Today I had the pleasure of fishing with Fred & Patrick on Lake Mempremagog for smallmouth bass. The morning began wet & humid with heavy rain falling and air temps around 64 degrees. Water temps were over 65 degrees at the first area we fished and the winds were almost non-existent. It didn’t take long before Fred was hooked up and Patrick soon after as well. Most of the day was spent throwing soft plastic jerk-baits to aggressive smallies in the shallows. There were over 50 bass caught up to 3.5 pounds and almost as many lost too. This was to be a quantity type day as both Fred and Patrick left with sore arms from all the hook sets they had to apply throughout the day. All in all a great day regardless of what “Mother Nature” had dealt us!!

I fished alone once again today on another trophy lake nearby and had an unbelievable day. The winds were out of the S/SW at 10 to 15 knots and the skies were clear. Water temps went between 61 & 65 degrees and the air temps went into the 80’s. Some of the fish are beginning to move shallow and nest, but the larger females are still in deeper water. The best baits today were 3-inch power grubs on a light jig head. Crank-baits, super flukes as well as fin-s baits also accounted for the 25 or more smallies that were caught & released. The majority of these bass today were over 4 pounds with the largest going closer to 5.5 pounds. All in all a great day!!! No pics once again!

I was off to another lake again this morning that I hadn’t been on in over 2 weeks. I had to check out the stage that the bass were in! Once again, soft jerk-baits were the best choice as almost 25 bass were caught on them. The first fish of the day weighed in at an even 5 pounds! A few large smallies were also taken on crank-baits and the first double was finally taken today. Two smallmouth of three pounds hooked up on a crank-bait at the same time making for an interesting battle. It was another hot day with temperatures once again exceeding 80 degrees and the water temps were above 60 degrees in most areas. There was a slight wind from the south that increased during the afternoon to about 15 knots. I had to cut the afternoon short and get off the water around 2:00 PM when the skies looked like a storm was approaching. Apparently it was a good decision as it hit shortly after. All in all, another god day!!! No pics again!

I decided to try another lake today and troll with fly rods for trout. George & Paul were my guests this morning as we trolled for about 2 hours with only 3 hits. Unfortunately, none of them hooked up though and we opted for another method of fishing. The air temps went into the 80’s again and the water temps were between 57 & 61 degrees, depending where you were. No wind had all the pollen just laying on the surface of the water like a spilled can of paint. With spinning rods and jigs, we tried casting to deep edges and rocky shoals for the lakers. Unfortunately, only one lake trout was hooked, but lost at the boat. There was also a huge brown trout that boiled beside the boat that we were unable to hook up with. I fished solo after lunch and decided to try a few other areas for smallmouth bass. Super flukes proved to be the best baits this afternoon as I landed several good bass on them. Towards the end of the afternoon, I even lost another laker on a jig, when it spiraled out of control after being hooked. Close to 15 smallies averaging 4 pounds were caught & released during a three-hour period this afternoon. All in all, a tough day!! No pics today!

I decided to try a trophy lake for smallmouth bass this morning, with Christiane. The black flies were just insane as we launched the boat and began fishing. I thought that they would be better once we got on the lake, but without any wind, they weren’t. The air temps went into the low 80’s and the water temps were low 60’s. Some of the fish were starting to bed as we saw nests all over the lake. They haven’t spawned yet, but I am sure it won’t be very long! We decided that the black flies were biting better than the bass after we only landed 3 fish in a couple of hours. The afternoon was spent back on Memphremagog, black fly free! There were probably close to 25 bass landed in about 4 hours in tough conditions. Most of the fish are shallow right now, but the water is still really dirty making the visibility just terrible. You have to fish really slowly with noisy baits just to get their attention. I hope it cleans up soon!!