May 24-25, 2024

So as expected the Upper Locks were under repair which meant we could not get back into Middle Saranac Lake. Nether of Jon's boys could make it either so I floated the idea of trolling for salmon and lakers on Lake Champlain.

A certain captain had a milestone birthday this spring as well, so I convinced our 2nd Mate to join us all the way fom S.C. to celebrate.

Jon and I had chartered a trip up here once before so we made plans to do the same. We would fish with the charter on the first day and then attempt to DIY the next day in the Grumman. Captain Bob was very accomodating and went out of his way to teach us what we wanted to learn.

DAY 1

We made plans to meet Captain Bob at the launch south of Plattsburgh early in the morning (but not too early). I like this guy already.

Bob's boat was setup perfectly and just the right size for 4. The bimini is always a bonus to get out of the sun when you are on the water all day. That net looks familar, we have the same exact one.

I know it was spring so the fishing should be pretty good anyway, but Bob really knew his stuff and he put us on them all day as you will see.

Captain is up first and on the board with a nice Lake Trout.

Roger and I were close behind

The pattern today was pretty basic, since the lake was still cold, the fish were suspended in the water column and Bob knew exactly what depth and speed to run most of our spoons. Of course it helps if you also know the right color and size that the fish want.

Two happy Captains!

As mentioned, the fish (Lake Trout) were very cooperative, we caught a mess of them and they were all decent size (7-9 lb range). The Salmon were more elusive on this day so we did not bring home any steaks. Since we were exclusively catch and release on lakers, we didn't take a picture of every fish so we could get them quickly and safely back in the water.

DAY 2 (DIY)

So, as I said, Captain Bob was very forthcoming with advice on day 1 in order to prepare us to go it alone on day 2. He even stopped to look at our tackle before we parted ways and made some recommendations in that department. On top of that, he was also going to be fishing so we chatted throughout the day via text and phone call to see how each other was fairing. Bob is the man!

Success! That first fish felt great! We don't suck!

We were running some spoons a little higher in the water column in hopes of getting a salmon or two, I managed to get this nice bronzeback at 30 feet.

So if you are familiar with the area, the red roofed building in the background should tell you exactly where we were.

We picked up right where we left off from the day before. We are obviuosly doing something right.

Wait a minute, I think someone went out of turn. I guess I'll go twice to catch up LOL

So we didn't do too shabby on our own, we didn't catch as many as we did with Captian Bob but I feel very good about what we learned. It was also great to get out on the water with my good friends, thanks for making the trek Rog'. I am already talking to Jon about coming back up later in the summer, we'll see.

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UPDATE (August):

Bimini Baby!

We did come back up and tried a new location on the lake, the weather was not great and we also got skunked. That initially was a bit of a bummer until I checked in with Captain Bob and he said we were not alone. The unsettled weather in recent days / weeks had really messed up the lake. Blew apart the thermocline and scattered the fish.

But you know what they say, a bad day fishing is always better than any day at work.