Beardog

Go to the Northern Bass supply website and buy Dale Brown's book, Bass Fishing 101, Lake Champlain. If you are looking for spots, he gives you enough for a lifetime (though I don't agree with a lot of his contentions).

Fished there Fri out of 31. Weather conditions were good--fishing bad. Way fewer beds than usual, and only a ferw of them had fish on them. Adding together reports from four friends who have worked the Q for over 20 years, the inescapable conclusion is that the bass numbers are down significantly (tho average size is up somewhat). The rock bass disappeared a few years ago. I hope the smallies don't follow. Time to lobby for a catch and release only period from opening through Julu 1.

It's supposed to be a nice weekend, so it will be a madhouse Saturday am. Best bet is to cruise in around noon and fish for the afternoon.

Fifty degree water? You must be on the Cape. For smallies, start throwing topwaters in a few weeks. Prespawn is the best time. Throw them high so they make a splash, then just let it sit--sometimes a minute or more later they will attack. Sometimes also on the first twitch. Switch from poppers to walkers to props, etc. They will go for different approaches on different days.

Looks like I'm going to be out at Keuka the first week of May. Any of you NY guys going to be around at that time?

I too have marked baitballs such as shown and dropped down the camera. I've also noticed that the yellow perch seem to be more numerous than the smelt once were. Every body of water changes over time and recruitment rates of young bass vary from year to year. I've fished the Q for over 40 years, consistently for the last 15 or so. I fish with 4 or 5 guys who who also spend 30-50 days a year out there. It's only anecdotal (tho we all keep records), but we all agree that there has been a serious decline in the past 3 or 4 years. We are well familiar with fishing deep, shallow, and in between, only with artificials and always catch and release. I think it's time to lobby MDC or DFW to make bass fiahing catch and release only, at least through spawning season.

Ain't no bass in the Quabbin. Seriously, though, the quality of smallie fishing at Q has been on the decline for the last three or four years. There are still plenty of fish, but the days of 40-50 2+ lb smallies are gone. Part of it is the increased bass fishing pressure as well as meat fishermen who pull them off their beds and keep them. Another problem is the slot limit for lakers that resulted in a huge population increase of medium sized fish. I've actually seen lakers preying on smallie beds in the spring. The baitfish populations have suffered as well. Five or six years ago, you couldn't help but catch a bunch of rockbass, now they are almost nonexistent. As far as maps, many of the local stores (such as the New Salem General Store) sell a reasonably decent map, but there is no substitute for time on the water. The water levels fluctuate greatly, and if you run around at full speed without knowing what's below you, you will lose a lower unit or worse.

To my simple mind, the question is backlashes versus the dreaded loop. Spinning, you will inevitably get the loops, which often require a complete relining. With baitcasters, you will get the professional overrun, which requires a lot of blue words and some patience to repair. However, skill can alleviate the backlash--nothing can overcome the physics of the spinning reel. Educate your thumb!

Vermont and NY have had a reciprocal license agreement for Champlain for a few years. There are some exceptions--a NY license is needed for South Bay and rivers that enter on the NY side, a VT license is required for the Inland Sea (the northeastern section of the lake). I don't know where Felixberg is, but if you are in the North Hero area, you will want to get a Vermont license. You can essentially fish the whole lake with it (South Bay is like 100 miles away). You can buy a VT license online and print it out. Google VTfishandwildlife. Where are you staying? I might be able to give you some suggestions if needed.

Google Lakeside Motel and Cabins on Cobbosseecontee Lake (apparently I'm not allowed to post the link). Great smallmouth and largemouth fishing, reasonable prices, and fairly easy to get to.

I've fished Waneta, but not Lamoka. Is Lamoka as weed choked? Do you use the ramp between the lakes on 23? I remember the ramp as being pretty small--is it big enough for a 21 ft bass boat? I also have some vague memories of he Waneta Inn--a big muskie over the bar and some questionable women.

Anyone fish Waneta/Lamoka?

Your carp secrets won't be divulged by me. I don't fish down by PY much. I'm on the west side near the Bluff, plenty of our own carp there. If I subract lake trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, and salmon, I'm at nine, too. How's the ice situation there?

Yep, that's a gooden. I'm trying to place that area on the lake--seems to be morning on the east side, but I can't figger out where. Here's my next question. How many species of fish have you caught out of Keuka? I can come up with 13 off the top of my head.

Some years ago I took my wife out with me for the evening's fishing trip. I gave her a spinning rod with a spinnerbait. Not long after she latched onto what turned out to be a 28 inch pickerel. I didn't weigh it, but it had to be 6 pounds or more. At first I thought it was a pike. She hasn't been fishing with me since. The picks are a lot smaller now, but more numerous. Anybody ever do any carp fishing at Keuka? Sometimes we'll throw some corn out around the dock, bait a few hooks, and sit there and drink beer until a herd of carp come by. A 20+ lb carp on light tackle is a lot of fun, at least until you have your picture taken with one.