Back to Vermont
TightLine 06/13/2009 - 20:03 Trip Reports Roll Your Own
Hey All,
Duane and I went back up to Vermont for a few days. We started out from Maryland last Saturday night at midnight, and got to our motel at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. After checking in, we got something to eat, and then headed to the lake. The water temp was around 61 degrees...it was a nice calm afternoon.
We headed right to our hotspot from last year, and fished back and forth a few times and I got one 14" smallie. Duane decided to try a popper, and he cast out, and then started to put his other lure back in the takle box. I heard a loud splash, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a commotion on the water. I hadn't been paying attention to what Duane was doing, so at first I didn't realize he was hooked up. The next thing you know, a 5 lber came leaping and cartwheeling out of the water...I saw Duane's popper in the corner of the fishes mouth, and knew what the deal was then. Duane had a time getting the slack line in, but he was winding away, and finally got the line taught. He had a heck of a time getting the fish to the boat, but managed well. That would be all for the evening, and we called it quits to get back and get some sleep.
The next morning we got out on the lake about 5:30 a.m. I got one nice fish (4 lber) on a SJB right away. Later that morning the smallies were chasing bait around, and we kept casting to the breaking fish. I threw a Zoom fluke to an area where I saw some breaking fish, and felt a "good one" hit. She was a real bulldog, and ended up being the best one of the trip for me. I caught one other smaller fish, but that was it.
As the sun warmed the water, smallies were coming up onto the shelf we were fishing. It was a bit unerving seeing all these huge fish in 3 ft of water. It was very hard to get them to bite. I had one swat at a stick bait, and get hooked in the tail. It was on my light rod, and six pound test. I fought it for quite a while, but it came unglued right by the boat. I also had a HUGE smallie come at my bait agressively, but turned away without hitting. I think the sight of the boat scared it away...
The lake we were fishing is a real trophy lake with most fish from 3.5 to 5.5, and even some close to 7 lbs. You may not catch many fish, but they tend to be on the large size.
The next day we got rain and colder temps. It was 55 for the high, and brisk winds blowing right in on the shelf we were fishing. The water temp had dropped down to 56 degrees overnight. The fish left the area, and we could not buy a bite, so we went back to the motel for a nap, and then headed for a different lake, Lake Memphremagog. This lake is know for quantity over quality. On good days I've read that you may catch 100 bass, with some going 5 lbs.
We put in at a Widlife Management Area ramp. The ramp is in a winding creek that dumps into the lake. There are areas that are less than two feet deep, and choked with weeds, so it was a little tricky getting out to the lake. Once we approached the big lake we soon figured we weren't going to go to far, as the wind was whipping up whitecaps, and 2 ft waves. We decided to fish the protected area, and caught quite a few small largemouths.
The next morning it rained again, and we had some wind to contend with. We headed for the trophy lake first, but the only thing I caught was a Lake Trout. It was my first, and I have to say I was impressed with the tenacity. It jumped once, and was never done fighting, even after I got it in the boat. It was back to the motel for a nap, and then off to Magog (Memphremagog). This turned out to be the most fruitful day of the trip as far as numbers go. The wind layed down, and we had water temps of 63. We caught some of everything; Smallmouth, Largemouth, yellow perch, bluegill, and pickerel. It was getting late, and we had a slow trip back up the creek...I didn't want to have to navigate in the dark. As we got to the bay area, just before the narrow creek starts. We saw fish busting minnows. We caught a half a dozen largmouths in short order. Duane caught three more as we traversed our way back up the creek. Lots of action.
The next day was windy again...of course we had to give the trophy lake a try, but alas, it was not to be. Due to the wind, we were forced to fish another lake that afternoon. It is a very shallow, but protected lake. We only caught a few small fish...and called it a day.
Here is a link to some pics from our fishing trip:
Trip Pics
-TL
Duane and I went back up to Vermont for a few days. We started out from Maryland last Saturday night at midnight, and got to our motel at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. After checking in, we got something to eat, and then headed to the lake. The water temp was around 61 degrees...it was a nice calm afternoon.
We headed right to our hotspot from last year, and fished back and forth a few times and I got one 14" smallie. Duane decided to try a popper, and he cast out, and then started to put his other lure back in the takle box. I heard a loud splash, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a commotion on the water. I hadn't been paying attention to what Duane was doing, so at first I didn't realize he was hooked up. The next thing you know, a 5 lber came leaping and cartwheeling out of the water...I saw Duane's popper in the corner of the fishes mouth, and knew what the deal was then. Duane had a time getting the slack line in, but he was winding away, and finally got the line taught. He had a heck of a time getting the fish to the boat, but managed well. That would be all for the evening, and we called it quits to get back and get some sleep.
The next morning we got out on the lake about 5:30 a.m. I got one nice fish (4 lber) on a SJB right away. Later that morning the smallies were chasing bait around, and we kept casting to the breaking fish. I threw a Zoom fluke to an area where I saw some breaking fish, and felt a "good one" hit. She was a real bulldog, and ended up being the best one of the trip for me. I caught one other smaller fish, but that was it.
As the sun warmed the water, smallies were coming up onto the shelf we were fishing. It was a bit unerving seeing all these huge fish in 3 ft of water. It was very hard to get them to bite. I had one swat at a stick bait, and get hooked in the tail. It was on my light rod, and six pound test. I fought it for quite a while, but it came unglued right by the boat. I also had a HUGE smallie come at my bait agressively, but turned away without hitting. I think the sight of the boat scared it away...
The lake we were fishing is a real trophy lake with most fish from 3.5 to 5.5, and even some close to 7 lbs. You may not catch many fish, but they tend to be on the large size.
The next day we got rain and colder temps. It was 55 for the high, and brisk winds blowing right in on the shelf we were fishing. The water temp had dropped down to 56 degrees overnight. The fish left the area, and we could not buy a bite, so we went back to the motel for a nap, and then headed for a different lake, Lake Memphremagog. This lake is know for quantity over quality. On good days I've read that you may catch 100 bass, with some going 5 lbs.
We put in at a Widlife Management Area ramp. The ramp is in a winding creek that dumps into the lake. There are areas that are less than two feet deep, and choked with weeds, so it was a little tricky getting out to the lake. Once we approached the big lake we soon figured we weren't going to go to far, as the wind was whipping up whitecaps, and 2 ft waves. We decided to fish the protected area, and caught quite a few small largemouths.
The next morning it rained again, and we had some wind to contend with. We headed for the trophy lake first, but the only thing I caught was a Lake Trout. It was my first, and I have to say I was impressed with the tenacity. It jumped once, and was never done fighting, even after I got it in the boat. It was back to the motel for a nap, and then off to Magog (Memphremagog). This turned out to be the most fruitful day of the trip as far as numbers go. The wind layed down, and we had water temps of 63. We caught some of everything; Smallmouth, Largemouth, yellow perch, bluegill, and pickerel. It was getting late, and we had a slow trip back up the creek...I didn't want to have to navigate in the dark. As we got to the bay area, just before the narrow creek starts. We saw fish busting minnows. We caught a half a dozen largmouths in short order. Duane caught three more as we traversed our way back up the creek. Lots of action.
The next day was windy again...of course we had to give the trophy lake a try, but alas, it was not to be. Due to the wind, we were forced to fish another lake that afternoon. It is a very shallow, but protected lake. We only caught a few small fish...and called it a day.
Here is a link to some pics from our fishing trip:
Trip Pics
-TL
