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Author:
OldBassTurd
Date:
Jun 23, 2011
Subject:
Lake Champlain Father's Day Derby 2011 (June 18-20)
Message:
Back from another great LCI Derby at Lake Champlain. Great weather, only one day with decent wind/waves, only a sprinkle here and there (of course the thunderstorms JUST missed us one day, but it's nice to fish a lake big enough to get away....thanks to my Iphone Weather App....) Fished smallies mostly, with easily 50 fish taken over the weekend by my son Shaun and I (I would say probably more like 75 smallmouth, and maybe even more.....) [img:d902008ec6]http://www.ctfishtalk.com/gallery2.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=13358[/img:d902008ec6] [img:d902008ec6]http://www.ctfishtalk.com/gallery2.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=13367[/img:d902008ec6] Caught a lot of nice smaller fish in the 14-15" range with four over seventeen inches (minimum derby length) weighing between 2.68 and 3.9 pounds. Mostly caught on tubes (green tubes and purples hottest) with some on spinnerbaits and a couple on jerk baits. Five or six on a JDC rockcraw with a stand-up jig head. Three or four more on a shaky-head Kut-Tail worm in black/green. Caught some smaller pike from 18 to 29 1/2 inches. [img:d902008ec6]http://www.ctfishtalk.com/gallery2.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=13361[/img:d902008ec6] Minimum length 32" for the derby. Some on tubes (many bit us off that way, even with braid....) some on spinnerbaits, a few on jerk baits. Didn't spend our last afternoon trolling for big pike 'cuz we got hooked on bowfin. Did I say bowfin? Oh my God, I'm hooked. Big bowfin at Champlain. We found them in the backwaters and brought some yellow perch as bait. Dead perch hooked with Striper hooks on heavier tackle and braid back in the bushiest, brushiest, weediest of swamps only a foot or two deep.....then it's like wild shiner fishing at Okeechobee....cast that bait to a hole in the grass and wait....then it's wham-o! Have to set like a home run swing to drive the hook, but you risk not hooking the bowfin.....we found that a big bowfin will let you reel him right to the boat just holding on the baie with those huge toothy jaws.....only when they see the net or boat do they go crazy fighting.....and if you don't have them hooked, they'll eventually spit the bait out.....next year I'm making up some double hook rigs for those perch..... Here's one just waiting in the water just off the boat....they are awesome predators.... [img:d902008ec6]http://www.ctfishtalk.com/gallery2.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=13363[/img:d902008ec6] We lost a monster at the boat....my son had him in the net twice but he was too big and heavy and flipped out....easiily 34" and thick.....I can only guess easily over 12 or 13 pounds, and maybe much heavier. We did get a 29 1/4" bowfin that weighed in at 8.99 pounds....still an awesome fish..... [img:d902008ec6]http://www.ctfishtalk.com/gallery2.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=13365[/img:d902008ec6] If you've never been to Champlain, you don't know what you're missing.....four hours from Hartford, and worth a 12-hour drive![img][/img]
Author:
DirtyDawg10
Date:
Jun 23, 2011
Message:
Nice! I had a great time fishing Champlain earlier in the year. Sweet looking bowfin.
Author:
nicklovesPK
Date:
Jun 23, 2011
Message:
i used to fish the LCI but the group of guys i went with started whipping me with their fishing rods something fierce and had to bait all everyones hooks so i quit
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