Lake Champlain United - Forums

Species hunter from Wisconsin here. Visiting with family on the big island early September. Looking to catch and release some species I can't get in Wisco. I'm thinking the lake trout and salmon may still be too deep to target from shore? Would chasing them from shore in early September be a fools errand? Greater redhorse, fallfish, chain pickerel, and redbreast sunfish are high on my list otherwise. Nothing really planned outside of casting from shore on the island, and maybe getting up early with my pops and sneaking away to explore the Winooski. (man, that water looks good) The wives will be with us, so our fishing time is a little limited... Any advice appreciated!
-Tom

tomg - interesting species on your list ! others on this forum will know more than me, but for what it's worth:

- lake trout and salmon are probably too deep to catch from shore in September. probably not close to shore until November when lake trout spawn and salmon run up the Winooski and other rivers

- pickerel are your best bet, pretty abundant all over Lake Champlain and usually in 5 to 15 FOW near weeds, #3 to #5 Rapalas work well. they are fun to catch and put up a big fight for their size !

- redbreast sunfish are something I've never caught in the lake, I've only gotten them when traveling south outside of VT. worms/spinners work if they're around

- fallfish are mostly in the Winooski and other rivers where its deep and slow, not so much in the lake. They're the sort of fish Icatch when I'm trying to catch something else, worms seem to work for them but not sure how best to target them on purpose

Good luck on your trip to VT !

Awesome. Thanks dilly, just what I was looking for!
-tom

Welcome to the forum Tom... please share how you do with us all.. we love stories!!!

lots of different species to catch in september the pike bite steps ups also with the pickeral plenty of pan fish to . fall fish is a must in the rivers and worms seem do the trick plus you will land bass and salmon. lakers and salmon will be separating soon will be heading to the shore lines in their pre spawn moods. find the right spot from shore and you will catch lakers in september and even late august and the salmon will start moving into the rivers also. hope this helps have fun