Champlain trolling

[champlain fisher]

5/25 - 6/10

Been getting out with the new boat to do some trolling. Haven't had much luck with the salmon in the area I am fishing but the lakers have been hitting. Various spoons have been taking the fish, Honeybees, Dreamweavers, Michigan Stingers and needlefish have been the hot spoons. The fish are still scattered from the surface to as deep as 80feet with the 20ft depth producing the majority of the fish. The 2 biggest lakers have come from 50 and 60 ft down. These 2 fish were in the 10 lb range.

6/13

Made it back out on Champlain yesterday with my lady friend on board. Turned out to be a rather warm day with a slow bite or I just didn't get into changing lures every 20 minutes all day is more like it. Just stuck a couple of diver rods out set for 20 ft and just drove around. After about 40 minutes a rod fires and it is peeling the drag. When there was now jumping flipping fish behind the boat I figured it was a wambo laker. Not a wambo but a solid 7lb fish.

We also see a nesting pair of bald eagles. Found out where they are nesting and we checked out the nest site with the binoculars. There are at least 2 chicks in the nest that are about the size of a crow right now. It was cool as heck to watch one of the adults come over the boat carrying a fish and feeding the little ones - truely awesome to watch.

Kept on just trolling around and sight seeing when another rod finially fired. All of a sudden there was an airborne silver fish behind the boat. My lady freind jumps to the wheel and I look at her and go this is a salmon and it is a dandy one. The fish started to head for the other line. I start reeling the other rod in all the while saying to my pilot netural, forward, turn left, go right. I get the other rod cleared and the fish runs across the back of the boat and gives us about a 3 ft jump. My lady friend was really amazed with the areial show. The fish was out of the water way to many times for my liking. She also did a great job running the boat and netting her first ever fish - which turned out to be a 24'' salmon that would have weighed around 6 lbs. Need to get her a lic. so she can reel some in - she said that she would just as soon drive the boat and ride around.

6/17

Been out the last couple of days as well and have boated some skipper size salmon along with several good lakers. Got a easy 10-11lb laker yesterday off the riggers. The fish came on a NK 28 BLUE/CHAR down 70 ft back 15 ft over 180 ft of water. The fish have moved out over deeper water but they are still most active in the 15 to 25 ft depth. The divers have still been out producing the riggers as far as numbers of fish, but the biggest 3 lakers have come off the riggers. Hot Spoons off the divers have been Honeybees in the MP6 size, Stinger scorpions and Needlefish. Been running bigger spoons of the riggers, Dreamweavers and NK'S have been working good on them. The bigger stingers and Honeybees have not performed off the riggers like the smaller ones have off the divers. Bigger spoons off the divers haven't worked like the smaller ones have either.

It has been a strange season so far on Champlain, the fish have not set up on any said pattern or location. Have to find the fish everday lately then try to figure out the spoons that they want that day - keeps it intresting.

Watched a bald eagle dive for and catch a fish today about 300 yards from the boat - what a site to see a bird that size in full action that close.

[Broadhorizons]

Are you talking about the eagles that nest at Ausable Pt? I went to Plattsburgh state and hunted there quite a bit and saw them frequently. Nice report!

[champlain fisher]

BH - Nope, I'm fishing south of Ausable Point, but still on what is refered to as the broad lake area of Champlain. There are Osprey nesting at Ausable Point state park, but I have never seen Eagles nesting there. Eagles and Osprey's look very much a like and are around the same size. The wings on an osprey are more gull like in design and they are not as dark black like an eagle. The white head of an Osprey is pretty much identical to an eagle thus making it easy to think they could be an eagle. Not to say that you didn't see an eagle around there because it is not all that far from where I am seeing this pair of eagles. Both are very neat to see and watch. There are 2 pairs of Osprey right now at Ausable point and they are rearing chicks.