Lake Champlain - June 8-9, 2026

This trip was originally planned in May, but we had some nasty weather and it didn't make sense to tempt Lady Champlain. The next available dates on the Captains schedule were in early June, we were hopeful that the water would still be cold enough to hold fish in our familiar spot.

We could not have asked for better weather when we did arrive. Low winds and blue skies on both days, with highs in the high 70's and low 80's. Sunscreen was needed on the list for sure though.

We started fairly early, I think we were on the water and fishing by 7:45 am on the first day. The water temps were still quite cool and we found 52 degrees down only 30 - 40 feet that first day. We were not marking a ton of fish or too much bait, but we managed to be successful by sticking to the plan and giving them different color options at different depths.

1st mate was up first

  Captain was up next

It really was a nice day and we saw surprisingly few other fisherman. That is the benefit of fishing on a Monday I guess. We had our down-riggers set at 2 different depths and we also ran 2 Dipsy Divers a little more shallow in hopes of enticing a Salmon to bite.

So as mentioned, the Lake Trout were pretty stingy on this trip, we would mark fish coming off the bottom to look at our presentation only to let it pass by. We also lost a few not too far from the back of the boat. Some hook replacements for a few of our spoons are on the to do list. We do fish with single hooks to minimize injury but of course you lower the hook set ratio a little.

   All of the fish were good sized and healthy as well!

A little later in the afternoon, we decided on a final pass along a steep section that is close to the Island. We've been successful here on past trips. This trip the fish didn't seem to be holding there, but shortly after we turned around and headed north again, one of the rods on the deep downrigger, I think it was 40 or 45 feet went up and since I was up to bat, I jumped on it to set the hook. The fish immediately raced towards the surface and I knew it was not a Lake Trout. It put on a nice show with an aerial leap before I landed this really nice Bronze-back.

One of the better smallmouth bass I've ever caught for sure.

So day 1 came to an end, we wanted to get back in time to clean up and get a good meal so we could rest up for the next day. As mentioned, the fish were a little tough to catch but we had success on both the downriggers and the Dipsy Divers.

DAY 2

The next morning we were back on the water nice and early with renewed optimism, we had another beautiful sunny day in store for us as well. in hindsight, we probably should have put up the Bimini on the second day, much sunscreen was needed.

We also heard from Captain Bob, who was fishing for himself with his wife this day. He confirmed that the trout were being a little stingy, so that made us feel as little better. Eventually he deiced to switch things up and do some bass fishing. We were not equipped for that on this trip, something to think about next time.

 The Man, the Myth, the Legend, Captain Bob!

Captain Jon with another healthy Laker

We decided on a mid day lunch break and enjoyed some time relaxing in this bay on Valcour Island

Back at it in the afternoon, the fishing was still pretty slow, I recall that second day, we found an equipment adjustment that was needed that may have attributed to the low numbers of fish hooked. Releases adjusted and lesson learned for next time for sure.

This fish gave us quite a challenge to land. They usually end up on the surface and you can just guide them into the net, but this one stayed deep and got us all tangled up with other lines before landing him. We caught him on the Dipsy which adds another challenge as you can't really use the rod tip to fight the fish when they get close. I think we need a bigger boat :)

We had to yield the right of way to this sailboat when passing by the south end of the island

So all in all, we had 2 great days, the fishing was definitely slow, but we didn't get skunked, learned a little more and managed to catch fish at different times of the day, different depths and using different presentation styles. If you count the fish we lost close to the boat (which we do), it was a successful trip for sure.

Also, this is a very cool historic place, it was fun imagining what it may have been like during the war in 1776.

A famous landmark along with an active Osprey nest

We will definitely be back, hopefully before another year passes.