I fished with Keith this morning on Memphremagog for smallmouth bass. The temperatures fell below the freezing mark last night making this morning a little chilly. Add a strong N/NW wind of 10 to 20 knots and you really have a bone chilling experience. The water temperatures dropped almost 10 degrees overnight so I decided to try some offshore structures with jigs. It took only a couple of minutes before the first fish was caught and it weighed just under 5 pounds. A few more fish were landed in the next hour, but the wind & waves were making this area almost impossible to fish effectively. We had to make a move to the other side of the lake just to get out of this deep freeze! By targetting all the lead in points with jerk-baits and jigs, we were able to land another half dozen or so smallies before we left the lake around 11:00 AM. Keith had to head home, so we grabbed a quick lunch and parted our ways. I decided to try another smaller lake in the afternoon hoping for less windy conditions. I definately made the right choice as both the conditions and the fishing were fantastic! In a four-hour period, I must have had about 50 huge smallies come after my jerk-bait & jigs. About half of them were actually landed with the average size being over 4 pounds. The bulk of the fish were definitely above 5 pounds, making the afternoon absolutely phenominal! I think a couple were over the 6 pound mark as well! I had found the fish transitioning between the deeper water and the spawning areas they would be using in the next couple of weeks. The water temps were actually warmer than the air temps, topping out at 53 degrees. The air never passed 50 degrees! What a great way to end a day!!!

I was back on the water again with the same guys as yesterday, but my brother Mike joined us as well. It was a little tight, but we managed to make it work! The weather turned out to be better than the forecast had predicted, with overcast skies turning to sunshine, early in the morning. Once again, there was almost no wind at all, making the fishing a little easier to accomplish. The water temps were only 48 degrees as we fished for lakers once more. It was a little tougher than yesterday as we only landed a couple with many others missed. There were also a few smallmouth landed with one of them being around 5 pounds. The afternoon proved to be quite interesting when we headed to Lake Memphremagog for smallmouth bass, again. The weather looked like it was going to take a turn for the worse and it did. We fished for about 2 hours and had to make a run for the boat ramp when the rain & wind picked up. Three footers were blowing from the N/NW making it a little uncomfortable for Dave as he had the worst seat seat in the house. The offshore structures definitely were a better choice as everyone landed bass from deeper water. Dan caught the first one about 5 pounds and many others followed, a little smaller in size. I wish we could have stayed there longer, but safety comes first! Mother nature won this battle, but it was still a great day!!

It was another spectacular day on the water again, with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 70’s. Water temps were up to 64 degrees on Memphremagog with absolutely no wind at all. I fished one lake in the morning for lake trout with Dave, Rick & Dan and another lake in the afternoon for smallmouth with the guys. Not only did they land 4 lakers on the morning lake, but 2 smallies over 6 pounds as well! The afternoon bite proved to be even better as there were between 50 & 60 bass caught & released up to 5 pounds, in a 4 hour period. All in all, a great day of fishing for both size and numbers for these three guys!

What a day on the water! I fished with Bobby & Francois today on a couple of lakes. We started for lake trout & Bobby was the first to hook into a beauty of almost 5 pounds within the first 15 minutes. Into the livewell it went and shortly after, Francois lost one as well. Bobby landed his second trout about the same size and eventually, Francois caught one of his own, too. In only a couple of hours, there were three lakers taken and many other missed hits. By noon we were on Memphremagog for smallmouth bass and Francois was the first to score a real beauty of almost 5 pounds. Both of them were into fish consistently as over 50 bass were to be caught this afternoon. Fin-s tipped jigs were responsible for 100% of the entire day’s catch. With a warming trend finally here, the fish will definately be more active in the day’s to come. The conditions for today were absolutely spectacular! Air temps the mid 70’s with water temps almost 65 degrees in most areas. Sunny skies with no wind made for a very comfortable fishing day. All in all, just a great day to be on the water!!

With light precipitation falling this morning, I decided to try another lake once again. Smallmouth & lake trout were what I was after and it didn’t take long before I was hooked up. The first fish was a smallmouth of over 3 pounds and a lake trout on the very next cast. This time it took a little longer to land the trout as it sounded for deeper water immediately after I hooked it. Light line & a fin-s tipped jig would be responsible for every fish landed today! Water temps were 46 to 48 degrees and air temps topped out at 62 by day’s end. Little to no wind was present and the rain stopped by 10:30 AM. I literally had the lake to myself, as there wasn’t another boat in sight! Too bad, as it was an incredible day for the lake trout! By the end of the day I had caught 8 lakers and 6 smallies with the largest being a 7 pound lake trout. Plenty more strikes were had, but unfortunately, not all were hooked up. With the water temps being as cold as they are, it will be a little longer before the bulk of the smallmouth start to move shallower. Right now, the bass and trout seem to be in the same areas, deep water! Warmer air temps and sunshine are in the forecast for the next week and this should really trigger the smallies to feed before their rigorous spawn cycle, soon to come. All in all, a great day for lakers and one will be grilled for dinner tonight!