Best Time of Year

[C-Hawk]

Soon it will be the best time of year for salmon fishing as far as I am concerned. You can have the search for warm water springtime fishing. You have to look in every bay , cove, river delta, and shallow water areas of the lake, as well as surface almost everwhere. I love it when the top 30 feet becomes too warm to hold bait or salmon. This probably reduces the area of the Lake you need to cover by 30% or more, not to mention the volume of water that will hold fish. Two weeks ago on the same trip and in the same spot, I caught a salmon at 15 feet on the rigger. Shortly after that I caught one 50 down. Temps were 56 up top to 53 at 50. Give me some warm surface water any day. I still have to work hard for my fish up in the northern part of the lake, but fishing my spots on the Broad Lake, I know my chances of hooking a reel screamer have doubled or more from a month ago. Best thing is I don't have much competition after the derbies are over.

[Reelax]

I hear ya Jeff.. the thermocline can sure help get the fish setup.... there was a 4-6 degree thermocline setting up on the inland sea last week.... only a mater of time...

[keithm87]

I'm with you! Nothing is more frustrating than knowing that the fish you are targeting could be anywhere in a lake that is 100+ miles long, 7 miles wide, and 400 feet deep. I like when all the shallow crap and stagnant areas get ruled out. The big plus is that when the thermocline sets in my buddy finally stops bugging me to run a flatline off the back (which we literally never catch anything on for some reason). It is a double edged sword though as once we hit august and you get a windy day that pushes the warm water onto the Vermont side, I am not a big fan of having to fish 110 to find the thermo. It would be nice if it set at a consistent like 40-50 ft.

[Savagepoint]

Forgive the stupid question but would you guys mind sharing how to go about finding the thermocline? Is it something you’re tuning your finders to see or just a rule of thumb based on the time of year? I am fishing just outside the pelot bay breakwall south towards the gut and across to the southern tip of alburg. We marked plenty of fish but kept getting smallies and perch. Second question is what type of releases do you favor? I have a couple cannons I use but can’t seem to find the right adjustment for tension. Either too tight and I end up dragging fish or not enough and the spoons end up popping. I was thinking of buying something else based on some opinion. Thanks for the help.

[C-Hawk]

Savagepoint, most of us use a temperature probe. The area of water above the thermocline will be the same temperature. Where it changes to colder water some refer to as the break. Looking for mid 50's for salmon. You can occasionally see the break on your fish finder, but not always. This is because cooler water has a different density.
I use the Chamberlin release, it lets you adjust the tension to the lure as well as to the rod.

[fishingmachine]

I use off shore brand pinch pad releases,with a 6 to 8 inch cable on them to allow shakers to be seen.When a small fish hits, the rod will jump up and down whether it releases the line or not. They make 3 different tensions,red, black and white.Usually one of these will work on what you are pulling.I will buy the stacker set,(which has 2 releases in it and a big snap) and then I will make 2 seperate releases out of it,which is cheaper that buying them seperate.Not everyone likes this setup,but I do,I generaly use the black color ones for LC and put the line in about 1/3 to 1/2 way.Hope this helps.

[Savagepoint]

Thanks for the help folks. Heading out today to see what I can catch. Then ordering a few things to help. Good luck.

[MWM]

For releases I second the Chamberlain's. Horizontal and vertical tension adjustment allows for heavy rod tension, but will release if a shaker hits your bait.

[dry net]

Has anyone had any experience using rubber bands ? Thinking about giving them a try. From what I gather you set your release pretty tight and have to pop it every time. The bands hook the fish and let you see the rod tip jump.

[60Fishman]

I used to use rubber bands and then started feeling a little guilty about all the rubber I was leaving at the bottom of the lake. I only use Chamberlains now. I actually have two preset for each rigger depending on what I am fishing. One set heavy for Lakers when using cowbells and one light for salmon or lakers when fishing clean. On occasion a small fish may not trip but it almosy always releases for anything decent.

[tamiron]

I believe that a temperature change is not necessarily a thermocline.

In the finger lakes and in Lake Ontario, the bottom of the thermocline was 48 degrees and the top was 55 degrees.

The zoo plankton and other nutrients were found in the middle as were a lot of the forage fish.

[Nysrx01]

They make biodegradeble rubber bands now just for fishing. So you won't have to feel guilty any more.

[C-Hawk]

Sounds like a lot of screwing around to me with the rubber band thing. Use the Chamberlain's, my hook set ratio vs empty release increased twofold. Set the trigger to the lure light and tension to the rod heavy. Bang you are hooked up.
The thermocline in Champlain varies so much, I don't know if a scientist would even call it that. I have seen the break at 75 one day and then 35 the next after a good north blow. Fish seem to react positively to a cool down, but when the break goes deep forget fishing for a day or two.

[fishy1]

lots of good info on this post . newbies take notice.

[dry net]

May still play with the rubber bands. We use blacks (which I really like) but we missed some fish when they were set light. With a heaver setting we haven't been missing fish but dragging a few with setbacks from 30 to 50 ft. I can't imagine what a 100 setback would do. Alot of guys on the great lakes use the bands and I may give it a try.