As many of you know, we are blessed to have an outstanding bass fishery here on Lake Champlain. From the monster largemouth hiding among the weed beds of the extreme northern and southern ends of the lake to the chunky smallies that make the rocky flats and shoals of the watershed their feeding grounds, there is hardly a nook or cranny on this lake where a bass fisherman can’t find a worthy lunker. Last week the LCI successfully held their 9th annual bass fishing tournament, an event that’s open to any angler from the novice fishermen to the seasoned expert. BurlingtonBoatyard.com representatives volunteered their time at the LCI weigh-in and thoroughly covered the event with interviews that can be seen on this site shortly.

Next week it’s the big dogs turn with one of the largest professional tournaments of the year taking place in Plattsburgh September 10 – 13. In fact, the pros are already out buzzing around the lake in their fancy wrapped boats pre-fishing for bass. They are also mingling with the locals at a number of community events leading up to the tournament.

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This Sunday, come out and catch all the action at Malletts Bay in Colchester at the 9^th Annual LCI Bass Open.   See some of the top two person angling teams battle it out for first place and the guaranteed $3,000 grand prize.  All boats must be in the water by 5:30 am and tournament hours are from 7:00 am till 3:oo pm.  Pre-fishing is allowed up until Midnight on Saturday, August 30^th.  If you haven’t already registered and you want to get in on all the action, you are still able to register up until 6:00 am, the morning of the tournament, and the fee is $200.00 per team. You can read more about all the specifics here, at the LCI website.

Burlington Boatyard will be at Malletts Bay covering the tournament all day.  Check out BurlingtonBoatyard.com for all of the exclusive highlights and interviews of the 2008 LCI Lake Champlain Bass Open.  Best of luck to all the anglers!

-Jimmy

Today on the front page of the Wall Street Journal there is a story entitled “For Massachusetts Fishermen, A Weighty Debate About Fair Play” which discusses a recent event involving a common baiting technique called “Yo-Yoing”.

The article highlights a gentleman who caught a 57lb Striped bass last fall during the annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass & Bluefish Derby, and while he was under the impression this was the winning fish, his hopes were deflated after the judges opened the Striper to reveal two pounds of lead weights.

The gentleman was not the angler to have caused the presence of these weights, but rather it was the work of those seeking out the fish on prior attempts with this technique of yo-yoing, where the bait fish is filled with a single lead sinker, enabling it to rest on the ocean bottom and move in the same way that would cause a Striper to go for the kill. As those who have been Striper fishing before may know, often times the line may break when trying to land the fish, or more commonly the fish will make off with the bait, leaving just the hook behind. Beyond the fact of causing “fake weigh-ins” for derby results, the issue has raised much attention regarding the presence of the lead that could cause harmful consequences for the fish and those that eat them later on. Much controversy surrounds these theories, amongst anglers, general public, and state health and wildlife associations alike. Some feel the lead leaders are spit out by the fish more often than swallowed, where others feel the lead will contaminate the water, fish and the next angler to reel him in and make a meal of it.

While there is no Striper fishing taking place on Lake Champlain, this is an issue that can cause opinions to be heard by all anglers regardless if it is fresh or salt water locations that they primarily spend time fishing. We would like to know your stance on the practice of “yo-yoing” and others like it, that may or may not increase the chances of catching fish while possibly posing environmental concerns that can occur thereafter.

For the full story, visit the Wall Street Journal article here, and watch the video to see a Massachusetts fisherman give his opinion.

We encourage you to comment on this piece below, as it could provide insight to the many opinions out there regarding fishing practices and health in general.

-Guy

Robyn Comstock, from the Vermont Special Olympics, sat down with Burlington Boatyard at the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival to chat about their involvement on a number of initiatives within the Vermont area.

For more information on the Vermont Special Olympics:

Read the information below and head to their website: Vermont Special Olympics.

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Hi Everyone-

Despite it being a bit overcast, the day has still been very exciting as we had the opportunity to interview Mike O’Brien, who has been a key figure in the creation and operation of the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival. Check out the video below to hear more about Mike and the LCMF.

 
Mike also serves actively in the Antique & Classic Boat Society, both nationally and for the local Lake Champlain Chapter, which holds frequent meet-ups and boat shows during the season.

Feel free to comment and get in touch for more info!

- The Burlington Boatyard Crew

Hi Guys-

A few minutes ago we had the pleasure of being interviewed by Tim Kavanagh, host of “Late Night Saturday”, which airs Saturday evenings at 11:30pm. 

He asked us about Burlington Boatyard in general and then we got to get into some specifics. We made sure to mention the most important aspect of our business…YOU GUYS. We spoke about our interactions with the boating and fishing communities, the features we provide to keep everyone connected, and also the issues that are out there now which need some attention.

This taping will air in the fall, and we will make sure to let you know the specifics so you guys can check it out!

His website can tell you some more about the show, and you can contact Tim if you want through http://www.latenightsaturday.com/index.htm

So, with that, we are going to sign off for today and go get some dinner and drinks at Splash. It’s been a long one, but a fun one, and we will get back at ya in the morning.

- The Burlington Boatyard Crew

Hi Guys-

So I just had the opportunity to speak with Peter Thayer and Debbie from Will Fish For Fun, an organization dedicated to teaching kids how to fish, respect the lake and basically get out there and have fun with the sport.

This is a phenomenal resource for Vermont children and for the fishing community, and we will be putting up more information in our Lifestyle section shortly.

Below are two videos, the first was with Peter and Debbie, and well, we ran into a technical difficulty so the last 30sec got cut off. Nonetheless, I did a second piece to overview and hope you all enjoy!

- Guy

And again, sorry about the technical difficulties! We are LIVE, it happens.

Will Fish For Fun – Kid’s Fishing Derby

Hey everyone- just a quick hello from the LCMF today here at the waterfront in Burlington. The weather is fantastic and the crowd is much larger than yesterday, so all is shaping up to be a great day.

Check out our video update below and stay tuned for more that will be coming out as the day goes on.

- The Burlington Boatyard Crew

It’s 7:30pm and the sky is clear after a brief shower that kept us under the tent for a while. Now we are about to transition into the events of the evening which include some live music and great food over at the beer and wine tent. The view is amazing now, without a cloud over the lake and the many different boats going by are making for some great pictures.

We are still going strong here at the BBY table, with the crowd growing as work lets out and the weekend kicks off. We just spoke with one of the maritime patrons that spent a good five minutes checking out the pictures in the Burlington Boatyard Anglers set in our Flickr album. Needless to say, they were very impressed by the great catches out there, and to be honest, it’s getting hard to keep from running down to the water and throwing out a line!

Well, thanks for checking back in with us, and we hope to put up another post or two before Day 1 is out.

- The Burlington Boatyard Crew