Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain 6-1-08. Launched at Ticonderoga 1230pm. Water temp 64 degrees. Wind blowing out of the west at 20+mph. The lake at Ti is murky with a visual range of 2-3ft. The sheltered bays are much cleaner with a range of 5-6ft. Spawn is in full swing for the large mouth bass. Caught a couple of nice large mouths in the 3-4lb range. Most all fish were caught on rattle traps and crank baits. I found it difficult to try and site fish or do much pitching/flipping with the windy conditions, so I stuck with the crank baits and rattle traps. Fish were holding in the 4-6FOW along the outside of weed edges. Fish were keying on isolated pockets of weeds, or sparse clumps. The white Rebel WEE-R crank bait produced the best. It runs shallow enough to not bury itself in the weeds but deep enough to catch the top of the grass. Once the bait catches on the weeds a good rip pulls it free and most of the stikes came when ripping it from the weeds. All the female bass caught today were post-spawn. Skinny bellies and tails starting to heal. I figure the spawn is on the downhill swing and should be over in the next week or two. Some of the shallower grass in the bays are blooming and starting to scum over. It will only be a week or two before getting the scum frogs out! Recommendations: Look for the grass in the 4-8FOW, Key on the outside edges. If wind permits, flip jig and pigs in black/blue and greenpumpkin. Most of the fish have been keying on the outside edges but you may have to go in the weeds a little deeper to get the big ones. Keep the action baits handy, Rattletraps, shallow cranks for the fast action. If the fish are feeding you can boat a limit in a hurry. A few other fishermen have reported the spinner baits are working well, but loosing some to the Big Northerns.. Side note: I thought I had bagged a rather large Northern today, but turns out Catfish like crankbaits too.. Good Luck and FISHON!!

Lake George

6/1/08 Launched in Ticonderoga, Mossy Point ramp, water temp 56 degrees. Bright sun, calm winds. Started the day at 0700 under these conditions. But those conditions changed very quickly, West wind picked up 10-20mph and cloud cover followed, even had a few sprinkles. Found the small mouth starting to make a few beds. Found more of the small mouth bass cruising the flats. Most were male bass in the 3/4 to 1# range, but were numerous. Picked up several bass from the bedding areas. Caught all on greenpumpkin tubes with 1/4oz tapered head jigs,”thanks to Mad-Ty jigs”. Searched several of the main lake humps for bait and small mouth.  Could not find the large schools of bait. However, I managed to catch a few 12-14″ fish on drop shot rigs tipped with white 4″ pencil worms, thanks to “BMB Custom Baits”. The next week or two should see the northend of the lake explode with spawning smallmouth. Recommendations: Check the main lake humps for the bait. If the bait is there the smallmouth will be there also.  Use the drop shot rig to get down to them. Use a white or black 4″ pencil worm. Find some of the spawning flats and set up on the travel lanes (points, ditches) to catch the fish staging. When the water temp comes up a couple of degrees the bass will start to move up to the flats and spawn. Good Luckand FISHON!

Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain report 5/24/08: Launched in Ticonderoga 12noon.  Water temp ranging from 58 degrees in the main lake to 64 degrees in the sheltered coves. Air temps in the mid 60’s, but felt cooler due to the wind blowing.  Wind blowing 10-20mph from the north. Lake was choppy and stained. Boat traffic was heavy, with the majority being fishermen. Started fishing main lake points with crankbaits. Rapala DT 10 in Crawfish color and Bomber tx in citrus color. Caught several fish ranging from 2-3lb. All were being taken on the outer edge of the weed lines in 9-12FOW. Not all of the main lake points produced results. Only a couple of key points produced. From the main lake points I moved to the sheltered coves and found the bedding fish. Several bedding fish caught were in the 2-4lb class. No big giants were sighted or caught. All bedding fish had to be aggravated into biting. All bedding fish were caught on weed jig tipped with black and blue Mudd Bugg trailer. Found alot of cruising male bass either looking for nesting site or leaving nest. The chop on the lake made the site fishing difficult. Recommendations: Hit the main lake points with crankbaits and rattletraps. If fishing for bedding fish, a good pair of polarized sunglasses is needed. Check the warmer, shallower coves and try to be as quiet as possible. Be persistant. Some of the fish caught today had to agrivated into biting.   

Lake George

Lake George report 5/24/08: Went out of Mossy point in Ticonderoga, water temps ranging from 51 in the main lake to 54 in the smaller sheltered coves. Air temp in the upper 40’s with bright sun. Started fishing the small sheltered coves looking for warmer temps. Caught a few small bass on jerk baits and tubes. No bedding bass found yet in the north end. I did find several cruising fish in the shallow coves but only one taker. Moved back into the main lake and started fishing some of the well known humps. Cloud cover and north winds picking up (@10-20mph) Several small mouth bass in the 2# range were found, however not in abundance. Most fish were caught in and around giant schools of bait. When the bait fish disappeared so did the smallies. The fish caught were fat as footballs. All were caught on drop shots rigged with Berkley Gulp minnows in white and Bass Pro shops tender tubes in green pumpkin. Fished several main lake points with limited success. Also talked to several others bass fishermen and they also found the fishing tough.

 

Lake George

Got out today for a couple of hours on Lake George. The day started with air temps in the mid 50’s with bright sun. Water temp running 54-55*. Most fish were caught on Rapala suspending jerk bait in black/chrome. The smallies were aggressive but nothing over 2lbs. Fish were coming off main lake humps in 12-20FOW. Moved to second hump in hopes in finding some of the bigger smallies. Caught several more small smallies most coming on the jerk bait and some coming on a Storm swimmbait, (shad color) but all fish were in the 1-2lb range. Moved to shore line and found several bigger fish. A 3.5# large mouth fell victim to the suspending jerkbait, while one nice 4.5# smallie fell victim to a black/red Mudd Bugg texas rigged with a 2/0 Eagle Claw hook with a 1/4 oz. weight. Several large mouth in the 2lb range were also caught on the Mudd Bugg in black/blue. These fish were in the 12-16FOW. Cloud cover and a south wind moved in and started kicking up the main lake. The smallie bite was still on when I got off the water but the largemouth bite had slowed down.

If going out to Lake George,  try some of the main lake humps. Some of the bigger fish should be moving in soon. Use the suspending jerkbait and work it fast. This erratic action should tell you if the smallies are there. If bite is slow, throw a texas rigged crawfish bait. These fish should be targeting the crawfish soon. A jig and pig will also work well for the large and small mouth. Try using the Mudd Bugg or the Swamp Thang or if your perfer a jig, check out some of the Mad Ty products. These jigs are awesome.  The Mudd Bugg, Swamp Thang, and the Mad Ty products can be found at Saratoga Tackle or ordered direct from www.nybassguide.com. Take a look, and stay in the game.

If in the need for a new boat, check out the Nitro line of bass boats. These boats are super stable and powered by Mercury motors. (No. 1 on the water). Sleek lines and a dry confortable ride will get you to the fish in style. If your syle is pleasure boating, check out the line of boats offered by Alpin Hause. These guys have everything under the sun, and a staff that is second to none. Fiberglass and aluminum fishing boats, Fish/ski’s, bowriders, cuddy’s, and party boats. With several locations to choose from, Alpin Haus has it all. The Mercury trained maintenance staff will keep you Mercury powered boat worry free for years to come.  Check out your boating intrest at www.alpinhaus.com 

When rigging your new fishing boat, or if you want to add storage to an existing boat,  dont forget to try the Cooks Tackle storage system. These units provide a unique storage solution and keep all your favorite baits within reach at all times. I have several of these on my boat and they sure come in handy. These units have a money back guarantee and are very easy to install. Check out the Cooks storage units at www.nybassguide.com or visit Cooks direct at http://www.cookstacklesystems.com. 

May 4, 2008

May, 4 2008

Saratoga Lake: Water temp ranging from 52-54 degrees, Rain and cloud cover has kept the water temps down. Cool air temps in the mid 50’s to low 60’s. But despite the adverse conditions, the fish were biting. Several reports of people coming in catching 20-30 bass ranging in size from 12″ to 6#. Bass being taken on suspending jerkbaits, crankbaits and even a swimbait. My fish were taken on football head jig (skirtless) produce by Mad Ty jigs with a Mudd Bugg trailer produce by yours truly. Not many fish were taken but the average size was just over #4. The bigger bass are still holding back on the outer edges in 10-12′FOW, while the smaller bass moving into the shallows for the warmer water. Warmer weather should really get the bigger females into the spawning mode in the next couple of weeks.

Both the Mad Ty and BMB Custom Baits can be purchased at Saratoga Tackle or ordered direct through the web site. Check out the complete line of baits. If you don’t see something you like, give a call and it can be made to order.

Cooks Tackle storage systems are a life safer to keeping your boat organized. It keeps everything at your finger tips for quick access. No more digging through boxes or containers to find that lure. Open a lid compartment and everything is displayed. Check them out using the link feature or visit direct at www.cookstacklesystems.com

Fishing in style can be accomplished in a Nitro Boat. These boats are awesome. they have plenty of room, enough storage to keep everything organized, and a safe dry ride. The new “Z” series boats are awesome. Big, safe riding boat with enough features to make the other boat brands envious. Check out the line of Nitro boats in person at Alpin Haus Boat and RV, or visit their web site at www.alpinhaus.com