It seems like lately, I have had to fish three spots before I get on a good bite. Fishing on the Connecticut River and local ponds spoils me for when I go to Lake Champlain I think. The Connecticut River is fairly predictable on when and where the fish will bite so not as much time is wasted searching for productive waters. Lake Champlain fish tend to be more mobile and either make a large move bay to bay or a smaller move to a new area fairly regularly. The fish on the river are usually of better quality as well!
On Lake Champlain today, the wind was relentless! Although there were fish there, it was very hard to fish them without some kind of wind break. The first stop of the day was very good a few days ago so we figured we should pop in and check out what has happened since then. After punching a series of holes spread out over a large area, it was time to check with the camera to see what was around. The second hole that I dropped down had a nice sized crappie laying face down right on the bottom. I grabbed my rod and attempted to catch it. Unfortunately, I could not attract that fish or any others for that matter. After seeing only perch and northerns we headed south to fish a nearby bay.
There were a few people already fishing the second bay. At first, the fishing was slow. Only smaller perch were active and it was difficult to find pods of panfish. It took a bit of moving but eventually I was able to pull some fish. The numbers and size weren’t great but it was nice to be catching bluegill and pumpkinseed! The mixture of fish weighed heavily towards bluegill but there was a good deal of pumpkinseed and a few crappie mixed in. After a few hours of slow going, I packed up my gear and got ready to head even further south to hit my final spot for the day.
When I got on the ice it didn’t take long to start catching fish. There were lots of smaller fish but the big fish were there. The majority of the fish I caught were bluegill but most of the other guys were pulling pumpkinseed. I guess I could have moved to a different hole looking for the seeds but I really like trying to catch the light biting bluegill. I fished until 4:45 then decided to call it quits so I could make at least part of my drive home before it got dark.
I used a bunch of different lures made my Bobby today. The color schemes and shapes worked well. Rockers, teardrops, and willows in a wide range of colors from light to dark… It didn’t seem to matter much once they were put near an active fish! Be on the look out for his post on jig making. It will be well worth your time!
D & B Ice Adventures 