adventures on Lake Champlain. Even so, that doesn’t mean I didn’t have a blast up there fishing with friends and family.
The First Fishing Trip – May 20, 2022
One of the first real fishing trips I took to Lake Champlain this year was with my buddy Andrew. He was the same friend I nearly killed last year when the weather got a little out of control. Since we had such luck last year at Bulwagga Bay, that was where we concentrated this year as well.
As usual, we focused on the western shore making our way down the rip rap of railroad track fill. We tied into some absolute monsters, mostly while using the same Rat-L-Traps we had such luck with the year before. This lure produced both a giant bass for me as well as a real shocker – an Atlantic Salmon (the first I’ve caught casting!) Both were caught right along the rip rap early in the year.
This bass crushed a Rat-L-Trap. It was easily my biggest Champlain bass of the year.
I was quite surprised when this Atlantic Salmon hit a Rat-L-Trap tossed close to shore.
While we did spend most of that trip up in Bulwagga Bay, we also messed around a bit hitting rocky points and creek mouths south of the bridge. We didn’t have as much luck with the points (the water was high, cold, and murky at this time of year), but the creek mouths certainly produced, including this nice Northern Pike for Drew.
Drew with a nice Northern Pike caught in a creek mouth.
May 20, 2022 Thoughts:
The following were some of our observations for this fishing trip:
The water was much colder than we were expecting. We didn’t find much luck with fish on the beds though a few bass were clearly full of eggs.
We attempted to follow the railroad tracks north of Bulwagga Bay but the water temps absolutely plummeted once we left the bay and got past Port Henry’s marina.
Fish were stacked along creek mouths holding into the wind, apparently waiting for prey to cross their path. Crankbaits that dug in a bit were really working for another boat we observed.
The water levels were higher this year after a crazy low season the year before, but not as high as I’ve seen them.
May 29-30, 2022
Having scouted out the lake with Drew and having a good idea of where to find fish, it was time to take Tristan and my dad up for a Grandfather-Father-Son adventure a week or so later. However, even though Drew and I had our best luck up north about 10 days earlier, the three of us decided to concentrate on the south.
Tristan caught his fair share of largemouth as well as a number of smaller freshwater drum. We were mostly using drop shots with nightcrawlers (fully living ones, mind you) and concentrated primarily on the tried and true Vermont side of Lake Champlain south of the Crown Point bridge. While Tristan is starting to get to the age where he can cast really well, it’s just so hard to fish with anything besides worms when you bring a kid along. They work so darn well.
As always, it was so much fun taking my son and dad out fishing. I’m grateful we got another year worth of memories in the books.
After a long day of fishing, it was great to spend the evening by a fire with my son.
June 19 – 20th – Fathers’ Day Weekend
Tristan and my next trip to Lake Champlain was during their annual LCI Derby. I coughed up the money for the entry fee just in case we caught something massive, but we didn’t catch anything worth weighing in. That didn’t stop us from having a great time together. I always enjoy taking him up there with just me. It takes me back to my first fishing trip with Dad on Lake Champlain so many moons ago. I hope my son will remember the memories we made as well.
Tristan and I combined for a nice pair of bass for a fun photo together.
As is becoming customary, Tristan caught the biggest fish of the trip.
July 4th Weekend 2022 Fishing on Lake Champlain
The family and I headed up to Lake Champlain, as usual, for the July 4th holiday. There really isn’t a better place in America to celebrate the Republic’s birthday than the Adirondacks. Ticonderoga has a fun fair and great fireworks, and the fishing (and especially the frog bite) really kick into high gear.
Tristan with a bruiser he caught on a frog at dusk.
Since we were up all week, we fished all over creation. One day, we hit up Bulwagga Bay (mostly trolling) and tied into a few nice largemouth bass that hit white War Eagle spinnerbaits.
The next, we trolled the same way in Giard’s Bay (never a top producer for me) searching for Pike. Tristan managed a nice one in about 8-10′ of water.
Northern Pike caught trolling Giard’s Bay, Lake Champlain.
All in all, a fun trip as always that didn’t disappoint.
July 16 – 17, 2022
For our next big fishing trip to Lake Champlain, Tristan brought his friend. They were both born days apart from each other so they’ve grown up together, but this is the first time we were able to get the two boys up to Lake Champlain for some fun.
For the most part, we threw drop shots with the boys, which led to Tristan catching a very nice channel catfish all by himself (he did ask me to hold it for the picture though).
We also tried our hand at trolling a bit, seeking out Northern Pike. Tristan’s friend caught the big pike of the weekend which made for a great photo with him and his father. This is a great technique to cover a lot of water quickly and is also great for when kids aren’t quite at the age where they can cast far enough to use a spinnerbait well. If you’d like some tips on how to do it, check out my article on trolling for chain pickerel.
Nothing beats helping a Dad put their kid on a great fish to show their friends!
We finished up the boys’ trip with a lesson in frogging. I warned them that we probably wouldn’t catch much, but it was just too much fun not to try given how much fun it is to see fish jump out of the water and smack your lure. We did end up landing a few doing this, and everyone in the boat was hooked.
Of some annoyance, the water was already too low for me to use my boat launch by this time. I usually can stretch it out until August, but not this year. Even so, it was better than in 2021!
September 24-25, 2022
The last trip I’d take Tristan to Champlain for was on a long weekend in late September. The fishing was harder than usual, so it was a good thing we hadn’t been there for several weeks and a little fish like this was still enough to please him. He hadn’t caught many smallmouth this year, so he was just excited to get a new species!
Tristan and his Grandfather.
The scenery and weather was beautiful, however, and Tristan had a ball playing with all his friends up north. While I naturally spend most of my time documenting our fishing, Tristan has a ball playing with his friends as well and it was great to see them.
November 5 – 6, 2022
My last trip of the year was in early November. Ostensibly, we were going to close up the house, but Dad and I couldn’t resist dunking the boat in at Port Henry for one last shot. We decided to concentrate entirely on Bulwagga Bay, as it has become a staple in recent years. It did not disappoint. I wrote a full-sized fishing report on it here. Read it if you want to see why Dad was so happy!
The Year in Review
All in all it was a decent year for fishing. I’m glad that Lake Champlain rebounded a bit from 2021, which was a very tough year with very low water. Who knows what will come in 2023, but I pray to God that I’ll live to see another site like this. I find that each year as I walk to the water for the first time, I feel a huge weight fall from my shoulders as my lungs fill up with the scent of the lake and my heart starts to lift.
I can’t wait for that feeling again, but it’ll be at least another four months from now! Until later, Lake Champlain!
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.
Dad with the big fish of the day, caught a bit out from the rip rap.
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.
I’ve found this to be an absolutely crazy summer where I haven’t had much time to write. Work has been incredibly stressful lately given how understaffed we (like everyone, it seems) have been, and trying to hire some good people and retain many more. I’ve also gone completely bananas by what’s going on in the stock market and that has taken a good deal of my free time as well! The low water levels at Lake Champlain haven’t helped, either. Normally, I could get my boat to my dock through at least August but this year I couldn’t even bring it there in July. All this conspired to mean that there weren’t as many fishing adventures in 2021 as in years past, but I was able to get a quick ride north in this weekend to Bulwagga Bay with the wife and kids.
A Quick Jaunt to Bulwagga Bay
When I was last at Champlain in July, I had a hard time even launching my boat at the Crown Point boat launch. While I love my Lund Impact, it isn’t the easiest boat to launch in shallow water. Given the Lake Champlain water level reports were showing comparable levels for this trip, I decided to take the kids up to Bulwagga Bay instead.
Bulwagga Bay has been very good to me the past few years. I’ve had good luck trolling for pickerel in its southern, weed-choked shallows, and had great success throwing Rat-L-Traps along its western rip rap shore this year. I opted to stick to the latter with the kids as the very dry year has meant an abundance of shallow water weeds to contend with, and I figured the deeper water would give us the best chance.
As I was taking my daughter, I knew I’d only have a short time. She’s still very young (3) and isn’t quite as enamored with fishing as my son was. She enjoys it and asks to go frequently, but if the action isn’t hot and heavy she has a hard time staying focused for more than an hour or two. That meant focusing on presentations I knew would work. I tied on a white war eagle spinnerbait while I handed my son a drop shot with a live worm.
The Results:
My son beat me four fish to two and won the coveted prizes of “most fish,” “biggest fish,” “smallest fish,” and “most species.” In other words, he thrashed me on all accounts! While he was using nightcrawlers, he wasn’t just letting it sit there. Instead, he brought the worm back towards the boat with a a series of short hops. While the western shore of Bulwagga Bay is fairly deep, we were catching them close to shore in what is probably 3-4′ of water.
A yellow perch caught in Bulwagga Bay, Lake Champlain.
Surprisingly, that was the only yellow perch we caught. Even though my son was using nightcrawlers, all of his bites were big. This probably was due to our focusing on weed beds vs. the rocks directly, as there are a few spots in that bay where you are nearly guaranteed a feast of rock bass and other panfish.
A nice photo with the kids.
It certainly wasn’t the longest trip out there, but it was nice to take the kids up one last time. While fishing on Lake Champlain is great in the fall, it’ll get a bit too cold for them going forward and if I go, I’m going alone from here on to close out the year.
Useful Information
Granted this is a short post so here’s a few useful tidbits for anyone following and to help you with your own October trips to Bulwagga Bay.
Date: Saturday, October 9, 2021
Time: Roughly noon
Water Temps: 65 degrees at surface
Weather: Slight chop but mostly clear skies with a few whispy clouds
Location: Bulwagga Bay, Western Shore near rip rap
Presentations: White spinnerbaits (2 fish), drop shot with nightcrawler (4 fish)
5 largemouth bass taken, largest approximately 2 pounds.
Sorry for the short post but hopefully this helps someone.
I’ve been working with my son lately on persistence and keeping a positive attitude. He, like every normal six year old, is starting to notice that life doesn’t always work out exactly as planned, and it’s my job to help him figure out how to “keep calm and carry on.” He got a great lesson in why persistence pays off this past week when my father and I took my son on a fishing charter with my old friend Captain Mick Maynard of www.lakechamplainangler.com to try some vertical jigging for lake trout on Lake Champlain. Many things didn’t break our way until our grinding finally paid off and resulted in some of the best pictures of a smiling six-year-old a father could ever ask for, but it was a nail biter at first for sure.
The Objective
Our objective was simple – put my son on fish. He reeled his first fish in before he was two, so I knew he had a good chance of prevailing. All the same, I was pretty nervous. Lake trout are formidable opponents, and jigging for them is something I knew nothing about. Further, my boy has rapidly reached the point in his fishing career where he gets annoyed when he doesn’t catch a fish “all by himself.” That’s not to say he won’t happily run over to reel in any rod you hand him, but I knew I’d hear all about it if he didn’t hook up with one on his own.
I really wanted my son to have a good time out there, and hoped we could pull it off. All the same, going for lakers very much violates my maxim of “quantity over quality” when fishing with kids. I spent a good amount of time over the past several weeks coaching my son. We discussed how he couldn’t expect many bites, and he might not catch anything. I told him he couldn’t get frustrated or bored – we would have to keep plugging away.
Luckily, I could say for sure that Captain Mick would do his best for us. I’ve been fishing with him for over a decade and he checks every box when it comes to picking a good fishing charter. My son seemed reassured by this and I told him to trust Mickey and do exactly what he said. I hoped that he’d remember that and keep a good attitude despite being pulled out of bed at 3 a.m.
It was a sleepy start to the day!
Obstacle #1 – The Weather
We’ve been trying to get out jigging for lake trout with Captain Mick for a few years now. This is an open water sport on Lake Champlain, so you do need to pick your days. Unfortunately, we’ve had to either cancel a few trips the past few years or go to “Plan B” of a more shallow water attack given rough weather. Even on this trip, we had the dreaded, “The forecast isn’t good, but it’s your call” conversation the night before. Once again, I managed to pick the one day of the week that called for a deluge of rain. Even so, there wasn’t any indication of thunderstorms and the wind wasn’t supposed to be too bad, so we decided to go for it.
A double edged sword about fishing on Lake Champlain is that the weather reports are typically useless. You have to understand that the counties and towns are so vast up in the north country that even a guarantee of sunshine or rain is nothing of the sort. You can very easily find yourself in a situation where you’re either staring at rain far in the distance or being surprised by a microburst that rushes down from the Adirondacks before you can react.
It’s so unpredictable that I’ve taken to say that people don’t get to become meteorologists until they’ve killed at least three fishermen. Most times, Murphy’s Law dictates that this isn’t going to work out your way. I guess on July 8, 2021, someone up there was looking out for my son. While there was a bit more wind than forecast early, after a few hours in the wind piped down and we had perfect conditions for jigging.
Early in the morning and so far so good…
Obstacle #2 – Finding Lake Trout
The next obstacle we had to overcome was finding lake trout. When you’re fishing for them in the summer, you’re going out deep. On Champlain that meant heading far out into the main lake. The vastness of this habitat cannot be overstated, and fish are known to swim around! Unfortunately we didn’t find too many spots that held a huge number of fish so we were dropping down on little groups of 2-3 hoping to entice a bite. We spent a good amount of time moving around – the deep water equivalent of power fishing, I suppose, but aided by Mick’s extremely cool 15″ Humminbird fish finder. If my moon tickets ever take off, I’ll have to buy one!
Where to Find Lake Trout
I’m not going to give Mickey’s spots away, but I think it’s fair to at least explain what we were looking for so you can try and jig for lake trout yourself. Basically, it all boils down to structure, as with any other fish. You’re going to want a good topographical map that has detailed depth contours (here’s a link to a great topographical map of Lake Champlain). Depending on the time of year, lake trout will hold at different depths. We fished in 80 – 110 feet of water or so in early July. Earlier in the year (March, April) you can find them shallower as evidenced by those going after them in Bulwagga Bay. Later in the year, Mick tells me you need to go even deeper (120+ feet).
While depth is important, the contour lines are even more so. Basically, you’re looking for humps, reefs, points, or other interesting topography. It’s not really that different than analyzing a shoreline – you’re just doing so with structure that lies 100 feet under water. Structure that you’d be interested in fishing if seen on the surface will likely hold fish down below as well.
Once you get to these spots, you’re going to want to use your fish finder to zero in on fish. Specifically, you’re looking for fish cruising just off the bottom (1-3′) as these will be actively feeding. You’ll see them show up almost as “snakes” on the fish finder. They look like big fat strings of yellow and red just off the surface. Once you find them, try to hold over them and drop your lure straight down. This is much easier with a Minn Kota Terrova or other trolling motor with a spot-lock feature. If you are unfamiliar with this great product, check out my review on the Minn Kota Terrova.
When searching for Lake Trout, look for structure such as underwater points (A) or humps (B) in the right depth zone.
Obstacle #3 – Hooking, Fighting, and Landing Lake Trout
Once you find lake trout, you have to get them to bite. Again, I don’t want to give away Mick’s secrets as his livelihood depends on them, but I don’t think it’s shocking to tell you that you jig for lake trout with, well, jigs. We used a particular large soft plastic on them, though I suppose others would work as well. These are big fish and they are deep so you’re using heavy jig weights to reach the bottom quickly, and large lures to entice fish to bite.
As with most fishing, the trick to triggering bites was to add some erratic action to your lure. It’s really no different than a jerkbait, jig, or even twitching a spinnerbait as you burn it in. The erratic action mimics prey trying to escape and triggers a predatory response. The difficulty is that you’re fishing so far down that it takes forceful jolts of the rod to get the action you want. We tried to keep our lures just off the bottom and get them flaring out as best as possible. If your lure was too far off the bottom or laying directly on it, you weren’t going to get many bites.
Challenges when Jigging for Lake Trout
Our biggest challenge by far was hooking lake trout well enough that we could get them to the boat. While it wasn’t too difficult to solicit a bite, getting them to the boat was another story entirely. Point in fact, we lost our first SEVEN fish that hooked up with before we started to get the hang of things, and probably lost close to two dozen before the day was through. Our landing percentage was very similar to what you would expect when fishing with frogs.
There were several issues we had to contend with:
We were fishing at depths of 80 – 120 feet or more which made a solid hook set difficult;
Lake trout have very bony mouths and we were using large hooks on heavy jigs that have difficulty penetrating them;
We were all doing our best to put my kid on fish, which meant handing him the rod after we hooked up a fish.
The Hook Set
An authoritative hook set is critical, and at these depths that means using braided line and stout tackle. Captain Mick set us up with his Vexan Rods paired with Lews reels. These were spooled with braided line that seemed to be about 20lb test. We were using 17lb test fluorocarbon leaders though Mick mentioned that 20lb is also worth using. These combos allowed us to get a pretty good hook set into the fish, but only if you were paying close attention. If distracted and forced to set the hook awkwardly, it was a pretty good bet that fish was coming off.
Bony mouths require solid hooksets when jigging for lake trout.
Keeping Constant Pressure
Assuming you were able to drive the hook point into the fish’s boney mouth, the next challenge was keeping it there. Even the slightest slack in the line, it seemed, caused these fish to get away. It was extremely important to keep a constant bend in the rod and pressure on the fish to keep the hook pinned into its jaw.
This of course is easier said than done when trying to hand off a rod to a six-year-old. This is not a fish you can give a single inch! It took us several tries before we got it right. At least my boy got a good lesson in not giving up.
Persistence Pays Off
Eventually, we got the hang of things, “Murphy” took a coffee break, and we started landing fish. To say my kid had a blast was an understatement. To say the three adults in the boat were relieved would be the understatement of the year. As mentioned, we’d lost so many fish between us, and you never know how many chances you’re going to get — you need to convert. We were all ecstatic when we finally did.
If that isn’t the look of relief on a Captain’s face, I don’t know what is!
Once we beat the skunk, we had much better luck for the remainder of the day. So much so that we even managed to get a triple. That was something after how many fish we lost during the morning, but it’s a photo I’ll cherish for a long time – three generations and three lake trout in the boat. You never know how many more opportunities you’ll get to do this, and God blessed us with the chance.
Three generations fishing together – this is what it’s all about.
Other Fun – Lamprey Eels
Lake trout weren’t the only entertainment. My son also had a lot of fun playing with the lamprey eels that often came up with them. He’s your typical boy when it comes to handling critters. He spends many of his weekends prowling local ponds for crayfish, frogs, and turtles, so handling lampreys was no big deal for him. These provided an interesting distraction and something cool he could tell his mom about.
Let no man call my son squeamish.
The Kicker Fish
While my son did reel in several fish that others hooked, I am beyond thrilled to say that he hooked and fought several fish, including the largest of the day, all on his own. The biggest of the day went 32.5″, and 11lb 10 oz. It was considerably larger than most of the others we boated, and was nearly as tall as my boy!
He was extremely excited about this and couldn’t wait to go home and tell all of his friends. He’s even willing to show them the picture, “even though he’s smiling” in it 🙂
To me, this was the photo that sealed the deal as another great charter with Captain Mick and a wonderful memory with my boy that we’ll talk about for years to come. It also was a day that provided a valuable lesson in I’d say for a six-year-old, it’s not too shabby! Many thanks to Captain Mick for putting my son on fish and helping me put some great photos in the family album!
His smile says it all – this is a far bigger fish than any I caught when I was his age.
You know how “every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings?” Well, every time a fisherman dies, a meteorologist gets their veneers. That saying was reinforced on a recent fishing trip to Lake Champlain with my buddy, Andrew, when my trusty Lund Impact, “Penelope,” nearly did a backflip heading home from Bulwagga Bay. To say we were a little puckered by the experience would be an understatement, but hey, we made it back and with some great fishing pictures to boot!
The Gear
Andrew’s kids had stolen all of his rods so I loaned him two. One had a Rat-L-Trap on it, and the other a Rapala Shadow Rap. Andrew was throwing these in yellow perch while I used a cherry craw trap and a clown jerkbait. While we played with a Senko for a few minutes in a bay eventually and I caught one fish on a drop shot with a Berkley Gulp minnow, the Rat-L-Trap and Shadow Rap caught every other fish for us.
Friday, April 30, 2021 Lake Champlain Fishing Report
Andrew and I headed up to Champlain early Friday morning. It’s a four hour drive but it flew by with anticipation. Those of you who keep up with the blog know that Dad and I absolutely slayed the fish a few weeks earlier, so we were darn near giddy to make a cast. We hadn’t been in Crown Point for more than 30 minutes before everything was set and we were on the water.
As I’ve mentioned before, it’s always a little difficult when you haven’t been to a lake for several weeks. You aren’t going to know exactly where the fish will be, so you have to make educated guesses. This time of year, that usually means the fish are going to be on rocks. All the same, given the crazy weather they’ve had up there this year, I wasn’t sure if that would hold true, or if fish would have pushed into the weedy shallow bays already as they often do in Mid to late May on Lake Champlain. We decided we’d give both a shot.
The Weather Conditions
Friday was a cold and miserable day with drizzling rain throughout it. By the end of it, apparently a hurricane blew through (joking but not really) right around the bridge. Saturday was warmer and sunnier. We weren’t able to fish on Sunday as I had to rush home to get my son off to hockey.
Most of the places we fished had water temps between 50-55 on Friday. On Saturday morning they’d chilled down considerably to 47 but were up to 56 in some areas by nightfall.
First Thing’s First: Rocky Points
We tried our luck first by fishing a few rocky points south of the Crown Point Bridge. We didn’t spend too much time on them because we were planning on Friday being the scouting day, but managed a couple of largemouth and pike. Nothing too crazy but at least we got the skunk out of the boat.
I wasn’t complaining!
On to Some Bays
We then went across the lake to some New York bays. They still didn’t have many weeds in them which is good, but on the other hand the water remains about two feet low. I couldn’t get my deep v back into them the way I usually do this time of year. We putted around a bit and caught a couple of fish, but this wasn’t anything to write a blog about. We also tried the bay just north of the mill but didn’t catch a thing. I normally call this “1000 Cast Bay” because it seems like it takes that long to hook into something sometimes, but when you do, there’s a good chance it’s a northern pike. Well, we weren’t hanging around much past 52 casts today before we headed for more rocks.
A nice largemouth pulled out of a bay. It was a little too cold, I think, for many to be in these waters just yet.
Up to Bulwagga Bay
After messing around south of the bridge for most of the afternoon, we decided to blast off towards Bulwagga Bay. The western shoreline is mostly rip rap for a huge stretch and so we figured we might have some luck. Also, it had been raining quite a bit that day and down south was pretty murky. Maybe the clearer water up north would be the ticket.
We worked our way down the shoreline drifting slowly and tossing jerkbaits and Rat-L-Traps. The action wasn’t as fierce as a few weeks ago, but we were averaging a couple of fish an hour, and they were all of good size. We didn’t catch a single fish that wouldn’t be a keeper if they were in season the entire time we were there. They were hitting on both lures but I’d have to give the nod to the jerkbaits this time around. I caught a northern pike just under the Vermont Master Angler qualifying fish length at 35″ that put up a fun fight. It was challenging getting it into the bass net but Andrew made it happen!
That’s the fish I drove four hours for! Also, note how calm the water is. LIES.
We also managed to get into the bass pretty good. Many were of decent size indeed – the type you wouldn’t be too upset about if you were in a fishing tournament.
A largemouth bass pulled out of Bulwagga Bay.
There were some points along the western shore were the action really heated up. I can’t spill every secret but from the looks of things the next day, the particular spot seems to be a well-known community hole that fishes a little faster than the rest of the rip rap. I’ll leave it at that and let you do your deductions! We found smallmouth and largemouth stacked up there and were catching enough to even have a double.
A nice double of bronze and green fish.
Other Explorations
Of note, we tried much of the rest of Bulwagga Bay too, but didn’t have the same success. There was nothing biting south in the shallow flat, which wasn’t really a surprise, but I was expecting some more action on the rocky northeastern shore. All that we managed was a large yellow perch. We didn’t mess around at all near the hazards this trip.
The Ride Home
Remember how I started this Lake Champlain fishing report complaining about weathermen? They nearly killed us. As you can see in the photos above, Bulwagga Bay was nothing but serene the whole time we were there. Unfortunately we didn’t notice that the winds were picking up considerably in the main lake until it was time to leave.
Now, I don’t want to be the guy that calls a wave a certain size when it really wasn’t. I didn’t have a tape measurer with me and couldn’t pry my white cold knuckles from the steering wheel even if I did. All I know is that we found ourselves in swelling water near the bridge the likes of which I haven’t seen. It was extremely rough swells extremely high in very narrow quarters – not fun. We got through it slowly, doing our best to quarter the waves in the narrow confines, but the boat went close enough to vertical a few times that I found myself looking DOWN at the motor to make sure the stern wasn’t getting swamped as I gunned it up a wave before chopping the throttle to slide down the other side.
In retrospect, the boat handled it well and we didn’t spear any waves or die so I suppose I did too, but it was extremely active driving until about the buoy south of the bridge when things finally calmed down a little bit. Anyway, if you’re new to boating consider reading this great thread on walleyecentral.com where a few Great Lakes captains discuss how they handle rough water. I’m glad I did at one point earlier in life or I wouldn’t have been able to put the knowledge to use and get us out of there.
Saturday, May 1, 2021 Lake Champlain Fishing Report
Having awoken from our nightmares of capsizing and drowning, Andrew and I decided to immediately go back to “the place that almost killed us.” It was a chilly start as the front that almost sunk the boat also brought the water temps down to around 47 degrees. Nonetheless, there were plenty of other boats out in Bulwagga Bay as the fleet was trolling for salmon.
I repeated a mistake that I’ve made several times. If there’s a particular spot you really want to fish, don’t drift to it, especially on a Saturday. If you try to do this, I guarantee another boat will pull up in front of you and sit on it for an hour. That’s exactly what happened to use, so the best action spot entertained others for much of the day. That’s OK – we had our turn with it Friday.
Rocky Points South of the Bridge
Given that we couldn’t do exactly what we wanted to, we decided to work our way south of the bridge applying the same pattern of focusing on rocks. We’d played the rocky point game the day before in the south but hadn’t committed to it like we were now. We blasted down and hit every single one of them until we found one that produced consistent fish. Again, most came on a jerkbait.
I’ve noticed an interesting phenomena over the years fishing the rocky points south of the bridge. For whatever reason, on any given fishing trip it seems like only a few will hold fish. Which one changes each trip! This observation held true this time as well. We caught absolutely nothing on most and then pulled up on one and had a fish every ten minutes or so.
A rocky point we fished. But was it the point that produced, or just a cool picture?
Testing the Vermont Side North of The Bridge
I haven’t spent a whole heap of time fishing north of the bridge on the Vermont side, but the shoreline looks incredible. Since Andrew’s the kind of guy who is down to try new things, we made a few drifts this way and tied into some good fish. Most of them were smallmouth but we managed some pike as well.
I had a very strong bite just north of hospital creek but it broke away before I could see it. Judging by the deep runs, I’m guessing it was a large northern.
Andrew’s Idiot Pike
So Drew caught a small northern pike that probably isn’t going to make it. We threw it back unharmed and it swam off happily enough, but the way we landed it convinced us it’s not playing with a full deck. Andrew caught it on a jerkbait which was properly hooked in its mouth, yet the pike, for whatever reason, came in upside down. If it was foul hooked, I’d get it. This fish was just unique. Maybe it was high from all the wastewater and farming chemicals Vermont dumps into the lake.
We let him go, but I don’t have much faith in this pike lasting much longer.
Calling it a Day With Some Nice Lake Champlain Smallmouth Bass
We finished up the day south of the bridge fishing any rocky shoreline that we could find. Andrew had a pair of gorgeous smallmouth bass, one of which I’ll show the shoreline for, and one of which I won’t! Again, these were all on jerkbaits (the Rapala Shadow Rap in yellow perch, to be precise).
A nice smallmouth on a rocky shore.
With my apologies to Drew, I’m not showing the shoreline on this one!
Until We Meet Again, Lake Champlain
It was another good trip for the books. I haven’t gone fishing with Andrew for years and it was great to have his company out on the water. He’s one heck of a fisherman and I hope we’ll have more reports posted soon. The water remains low but I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other good catches this year on Lake Champlain. Thank goodness I don’t have to go another year without it!
Thanks for reading, everyone! Glad we made it out alive to post this for you!
Those of you who have followed my blog know that I love fishing on Lake Champlain. Everyone should fish it at least once in their life. All the same, as America’s sixth largest lake, it may be a bit daunting the first time you visit. Below, you’ll find a collection of resources available to help you go fishing on Lake Champlain.
If I’m missing a resource or you’d like your website added to this list, please send me an email and I’d be glad to add it.
Since this will be a long article, here are some links to jump to what you want:
Some of the best places to find information about fishing Lake Champlain are fishing forums. In them, you’ll often find fishing reports for specific areas and times of year as well as recommendations on tactics and lures. I’ve found the below to either be active today, or at least archived with very good information from the past. If you know of a forum that is either active or has a useful history, please let me know.
Lake Champlain United Forums – Quite an established forum with 1000’s of topics to use as a resource for fishing Lake Champlain. There is a lot of information about most species the lake has, with a particularly active salmon/lake trout community. There’s also a nice “share a ride” forum that helps you find new friends to fish with.
Fishing Lake Champlain Forums – Another long-established forum with 1000’s of topics on fishing Lake Champlain. There are plenty of fishing reports and more specific information to be found, however the forum activity seems to have died down lately. No matter – there’s still a ton of archived posts to learn from and likely many people checking in from time to time if you happen to have a question.
VTBass Forums – There’s still a few guys who are active. The main draw of this forum is most of the folks concentrate on the southern end of the lake. Many launch from Larrabee’s (across from Ticonderoga) or further south at Benson’s Landing. I’ve found this to be a great resource for fishing that end of the lake.
Bass Resource’s Northeast Bass Fishing Sub-forum – This isn’t a forum devoted to Lake Champlain but as one of the larger bass fishing communities out there, you can find several posts about it if you dig around. This is also a good bet for finding some lakes near Champlain in case the south wind has made life unbearable!
Websites and Blogs
There are several anglers who either maintain or once maintained a website or blog devoted to fishing on Lake Champlain. Again, even the stuff that hasn’t been updated in awhile is a useful historical record. Ever keep a fishing journal? I’ll bet you were glad for anything you wrote, even if it was years past. Here are the websites and blogs that I’m familiar with, but as always, if I’m missing something, let me know.
Note that these are websites devoted to the lake – not websites that happen to have an article about the lake. You can find those in Periodicals further below.
Captain Howard Hammonds’ www.champlainbass.com isn’t updated as much as it used to be, but it still has a number of great fishing reports and articles from years past that you can refer to as a resource for your next visit to Lake Champlain.
New York Department of Environmental Conservation has significant resources about fishing Lake Champlain including shore access information, boat launches, and accessible angler sites. They also have an opportunity to participate in different studies such as a diary program for smelt, lake trout, and salmon anglers.
My website also has a section devoted to Lake Champlain fishing reports that you can access here.
Facebook Groups
As of writing, there are a number of Facebook groups available where you can quickly get information and see fishing reports. It may well be that these are now the new “fishing forums” of the future. There are many groups dedicated to this lake, but here are some of the more active/larger ones. If you’re trying to grow a group and want it included, please send me an email.
Lake Champlain Bass Fishing. Focuses on bass fishing though there are plenty of conversations that spring up about everything else the lake has to offer.
Fishing 802. Not strictly speaking exclusive to Lake Champlain, but plenty of this area code borders the lake. A very robust group with high membership and fishing reports/photos.
Lake Champlain Forecasts/Ice Reports. Another group that tries to help people understand what the weather actually is as opposed to what the weather channel says it is.
There are several anglers out there who are posting video resources of fishing Lake Champlain to YouTube. One nice thing about this is that often they’re hard-pressed to hide where they’re fishing! Many guys will go out of their way not to show background shots on photos that give away their honey holes. This is hard to do on video, so you might get extra clues!
While this media is ever expanding, here’s a few particularly useful videos that I’ve found. You just need to go into their channel to see what else they have. Don’t forget to like and subscribe to their channel. That will encourage them to keep posting more stuff that can help you!
Outdoor Passion has a large number of videos for fishing Lake Champlain, including this great video of jigging for Lake Trout with Captain Maynard. I have a charter booked to do just this in a couple of months and can’t wait!
Here’s another good video with Captain Matt Trombley, this time helping a video production team catch some northern pike. You’ll also note what I mean about videos not hiding the shoreline. There’s some pretty distinctive architecture on some of the lake houses!
Remember those things called books? I sure do. I still love reading (and writing) them! Books are the ultimate resource, so I’ve spent much time trying to find the different books that talk about fishing Lake Champlain. Unfortunately, there aren’t many to begin with, and some are out of print. At least you’ll know what you need to look for on e-Bay.
Lake Champlain Bass Fishing Guide by Don McKee – This book is out of print and extremely hard to find, so you might want to set up an e-Bay alert for it and “Buy it Now” as soon as it’s available. This graced my dad’s coffee table for years and I grew up reading through it. It claims to be “Book I” though I’ve yet to find any others. It covers the southern end of the lake, from Westport to Whitehall.
Bass Fishing 101: Lake Champlain by Dale D. Brown – There are still a select few websites offering this book today. I’d grab yours while you can (I just bought two more). This book covers the entirety of Lake Champlain from South Bay up to Canada and offers a paragraph or two worth of tips of pretty much every bay, cove, and creek along the way.
IF you can find this book, BUY it. Not only does it have fishing tips for the southern end of the lake, but it offers a fascinating look at what local businesses existed years ago. A true time capsule.
While not specifically written about Lake Champlain per say, most of the stories in my book, Fishing with Kids: A Parent’s Guide, take place on the lake, so there are a few hints for fishing it.
Maps and Fishing Spot Guides
There are a few companies that offer fishing maps for Lake Champlain. Here are the ones I’m aware of, as well as links to help you buy them. I’d recommend picking these up. They’re much more convenient for scouring over than a phone. Some are even waterproof so you can bring them on the boat.
Lake Champlain North Detailed Fishing Map – A waterproof map from Fishing Hot Spots that has good tips for people new to the lake. This and the next two maps are a handy resource for anyone planning a fishing trip to Lake Champlain, as it cuts down on a lot of the guesswork.
Lake Champlain South Detailed Fishing Map – The same deal as the first two, but this time for the southern end of the lake, including the vaunted Ticonderoga region.
Fishing charter captains are a living, breathing (sometimes talking) resource about fishing Lake Champlain. Here are the various folks offering fishing trips out on the Lake. If you are a charter captain on the lake and don’t see your name here, please email me and I’ll be sure to add you as well as a link to your website. I’m not leaving anyone out on purpose!
Captain Mick Maynard of www.lakechamplainangler.com (and, if you’re sick of hard water in winter, also of Florida’s Largemouthcentral.com). Captain Mick and I have been fishing together for over a decade now across several states. He’s a great charter captain and one I can’t speak highly enough of. We met when my wife and I were on our honeymoon and he took us out for a charter. We caught every from largemouth and smallmouth bass, northern pike, and even lake trout in eight hours! You can normally find him fishing out of Plattsburgh, NY though he’ll come south a bit for lake trout now and then.
My wife with a nice honeymoon smallmouth Captain Mick Maynard put us on.
Sure Strike Charters, LLC. Though I’ve never had the pleasure of fishing with Captains Brian or Paul Dunkling, their website is filled with testimonials from happy anglers who have. They seem to offer two types of boats, a larger one designed for trolling and a smaller boat for bass and pike trips. They’re based out of Shelbourne, VT, which is a nice town to visit and has plenty to do after the charter.
Captain Mike Tarasavage of iFishLakeChamplain.com is another captain I’ve yet to meet, but I’m familiar with his charters from years of following various Facebook feeds. I’ve only heard good things. Per his website, he will take you fishing for any species, but specializes in lake trout. He’s based out of Plattsburgh, NY.
Fish N Rigg Charters, operated by Captain Bill Gregorek might be a good option for someone with smaller kids/spouses who aren’t too crazy about “the elements.” He fishes off of a 31′ Silverton Flybridge equipped with its own head and plenty of room to get out of the weather. This is going to limit you to fishing for lake trout, salmon, and rainbow trout, but if that’s what you’re looking for, give the captain a call to book a trip based out of Charlotte, Vermont.
Captain Randy’s Relax-N-Reel Fishing Charters out of West Chazy, NY offers cold and warm water species fishing charters on Champlain as well as seasonal (read: winter) trips in south Florida. He has a few boats to choose from depending on what you’re fishing for and your creature comfort needs.
Captain Matt Trombley of 3rd Alarm Charters is a very popular choice. He’s quite active on various Facebook groups and has a strong following. Having honed his craft over thirty years of fishing Lake Champlain, Captain Trombley offers trolling, drift boat trips, casting trips, and ice fishing adventures. This service is based out of Vergennes, VT.
Cloud Nine Charters and its captain, Obe White, offers a unique twist to fishing charters on Lake Champlain. While you can get the standard lake trout and salmon excursion that several other guides offer, he also will take you up into Otter Creek and anchor to catch yellow perch, white perch, and walleye. I haven’t fished with him, but this is an intriguing option that seems like it might be great for kids.
Past Tournament Results
There’s often information you can glean from past tournament results. Either the results themselves have a bit of information tucked away, or at least they give you names to google to see if you can find a news hit with some information on how they won.
There’s so many tournaments on Lake Champlain that it would be an entire series of posts just to try and find them all. I am not Google – they can do that. There is, however, one incredibly great resource: Anglerschannel.com and their link to Lake Champlain. This is basically your one-stop shop for all major tournament information on the lake with numerous articles discussing how various pros did on their fishing tournament on Lake Champlain. Check it out!
Tackle Shops
Sometimes the best place to get information is a tackle shop. Here’s a few links to get you started finding them. Most of the shop owners are happy to act as a resource for fishing Lake Champlain IF you approach them with a question like, “What should I buy that’s working?” They want you to buy more!
I need to put in a little plug for Norm’s Bait and Tackle. Located just west of the Crown Point bridge in Crown Point, NY, Norm’s has everything you need for a good fishing trip. The staff is super helpful and friendly and they’re more than willing to let your kid peek over the fish tanks to see all their live bait. I’ve been going there for years and have never been disappointed with the selection or service. You can also buy fresh food there including fresh-caught yellow perch.
If you aren’t near Norm’s, take a look at the other bait shops around. Don’t be fooled – Plattsburgh has plenty of places you can get tackle too, but it’s mostly big box stores.
Other/Miscellaneous
Here are some other resources about fishing Lake Champlain that just didn’t quite fit anywhere else.
Major League Fishing’s 2019 Challenge Select took place on Lake Champlain. You can stream episodes from Amazon. If you’ve never watched a Major League Fishing event, it’s an interesting format. Given that it relies on total weight vs. top five fish, you get to see what the pros do when they’re fishing for quantity.
I hope you found this article useful. If you have a website featured please consider linking to this to help others find it. If you would like your website added, please send me an email and I’ll be happy to oblige. Also, consider joining FishingFather’s Facebook page so you can keep up-to-date on all new content.
I grew up hearing Dad talk about his adventures on Alaska fishing trips. He’d talk of flying in on a seaplane just below the clouds, and lush, majestic island mountains soaring from the sea. He’d rave of dark waters filled with fish, and how he’d catch his limit while orca breached nearby, and bald eagles filled the air.
I remember staring in wonder at the photos he’d bring back, and leaning in closer asking him to tell me another story about this enchanted land and the man who made these Alaska fishing adventures magical: Larry McQuarrie, better known as “Captain Mac.” Obliging, he’d fill my head with tales of giant Alaskan salmon and halibut caught on fishing trips of the past.
Years passed and the circumstances of life changed. Dad didn’t travel up to Alaska for twenty years. He spent his time and money instead on planning roller hockey travel tournaments for his sons’ teams, and running his business. I started to forget about Alaska fishing excursions and all the stories he used to tell me as a kid. Then, one day, my phone rang and he asked me if I and my wife would like to go with him to Sportsman’s Cove Lodge on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, to meet that old friend of his, Captain Mac.
That summer, we would go on the absolute best vacation of my life. Not only does Sportsman’s Cove Lodge run one of the best Alaska fishing charters out there, they run one of the best resorts in Alaska too. Never before or since have I been treated to a customer experience so flawlessly executed, by a staff as hard-working, knowledgeable, and dedicated. Within fifteen seconds of arrival, I knew I was going to be treated like a king.
Why You Should Choose Sportsman’s Cove for Your Alaskan Fishing Adventure
There are a number of different Alaska fishing lodges who offer a fishing charter service. My father has been to several, and all have their advantages. Some are positioned in the most remote, pristine waters. Others are so bare-boned that it really feels like a true Alaska fishing adventure just to get there and survive for a week. Sportsman’s Cove Lodge’s big advantage — and this is key — is that it is the most exceptionally family-friendly Alaskan fishing lodge of the bunch.
I can think of few places on earth that would be better to bring the wife and kids along for your fishing charter. There are several important amenities available at Sportsman’s Cove that are going to go over well with your family.
Top-Notch Customer Service
First, staff has impeccable manners and customer service. Even the phrase, “No problem” is forbidden, as Captain Mac wants nothing of this double dose of negativity. The whole crew has obviously put a ton of time into thinking of every detail.
Great Amenities for the Middle of Nowhere
I’d almost be inclined to go so far as to say Sportsman’s Cove lodge is a true Alaska luxury fishing lodge. This is saying a lot for an organization that’s in the middle of nowhere. They go to great pains to hire the finest chefs who serve up exquisite meals, they have comfortable accommodations with breathtaking views, and they even have a hot tub.
Now, let’s not mince words about it: this is an Alaskan fishing lodge, not a spa. You’re there to fish primarily. It’s run by anglers, for anglers, and no one is going to break out their cummerbund. I’m not sure what exactly all the “Grey Poupon folk” out there would think of my labeling it an Alaskan luxury fishing lodge. All I know is for the normal folk of the world, this is the place that you can take a guest who isn’t a fanatical angler, and he/she will still have a good time and feel comfortable. Dad has gone to several other Alaskan fishing lodges over the years and while they too sound like a blast, it’s pretty clear from his stories that Sportsman’s Cove is the one to bring your family to.
This is one of the greatest sunrises I ever witnessed. You can see it each morning at Sportsman’s Cove Lodge.
The Best Alaskan Fishing Charter Boats, Bar None
Secondly, the charter boats are custom-made with an enclosed, heated cabin. This is important if it starts to rain (as it does from time to time), or if someone just needs to take a break and warm up. Additionally, the boats are cleaned nightly and are spotless in time for the next charter.
These custom built fishing boats are the best in Alaska. Photo curtesy of Sportsman’s Cove Lodge.
Alaskan Fishing Charters are Cruises That Aren’t Boring
Finally, there’s great scenery. I hear of so many people spending just as much money to go on a cruise to Alaska as they would to go to this world class Alaskan fishing resort. Look, nothing against the place, but Ketchikan is one of the stops on most of these cruises. The people are friendly and all, but you’re not there to look at the town – you’re there to look at the natural beauty. That can be done just as well or better from an Alaskan fishing charter as a cruise ship!
This scenery is just as beautiful from one of
Arrival in Ketchikan to Start Your Alaska Fishing Excursion
You’ll arrive at Ketchikan International Airport by whatever airline brought you. It’s about the smallest international airport you’ll ever see. You’ll then need to transfer to a seaplane to reach the lodge. Depending on timing, you may have an opportunity to explore the town a bit.
Ketchikan is filled with natural beauty, but is definitely a frontier town. Unfortunately, we went during the tail end of the recession and found that many of the shops were shuttered. Those that were open were run by friendly and helpful staff and had no shortage of Alaskan souvenirs. If you’re after collectibles you might want to stock up now as there may not be time when you return from the lodge (also, it’s much easier to browse without carrying a box of frozen fish with you).
All in all, Ketchikan is a quaint little town that leaves a good impression of Alaska as the great frontier. It’s worth timing your flights so that you have a few hours to explore before you take your float plane to the lodge. Just remember that if you have young kids in tow, depending on how the economy is going, there may not be an enormous amount of stuff to do.
Layover In Seattle
If you’re traveling very far, I would recommend that you plan to spend a night in Seattle. There is nothing worse than starting your vacation tired, and getting to Alaska from most places can be an ordeal. Go ahead and spend an extra PTO day to ensure that you’re well rested when it is time to reel in all those giant Alaska salmon and halibut – you’ll thank me later!
Float Plane to the Lodge
One of the more interesting things about this whole experience is how you need to load up on a tiny little float plane to reach the lodge. As soon as you step into this you will know that you’re on a true Alaskan fishing adventure.
I’m not crazy about heights or flying, so you might think a rickety prop plane would be terrifying. Strangely, I found it less stressful than jumbo jets. It’s a much more personal experience where you’re right there with the pilot (one of you will even sit next to him) and you’re able to look around and enjoy the scenery. The planes don’t go very high up in the air, either, and you have the peace of mind of knowing that it’s basically a flying boat, and you’re mostly flying over water. You also get to keep repeating to yourself, “I need to do this to get to my Alaska fishing trip!” over and over again as much as necessary to keep your spirits up!
The trip itself doesn’t take very long – maybe 20 minutes or so. You’ll wish it was longer, as you’re treated to a birds-eye view of Alaska’s true beauty. If you’re lucky you might see a whale while you’re up there. At the very least you’re going to catch a glimpse of some great scenery as there are dozens of islands littering the sea.
Landing on the water is an interesting experience in and of itself. It’s much smoother than you might think and not as scary as it sounds. Once you slow down a bit, your plane converts to a de facto boat, which, given you’re on a fishing blog, you should be able to handle.
Arrival at Your Alaskan Fishing Resort
Do you remember how I told you that within fifteen seconds of arrival, I knew I’d be treated like a king? Let me explain why.
The float plane pulls up to the dock where the entire staff is waiting, waving, and smiling. OK, that’s pretty cool and not something you see at every hotel, but the really impressive part was the instant I stepped off the plane, they greeted me by name. “Hi John! Welcome to Sportsman’s Cove!”
I have no idea how they did it. Three or four floatplanes landed at once, and there were six of us on it. I can only assume that they had some sort of arrangement with the airline and figured it out by the flight number, but however they did, it was an awesome touch and set the stage for a great week.
Having stewards ready to take our luggage right at the dock meant that all we had to worry about was marveling at the lodge, dreaming of our and getting ready to kick off our Alaskan fishing adventure.
This is the equivalent of a traffic jam in Alaska, but the expert staff at Sportsman’s Cove Lodge will have you docked and unloaded in no time.
The Friendliest, Best-Trained, Most Diligent Staff that Ever Existed
Sportsman’s Cove Lodge has exceptional standards for their staff. As mentioned earlier, they take customer service so seriously that even the phrase, “no problem” is forbidden. Their staff bends over backwards to make your fishing trip to Alaska the best vacation of your life.
Let’s face it. Hospitality can be a grueling business. We’ve all been to that hotel that has the snarky concierge or maid. Not so in Sportsman’s Cove – they have more smiles per capita than Disney World.
This is all the more amazing when you consider what stress the staff must be under to keep things running smoothly. They work long hours, far from their family and friends for the entire summer. They’re held to very high standards that are impeccably met day by day. They work in a high-stress environment where everything is accomplished in a flurry. They do this day in, day out. While I’d hope most guests are polite, I’m sure some aren’t. While I’d imagine most guests are fairly self-sufficient, I’m sure they have their divas. That the staff is able to seamlessly deliver such a high standard of care is a testament to their work ethic, upbringing, and training.
If I could offer two more compliments:
It’s been years since I’ve been there, and I still am raving about their customer service;
For the rest of my life, if I ever see a resume that has “Sportsman’s Cove Lodge” on it, that’ll be the candidate to beat.
They are that good.
Orientation
Shortly after everyone arrives and gets settled into their rooms, there is an orientation at your first dinner. This includes going around the room and doing introductions, which might be a little annoying for those of you trying to forget what Zoom calls are like, but does at least attempt to get everyone friendly and socializing.
You’ll be seated at your table with your captain and will make plans for the next day as you break the ice and get to know each other. They’re all friendly and extremely knowledgeable charter captains with years of experience between them. If you have someone in your group who isn’t the strongest angler, let the captain know and they’ll be happy to give a quick warm up/demonstration down at the dock of how to fish the different techniques you’ll be using.
You’ll also be handed a piece of paper that asks what niceties you’d like for your trip the next day. Have a favorite soda or beer? If it’s at the lodge, it’ll be on the boat waiting for you the next day. Any special requests, like a left-handed reel? Let them know and they’ll do their best to accommodate you (just remember, it’s not like they can send someone to Cabela’s that night, so if you have anything truly out there, make sure you organize that with them well in advance of your trip).
After a hearty dinner and orientation, it’s time to hit the sack as the fleet leaves early the next morning!
Fisherman’s Breakfast
They don’t send you off for your Alaska fishing trip with an empty stomach. There is a full fisherman’s breakfast each morning that will fill you up. Coffee, eggs and bacon are standard fare while there’s also plenty of fruit. Once you finish, there’s a table full of cold cuts for you to make your own lunch for the day.
Your charter captain will again be there with you for breakfast, and you’ll put together the details for the day’s Alaskan fishing adventure. You might take a vote to decide if you’re going for bottom fishing for halibut and lingcod or if you’d prefer to fish for salmon. The weather will have some say in all of this, of course.
Once breakfast is over, it’s down to the docks where you’ll gear up and load up and get ready for your adventure. The boats will be in tip-top shape, clean as the day they were bought, and it’ll seem like you were the first person to ever board them.
Alaska Guided Fishing Trips
Let’s face it, great as the customer service and amenities are, the main reason you’re at Sportsman’s Cove is for a memorable Alaska fishing excursion. You’ll be in luck as the lodge boasts some of Alaska’s best fishing guides, and they all work together. While the fleet of several ships goes out together, they will break apart slightly in search of fish. If one ship hits pay dirt they’ll often radio the other charter boats in to make sure every crew has an enjoyable experience.
Your fishing guides will take you in search of two main Alaskan fish species: salmon and halibut. That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of cod, lingcod, and rock bass too, but at least the times I went out, we focused on these two major species. Of these, I preferred fishing for salmon as I found mooching to be much more fun than jigging the bottom, but Dad prefers the latter as it’s a bit easier on him (at least until the fish bite).
Some of the Best Salmon Fishing a Trip to Alaska Can Provide
Sportsman’s Cove Lodge is about an hour away from some of the best salmon fishing in Alaska. When the Coho are running, your fishing charter can have a salmon in the boat every few minutes. Your experienced Alaska fishing guides will have you catch salmon in two ways: mooching and trolling.
Most people are probably familiar with the concept of trolling for salmon. Basically, you take a lure or bait, or some other kind of salmon trolling rig, and drag it behind a moving boat until a fish hits. It’s a great way to pass the time while you relax in the heated cabin and have a coffee or beer. It’s not all that different than trolling for pickerel in shallow water, just the hits are bigger and the bait runs deeper.
Mooching fishing, on the other hand, might be a bit new to some. You basically take a mooching rod, which is long and strong, and reminds me a bit of a muskie rod, and you drop your mooching rig (usually some sort of cut plug herring or the like) down to a bit past where salmon are showing up on the flasher. Then you reel it up into and then past them a bit. Once you’re past, you can drop it into them again – just be prepared for a hit as many come on the drop!
So what is a mooching rig exactly? Well, it’s basically a cut plug herring attached to two hooks that dangle 4-6′ away from a large lead sinker via a swivel. The idea is to have the herring spin in a tight circle when retrieved so that all its scales can flash and call the fish in. The faster the retrieve, the tighter the circle. If the cut plug herring isn’t spinning, something’s gone wrong and you need to address it. Luckily for you, at Sportsman’s Cove Lodge, the captain and deckhand are Johnny on the spot and notice there’s an issue long before you do.
This is a mooching rig. You take a cut plug herring and hook it twice so it spins on the retrieve.
What Type of Alaska Salmon Will You Catch on Your Charter?
We caught four species of salmon while fishing in Alaska:
Coho were the most common, and put up a pretty good fight. You’ll find that most of your fish box is filled with this species.
Pink salmon are delicious, but they have such soft mouths that it can be difficult to land them.
Chum salmon are also called dog salmon – according to the crew, this is a good one to smoke as they aren’t as tasty as the rest.
King salmon live up to their name. This salmon is one of the hardest fighting, most acrobatic and spectacular fish you can catch in Alaska. When you have one of these on the line, you’ll know it as they’ll make long jumps and runs and generally put on a show.
Intense Alaska Halibut Fishing Trip
We went to Sportsmans’ Cove when salmon were biting and concentrated on those, so we didn’t spend as much time fishing for halibut. As a result, I never saw any of the true monsters that the lodge has on their website, but I know they’re out there! All the same, we caught limits of eating size halibut. While I suppose there’s something to be said for catch and release fishing, you probably didn’t travel all the way to this remote corner of the globe without wanting to fill your cooler.
Regardless, a 40lb halibut puts up one heck of a fight. It would be the fish of a lifetime for your kids and not exactly boring for you, either. While it’s not the true monster that you may have heard of, it’s nothing to sneeze at, and you never know – much larger ones could be lurking. You just might have to be prepared to throw them back if they’re outside the slot limit!
Fishing for halibut is more of a “deep sea” Alaska fishing excursion. We would find halibut in much deeper water than the salmon, in general and fishing for them was different. You drop a bait all the way to the bottom and start pounding on it like you’re knocking on a door. Eventually, a fish swims by and you have quite the fight on your hands. It was like reeling in a ticked off magic carpet, so make sure you load up on that Fisherman’s breakfast and have your energy.
This was the big fish of the day one rainy afternoon. Visit Sportsman’s Cove website for several more photos of larger halibut than this!
A Feast for Ages
Sportsman’s Cove’s deckhands and shore help take care of all the fish cleaning for you. All you’ll need to do is let them know if you want any of your salmon smoked for a slight charge. The rest will be cut up and placed in boxes. You you can either check them with you through the airport, or ship them to your house. Considering we normally would drive two hours to Boston to catch a flight, we usually paid for the shipping, but to each their own.
We’ve been cooking these fish for years, compliments of Dad’s many trips to Alaska. There are no finer tasting halibut and salmon than line-caught, wild Alaskan fish filets. You would certainly do yourself a disservice if you went all the way there and didn’t at least bring back one box.
Frequently Asked Questions About Alaskan Fishing Adventures
Below are some common questions people may have about their next fishing trip to Alaska. If you have a question that isn’t answered, feel free to email me or post a comment and I’ll make sure that I get back to you.
What Should You Bring to Your Alaska Fishing Trip?
While I can’t speak for other outfits, if you go to Sportsman’s Cove, you don’t need to bring a whole lot. Basically, you just need to bring yourself and the clothes you would normally wear. Sportsman’s cove provides all the raingear you would need as well as boots (you should consider bringing some shoe inserts).
You will want a camera, and any creature comforts from home. Bear in mind that most of these fishing resorts are in remote parts of Alaska, and it’s not exactly like there’s a drug store down the street. While they may have some basic toiletries available, this isn’t guaranteed and the selection won’t be great to begin with. if you absolutely can’t live without something, bring it yourself.
One final suggestion: bring one of those sleeper blindfolds. Depending on what month you go, the sun might never set.
What Should You Wear for an Alaskan Fishing Adventure?
This might strike some as obvious, but Alaska is pretty darned cold even in June or August (the two times we went). I’m looking back through all our pictures and I’ve yet to see one where we aren’t bundled up. Here’s one of my wife in a hoodie with some crazy fur hat. Perhaps it gets warm for a week or so in July, but you should plan on wearing spring clothes. The sort of stuff you’d wear during your spring or fall cleanup out in the yard is usually pretty good.
If you visit Sportsman’s Cove, they have all the raingear you need. That isn’t guaranteed at the other Alaskan fishing lodges you might try. You’ll want to scour their website and ensure you aren’t unpleasantly surprised.
With all that being said, remember that you need to take a float plane to reach most of the Alaskan fishing resorts. These planes have limited payload capacity, so don’t go bringing oodles of luggage with you.
Should You Tip Your Alaska Fishing Guide or Deckhand?
Yes. A 15 to 20% gratuity would be very nice of you. Frankly, I’ve yet to meet any person on this earth who busted their butt more than our deckhand Cody did all those years ago. That man was up before all of us and worked through our dinner. He was easily pulling 14 hour days if not more to make our trip memorable, all while smiling. He earned every penny of this tip!
How Much Does a Fishing Trip to Alaska Cost?
You’ll want to reach out to Sportsman’s Cove or other Alaskan fishing charters directly for information on pricing. They have different packages available depending on the number of days you want to fish and what lodging you’d like to book. What I can tell you is from looking at your average cruise pamphlets, the price is comparable. Again, if you’re going to Alaska, it’s to see the wildlife more than the cities. It makes little sense to book a cruise for that to stare at Orca from 50 feet in the air. They swim right next to the charter boats, along with seals, whales, and other critters.
Taking Kids Fishing at Sportsman’s Cove
Given this website caters to helping families take their kids fishing, I’d be remis if I didn’t provide some information about how to take your children on an Alaskan fishing adventure. I reached out to Sportsman’s Cove’s general manager, Patty Seaman, or “Miss Patty” as she is affectionately known at the lodge. She was kind enough to answer several questions about fishing with children in Alaska.
What is the minimum age you recommend for visiting children?
We have found that 11 years old seems to be the age that most kids have some kind of attention span to allow them to be on boats where they don’t impact other guests.
What would be the ideal ratio for parents to children (could 2 parents bring up to 4 kids to fill out the 6 spots on a boat, or would you recommend a 1:1 ratio?)
We have two gentlemen that each bring their 3 boys and they began when the first ones were as young as 10. I think it is all in how the kids are raised and if they are respectful of the parent and their surroundings.
Is there a particular time of year that you think younger kids would do better with?
Perhaps this could be due to weather, types of fish, etc. I think the earlier trips would be better. Granted, there may be fewer fish but then the deckhand would have more time to spend individually with the young person. When it is crazy busy the kids may not get the same attention.
Is there anything parents should do to prep their kids for the trip? I know your staff does a great job of making sure everyone knows how to mooch right off the dock the night before, but what would be helpful for people to arrive knowing?
To be respectful of the other guests, not to run on the dock. If they are younger and unaccompanied the kids need to understand that they will be asked to wear a life jacket on the dock, not just on the boat. To understand that the captain and the deckhand are to be listened to, and follow their instructions, while on the boat. That we don’t have the best internet.
Is there a particular cabin at the lodge that you think would be best for parents to rent?
No, the Cottage might be the best place but it is always booked over a year in advance. As long as the parent is able to navigate the stairs, any place is good. That being said, the kids should not be allowed to climb on the railings in the Eagles Nest for fear of falling.
Anything else that you think would be important for parents to know?
Just that the parent will be the very best judge if their kids are actually interested and well behaved enough to spend the money on them for the trip. It’s a big $$ investment for a very young person to be here and be allowed to waste their time on an electronic device instead of enjoying the outdoors.
Conclusions
Sportsman’s Cove Lodge is always going to have a special place in my heart. We went there twice before my children were born, and chances are I’ll be there again, this time with them. While there are plenty of good Alaskan fishing lodges out there, Sportsman’s Cove is the Alaskan fishing lodge to go to with your family. It’s accessible for everyone from kids to grandparents and fun for all. The staff is singularly committed to leaving you with only the best impression. The natural beauty is unparalleled, and the fishing guide service is among the best Alaska has to offer.
In short, if you book your first Alaska fishing trip at Sportsman’s Cove lodge, I’m sure it won’t be your last.
Thanks for reading. If there’s anything else you’d like to know about my experiences at this fabulous Alaskan fishing resort and lodge, please feel free to reach out.
If I were a lizard or some other cold-blooded critter, Lake Champlain would be the rock on which I’d bask. There’s something about fishing there that sets me at ease and warms me to the core. I’ve fished plenty of other places from Florida to Alaska, and while they all were fine, fishing in the north country is something special indeed. It doesn’t hurt that we live near one of the best fishing spots in Lake Champlain, either!
Dad and I returned to the lake this weekend after a long absence, thanks to COVID-19. We didn’t manage to fish more than an hour or two in all of 2020, but we returned with a vengeance. While we spent most of our time there opening up the house, we did manage to get out for several hours Saturday and enjoy a May-like day on April 10. The weather was perfect, the fish were biting, and I and found one of the best rat-l-trap colors out there. It’s a little gem they call “cherry craw,” but which I’m forever going to call “the Vader.” All this set us up for one of the more memorable trips in some time. After our long absence, it was almost like the lake was welcoming us back home.
A Special Kind of Day…
I was prepared for a long weekend of vacuuming bugs, trying to get the sulfur smell out of the water pipes, and not much else. Most years, April is the time for the salmon trollers and diehard anglers. When I make my way up there, even much later in the month, it’s usually a frigid day spent clawing for a few scarce bites, so I wasn’t expecting much.
This weekend flipped that script. Friday and Saturday were both in the mid-70’s. The water temps in several areas were pushing 56 to 57 degrees. The water was glass flat and calm. It was as though someone stole a day from May and plunked it on the calendar four weeks early.
Well, that changed things in a hurry. The bugs were vacuumed up in haste, the pipes probably still smell like sulfur, but the boat was gassed up and launched and off we went.
If you get a day this nice and calm on Lake Champlain in early April, you go fishing. End of story.
The Afternoon Bite
Dad and I got out on the water around noon. We figured this would be fine for this time of year — it would give the water a little time to warm up and the fish to get going. It paid off.
When it comes to Lake Champlain south of the Crown Point bridge, there’s always a question of which side to fish. While you can find diverse cover on both banks, the New York side, for the most part, tends to have wide, shallow, weedy bays. Vermont, on the other hand, finds the shoreline much closer to the drop off and significantly rockier. Largemouth bass are found on both sides routinely while most smallmouth are taken on the Vermont side in my experience. If you fish there all the time, you’re going to get pretty well keyed in on where to go, but since this was our first trip of the year, it was anyone’s guess.
After a short discussion, we decided that we’d start in New York and see if any fish were sunning themselves in the shallow bays. I had a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap tied on while Dad was throwing a scatter rap. Most times of the year, the New York side would get too weed-chocked to use these, but as of now there weren’t many weeds in yet and we were able to get them through OK if we kept our rod tips higher.
Good Ol’ Chainsides for the First Bite
There was a little breeze coming from the south, so we motored up that way and drifted across what will become a grass flat in a few weeks. It was a little slow going at first until we came across some clearer water towards the north end of the bay. There, a few good-sized chain pickerel were lying in wait. We hooked up with three good fish to get the skunk out of the boat.
Not a bad chain pickerel to start off the season!
To Vermont!
Even though we caught a few chains on the New York side, they weren’t exactly lighting us up. We decided to head over to Vermont and start casting to rocky points. Again, we let the wind drift us down considerable shoreline. It’s the same area Dad used to take me fishing when I was a little kid. It feels good to repay the favor 30 years later and gets me a little sentimental at times. It’s interesting how the roles have reversed. Now I’m doing everything from boat control to taking care of tangles so he doesn’t jab himself with the hooks trying to free his own lures.
We stuck with the same lures, and here’s where that Rat-L-Trap really started to shine. Numerous largemouth and smallmouth bass were had, with the biggest smallie going 20″. They were fighting aggressively and it was all I could do to keep them from jumping.
This would qualify as a Master Angler fish but I only have the NY license. Maybe next time!
We got into maybe 12-15 fish on the Vermont side over the course of an hour or two. Most of them were decent size, some 3 – 4lbs, certainly, with a few fat enough that they might have been pushing 5lb (though that also could just be the long, COVID-compelled forced respite talking too)!
We stink at selfie’s.
Fishing with Friends
The action was consistent and no one was complaining, but Dad wanted to get back and do some chores (he hates vines and needs to cut them on sight), so I headed back to the dock. We swapped passengers there, as my friend and his son came out with me to catch up and catch fish.
We started off on the Vermont side and Jay’s son caught this beauty of a largemouth. It gave him a good fight and acrobatic show and you can tell from his smile, he was pleased. After fishing Vermont for a bit we thought we’d head back to New York and see if we could entice a cat or bowfin on a minnow, but they weren’t biting. The kid did land another good bass there though, so he was happy.
Smiles like this are the whole reason I made FishingFather.
The Evening Bite
When Jay and his son had to go home for dinner, Dad and I went back out on the glass-calm lake to stretch out every last inch of sunlight. I again tossed out the Rat-L-Trap (that I being very gingerly with, might I add–I retied nearly every fish as I only had one of that color) while Dad started using a Rapala Shadow Rap. These are great jerkbaits for early in the year especially. They seem to catch more fish than X-Raps, but the issue is they’re nowhere near as hardy. They have thin wire hooks that are annihilated by any good sized fish, and Dad had several.
Dad with a nice smallmouth bass.
The lake was special that day. Again, it was like a day in May tossed into the beginning of April – quite unheard of if you ask me, but I’ll take it. I know the big man in the sky has plenty of other issues to deal with far greater than me, but I swear, the times Dad and I have really needed a good fishing trip, he’s delivered. This trip reminded me quite a bit of one six years ago when Dad lost his mother, my grandmother. Everything seemed to align, the fish were eager to bite, and we managed to land all the big ones. We held out as long as we could before heading back in. Multiple bass of good size were landed before we called it a night.
Lake Champlain is my happy place, and this photo makes it easy to see why.
While I think every fisherman has a few Rat-L-Traps in their tackle box, I’ve never really committed to fishing one for an evening like I did last Saturday. I’m glad I did, though, as I was definitely getting more bites on them than Dad did on the scatter rap during the day (the shadow rap gave a good accounting for itself later on).
You know a guy is working out well for his sponsors when he’s convincing folks who haven’t fished with him for years to go buy all of their products. It has been a few years since I’ve fished with Captain Mick, but I’ve been following him on Facebook with envy seeing all the huge fish he’s bringing his charter clients daily. I know he’s been on the Pro Staff for Bill Lewis lures for a bit now, and I also know he doesn’t just endorse anything. It’s one thing for a professional tournament angler to pitch a product, but quite another for a charter guide who is responsible for putting all their clients, with varying skill sets, on fish. The charter captains aren’t going to push lures that don’t work, or they won’t be charter captains for long.
That’s my theory, anyway, so when Mick keeps posting lures he’s using on Facebook, I trust him that he’s actually using them and that they actually work. Seeing that he had a really good Friday, I picked up a couple of 1/2 oz Rat-L-Traps at Wal-Mart in Ti on the way up. I decided to go with cherry craw just because red lures seem to work well early in the season for me. I only thought to grab two because I figured I’d be throwing a jerkbait before too long.
A nice sized largemouth bass caught on this Rat-L-Trap
How to Fish a Rat-L-Trap
There’s no wrong way to fish a Rat-L-Trap. You can burn them back to the boat, work them back in on a series of snap jerks and flutter falls, or run them over the top of submerged weeds, “ticking” every one of them on the way back and hoping for a strike. This weekend, however, I went with a slow roll and banged it up against all sorts of rocks and cover trying to elicit a response. I figured it made sense to slow things down given the water temps weren’t even 60 degrees yet, nice though the day was.
Best Rat-L-Trap Colors?
Whatever one works, of course! As mentioned, I was throwing red this time around. In the past, when I’ve bought them I’ve tended to load up with some sort of silver baitfish look, or a yellow perch variation. Red is usually a pretty good color for lures early in the year as well as on overcast days, especially in murky water like so much of Lake Champlain is south of the bridge. If I was fishing in Bulwagga Bay, I likely would have gone with the perch or baitfish.
Captain Mick, you are an expensive friend to have.
Other Observations
The lake is LOW. Scary low. So scary low, that I’m concerned when I return with my family in a few more weeks, we might not be able to use our dock. Normally, it works just fine through August, when things start to get a little hairy. This year, however, it seems to be several feet lower than normal. It’s only at 96.55 feet. I’m sure some expert out there could tell me how close to record that is or isn’t. All I know is that this time of year, I’d expect the water to be up to at least two or maybe three of these blocks.
The water is way lower than I expected it. I’m usually fishing off the second one in May.
I sure hope the place gets some rain before we head back up there. While the town launch isn’t exactly far, it’s a pain with small kids and I’d certainly prefer to just dock the boat all week. There’s also the matter of wanting my daughter to get a chance to fish off our dock. It’s going to be hard to do that in 6″ of water!
Until Next Time…
It was a much-needed trip and I’m blessed God made the weather and fish so cooperating. It’s always hard to leave all the fish Lake Champlain alone again, though I’m sure they’ll have others to keep them company. I’m looking forward to returning, though I don’t know what this early break will mean for the spawn or season. If I were the fish, I’d be thinking about spawning now while there’s still some water in the lake, as the levels are quite concerning.
What a glorious view.
Well, there’s nothing that can be done about that, I suppose. I’ll just have to sit here and bide my time until I can return to Lake Champlain for another great fishing trip with Dad. Until then, I’ll just have to watch Facebook with envy while all the rest of you slay them!
After several days of trying, I’ve finally pulled it off. My first open water (or any water for that matter) fish of 2021! We’ve had ice out here since the 11th and I’ve gone a few times to Spring Pond and the Farmington Reservoir trying to catch a fish.
I’ve been going a bit nuts trying to get the first fish of the year. This COVID thing is really starting to get to me and I needed the smell of victory on a fishing lure or two. Unfortunately, it’s much harder to fish these days than when I was younger. Years ago, I’d simply get out early and stay out late until I managed to coax something — anything — to bite. That’s not possible with small children and having only so much time to work with.
Early Failures…
My first attempt was back on the 11th, again at Spring Pond. I brought out my trusty St. Croix Legend Elite 6’6″ spinning rod with a clown Rapala Shadow Rap and worked the only water I could find (which wasn’t much). You wouldn’t believe me, but I did manage to get a small bass to hit it right in that lane you can see in the photo below. Unfortunately, it threw the hook about 4′ from shore, crushing me! So much for an early fishing report from Spring Pond – I need at least something to write about.
I may have been a bit keen, but I nearly caught one, I swear!
After that heart break I went back a few times but didn’t have much time to work with. You really need to work jerkbaits slow this time of year to be successful. That’s twice as hard to do that when you know you only have 45 minutes to an hour to fish.
I also tried my luck at the Farmington Reservoir off of Route 6 a few times but had no luck there, either. That place is always tough. Frankly, so is Spring Pond, but Spring Pond at least has huge fish that could reward you. The best I’ve ever pulled from the Reservoir went about 3-4lbs. Anyway, I tossed my share of jerkbaits, jigs, and lipless cranks. No matter what I tried, nothing bit since that one that spit the hook on the 11th.
Today’s Spring Pond Fishing “Action.”
I’m not really sure most would call one fish “action” but I beat the skunk and that’s all that matters. I set out to Spring Pond after finding high temperatures for most of the week (easily in the upper 50’s if not greater). The hope was that would thaw out the place a bit more and perhaps make the fish more active.
I parked in the south lot and started working my way with a #10 X-Rap in Yellow Perch color counterclockwise around the pond. Not so much of a hit anywhere. I did notice that the pipe in the southwest corner was gushing in water and the water rose a bit. This’ll probably set things up nicely in a few days near some of the “hidden gems” you’d know about if you ever fished it at low levels. Spring Pond can have some furious action once the water is about 6-10″ higher than it is right now.
I didn’t have a thermometer for the water temps, but at least it wasn’t immediately freezing my line guides as I brought it up. In any event, the one fish of the day – and a glorious little bugger at that – was caught in the extreme northeast corner by casting out far (not near the laydown) and working the x-rap back in. The bass (all of 10″ or so) hit the x-rap about halfway back. It wanted to jump but I managed to keep it down and get it to shore. It was a little dinker but I’ll take it!
The first fish of 2021!
Other Signs of Life
Carp where already breaching all over the northwest spawning flat, which is a promising sign of things to come. Further, multiple turtles were observed in the southeast. The pond is starting to come alive and good fishing should be had in just a few more days to weeks of stable weather. Hopefully I’ll have more Spring Pond fishing reports for you soon.
I need to wait a bit before I take my kids fishing (taking them this early would all but guaranteed violate my “get a fish in the livewell/bucket” rule), but I hope to get them out soon. My son especially has been chomping at the bit, and it’s time for my daughter to catch one too. As I’ve mentioned before, Spring Pond is a great place to take kids fishing. I just need them to have a bit better chance of catching something!
Anyway, the skunk is gone. Here’s to a great 2021 fishing season, everyone!
