Willsboro Bay in late July

Share info on fishing Champlain.
hooks40
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Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by hooks40 »

Heading to Willsboro Bay in late July for the first time. I looked at the topo map and there seemed to be sufficient depth for lakers, but is there enough structure. I have fished out in the main lake, but if we get wind, my smaller boat can't go there. I like to jig for them if possible.

Any tips on Willsboro bay would be appreciated. Are the Lakers in there in July? Would smallmouth be a backup plan if we can't get out of the bay?

Thanks!
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Reelax
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Re: Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by Reelax »

one of the best spots for Lakers in the lake is the drop off to the east of skyler island... run north south on the 60-80 foot line, keep you lures right on bottom... they will bite a beer can out there!

Skyler is just north of the bay, you can fish it with a quick 10 min run.

Good luck...
Matt B
hooks40
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Re: Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by hooks40 »

Thank Reelax. I appreciate the input. Do you jig there as well? Any other areas to check out near or inside the bay for lakers?
yankee roller
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Re: Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by yankee roller »

I have fished the bay late July into early August a few times mostly for salmon though. If temps are right you can find fish on the west side of the bay along the various cliffs. I had a couple good evenings in the south part of the bay when we had an upwelling of cold water to keep them in the bay. Mostly salmon. Head north along Brown point towards Port Douglas and you usually find some suspended lakers mixed with salmon and the occasional brown/rainbow. The deep water from inside the bay around to pumpkin reef staying over deep water holds some fish in the evening as sun goes down. Normally 30-60 down depending on temps for suspended fish. If bay gets too warm, fish move out.

If strictly lakers, the south east side of Schuyler (Schuyler Reef) can be dynamite from 70-90 on bottom once you locate them. 30-50 fish days are common if you really target them. The ridge north of Schuyler heading south towards east side of the island can hold some lakers as well.
hooks40
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Re: Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by hooks40 »

Thanks! Is that the SE side of Schuyler Island (in between the island and the reef)? or the SE side of the reef near the deeper water?

What types of lures do you use when trolling for salmon on the downriggers?
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Reelax
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Re: Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by Reelax »

My best, luck on Lakers was in east side of skyler and j-11 and j9 Rapalla in blue and white and fire tiger were the baits they wanted...

I have never jigged Lakers there...

Good luck let us know how you do.
Matt B
hooks40
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Re: Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by hooks40 »

Heading up on Saturday and looking forward to the trip. Any last minute advice or info? What depths are you seeing lakers set up in? We will report back to the board when we return. Thanks to everyone for their input.
hooks40
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Re: Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by hooks40 »

Thanks for the help. The trip went very well. We found Lakers almost everywhere we went...some would bite while some wouldn't. We probably landed over 100 fish in 3 days. Sparsely dressed bucktails and Keitech's on a plain jig head worked best. Some days we found that fish at 70-80 feet would not bite, but if we moved out to 80 - 90 they would bite. Most fish were in the 5 to 8-pound range, although we had about a dozen over 10 lbs up to a high of 16 lbs. The late afternoon seemed to be the fastest bite period although we picked them all day. Any sort of reef with a finger sticking into deeper water held fish, many with no other boats on them. We're already planning on coming back next season. Good luck to all during the rest of this year!
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keithm87
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Re: Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by keithm87 »

16 is huge for Champlain (lci derby was won with a 15 or 16 last few years) I have caught hundreds apon hundreds of lakers on champ and never come close to that, got any pics of that pig?
Off season
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Re: Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by Off season »

Im with you Keith, No Pics its a Fish Story ! LOL
"OFF SEASON"
dry net
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Re: Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by dry net »

Off season wrote:Im with you Keith, No Pics its a Fish Story ! LOL
keithm87 wrote:16 is huge for Champlain (lci derby was won with a 15 or 16 last few years) I have caught hundreds apon hundreds of lakers on champ and never come close to that, got any pics of that pig?

Welcome to LCU ! Nice going catching all those lakers!
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keithm87
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Re: Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by keithm87 »

I’m not doubting it, I’ve seen pics of 17-20lb fish from there, and jiggers seem to get the big ones. I’ve never been that lucky on champ my on from champ is only 12. I love me some fish porn though!!!!
hooks40
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Re: Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by hooks40 »

Yes, we have pictures. One thing that surprised me was the number of lampreys. Had a number of them attached to fish and many had scars. Some of the older fish had wounds that were healed over.

That's my dad in the picture. We weighed on a Boga it in the net to support the weight, then subtracted the net
hooks40
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Re: Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by hooks40 »

Not getting how to add the picture....
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keithm87
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Re: Willsboro Bay in late July

Post by keithm87 »

When you are typing the post there is a spot at the bottom that says attachments. click that and then click add files. It will browse out to the device you are on. You then select the file, and wait a few seconds for it to load. Hit preview to make sure it took.
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