Lake Champlain United - Forums

Stopped by to check out the fish ladder today andthe count had gone up again since the last time I was there. They uped the count some more again while I was there. The count was 54 last time and was 60 today when I first got there. They also topped the season high with the biggest fish trapped being 8lbs. I was lucky enough to still be there when DEC showed up to check for more fish in the trap. There were 9 fish in the trap 5 of them were over 5 lbs with the biggest weighing 7lbs 4 ozs. The total after today now stands at 69 fish. The folks doing the sampling on the fish were very pleasant and they said they have had several fish in the 7lb range. Here are a few pics of the hard working DEC folks doing there thing.

More pics

Thanks!

So there is more & more big fish that can be caught

Champlain fisher; thats great the fish in the last picture looks to be a pretty good size. Were they tagging them also and were there any rainbows and browns? Thanks for the look and pictures!

jeez...that's crazy cool...great to see those fish CF
Thanks for the pics. I love em.

Sixth pic down...fish looks to have a nasty sucker-snake hit right in the brisket...glad to see it's healthy enough to fight current and make it to the ladder. I'll try my best to harvest it later on

That's cool stuff CF, thanks for posting. Those fish are beauties and it's good to see them pushing up the rivers.

Thanks CF! Great pics!

Champlain fisher,

My first post. I'm a longtime fly fisher but have never gone for atlantic salmon. Are the salmon found in the trap at the fish ladder ALL the fish passing upriver. Or do only a percentage of the fish get trapped while others pass upstream unnoticed.

paulk wrote:Champlain fisher,

My first post. I'm a longtime fly fisher but have never gone for atlantic salmon. Are the salmon found in the trap at the fish ladder ALL the fish passing upriver. Or do only a percentage of the fish get trapped while others pass upstream unnoticed.

The ladder is the only way for the fish to get past the dam. There is some good fishing areas downstream of the ladder.

dreamcatcher wrote:Champlain fisher; thats great the fish in the last picture looks to be a pretty good size. Were they tagging them also and were there any rainbows and browns? Thanks for the look and pictures!

No, they don't tag them. All salmon, they get an odd brown every once in a while. Salmon are the main focus fish for salmoniod species on the Boquet.

Raz wrote:jeez...that's crazy cool...great to see those fish CF
Thanks for the pics. I love em.

Sixth pic down...fish looks to have a nasty sucker-snake hit right in the brisket...glad to see it's healthy enough to fight current and make it to the ladder. I'll try my best to harvest it later on

That is a sore from the fish digging and rubbing on the river bottom. It also had some raw spots on it's snout. That spot under the brisket is a common thing on spawning salmon.

nice pic thank u

champlain fisher wrote:

Raz wrote:jeez...that's crazy cool...great to see those fish CF
Thanks for the pics. I love em.

Sixth pic down...fish looks to have a nasty sucker-snake hit right in the brisket...glad to see it's healthy enough to fight current and make it to the ladder. I'll try my best to harvest it later on

That is a sore from the fish digging and rubbing on the river bottom. It also had some raw spots on it's snout. That spot under the brisket is a common thing on spawning salmon.

I didn't know that. Thanks CF!

champlain fisher wrote:

paulk wrote:Champlain fisher,

My first post. I'm a longtime fly fisher but have never gone for atlantic salmon. Are the salmon found in the trap at the fish ladder ALL the fish passing upriver. Or do only a percentage of the fish get trapped while others pass upstream unnoticed.

The ladder is the only way for the fish to get past the dam. There is some good fishing areas downstream of the ladder.

I understand the ladder is the only way for the fish to get past the dam. But when you say "the trap", I get an image of some fish getting trapped and counted by DEC, while other fish make it up the ladder and proceed upriver without getting trapped, processed, and counted. Just another way of asking my question.

paulk wrote:

champlain fisher wrote:

paulk wrote:Champlain fisher,

My first post. I'm a longtime fly fisher but have never gone for atlantic salmon. Are the salmon found in the trap at the fish ladder ALL the fish passing upriver. Or do only a percentage of the fish get trapped while others pass upstream unnoticed.

The ladder is the only way for the fish to get past the dam. There is some good fishing areas downstream of the ladder.

I understand the ladder is the only way for the fish to get past the dam. But when you say "the trap", I get an image of some fish getting trapped and counted by DEC, while other fish make it up the ladder and proceed upriver without getting trapped, processed, and counted. Just another way of asking my question.

All the fish that make it to the ladder are trapped there until DEC checks it, the fish that make the trek to the ladder are released on the upstream side of the dam. It is a very rugged approach to the ladder so not a lot of fish make it there. Plus as the water temp drops the fish become less energitic to make hard steep climbs against strong currents which is what the approach to the ladder is for about a 500 yard stretch. I have seen hundreds and hundreds of fish in some of the stretches below the ladder over the years. Once the fish that do make it to the ladder are released there is a good 20 plus miles of river for them to travel. The sheer volume of space would make it next to impossible to find them or take a lot of time spent walking to hopefully find a few fish. The best chance for catching some of the fall spawners is to fish the area below the dam - there are plenty of fish there just hard to get them to take an offering when their in spawn mode.