Lake Champlain United - Forums

Hit Converse at 1st light with 5” of heavy snow cover to greet us... Lightandvariable was already down on the dock shoveling.... yes the long dock is installed!!!!! Dreamcatcher was in his rig staying warm ready to load the boat as I slipped in the white wonderland of a parking area....

We launched with no issues and headed to our 1st stop... trouble was we had a 12-16 out of the north and it was beating hard for the 1st 2 hrs of the morning.... to get th zone we needed we were in the trough.... so after a while of this a a few small salmon up to 19” we decided to troll to calmer waters.... long discussion with crew about picking up but with the rollers it wasn’t happening... besides... who knows what we will catch in way with all these stick baits runing???

Good time to spark up the grill and eat in peace... so hot dogs and pretzels came out and hit the barbby .. along with tellin stories...

Next thing we know Ken puts us with feet of a very special red can that seems to always have fish near by... the inside port rod fires and starts ripping line.... I jump on it and check the drag, as Ken yells bottom... I look up and see the tip throbbing... it’s a fish and it is BIG! We turn out to deeper water and the gear on both sides look to be headed right into an ice pack... ice all over us we are in a mine field...!!!! As our panic sets in the otter boards start cutting right thru what looksed like ice sheets... no.... it is only SLUSH!

Relieved we continue the fight with this big fish pulling down... hmmm long story short we finally net a
Very healthy northern who did not like being trolled up at 2.4mph at all

After trying Salmoneyes area with NO releases, we decided the move was NOT a good idea and we don’t need any more Northern. that lead to us picking and running to the hot spot, hoping it had calmed some... well it had and the bigger fish decided they wanted to play now. We preceded to get into a flurry of better salmon.

While cookin up some marinated steak tips, I looked out back and caught a big salmon come skyrocketing out of the lake, do a full pirrowet in the air and slide back into the lake. Last thing I saw was the big tail as it hit the water.. I looked over at Jeff, he was already looking at me with a grin from mouth to mouth... we both realized.... what rod! Ha! It was on my side.. lucky me...

After a great battle and a epic net job by Jeff, the fish was on board... nice 23” fatty...

After we got everything settled we sat and enjoyed the steak... funny how hot food taste so good on the lake after a battle with a salmon...

I want to thank Jeff and Ken for what may be my last trip for a while.. sounds like the GOV won’t agree with my crew gatherings... not sure... if it is even safe to go with wife or alone... sad days are here....But safety needs to take precidence .. so this may be my last report till April

Fish on!

Thanks for the report...

I think it is still early to be in tight in Danyows...

Glad you got into some fish once the wind dropped...It was almost glass about 5pm, and that slush was still set up in by the camp I frequent...

I have also found the Red Nun to be a good spot at times, for many species of fish...

As for the Gov, tell him you are getting "Exercise", as that is specifically exempted from the stay at home order...



Now, if I can only row as far as Little Button Bay, I'll be happy...

Nice report Matt. From the pics, it looks like winter got back. Glad you got some exciting bites.
We will miss your posts, but its better to stay safe for awhile. Fish will only get bigger.

Nice! I saw you guys as I was driving around looking for a sneaky spot to put my kayak in, close to Salmoneye's area. I didn't find a sneaky spot, or any fish for that matter.

I just saw a post from Fish and Wildlife saying that hunting and fishing are still on.

Like usual a nice report and Awesome Pic's

troutcrazy wrote:Nice! I saw you guys as I was driving around looking for a sneaky spot to put my kayak in, close to Salmoneye's area. I didn't find a sneaky spot, or any fish for that matter.

I just saw a post from Fish and Wildlife saying that hunting and fishing are still on.

If you are the dude I met the other night, then you should have put in tonight where you were parked when we met...

The Bufflehead, and Mergansers worked in front of where you dragged your kayak in, right till dark...

I had a beer (or two) and did not feel it prudent to go drag lures, but the fish ducks sure thought they were on the baitfish...

Night after I met you, I watched a good size Silver breach the water 50 yards off shore chasing bait...Twice in 5 minutes...

Only 6-10 feet of water in there...

Just a thought...

I'll try it in the next couple of days and will yell if I actually hit anything...

Salmoneye wrote:
If you are the dude I met the other night, then you should have put in tonight where you were parked when we met...

The Bufflehead, and Mergansers worked in front of where you dragged your kayak in, right till dark...

I had a beer (or two) and did not feel it prudent to go drag lures, but the fish ducks sure thought they were on the baitfish...

Night after I met you, I watched a good size Silver breach the water 50 yards off shore chasing bait...Twice in 5 minutes...

Only 6-10 feet of water in there...

Just a thought...

I'll try it in the next couple of days and will yell if I actually hit anything...

Yes, I'm the dude- it was good to meet you!
Oh man! I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that things heated up after the sun shone for a while. Ok I'm gonna try again. I actually hit it again yesterday, and got skunked!. But I was off the water by 2 or 3pm.

thanks for the great report and pics matt. 91 degrees here yesterday
upload my pic

Awesome report! I’m thinking about doing my shakedown cruise Saturday out of converse. Will any one else be out? Converse is what I would consider my “home launch” as it’s where I seem to go most of the time, but I’ve never fished it this early. Not asking for any spots, but is there something you look for as a starting point? Water depth, color, temp? Thanks hope to see you guys on the water this year!

Now Matt that really looks like Frostbitting to me.
A warm cab and hot food is always welcomed during a day like that.

Michael

ReelInvestment wrote:Awesome report! I’m thinking about doing my shakedown cruise Saturday out of converse. Will any one else be out? Converse is what I would consider my “home launch” as it’s where I seem to go most of the time, but I’ve never fished it this early. Not asking for any spots, but is there something you look for as a starting point? Water depth, color, temp? Thanks hope to see you guys on the water this year!

The deal is if I put in 2 days of spring cleaning for wife , she will go fishing Saturday... the weather looks great!!!!


Hope to see ya out there... with her as crew I don’t get to name time, she does... so we’d will probably get there around 9 or 10... kinda like an Instigator start...

Nice report Matt. Thanks for the write-up! The boys and I had planned on same launch same day but decided against getting so much salt spray on our boat, motor and trailer on the way home to the NEK ...plus it looks like our home waters are gonna be unlocked from ice in the next few days.

Here is the VTFWD post stating that fishing is still an approved activity: https://vtfishandwildlife.com/newsroom/ ... g-activity

I'm looking at trolling during this shelter-in-place as still being within guidelines for these additional reasons: I'm only going with folks that I'm already sheltering-in-place with, if we are successful it's safer than going to the grocery store(an approved activity), fueling up at a gas station is an approved activity(esp. if pay at pump), we will not come in contact with ANYONE from the time we leave our house to the time we return to our house, as someone else mentioned - exercise(mental and some physical).

If prudent, safe and respectful, I doubt that law enforcement will have a problem with this plan. I will reassess if they tell me otherwise, I suppose.

Perchbait and I plan on hitting Converse for our shakedown cruise on Saturday, as well! Hope to see more of you out there. We'll be in the Sea Nymph 191 center console named "Rough Rider". Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day.

Just got kicker bacK!! Looks like tomorrow final touches and Saturday shakedown!!! Not sure if try inland or head south but its just killing me waiting to get out and see the silver being caught. Thanks for the report.

I'm suffering from cabin fever and it could be fatal if i don't get on the water.
I will be on Champlain on Saturday as well. Good thing it is a big lake as there are many with cabin fever that need to get out! Good luck to all of you and stay healthy.