Greetings Lake Champlain enthusiasts! Spring is upon us and many boaters are already out navigating across the waters of the big lake. In spring it’s usually the fishermen who are first willing to endure the cold weather to cure their cabin fever. I pride myself in being one of the first few anglers to launch following ice-out. This year I was on the lake targeting lake trout and salmon during the last week of March. Believe it or not, I was catching some dandy lakers trolling just a few feet from the edge of the melting ice on Cumberland Bay. The lake trout fishing has been outstanding. As of this writing, May 1, 2009, my charters have landed 171 trout. Many fish where in the ten-pound range and the largest weighed in at just over thirteen pounds. I fish for Lake Champlain’s Seneca Lake strain of trout in 50 to 80 feet of water even in the early season. The Atlantic salmon fishing has been great too. The spring run in the tributaries brought in a good stock of salmon accessible to riverbank and fly fishermen. Those of us who trolled for salmon just after ice-out on the broad water in spots like Sandbar on the Inland Sea and Willsboro Bay on the main lake also did very well. The key to good salmon fishing in spring is finding slightly warmer water temperatures. The bass and pike fishing heated up in the rivers as well by the last week of April.

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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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Guy Mitrano’s Burlington Boatyard Blog post highlighting a recent Wall Street Journal article on Yo-Yoing on the North Atlantic focuses attention on lead contamination here. Yo-Yoing, or using heavy sinkers placed in live baits for striped bass and other bottom feeding fish is not only bad for the environment, it’s a bad reflection on anglers. It happened on Lake Champlain folks, but on a smaller and less intentional scale. Vermont’s program to “Get The Lead Out” was the beginning of an effort by wildlife officials to minimize lead contamination on Lake Champlain. In Vermont it is now illegal to fish with lead sinkers weighing less than one-half ounce. New York has banned the sale of lead sinkers smaller than one ounce. There are not many cases of Yo-Yoing on Lake Champlain that fisheries managers know of, but lead sinkers were a problem for wildlife, especially loons and other waterfowl. It’s up to anglers to refresh their stocks of sinkers with the various options now available like tin or tungsten weights. The old sinkers can be recycled.

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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