Mainebass1984 Posted July 11, 2015 Posted July 11, 2015 The bass fishing in Vermont has been pretty great lately. Depending on where you are the water temps are all over the place. Last week I decided to fish a new lake. It was the weekend of July 4th and I expected a lot of traffic on the water. I was surprised to find I was the only boat at the launch when I got there. I had never fished this lake. I didn't know what to expect. The wind was light it was bright sun and the surface temp was only 70 degrees. I could see docks, emergent weeds along shore and off of shore, and after 5 minutes of launching I saw submerged deeper weeds in 15 feet. Everywhere looked like it could hold some fish. The first hour went by and I hadn't caught a bass. Not the best feeling on a new lake. I was fishing a jig, a senko, and a frog most of the time. A few crankbait and chatterbait casts mixed in. As I was fishing down a shoreline I spotted some fry and saw a decent bass near them. Couldn't get it to bite but it was a good sign. At the first grass patch I came to I saw a couple nice fish swimming around. I saw more fry. I fished the area thoroughly and got my first bass of the day a 3-4 largemouth. After finally catching and seeing bass I tried to repeat what seemed to be the pattern. The next grass patch I found was near a dock where a cookout was taking place. I cast into the grass patch and immediately get a bite and set the hook. A decent bass jumps out of the water a couple times before I get it into the boat. This got the attention of the cookout. It was about 2.5 lbs. I released it to some hoorays and clapping. One of the guest at the cook out told me he fishes the lake all the time and that was a big one for the lake. Now it seemed as if everybody was watching me fish. Not the most comfortable feeling in the world but there were fish there and I wanted to catch them. A couple casts later I hook into a big fish. It comes completely airborne between the people at the cook out and myself. I was very nervous about loosing it. I was using 8 lb flouro and this fish was pulling out drag like a tarpon. After a few tense moments that seemed like forever I slid the fish into the net. It was by far the biggest fish I had caught in Vermont this year. This had pulled me near there dock and everyone had come down to the dock to see the fish. It weighed in at 6lbs 14 oz. The people from the cook out couldn't believe the size of that bass. After a couple pictures I let it go. They asked if they could take some pictures to and I didn't see why not. I talked to a couple of the people for a few minutes. Before I left there were 3 children fishing from the dock. The clearly had been inspired which was great. I continued my way around the pond targeting the same grass patches while mostly skipping everything else. The fish seemed to be in the areas where there where fry which was near grass. It had to be grass, not lilies, or pond weed, or milfoil, it had to be grass. This pattern was definitely working. I wasn't catching many fish but I was catching good fish. I got the feeling that there weren't many fish in this lake but there sure was some nice fish. On the eastern shore of the lake I noticed something a bit unusual for July. I saw what appeared to be a bed that was just being cleared away. I stayed in the area and noticed it was two beds very close together. I hung out for a couple minutes to see what was happening. As I was looking at the bed I saw a big fish clearing away both beds. They certainly were bigger fish. I hung around the area for over an hour trying to catch them. They were big ! There were what seemed to be 2 males and 2 females. I don't think either of the males were under 3.5 lbs or so. The females were huge one was about the same size as the big fish I had caught earlier and the other one was far far bigger. I tried and tried to get them to bite but they just weren't interested. They would stay in the area, swim away from the beds and swim back. I got a real good look at all 4 of them. The decided to move on even though there were 4 really nice fish there. At the next grass patch, the only one along the eastern shore, I caught another nice fish. The more I fished this lake, the more I liked it. By the time I was back at the boat launch it was dark. I had fished for about 6.5 hours and caught 10 largemouth. Only one had been smaller then 3 lbs. The grass patch pattern produced real well for the entire day once I had figured it out. The 6lb 14oz largemouth is the biggest I have caught Vermont. I think I have found a new favorite lake to fish in Vermont. I will be going back very soon. Perhaps tomorrow ? 3 Quote
Smokinal Posted July 11, 2015 Posted July 11, 2015 Nice report Maine! Glad to see you're keeping up your reputation for good fish. Quote
Weld's Largemouth Posted July 11, 2015 Posted July 11, 2015 Great fish, and thanks for this report! It really inspired me to catch some quality fish at a new lake ....until I remembered that I lived on Long Island Quote
Super User Master Bait'r Posted July 18, 2015 Super User Posted July 18, 2015 Niiiiiice fish man!! I love Vermont. Such a beautiful place all year round. Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted July 18, 2015 Super User Posted July 18, 2015 Sweet Report Maine ~ It's most excellent having that type of success during the heat of summer, and you know that there may be even better opportunities in the near future. Congrats A-Jay Quote
HeavyDluxe Posted July 20, 2015 Posted July 20, 2015 Great fish and story, sir... I've been so thrilled with the fishing up here. The high-side of Vermont fish isn't going to stagger you the way some lunkers in the south will, but the quality of the fish, the scenery, and the overall health of the fisheries more than make up for it. What's your boat in the pic? Quote
Super User Darren. Posted July 20, 2015 Super User Posted July 20, 2015 Fantastic catches! Well done! Quote
Mainebass1984 Posted July 20, 2015 Author Posted July 20, 2015 Sweet Report Maine ~ It's most excellent having that type of success during the heat of summer, and you know that there may be even better opportunities in the near future. Congrats A-Jay Thanks A-Jay. I was pretty excited to do so well on my first outing to a new lake. Id love to check this place out in the spring. Looking forward to the fall as well. What's your boat in the pic? I am fishing out of a Bass Raider 10E. Quote
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