Lake Champlain

A muskie and a sturgeon in one catch!!!!! Lakd Champlain on a school trip. (Jk im at a museum with them)

My biggest Musky this fall, 38 inches! This September continues to amaze me as this is my 7th musky this month! I’ve lost countless others too. Between today and yesterday I lost 7, but thankfully I believe this one to be the biggest I’ve set my hooks into. I’ve been meaning to target some Salmon, since they’ve been running up the river lately, but I just can’t get enough of these musky.

On the board once again with a gorgeous little muskellunge on the chatterbait! It was a brisk 38 degrees this morning when I hit the water, and it didn’t help that the extra clothes I brought on the kayak fell in the water as I was launching. Along with the clothes falling in the water, I slipped in as well losing grip of my kayak and accidentally letting it float away down river. I thankfully had my rod nearby to cast a spinner bait and snag it so I could reel it back in. Despite the hiccups, I eventually found success with the musky. I managed to hook one prior to the only fish landed, and I had it by the tail before it freaked out and spit the hook.

The musky success continues! After class today, I had some time to try for the only fish that’s been on my mind lately. After about 6 miles of paddling and no signs of life, I finally set my hooks into a muskellunge! This guy is my smallest musky ever, which I estimate to be around 24-25 inches. Despite his size, he was extremely spunky, launching himself into the air numerous times during the fight.

An incredible afternoon on the kayak today! Had to get through a tricky exam, but once I was free I booked it to the river. Today I managed to land 2 gorgeous muskellunge coming in at 32 and 30 inches long. The first fish of the day came on the second cast with a brand new chatterbait. I would end up losing it after a near third musky ate it as it was suspended above the water in front of my kayak. The fish almost jumped into my boat before swiftly biting through my 40lb line.

FINALLY! After 15+ outings, countless 3 am wakeups and way to much money spent on gear, I was able to land my first musky today! She measured just over 35". Today was my first time fishing since being back up here, and it did not dissapoint. I was in the water by 5:50 am, and the weather was perfect: cooler temps, with overcast and somr slight rain. For the first 2 hours, I had no action, using a glide bait and a double bucktail. At about 8:30 is when I had my first bite. I was casting from the middle of the river to a lily pad weed line, when out of nowhere a musky exploded on my glide. It totally missed the bait, because I didn't feel any weight. The next cast, the fish actually hit the glide in it's mouth. Unfortunately, I think my drag was too loose to set the hook, because it swam off immediately after hitting my bait. I had a 2nd bite about 30 minutes later, again on the glide. This time, it was a rather small musky that nudged the bait out of the water with it's nose but didn't take it. After another hour or so throwing the glide bait with no luck, I decided to switch lures. I switched to the Musky Innocation Double Dawg, and on the 3rd cast, I felt the weight of a fish. This time, my drag was plenty tight, and after a couple minutes I was able to finally put my giant net to use and land the musky. It took quite a few minutes to get hooks out of the fish and untangle it from the net without hooking myself. The bank I pulled up to was a muddy clay slope, that you both sunk into and slipped on. Since it took so long to get the fish out, I decided against taking a ton of photos and just got the fish back in the water. I kept the double dawg on for the ride back, and managed to catch a 16" pike in the same spot where I had my first musky encounter of the day. I tried to boat flip him, but he spit the hook. The very next I saw the musky follow my lure in, but he go spooked by my kayak. The fish definitely looked bigger, about 40". That might have to be my next goal, although I am probably going to focus on some other species for a bit.

Spent some time kayaking around today and yesterday and ran into some neat fish. Yesterday started with an unsuccessful musky mission, as I lost two Muskies and the river was completely flooded. After that, I visited a jetty that has produced in the past with some rare species. This time, I landed a pickerel, which I have never caught in Lake Champlain before. Today, I visited a spot on the Saranac River that I heard may hold some walleye, but I had my suspicions. Four dams stood in the way of any fish traveling upstream from Lake Champlain, but sure enough, I landed my doubtful target species!