Lake Champlain United - Forums

Hello All. Launched out of Westport yesterday. Trolled south over to Vt. side and back to NY side. Had riggers down from 20-70 ft. We had two riggers using rods with 17lb. test and two with 8lb. test. The 8lb. line had a small amount of fleas on retrieval every time. the heavier line seemed to be clean every time. Managed two small LT at 70' on obd mooselooks. Time to respool before they get too bad! Was hoping that maybe the fleas would be absent this year due to the covid.

I had a trace of fleas but only on the Dipsy’s, i’m sure they will get worse

Shelburn bay is horrible!!!!! After several resets with 3” long cluster of fleas i left.

I have 4 rods spooled with 30lb test with 50ft of 15lb flourocarbon to the leader for stealth. The 30lb never pics up fleas and the 15lb helps keep the fish interested...


Fleas have gotten so bad the last 4 seasons you need to change line size to deal with it or it is NO fun.

Thanks for the info, the 30lb rods have been loaded into the boat

Down south today After yesterdays blow. Very little in the flea world today. Fished from the south Edge of the deep water up to the palisades. Not much going on just a few lakers, the salmon have likely blown north or are waiting fo the water to reset.

Fish out by Colchester light house and was worst I have ever witnessed. I had one rod with nearly two feet of fleas! Not fun any more. Picked up and went home...

Wdrnr wrote:Down south today After yesterdays blow. Very little in the flea world today. Fished from the south Edge of the deep water up to the palisades. Not much going on just a few lakers, the salmon have likely blown north or are waiting fo the water to reset.

I was thinking of this question the other night and you answered it before I asked it. Apparently wind, wind direction and wind intensity will disperse the fleas, until the next change in winds with the onshore wind producing the greatest collection of fleas. /Jim

Update: Plan B.


It's sticking to the 30 lb. 40-50 lb mono is the next step. Not sure I will go there.

Fished out of Westport yesterday (7/2) up to just north of diamond and back. Fleas were BAD! My 30lb blood run flicker line even had small gobs after long sets. The diver rods were a mess. Managed a few but not a stellar day, it got hot and I bagged it.

Check out what this Lake Ontario charter captain has to say about the solution:

https://www.acecharters.com/fishing/waterfleas/

Fished with 30lb yesterday. Don't even bother go bigger! Good luck, Matt

Ugh. I had them right up almost to the top of the water column, pulling a shallow crankbait. Is the 30-lb mono working for people?

30 pound was getting globs of fleas for us still. Switched to 40 pound and had less buildup and easier to remove if there was some.

ReelInvestment wrote: ↑Mon Jul 06, 2020 5:18 pm 30 pound was getting globs of fleas for us still. Switched to 40 pound and had less buildup and easier to remove if there was some.

GREAT NEWS

I have been using 50 lb for 3 weeks with no fleas. I use 15' of 12 lb mono for a leader with a #12 barrel swivel in between. Makes it easier to join the two, and I get no leader twist.