Greetings from Lake Okeechobee, Florida!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my fishing and boating friends and clients for helping make the spring, summer and fall seasons on Lake Champlain an overwhelming success. In spite of a wet summer, high gas prices and a stumbling economy, I hosted nearly 50 fishing charters from April through October. We thoroughly enjoyed sharing time on the water with our clients and friends this year.

Our website, www.LakeChamplainAngler.com, averaged over 75 hits a day during the peak season. It’s nice to know that many of you are visiting the site to keep up with the various published articles, videos and Burlington Boatyard blog entries relating to our beloved lake. Thanks so much to all the webmasters, forum publishers and web entities out there who have placed links from their sites to ours.

Our fledgling marine towing, rescue and salvage operation, “Lake Champlain Marine Resource and Services”, was also very successful in its first year. Together, Captain Randy LaValley and I came to the assistance of over 30 stranded boaters bringing them safely to port, protecting their passengers and their investments. The highlight of our season was providing transportation to a large Valcour Island wedding party in cooperation with a few associate Lake Champlain Captains.

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As the cooler temperatures of late fall arrive and the Atlantic salmon spawning run winds down on Lake Champlain’s tributaries, some salmon anglers have thoughts of retiring their gear for winter. Most large trolling vessels are shrink-wrapped and in storage, in anticipation of the approaching chill. Many outdoorsmen are ignoring the water, entirely focused on the woods. What some fishermen are unaware of is that some of the best salmon fishing occurs on the broad lake from late October, until the mid-winter ice forms. With a modest boat and motor, the proper tackle, and an enthusiastic mindset for brisk fishing, a hard-core Lake Champlain salmon angler can take full advantage of the year round open season. It’s an opportunity to experience bountiful fishing well into winter. With the exception of an occasional bald eagle or two, the salmon angler will encounter little competition on the water.

 On the broad lake during late fall and early winter Atlantic salmon are often foraging aggressively on baitfish in the upper portion of the water column. A young adult class, from 15 to 18 inches, is most prevalent, but larger stock occasionally joins the mix. Pound for pound, these Atlantic salmon are every bit as energetic as their Pacific rivals. When hooked, they frequently make powerful, lightening-fast runs and exciting acrobatic leaps of amazing height, invigorating a cold angler’s heart. The occasional bonus brown trout, steelhead or lake trout may be caught, complementing the big water experience.

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Last Saturday was the final day of the Wal-Mart FLW Series pro bass tournament on Lake Champlain, and myself and Nick couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to meet some great anglers, event staff and experience the atmosphere that surrounds such a big time event in the angling community.

We headed out of Burlington on Friday night, via the Ferry at Grand Isle, and crashed in Plattsburgh. When we arrived at the America’s Best Value Inn (hey, there was no availability at the Ritz!) we parked next to the BP Tahoe trailing a wrapped Ranger boat, followed by many more pickups – all pulling nice rigs. That set the tone for what the final day of the tournament would bring.

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Greetings Burlington Boatyard Visitors,

I would like to extend a warm welcome to each and every one of you. I hope you find this Lake Champlain Captain’s blog entertaining and enlightening. Like many of you, I have long been a passionate advocate for Lake Champlain. Through this medium I hope to continue a proactive tendency, not only by offering commentary, assistance and advice, but also by stirring your thoughts, opinions and enthusiasm for the resource.

I look forward to offering weekly commentary on a wide variety of Lake Champlain issues. At times I might cover topics as simple as the ABCs of boater’s safety. Or, I may delve into more comprehensive subjects like invasive species, from alewives to zebra mussels. I may even humbly throw in a fishing tip or two. Subjects will sometimes be expressed in a lighthearted manner, and at other times I may appear as angry or irritated as a junkyard dog. As is the nature of interesting blogs, I expect that some of my reflections and observations will occasionally be controversial and even at times, somewhat opinionated, but I will always be prepared to qualify more technical information with sources or references. When you do not see eye-to-eye with me, I trust we can respectfully agree to differ.

I am honored to have this opportunity to speak directly to you, the stakeholders of Lake Champlain. May we unite to protect Lake Champlain and the rights of sincere, conscientious mariners and anglers. Lake Champlain is the beloved jewel in our backyards. It is here for all to share. We must remind ourselves that we are not its possessors but rather its guardians until we pass it on to subsequent generations. Let’s all keep drifting toward the cause of stewardship, fishing for a better future and sailing away to brighter horizons.

In The Lake Champlain Bonds,
Captain Mickey Maynard