Lake Champlain - Update on lake conditions 2

The lake still has not established the thermalcline. The temp is still all over the place. As of late this week the temp at 15 feet was 50 degrees all the way from Burlington to Shelburne. If we get a substantial wind it will affect the water temperature, so keep a close track of it. If you don't have a probe to check the temperature just listen to the VHF radio. Somebody will be talking about the water temperature. Although there is not a fishing channel per se, I usually have luck on channels 8, 68, 72 and 88.

Lake Trout:

I would say the fishing has been only fair. You will have to wait for the fish to begin hitting. Lake trout have been striking mostly large spoons, such has NK 28's, Pro Kings, Eppenger and Flutter Chucks. I've had good success with all of these. The lakers have been striking anywhere form 15 to 50 feet down, fishing suspended. I've also has some sporadic luck near the bottom in no more than 50-60' of water, but they haven't set up in deep water yet.

Salmon:

The salmon have started to spread out more. You will get an occasional hot spot and the salmon will turn on for a while. Then, just as it starts gettin' good it stops. You'll just have to spread out again to locate them. Try looking in 10 to 40 feet of water. The best baits are still the dodger fly with a spoon on a cheater four feet over the fly. Try a Harry Lure - pictured here:

Most Common Questions:

What type of releases are you using? Do you have any special tips?
I use a Walker release when fishing suspended. It's very simple and works well when running a cheater setup. When fishing for salmon, run your dodger fly four to six feet in-back of your wake and set your cheater four to five feet above your Walker release. If you're using the Big Jon Elberta Clipper I've found that it's best to clip a small amount of the spring off the Clipper so the tension is reduced. This tension causes the line to wear the release prematurely.

Hint of the week:

If you keep loosing flies off the dodger fly setup, run heavier line. I've had great luck with 14 to 20 lb. line from the dodger to the fly. The increase in line size doesn't seem to make a performance difference and it sure helps you to keep from loosing the expensive flies. I've caught as many fish with 14-20 lb. test as with 12 lb. line.
See ya' on the lake…

Website Admin / Owner: Stuart Morris
stumorris03809@yahoo.com
Alton, NH 03809
Phone: 603-828-8700