Time to go Fishing!!!

Hi everyone,

Well, the ice is all gone!! It does look like an early fishing season. I say "Looks Like", cause you never know, right?! Just to be safe, we are still officially opening April 22nd. We are expecting a big salmon run up the rivers anytime now. Also, the trout season should be opening on time this year (April 1st). There should be no excuse from the DEC about stocking conditions cause the rivers are low and the ice is gone, but we`ll see

MANY THANKS GUYS

I would like to thank all you guys who came to see us at this years sport shows, it`s always a pleasure to see you!! Here are some photos of our new guide "Cade" who came to the show for the first time. His favorite thing was the "kangaroos". His head was going up and down and all over!! If you would like to book Cade to guide you, he`ll be ready to guide you in May 2034!!

Also I would like to thank all our ice fishermen who came up this past winter. As everyone can see by these photos you did great!!

THE SPRING AHEAD

As I mentioned earlier, we`re expecting an early salmon run this spring. Last year was the best spring we had in years, with a lot of big ones caught. One of our guys, Eric Backman, caught a 9 lb 4 oz salmon last spring, which is "big"!! Every year, due to the melting snows in the mountains and the spring rains, Lake Champlain water level goes up and the streams and rivers that feed it back up for maybe a mile or two which makes it navigable by boat. You can fish the rivers then by trolling smalls flies and spoons or by casting them from the boat. May and June is a great time to fish from Kayaks. Not only to fish, but to"CATCH"!! Also there is plenty of room to wade or bank fish using fly or spinning tackle. Believe it or not, the number one way to catch salmon in the spring is by fishing "Live Worms"!! Many days while fishing for salmon in the rivers, you can`t help catching some really nice Smallmouths too!! Smallies and salmon are probably my two favorite fish cause they can "JUMP"!!

SMALLMOUTHS

Besides the river mouth areas, our early season Smallmouth fishing (April/May) usually occurs in the shallow areas in less then ten feet of water. That is where the water is the warmest. At that time they are not spread out but are in tight schools from a couple of dozen fish to hundreds!! This is also the time when they are on the feed and you catch the most Smallmouths of the year!! The first baits we use are jigs and suspended jerk baits worked very slow.

LARGEMOUTHS

The pre- spawn Largemouths usually start coming into the shallow weedy bays around Mid May, but this year might be earlier?! Worms and Senko type lures hooked weedless are the very first lures we use for them in the spring. If the weed growth is still down, suspended jerk baits and shallow running crank baits are also good at that time. Next to the late fall time period this is the time for the biggest Largemouths. Remember, bass is catch and release only until mid Jun here!

NORTHERN PIKE

Right now, late March/April is spawning time for Pike up here. Right after spawning the Northerns go into a post spawn dormant period where the rest and don't feed for a couple of weeks. But we have been very successful the past couple years catching pike using suspended jerk baits, fishing very slow and "long" on the pause. Right after their dormant period they start feeding like crazy and we are catching them on super flukes, crank-baits, spinner baits and in line spinners right thru the rest of the spring.

NEW LURES

The "hot" lure last year was the SHADOW RAP, a jerk bait designed for cold weather/light bites. According to the folks at rapala, the trebels are made of light wires which allow for very "sticky" hooks for cold weather bass.....light bites. The sticker hooks give a better chance for a hook up when they bite light in cold water. However, some of our anglers have found that the hooks bend and break very easily. One option is to change to heavier trebles. We took off the 3 VNC hooks and replaced them with 2 heavier #6 trebles. We left off the center hook the 2 heavier hooks weight the same as the 3 light VMC ones so there is very little "action" change. (I guess our bass are bigger and stronger) There is a new lure out this year called the "SHADOW RAP SHAD". We'll have to check that out!!!

We have seen a neat fishing accessory called the "ZIPTAILZ". It is a removable skirt that fits on crank-baits, jigs, spinners and weedless worm rigs. The silicone skirts are 1 1/4 inches lg, come in 50 different colors and , with a special flexible connector, allows you to quickly add or remove a ZIPTAILZ from a treble hook (any size), than install on a single hook!!! Many of our guys who came to the shows picked up a supply to use this year. Check out their website www.ziptailz.com.

TIME TO GO FISHING

Well guys, I guess it's time to go fishing. I would like to thank all you guys who have booked with us already this year. For those of you who haven't booked and are planning to come u, call me as soon as you can 518-963-7351. We still have a few weekend dates available. If you can come during that Sunday thru Thursday time period, we have more openings. If you can't make it this May/June, don't forget October/November are our next best times, and we still have plenty of openings.

Well guys, Hope to hear from you soon.

Pete