6-9-13 – Rockbass, It’s What’s For Dinner

After the spectacular day of fishing Bobby had yesterday while I was at work, I was itching bad to get out! The weather looked great and my girlfriend and I made plans to hit the water when we woke up. It was just before 7 am when we were pulling away from the boat launch. We had hopes of catching some perch but after a little of an hour without marking a single fish on the graph, we decided we had better switch up gears and look for some other fish.

We didn’t really care what we caught but along the shore line we could see a lot of fish. The next step was to figure out what they wanted and the best way to catch them. We had crankbaits, plastics, worms, and everything in between! One of the options surely had to work. The majority of the fish we could see were bluegill and rockbass. Perfect specimens for dinner tonight!

We started off tossing the “Live” Baby Shad from Lake Fork Trophy Lures. Although we were able to catch some fish, we were missing a lot more. Our next change took us to live bait. Fishing an 1/8 ounce jig under a bobber, we started a slow drift paralleling shore. Throughout the course of the day, we found that if there was wood in the water, big rockbass were holding nearby. The better sized bluegill we found were holding in weeds near their spawning areas. Particularly, open and weedless gravel bars. Most docks held fish but docks constructed of wood and lower to the water were the most productive.

We ended up keeping 10 rockbass for dinner and sandwiches the following day. Not a bad way to wrap up the weekend!

6-8-13 – Drop Shot Bass And A Walleye

With the month of June upon us, we were anxious to hit the river for walleye on wood.  Last summer we developed a great pattern for numbers of quality fish.  We found fish on deep wood.  (Walleye In Wood Part I and Part II)  After closely watching the river flow and dam forecasts, we noticed that we would have a small window in the early morning when the dams would have been closed. That little bit of time would allow us to get in a few hours of fishing.  The current is the deciding factor when fishing the river. Too much and the fish aren’t active and the boat is difficult to maneuver. Lets not even mention the numerous jigs lots on the wood because of the current! Too little current results in no bait movement therefor no feeding by bigger fish.  The main river current would be a concern for sure. Upon arrival to the small tributary where the launch was located, we knew it was going to be a chore to get the boat in the water.  While launching, the current actually picked the boat and trailer up and pushed them against the dock.  It was going to be an interesting day for sure.

We got to the hot spot the year before and rigged up.  The presentation of the day was going to be a 1/2 ounce jig tipped with a whole night crawler.  The current always plays a role in the size jig we use, we try to use the smallest as we can get away with but I often times I like the heavier jigs when fishing vertically. It allows me to stay in touch with the jig better.  It never takes long to know if the fish are on the wood and if they are feeding.  By the 10th drop with no bite, I knew we were in for an unproductive morning.  We stuck it out for a few hours anyways, landing one small walleye, a few small perch and a decent northern.

With plenty of time left in the day, we made a short ride to a favorite inland lake of ours in attempt to hook up on a few bass.  With the water temps where they were, we knew that the bass were in post spawn mode and should be feeding heavily.  We armed ourselves with a drop shot set up and made our way across the lake that always seemed to produce numbers of quality fish.  The plan was to fish the sharp drops with near by weeds.  The fish were there and they were stacked in certain areas.  Our presentation was slow, casting with a few bumps and bounces on the way in with many long pauses.  The pauses is what seemed to trigger the fish into biting.  We were able to have one of the better days I’ve had on this lake in a few years boating at least two dozen decent fish.

Check out Drop Shot Bass on our YouTube page for more action!

6-2-13 – Pre And Post Storm Fishing

With a day to fish and so many places to go, we decided to head for one of our new spots and continue our search for big crappies on a  large body of water.  Hoping to catch a few fish on the tail end of their spawning patterns, we loaded up the boat and made the short drive to the water.  We arrived with clearing skies and very little wind, much better conditions than last time when we were face temps in the 40′s with a fresh blanket of snow on the ground.

Learning a new body of water requires a lot of patience.  We decided to start fishing where we left off the previous trip.  Using the “Live” Baby Shad by Lake Fork Trophy Lures under a bobber, we hit the water.  This presentation has proved successful in many different places and “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.  Right off the bat at our first stop we started catching fish, and crappie at that.  The fish were tucked right up on shore relating to any wood structure protruding from shore.  The fish seemed to be aggressive, there was a storm possibly coming through in a few hours which might have had something to do with it and it was also prime time in the morning.  We were hopeful that the rest of the day would produce a good bite.  We set the Minn Kota motor on auto pilot and set off the fish the rest of the shore line.

The bite was strange, pockets of fish would produce a quick flurry of action but then nothing for some time until you were able to locate another pod of fish.  A pattern that proved to be successful last time was to locate small flats with boulders, yes we know, this is a prime spot to look for spawning smallmouth. Oddly enough, this particular body of water seemed to attract big crappies in these same locations.  We were able to get on to a few bigger sized fish but the skies darkened and we decided to chase the storm backwards hoping to find clear skies and more fishing.

We made our way to a small mountain lake hoping to catch a few remaining smallmouth close to beds for some quick action.  We launched the boat and received a rude welcome by mother nature. The skies opened up with big rain drops, thunder and lightning so we made a quick run for camp and cover to wait out the storm.

The worst of the storm passed and with our rods rigged with Champlain Custom Baits, we hit the water again.  Fishing wasn’t what we expected it to be.  There were a few small males left on shore guarding beds but very few larger fish (females).  We were fortunate to hook up up with a few decent fish for a quick picture.  The fish were right on shore, literally! Most bites came within a foot from rocks and docks on shore.  More good times on the water!

6-1-13 – First Day of June

With a frustrating and unsuccessful turkey season in the books, I decided it was time to get back to the fishing.  The weather in Vermont had been about as predictable as the fishing.  Last Sunday, we hit the water passing snow plows and wearing our Clam Blue Suits. This week we saw record setting temps getting up into the 90′s in some areas of Vermont.  I decided to go and spend a few hours on a  crappie pond to check and see where they were at with the spawn.  The body of water isn’t very big and I was able to cover most of it in a short time.  Last weekend we were experiencing water temps in the upper 50′s to lower 60′s but it was also snowing, on this particular morning, I arrived to a water temp of 71 at 6 am!  What a difference a few days can make.

Being able to start fishing right at the launch I grabbed my bobber rod rigged with a Live Baby Shad by Lake Fork Trophy Lures and started to make some casts.  My focus for the morning would be the shallows hoping to catch a few fish still in spawning pattern, targeting weed edges and wood.  My first spot and also the most productive in the past was a bust, one small perch was all that I was able to get.  I went to work searching.  I was able to connect on one decent crappie along side a tree, but nothing after that.  I made a big move and headed for the far side of the pond.

The shoreline on this part of the lake was similar in design but the drop off was a little steeper.  I was able to locate a few fish but they were spread out for sure, no concentration.  I would guess that the fish are at the tail end of their spawn with many having already done their business and had slid back into a little deeper water.  All in all it was a good day on the water, any day on the water is a good day!

5-28-13 – Cold Rain Moves The Fish

I took the day off to hang out with a buddy from college. After a weekend of heavy rain, snow, winds, and sleet, we knew the fishing would be off to a slow start until the water warmed back up a bit. Rather than rush out the door to go fishing, we hit the woods looking for some turkeys. We sat from 4:45 until about 8 with quite a bit of action but nothing to bring home. We concluded our morning when a guy walking his dog went through. My boat was already on the water so it was just a quick drive to the lake!

The morning had been dead calm and we had high hopes that it remained that way! The wind was only suppose to pick up to 6-7 mph by mid day then lay back down for the afternoon. During my trip last week, the water temperature was just shy of 62. With all the rain, snow, sleet and wind turning the water, the surface temperature had dropped to an even 54 by Sunday. By mid-day Monday, it rose to 55.7 at a max and was pretty consistent all over the lake. The only thing that we could hope for was that the few hours that had passed this morning warmed up the water because it was calm and warm.

Upon our arrival, the temperature had only crept up to 56 on the wind blown shore. We started fishing in calm water thinking it might be warmer because it hadn’t been moved around as much. The fishing started and remained slow. We found fish relating to one main feature. Large breaks from the wind. The fish we caught weren’t on beds they were holding just outside of their spawning areas. Because of this, large boulders adjacent to shallow gravel flats produced the best results. Big fish of the day went 19.5″ and was released before getting a weight.

5-26-13 – Rocks And Wood

May in Vermont is an interesting time of the year. One day you might see blue bird skies and temperatures well into the 70′s and the next snow and sleet falling from the sky.  This was the case for us on our one day to fish for the week.  With snow on the ground, we weren’t sure if we should bring the ice gear or the boat!  We decided the boat would serve us better although on our way to the lake we did pass a snow plow pushing a fresh and heavy six inches of snow out of the road.  Our destination for the day was a new spot, a place we thought would have the target species of crappie.  We had received a tip so we decided to check for ourselves.

We arrived at the launch to a light dusting of snow, prepared the boat and off we went.  The body of water is large however we were only focusing on a medium sized secluded bay.  We set the trolling motor to parallel the shore and began casting. We were using the “Live” Baby Shad from Lake Fork Trophy Lures under a bobber varying our depths as we went. This would allow us to determine the depth the fish might be holding at.  Water temperatures were in the upper 50′s and the conditions were right to find fish in either spawning/post spawning patterns because the temperature had dropped recently.

The first cast produced a nice smallmouth which was hopefully a sign of things to come.  It didn’t take long for us to determine that the fish had slid out of the shallow water due to the sudden cold front the northeast was experiencing.  We then shifted our attention to structure between shallow shorelines and sharp drop offs.  We came to a partially submerged tree that just looked fishy.  As expected the bobber slowly slid under the water and attached to the other end of the line has a healthy crappie.  It seemed like the big fish were in a post spawn pattern, they were scattered through out the lake slowly moving towards structure.  Had we had more time it would have been a good idea to get a better “lay of the land” and search for the main basin’s with hopes of finding school’s of post spawn crappie.  As it turned out, the best concentration of crappie we could find was within spitting distance of the boat launch, and for the first time in my life it seemed that the fish were relating to the rocks and boulders for cover.  The joke of the day was “in order to catch crappie, fish for smallmouth!” We managed to have a quick flurry of action catching mostly crappie with an occasional rock bass.

We began to explore the last shoreline just as the weather began to deteriorate.  We were able to catch a few fish going back to pattern one which was shoreline structure adjacent to deep water.  The wind picked and and the sleet and rain started again so we loaded the boat and called it a day.  All in all this was a very successful day of fishing as we found a new spot.  With better conditions we would have boated more fish but even still, we now have a new location to focus and pattern crappie.

5-20-13 – Pre-Spawn Smallies

I left work early with the hopes that I could find some pre spawn bass on a lake the I pretty much grew up on. I remember the first “big” bass that I ever caught at the age of 5. It may not be big by my standards today but that 15″ smallmouth was probably the best one I ever caught. I spent countless hours on the dock after that waiting on another one. That is where my addiction began. When I was old enough to take the boat out, my opportunities really expanded. I learned a lot about the lake and how these fish move throughout the year.

Being spring time, when it’s on, it’s on. In the past, I have never used temperature gauge to help find them but now that I have the capabilities to, I will! Upon my arrival, the water temp was 61.8 on the windblown shore where the launch is located. We motored up to where I like to start fishing when the wind is out of the north west. Finding a cooler temperature, I got out my rod and started casting. I was looking for sheltered coves so that I could escape the constant wind. I was thinking that we would find these fish off shore and hugging structure but it was actually closer to spawn conditions.

I started pounding the likely areas that these fish like to build beds. Mainly, I was looking at every nook along shore. Rocks tend to be the best locations with casts placed on both the wind blown and sheltered side. On a good year, it is likely to catch a fish every few feet but that last couple of years, there has been a movement from the larger fish to slide deeper to spawn. Now I have identified a few flats that the fish like to set up on where the bottom is not visible, it is just a matter of time until they are present.

After working a few miles of shore line over the course of a few hours, I had put 18 bass in the boat as well as a few pickerel. The bass were on clean bottomed areas and it didn’t take long to figure out what areas to avoid for the pickerel. The pickerel were relating to anything weedy with reeds being the worse spot to cast near. With all this just beginning, this long holiday weekend should produce some good numbers as long as the temperature stays warm!

5-19-13 – Champlain Walleye And Bass

We weren’t rushing to get on the water today. The last few days had produced a better mid day bite than at first light and the weather was suppose to be fairly calm all day. We were launching the boat close to 7:15 and were dropping our first line shortly after. We putted through the shallow water watching the fish finder to see if we could find a pod of walleye.

We went a while before catching the first fish and as it turned out, a dinky white perch wasn’t all that exciting! We finished off our slow drift with no other excitement. We decided to move in the same direction as many of the other boats were going. We drove through the maze of other boats and from what we could tell, the fishing was slow.

We continued past every one else and up to a deeper hole with only two other boats. The first pass through took a few of our grabber rigs. Once we got a hang on bottom structure, a few fish started to come our way. We picked a few rockbass and smallmouth before hooking into the first walleye. It was a little over 19″ and right in a thick mix of woody debris on the bottom. A few more drifts through the same area produced no fish but we kept at it.

Drift by drift we found a section of bottom that wasn’t completely filled with snags and held some fish. The other boats in the stretch were onto the same spot and were picking fish at about the same rate that we were. We got to see a few walleye, a huge sheephead, and some nice smallmouth bass.

Overall the fishing was slow but we caught some nice fish. The wind picked up and ultimately made the call for us that it was time to go home. Our jigs could hardly touch bottom because we were moving so fast and when it died momentarily, the lines sunk and snagged up. We were on the road home shortly after lunch time.

5-16-13 – Hudson River Stripers

Looking at pictures and articles from this past year has made us realize how much of our time on the water is dedicated to panfish. Maybe this is because it’s what we know and have locally available for us but when an opportunity to get out of our comfort level presents itself, it is hard to resist.

Two years in a row now, I have had the pleasure of fishing on the Hudson River aboard the Lazy D And Me captained by Dan Lussier. The target species for this destination is the mighty striped bass. Both years, along with Captain Dan and I on the boat has been owner of Fish Hounds Outdoors, James Vladyka and his father Larry.

Striper season on the Hudson River has the potential to produce trophy fish. According to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, the Hudson is the main spawning ground for these bass. Stripers are an anadromous fish meaning that they are born in freshwater, spend the majority of their life in salt water, and them return to freshwater to spawn. Timeliness of this transition to freshwater depends on the weather throughout the spring as well as current weather conditions, water temperature, and growing vegetation. When all these factors align, the month of May tends to be prime time with mid month being the best.

Watching the reports roll in throughout the two weeks prior had us pumped up! It was hard to sleep through the nights leading up to the trip with reports of 20, 30, and even 40 pounders being pulled! The season is short and is dependent mainly on the water temperature. As the water warms, the water chestnuts begin to grow. They exhibit extreme growth and can reach lengths of up to 16 feet. When the chestnuts really take hold, the fish are on their way out as the water temperature is past its prime. Of course not all fish move downriver at the same time but the few that still wrapping up their business are hard to target. Trolling through these dense weeds leaves anglers constantly checking their baits.

Although catching these fish doesn’t take a super secret technique, before last year, I had never experienced fishing like this. For a basic set up all you need are downriggers and large stickbaits which makes this fishing possible by many, even those with smaller boats. Sure there are some big water boats out there trolling but we see many “bass boats” and smaller 14′ aluminums.

As we troll along, we see the majority of the other fishermen using the same method. Although productive, it is not the only option. Some of the other techniques are to use dipsy divers, chunked bait, and long-lining. Taken with a grain of salt, keeping tabs on the radio allows anglers to adjust baits, speeds, and depths depending on the fast moving and finicky pods of fish.

Obviously, success comes to those who can piece together the correct sequence of moves. Just like every other species, these striped bass want the bait presented precisely and on most occasions, different every day depending on the water, weather, and their unpredictable movements. Through the years, Captain Dan has put together quite a collection of lures to target these fish. On our outings, we have mainly pulled the 7″ Rapala F18. Color depends on the day, but it seems as though we always have a “hot steel” and “bleeding hot olive” behind the boat.

To put things into perspective, last year the trip that we made had pretty much the same conditions but a little more wind. As we cruised around trying to locate fish with our staggered baits, the number of thumps that we were getting on our downrigger balls was unreal. The balls were brightly colored so we matched our baits. In general we were running out lures 25-45 feet behind the downrigger ball. With no increase in the number of bites, even when large pods of fish were present, we shortened up the distance. Running the baits within a few feet of the downrigger ball increased the number of fish that we hooked up with.

As we work up and down the river, speed is a big factor. Because we are on a river/tidal system, the surface speed is most likely different than whatever depth we are running our baits at. Because of this, the use of a Sub-Troll 900 or similar unit is huge. This allows us to troll the baits at the perfect speed rather than at the speed of boat. The speed the fish seem to prefer hovers right around 3 mph at the ball.

A big upgrade for the Lazy D And Me this year was a kicker motor with remote steering. Not only does it save on some fuel from using the big motor, but it allows Dan to drive the boat without having to sit at the helm. Not to mention, he can really fine tune his speed. At times a tenth of a mile of a mile an hour can make all the difference. Another addition to Dan’s arsenal is the new Lowrance HDS Gen 2 Touch Screen fish finder with structure scan and side imaging. This unit combined with a Navionics chip helps with locating these fast moving fish. It is possible to not only locate these fish using the side scan but you can get a relative idea of their size after looking at and comparing multiple pods.

Although there are constant conversations going on the radios, Captain Dan works with several other fisherman that are out there every day to zero in on fish. Having connections allows him and a few select others to consistently put their clients on more and larger fish. With over 15 years of experience on the Hudson River, it’s hard to trust your time on the water with anyone else!

If you would like to experience exceptional striper fishing on the Hudson River, go to www.lazydandme.com or you can give Captain Dan Lussier a call at 1-802-558-7633.

Check out Striper Fishing On The Hudson River on our YouTube page for some of the action!

5-12-13 – Mother’s Day Panfish

After a morning dedicated to turkeys and our mothers, it was off with the boat to the water we went. With hopes that the crappie were still spawning and some decent bluegill would bite, there was nothing left to do but try it!

Upon our arrival, we saw a few kayaks and one canoe out on the water. The wind was strong and brisk. The skies were dark but it wasn’t raining but it looked like it would. After launching the boat, we realized that our main issue for the day would be dealing with the wind. The worst wind we could have was anything out of the south,south east and yup, you guessed it, that is exactly where it was coming out of.

We were fishing “Live” Baby Shad by Lake Fork Trophy Lures under a bobber.  Last time we had fished this particular spot we found that the crappies were scattered through out the channel at the back most part of the setback.  We decided that we would work our way to that spot fishing a few tress along shore on the way thinking maybe they had began to seek out their cover and shade.  A major difference between today and the last time we were here were the weeds.  It had been a few weeks and with unseasonably warm weather for the end of  April and beginning of May the weeds had really started to grow, some already reaching the surface on the large flats.

Like we said before the wind was a major factor even for the 16.25 foot Lund.  The first hour was slow but we did manage to catch a few small male crappie that were tucked right up on shore.  After fishing the shoreline with little success, we made our way for the channel where the fish were holding weeks ago.  We used the recent weed growth to our advantage, fishing the edges with a little more line under our bobbers.  This pattern payed off as we were able to land several nice spawning colored males.  The fish were still scattered through out the channel but seemed to be concentrated in one specific area.  We worked our way through the channel making long casts, working the weed edge and the shoreline.  We did find some bull gills tucked into shore which made for a nice battle on our ultra light setup.

 

When the wind would die down we found pockets of fish that were busting the surface. With all the activity, we knew that we had to inspect and see what was going on. Drifting over these areas revealed hundreds of beds. The fish would dart out leaving us only mud clouds. From a distance we started pitching baits. We found out that they were all spawning pumpkinseed. Only when the wind was slightly blowing could we catch them though. They were very spooky!

Our timing may have been a little off for the species we intented to target. The conditions were certainly not ideal, but we manged to have a successful day and capture some great photos.