Late Season Laker Advice

[D-Cypher]

Good Day
I am fairly new to fishing Champlain. I have done well over the spring and summer months fishing out of Burlington. I typically will run a set of bright colored cowbells with either a spin and glo or a wobble glo and it seems to consistently produce good quality fish. If that slows down I'll kick up the speed a bit and wash various spoons and have some success. However over the last month or so the fishing has slowed way down for me. I'm hoping some of the more experienced fishermen could give me some advice on location, speed, or lure types to target these late season fish.

Thanks!!

[jimbow]

Hi, if the spin-n-glos and "peanuts" aren't working for you, you may want to try some larger spoons as I posted in my "Think Big" thread (http://www.lakechamplainunited.com/foru ... =4&t=25390). I have posted about this several times and as a rule I haven't been skunked (for lakers) in many years. The late summer and early fall are times when the adult alewives are the main forage and if you fish deeper adult smelt. The #3 and Magnum Honey Bee lures are my go to late season baits, they mimic those fish. You also tend to catcher bigger if not more fish in doing so. The Lakers are staging to spawn now and some are already moving into those areas. They feed while doing so and they are looking to get substantial meals to carry them through the spawning period. Look for drop offs near shallow water, your fish finder will do the rest..you will see Lakers on or near the bottom on shelves between the deep and shallows. If you have Navionics or any type of GPS contour maps and plot a route, watch them and try and stay as close to the bottom without losing your equipment, or play it safe by giving yourself a 10 ft leeway. Hope this helps...please post something if it does as it may help others and please return fish you don't eat....Thanks

[D-Cypher]

I'll be hitting it hard all weekend and will let you know how I do. I've never used the Honey Bees. Do you recommend a spot to pict them up? I do have several larger Michigan Stingers and Dream Weavers, have you had success with those?

Thank You!

[jimbow]

Good luck with your quest...it should be pretty good fishing with the weather we are having, might slow down the spawning urge...If you go to the Honey Bee web site listed here @ http://www.tamiron.com to see the size chart and variety or style and colors, (plus some good tips and other info) then call The owner, Jim Martino @ 574-217-7610, he could help you locate them in your area or order from him direct....

[Hairbone]

Good Day
I am fairly new to fishing Champlain. I have done well over the spring and summer months fishing out of Burlington. I typically will run a set of bright colored cowbells with either a spin and glo or a wobble glo and it seems to consistently produce good quality fish. If that slows down I'll kick up the speed a bit and wash various spoons and have some success. However over the last month or so the fishing has slowed way down for me. I'm hoping some of the more experienced fishermen could give me some advice on location, speed, or lure types to target these late season fish.

Thanks!!

My advice is to take a break for a month and pick a nice day and hit the shallow water laker spawning areas. Alot more fun to catch 30 slobs that will live another day then winch em out of deep water. Planer boards and stick baits. And spoons run shallow off riggers like fishing spring browns. Some guys are casting spoons at em also in tge fall.

[ThreeBuoys]

I think I agree with Hairbone.
The warm snap of late has dried things up.
I think we are a few weeks away from the bite picking up again.(Hopefully!)
By then they should be moving to shallower water.

[keithm87]

I have been fishing much the same area all summer, and it was on fire most of the summer. The last 2 trips have been different. Prior the fish were suspended and on the bottom didn't really matter as long as you got below the thermo. But it seems now that they are right in the bottom, and most of my success has been bottom bouncing which is not my ideal method, but catches fish. There are some big ones down there. But they haven't been as consistent size wise as early summer.

[D-Cypher]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I hit the lake today. Launched at the CG around 6:15am motored down to the hump north of Juniper that has been pretty hot for me most of the year, set up with a couple hammerhead cowbells running peanuts behind them on the riggers, also setup 2 divers 1 with a spin doctor and a dream weaver fly that usually will snag a few lakers and the occasional salmon and the other with a large green and chartreuse spoon. Nothing for the first hour. Finally we had a release on one of the riggers. Grabbed the rod and nothing. Had 2 more releases with no fish, granted I had an unexperienced angler with me. Then it slowed again! I marked a pile of fish on the edge of the hump and dropped a ball down into the mud. 10 seconds later we hooked up and brought in a small laker. When we hooked up on the 2nd laker I had been starting to change over to some large size spoons. With the magnum sized spoons on the riggers we headed around juniper and off to the west. Before you knew it we had a solid hookup that came out of 130’ of water. Fought the fish got it 10’ from the boat with the net ready and the spoon flew out of the fishes mouth. It appeared to be around a 30” laker if I had to guess 10# +\-. We circled that spot a couple times with one more release but when I got to the rod... nothing! We harassed towards the 4 brothers, it looked like a prime spot! A nice 70’ shelf with access to both shallow and deep water. This was uncharted territory for me. Fished for a while in this area with no takers and marking no fish. Lots of weeds in the area making it difficult to keep clean lines in the water.

Picked everything up and motored over to the mouth of the Winooski fishing at 100’ at the edge of the drop. Hooked up on 1 more got it halfway in and we lost it.

Overall a pretty slow day but we did have some hookups, had one nice one at the boat, and boated 2 others that we definitely worked for. All fish never left the water and were released cleanly. I think we are going to hit Seymour in the morning and see if the bite is any better up there.

Again, thank you everyone for the advice and I’m looking forward to the water temp dropping and for the bite to pick back up!

[DrCaddis]

Ok crew, new to the forum membership...actually new to forums in general...but hey...gonna head up and on either LC or LG this weekend and excited the cool temps are on the way. Any advise would be helpful..Have fished the port Douglas area in the past from Browns Point through Corlear bay many years ago... thanks for any help

[C-Hawk]

Just listen to tamiron's advice, report your activities, I think it's up to the new guys to keep this forum going.You should be able to pick up lakers just about anywhere, but in the mouh of Willsboro Bay should be good . Maybe even find an elusive salmon.