I’d like to take this time to wish everyone a very « Happy New Year » with lots of health and success for the coming season.

Although the coming months may be cold and dreary in the confinements of our homes, they don’t necessarily have to be. Some folks travel to warmer destinations in search of summertime sun, I take a different approach.

Large Anadromous Rainbow Trout known as Steelhead have been readily caught by both myself and clients in the last month. Average size has been at least ten pounds with some going into the mid teens and above. The largest so far has been a giant 19.25 pound Skamania Steelhead that is now in the process of being mounted by the angler responsible for landing such a trophy.

Most days see an average of about ten hook ups with some even greater. Mother nature dictates how the fishing will be with fluctuating temperatures and foul weather. I try to time the fishing trips around nicer weather averaging nearer the freezing mark as this makes it more comfortable for both the anglers and the fish as well.

Fishing for these trout throughout the winter months shortens the long awaited season that we all anticipate. It allows a break during the monotonous cold period when most stay indoors glued to the sports channels. For those of you that Ski and Snowmobile, this cold weather and fresh air can add to your winter activities list. For those of you that don’t, give it a try, you won’t be disappointed. Plenty of choice dates are still available, give me a call.

Tight Lines to all!

Now that 2003 is behind, I look foreword to 2004 with great anticipation. From trolling fly rods for Trout & Salmon to jigging & jerk-baiting for Smallmouth Bass, May signals the start of another season. Action is tremendous after ice out & Vermont is the place to be! Whether you choose to try for Salmon or prefer to fish for Bass, Lake Champlain & Memphremagog will accommodate you. Years of successful, early season fishing ensure a great day on the water. Bookings have begun, so don’t miss this opportunity! Catch that fish of a lifetime & enjoy a memorable day on the water with « Advanced Bassin’ Plus » You won’t be disappointed! See article on main page « Memphremagog Marriage » or contact me for more information.

Over 3000 bass have fallen victim to presentations used in this, another successful fishing year. From early May on the, “Catch & Release” waters of Northern Vermont Lakes to recent trips on the St-Lawrence River in Quebec, both Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass have been caught in numbers as well as size. The strange thing about all of this is that now is the best time of all. How can it get any better? Smallies over six pounds and Largemouth over seven pounds have already been boated and released. Waters such as; Lake Memphremagog, Lake St-Louis, Lake of Two Mountains, Lake St-Francis, Lake Champlain, Ottawa River and the lower St-Lawrence River have all produced trophies for many clients to enjoy and treasure. Digital Camera photos have enabled all of these fish to live for others to enjoy again and again.

This fishing season has been a complete blur! The excellent weather conditions have prompted folks from as far away as Colorado and Kansas to experience the best fishing of their lives. Catches of 130 fish in one day totalled out at over 300 bass in three days for two fishermen from Oklahoma on Lake Champlain in September. They asked me if this was actually legal, or if we were fishing someone’s private, stocked lake. They caught more fish in those three days than they could imagine catching back home in an entire year. By keying in on specific spots on larger locations, we were able to monopolize on the area completely. Multiply this each and every time on each and every body of water and you’ll have the recipe for success.

Crankbaits, Jerkbaits, Spinnerbaits, Topwaters, Slugs, Senko’s, Tubes, Spider Grubs, Finesse Baits and every and all presentations accounted for this successful bass fishing. With Drop-Shotting still fairly new to most in Canada, I concentrated more of my time, refining the technique on all waters. When the fishing got tough, this method continued to fill the boat. The largest Smallmouth was 5.5 pounds, caught on 8lb. Mono in 18 feet of water on a Berkley Finesse worm. Places that had produced till nothing would bite again came to life once more. Confidence was the reason for this success. By not leaving a location until I felt that it had been fished thoroughly, more quality fish could be caught every time. No particular bait or presentation worked better than another, just a variety. By letting the behavioural patterns of the bass dictate what to use, incredible days were the norm rather than the rarity.

This year the tournaments took a back seat to the business that I started last year. Clients came first and the tournaments followed afterwards. With the exception of the Canadian Open held in Windsor Ontario this past July, all the others events were put aside. This particular event in its “Pro Am” format of pairing anglers and co anglers together for three days of fishing is one well worth participating in. I strongly recommend it to anyone competitive enough to give it a try. Teams from as far away as Japan and Mexico contribute to the list of anglers from all over Canada and the United States.

As with the tournaments this year, my reports & articles also took a back seat to the incredible fishing. I will be on the water until the end of November as I anticipate a late season. Even with all the cold weather we have had lately, I expect the season to go another four or five weeks until I call it quits for the year.

I still have some days open for those of you eager to catch some big bass before the winter sets in. Average days of fifty or more bass up to and over five pounds are common. Some days even exceed 100 fish! If you can endure the cold & ski during the winter, you can surely dress for the “Big Fall Smallies”. They won’t be the only ones hooked when you experience this incredible time of the season as it changes once again.

Sunny skies & light winds made for a smooth yet cool ride as we raced across the lake towards our first fishing area. This trip had been postponed from the Victoria Day weekend to the Memorial Day weekend due to the foul weather we had. Once again, as each anniversary arrives, this annual trip to Lake Memphremagog has to be undertaken, or else. It’s a small price to pay for 17 years of marriage. I’m very fortunate to be partnered to someone with the same passion & love of the sport as I have and am grateful of this each and every day. Where some husbands have to fight and argue with their spouse to go fishing, my wife requests this of me instead. Tough job eh! She has excelled in the sport over the years and thoroughly enjoys time spent on the water, as much as I do.

Normally a jerk-bait produces fish on almost every cast at this time of year, but due to the overly cold weather we’ve had lately, we could only scratch up a handful of bass. Surface temperatures barely hit 50 degrees and the air temperature wasn’t much warmer either. I knew there had to be more fish on this shallow, pre spawn flat and was determined to catch them. Vermont’s “Catch & Release” season allows bass fisherman and women the pleasure of catching these bronze beauties earlier than usual. Having had great success with Rat-L-Traps on other bodies of water this time of year, I figured I’d give them a try. It wasn’t long before I had a response from a four pound bass. Burning this crank-bait over lots of water in specific areas of the bay produced many hits, but many lost fish as well. The lure was triggering them into attacking, but they were not really feeding. Most of the ones that were landed were barely hooked on the back treble and any extra pressure on the fish would tear it loose. A 7 foot, slow action rod set up with 12 pound Berkley Trilene Inshore line and a very light drag on the Curado 200 bait cast reel, allowed more fish landed than lost. By making long casts and sweeping the hook set like a Carolina Rig set, we were able to get into more than 50 bass ranging from 2.5 to 4.5 pounds in about four hours of fishing time. We combed the bay and had constant action throughout the time we were there, catching and releasing these beautiful smallmouth bass.

After lunch, we relocated to some offshore structures and once again began boating smallies in the two to four pound range. This time however, we were fishing the deepest drops on the reefs in 18 to 25 feet of water with jigs. Once again, the Fin-S by Herb Reed of Lunker City provided us with continuous acrobatic action as the bronzebacks displayed the aerial jumps that they are so renowned for. It turned out that some of these deeper areas were just loaded with the bass that should be closer to the nesting areas inside the bay. Most of the bigger females were relating to the open water humps and shoals rather that the frigid bays. Mother nature has a way of confusing even the fish sometimes, I guess. Overall, 75 or more smallmouth bass were landed on this our belated anniversary day.

Day two turned out to be a nasty one, with the weather taking a turn for the worse. It began with a strong SW wind of 15 to 20 knots and then got even windier. This made it nearly impossible to control the boat in the shallower water, where I found most of the fish the day before. Three-foot rollers were blowing into the bay and then it began to rain. The temperature dropped 5 to 10 degrees in under an hour and the barometer did as well. Figuring that the fish had moved out deeper, I started on the first transition in about 12 feet of water. Christiane hooked up with the first of many fish of over four pounds on the Rat-L-Trap by slowly reeling it, as we drifted with the wind. I figured I’d try a Bandit 300 series crank-bait to go down a little deeper & immediately locked up with another fat female of close to four pounds. Markers were thrown and back out we went again. This time though, I threw out two drift socks from the stern and slowly worked the area once again. Many more fish were caught by both of us as we slowly drifted the deeper areas outside the bay. The bass had definitely disliked the weather change, but not as much as we did. After a few hours of this miserable hate, we decided to call it quits and head for the ramp. We took a bit of a beating on the way back, as the wind seemed to change the further we went out into the lake. Constant cross-wave action tossed and twisted us all the way back. We were sure glad for rain suits on this day. Lake Memphremagog can be as gentle as a kitten or as mean as a lion. The mountainous terrain surrounding the lake tends to funnel and swirl bad weather, causing sudden weather changes, often. If you plan a trip to the lake this season, be prepared for the worst but expect the best bass action. Size and numbers of these beautiful Smallmouth Bass were caught and released on yet another anniversary to remember.

Conditions seemed just right for the first trip to Lake Memphremagog for “Pre Spawn Smallmouth”. Vermont has a special Catch & Release season that just has to be experienced to be believed.

The day called for mostly sunny skies and light winds of 5 to 10 mph from the west/north west. Water temperature would be the key to success as this was my first trip to the lake this year.

We launched in Newport at the city dock and headed off to a small bay nearby. The surface temperature showed barely 50 degrees, but I knew they would be here. With both Tony and I casting suspending jerk-baits, it wasn’t long before the first fish was boated and released. In about an hour, we managed to catch 10 fish ranging from 2 to 4 pounds, in 4 to 8 feet of water. “Still too cold” I said, as we relocated to other deeper areas further away. The jerk-baits were just not working, so I knew we would have to go deeper. Light jigs of 1/8oz. Combined with “Fin-S” baits by Herb Reed at Lunker City, allowed us to start hooking up, as we should be. Most of the fish were staging in 18 to 25 feet of water adjacent to spawning areas. With each move, we continued to boat bass by fishing the steeper edges of similar areas throughout the lake. The “Fin-S” would definitely be the winner today as the fish proved to still be deep. As well as being deep, they were very inactive with most being dead sticked into biting our presentations. Along with the 60 to 75 bass up to four pounds landed, many more were lost as well. We even managed to boat 3 beautiful young salmon between 2 & 3 pounds. Tony would be having a nice dinner with these Landlocks.

The season seems to be on the beginning edge of its cycle. In the next few weeks, weather permitting the smallmouth will become more active with each passing day. The aggressiveness of these bronzebacks will increase and faster moving lures like jerkbaits & crankbaits will trigger them into striking. The jigs will always have a place and still manage to stir up the fattest females with light line presentations. Be ready to adjust several times a day during this time of year as the water warms & the fish become active. Keep an open mind and be alert to any subtleties you may encounter. Flexibility is the key to success for the “Pre Spawn Smallmouth” of the Northeast Kingdom and the Bronzeback is King.