I fished another tournament today on Lake Champlain. Marc & I fished a Bass Quebec event that had almost 60 other teams competing as well. We finished 7th with a 5 fish total weight of 17.41 lbs. The winner had their 5 best fish weigh in at over 21 lbs. Both largemouth & smallmouth bass were caught and we went to the scales with a mixed bag. Tubes, senkos & spider grubs accounted for the 20 or so fish that we managed to land today. The largemouth were taken in 6 feet or less of water and the smallmouth were mostly taken from deep water, between 20 & 40 feet. The weather was a cool temp of less than 60 degrees in the morning but warmed to over 80 by the afternoon. The winds were light & variable making for a smooth ride on the lake. Water temps were still hovering around the 75-degree mark, but the lake color was pea green due to an algae bloom. Without the wind, this is a common occurrence on Lake Champlain! The Vermont State conservation officers stopped us not once, but twice on the lake to check licenses & I68 passes. Be aware that Lake Champlain has a single permit allowance that only applies in certain regions. Make sure that you know which one is needed for the area you are fishing! Check out the rules & regulations on line if you are not sure! It could be very costly if you don’t!

I had the pleasure of fishing with Dwane from Texas today. He had never experienced smallmouth bass before and was going to see why bass fishermen preferred them, over the largemouth. We started out with sunny skies and light winds of 10 knots from the S/SW. Air temps were in the low 70’s and the water temperature was around 75 degrees. Senko’s, tubes & spinnerbaits accounted for the 25 or so bass that we caught up to 4.5 pounds. The first fish of over 4 pounds gave Dwane a better respect for these bass, as it must have jumped about four feet in the air when he hooked it. One location had schooling smallies that were all over the lures for a while. Unfortunately, more fish were lost than landed! It was a feeding frenzy that was unbelievable! These fish were all in the 3 to 5 pound range and chasing anything that we were able to throw at them. Unfortunately, a storm chased us off the area and sent us running for cover! We tucked in under a bridge and had lunch while we waited it out. Once it was clear, we went right back and hooked up immediately on our first three casts. Plenty more fish were caught & lost in the next hour as well. When the fishing slowed we headed to other areas and picked a fish here & there before Dwane lost what was to be the largest bass of the day. We will never really know how big it might have been, but that’s what fishing stories are all about! All in all, a great day on the water with plenty of pictures and memories to take back home to Texas!

My cousin Geoff & his son Michael were in from the Toronto area and joined me on Lake St-Francis today. They had caught smallmouth bass before, but nothing like what they were about to experience! We started the day with a S/SW wind of 10 to 15 knots in overcast skies and the air temps were a cool 70 degrees with light humidity. Water temps were hovering around 75 degrees and never really rose throughout the day. We began by casting crankbaits and senkos for the bass and found them to be really inactive for the first hour or so. A couple of smaller fish under 3 pounds were caught before Michael finally landed his first trophy. This fish was in the 5.5 class and a real thrill for him to fight. Geoff followed up right after with a long, skinny post spawner of 3.5 pounds that should have been closer to 5 as well. I knew that the fish were finally coming alive and decided to cover some water. By spending more time in specific areas, we were able to monopolize on the most productive locations and hooked up everywhere we went. It wasn’t long before both of them were catching 3.5 to 4.5 pound bass regularly. Michael even managed to get another monster of 5.5 pounds on a crankbait that really gave him the fight of his life! Late in the afternoon, the rain began to fall and the wind died off making the fishing quite a bit slower. We caught more fish, but had to really work for them once the lake went calm. Close to 25 fish were caught today with the bulk of them being 3.5 to 4.5 pounds. Overall, an excellent day with plenty of memories and pictures for all to remember on this Trophy Smallmouth day!

I had the pleasure of fishing with Scott, Bob, John & Mack today on Lake Champlain. With four fishermen a second boat would definitely be required! I called on the help of a former fishing partner of over 15 years, Randolph, to aid in this day. The weather was a cool 63 degrees in the morning, but made its way into the 80’s by days end. The wind was from the N at 5 to 10 knots with heavier gusts at times. Water temps were pushing 80 degrees as well in some places of the lake and the surface algae made for quite stained, green surface water. Realizing what was happening on the lake, I decided to try for the smallmouth in deeper water first. The first fish of over 4 pounds was soon to come aboard by Bob and the rest of the day was no different. Both boats concentrated in deep water all day and were rewarded by many more fish over 4 pounds and a couple over 5 too. All in all, around 35 or more fish were caught & released on this beautiful day on Lake Champlain. A side bet between the two boats was made in the morning for largest fish and it was difficult to determine the winner. Bob & John had a couple of 5 pounders that would have required weighing to determine the winner. Not wanting to stress the fish too much from this, we called it a draw. They’ll have to wait for the photos to determine a winner! A great day for deep-water smallies!

Alex & his three daughters joined me this afternoon for about 6 hours on Lake St-Louis. The weather was spectacular as we had sunny skies and temps upwards of 90 degrees. Water temps were over 75 degrees and the winds were light from the S/SW under 10 knots. It didn’t take too long for Erin too hook into the first smallmouth on a tiny crankbait. Unfortunately, the bite wasn’t fast & furious for the balance of the day, as we were soon to find out. There were several larger bass that came up for a look many times, but apparently didn’t like what they were seeing and disappeared back to the depths. Alex managed to get into a few on tube baits, but Erin had the hot hand today. She landed more than anyone with at least 4 fish on a couple of rods. She seemed to hook a fish on any rod she picked up. Even during a bad tangle of lines at the boat she still got the hooks into a bass that was staring down the crankbait on the surface. We covered plenty of water on a series of shoals, but managed to move only about a dozen fish. Lots of boat traffic and beautiful temperatures made for a tougher day than expected. With the Quebec holiday period in full bloom right now, everyone is taking advantage of this fantastic weather as well.