Lake Champlain United - Forums

anyone planning a trip to lake o,make sure you can find an open ramp.most state ramps are closed on the east end and alot of marinas are closed.

Why are they closed?

lake o has major flooding,the lake level is the highest it has ever been.serious flooding from one end to the other.

Heard today that it's not even expected to crest until first week in June. Parts of the St Lawrence are 4 1/2' above normal. Marina owner I spoke to in I Bay had to wear hip boots in his office. Terrible situation for a lot of people but if you can get out - and dodge the trees, telephone poles, etc., (a garage door, from one report), the fishing is stellar.

I wonder if this will slow drainage of Lake Champlain, which could be a good thing after a year of drought.

Very high water around Montreal and on the St-Lawrence. Many flooded areas. I don't believe Champlain will suffer from drought this year.

We saw a treasure trove of chit in the water on our bar trip. Saw the bottom of an ice shanty. I know one thing. As soon as I caught a plastic bag every day the king bite was on! Miss that place

In 30 years of fishing the bar i have never seen the water anywhere close to the record height that the lake level is this year. this is the ramp at fort Niagara where the river dumps into lake ontario...
normally you step down into the boat not up over the side.







Dispite the high water the fishing was great having placed 2 kings in the loc derby with many more caught. Anyone thinking of going to the big pond nows the time to go, things are really heating up on the west end, its worth the drive....

Heres a pic of one of the kings that placed.

That was sure some high water to launch a boat there Mike!

Congratulations for your two Kings that made the board! Yank and Crank another Vermont boat won the Wilson Salmon Slam a separate derby for the best 7 fish weighed during a one week period and placing two of those fish in the salmon standings of the LOC derby. Our friends in our group from PA "Outfitter" put a dandy 31" Brown on the board and a first place 22 lb. Lake trout! The other PA boat "Music Maker" put a big salmon nearly 24 lbs on the board to secure third.

We had a 9th place Lake trout that made the board on our last day there and it was our last fish of the trip on Friday caught at 2 pm. Looking at our salmon boated it was our 5th best trip in 16 years that also included a 27" 9 lb. Atlantic on shootout scales before returning it to the lake.

Out of our group of 6 boats entered in this derby there was 8 fish that made the LOC board.

Ken my Bar partner with this 18 lb 1 oz. Lake Trout entry:

Impressive pictures of the water height.
And impressive pictures of the nice catches.
Thanks for sharing.

like harry said miss that place got my feet wet more than once but was well worth it. those plastic bags ignited the bite every time. hopefully the water levels out soon. harry ken and i had a exciting 7 day fishing vacation there and i know ron (digitroll) had a great time to as he kept me in the loop daily with text reports and pics. thanks ron .

The two top Browns tied at the top came from the Niagara county area we fished. 16 lbs plus as the Eastern end now have some competition for the West with big slob browns. In fact 80% of the placing fish in this derby come from Niagara County. 2.5 hours more of a drive.

Thinking about bringing a team of wanna be ringers to the spring loc next year! Already upgraded tackle for my next Lake o trip

lazycs:

Awesome pictures! That water level is impressive (depressive??). Hard to fathom that much additional water. Beautiful King ... it may not be as big as some , but it sure is well-proportioned.
Congrats on both places! As anyone who has ever fished that derby knows, that feat is not easily repeatable. The winning fish requires some luck ... but placing two in the top 15 or 20 is noteworthy! Again Congrats! / Jim

Digitrol:

Very, very nice Laker ... could be the fish of a lifetime for most anglers! Congrats!