Spring 2020, Great fishing on Lake Champlain & Vermont waters!

3rdalarmcharters • May 20, 2020

Time for spring Turkey Hunting, prespawn bass fishing & staying Healthy!

Words can not explain the whirl wind season we have had so far! As everyone has had their world turned up side down with Covid 19 coming into our lives,, we have not been excluded as we have been forced to put our guiding & charter season to a halt. We were forced to cancel our remaining Salmon River Steelhead trips in April (during some of the best steelhead fishing in years) as well as cancel all of our Hudson River Striper trips as the state of New York put a hold on all guiding & Chartering state wide. That being said there is a silver lining to all  of this as Logan, my dad & I have more time to turkey hunt this spring then we have had in years! AS of this writing, Logan has tagged out with two adult birds, I have tagged a nice 2 yr old as well as some other opportunities that just weren't meant to be! 
     We have had a cold start to the month of May, waking up to fresh SNOW on the ground multiple times & making the hunting interesting! That being said it has also kept local waters a bit cooler then normal making the fishing hot one day and a bit slower the next. We are now in a normal summer pattern with the jet stream and the temps have been staying much more seasonal. water temps are now climbing into the low 50's and the prespawn bass bite is really taking off!! I have had a chance to get out with fellow Captain Dave Morisette & fish Malletts Bay as well as the Grand Isle region, finding a steady bite of Samllies & Largemouths once we find warmer water temps. Pike Pickerel & an occasional walleye have also been mixed in for good measure!
   We will be running Bass & Pike trips on Champlain & inland Vermont waters beginning Memorial day. We plan on starting our Trout & Salmon trolling charters our of Toms Marina on the Otter Creek the weeks  of June 10th. As of now the Governor of Vermont plans on letting out of state folks to stay at local lodging facilities beginning on June 15th. This will put us smack dab in the middle of the best Trout & Salmon trolling of the year, dates are beginning to fill so give a shout to get on our calendar & enjoy what our beautiful Lake has become so well known for as a WORLD CLASS FISHERY!  We will be following all precautions advised by the state of Vermont, thoroughly cleaning & disinfecting all vessels, equipment, tackle etc. We will also offer hand sanitizer & masks to all that want to use them. We want all of our valued customers to feel safe & comfortable while enjoying their time on the water taking in the splendor of the Champlain Valley & Vermont waters!             






By 3rdalarmcharters 04 Jun, 2021
By 3rdalarmcharters 04 Jun, 2021
Well our first week back on Champlain has been plagued by never ending wind & unstable water...but we have managed a few! Good weather coming, we are down to June 16,17,18,22nd, 24th and July 6th,7th,8th,19th,20th & 21st left for open dates. Give us a shout & get hooked with us!
By 3rdalarmcharters 11 Aug, 2020
Some times it takes a few weeks for the water to stabilize after heavy winds or fronts, this year has been no exception. who would think that with the sweltering heat that we would be experiencing some of the best trout & Salmon fishing of the season but we have! The last few weeks we have landed Trophy Steelhead, many beautiful Salmon as well as our biggest Lake Trout of the year! Lots of bait in our region of the Lake has kept these trophy fish around and putting smiles on our clients faces! We have wrapped up our summer trolling charters & pulled the Flashpoint as we get her service work done & prep her for our end of season tour out on Lake Ontario. We are still offering jigging trips for Trophy Lake Trout right with excellent numbers coming to the net as well super action that will make your arms sore for days! We will be on Lake Ontario from August 23rd through Sept 20th, then back to Champlain for our fall Bass & Pike tour. We are SO THANKFUL that we have experienced our busiest season since we started, fall dates are sure to fill fast so give us a shout early to get your dates!
By 3rdalarmcharters 12 Jul, 2020
Typical Hazy, Hot & Humid summer weather has moved into the Northeast but that hasn't slowed the fishing! We have had groups enjoying both our cold water trolling trips as well as casting trips taking some beautiful Bass & Pike! Trolling trips have seen plenty of Lake Trout coming to the net as well as Landlocked Salmon & Steelhead. We had an evening trolling trip last week with over 25 bites & non stop action all evening! Running Downriggers, Slidediver dipsies & copper long lines, as well as switching baits up regularly has been the key to putting Champlain Trout & Salmon in the box! The Bass ( both Large & Smallmouth) are post spawn now & putting the feed bag on! Chasing swim baits early has had plenty of hook ups, but working docks & deep water drop offs once the sun gets high has been key to putting bass on the deck threw out the whole trip! A bonus Pike or Pickerel on each trip adds to the excitement & the lure of Champlain as well as our other Vermont waters. We have been working hard to follow state advisories in keeping our boats & equipment clean daily, as well as plenty of hand sanitizer for our guests to keep every one safe. We have face masks for those that want them, but many are enjoying the fresh air that Vermont is so well known for and staying mentally healthy as enjoying a day on the water is the BEST therapy known to humanity!
By 7049171703 05 Mar, 2020
This is that time of year ( end of the first week of March) that one asks should i try & squeak in a few more days of ice fishing or should i begin prepping my boats & open water tackle? Most bodies of water still have safe ice at this time, but we have had 4 - 5 days of above freezing temps with marginal sub freezing at night. That combined with ice thickness well below last year tells me that we really need to pay close attention the next few days. The forcast for the next ten days is showers with only two nights below freezing and the 5 day says temps in upper 50's...i would say is time to wrap it up! A few diehards that know local ice well will still make it a another few weeks, but as a guide its to much to risk. That being said we tailed off the end of February with many groups joining us on the ice , we actually turned away over a half dozen requests during the Presidents holiday week, as this is a very popular time of year for folks to come up to Vermont & taste our winter time activities! Some days we got into them, others we swapped stories & taught lots of beginners the nuances of getting out on the hardwater!
By 7049171703 13 Feb, 2020
We started off our winter after a break for fall deer season with some trips on the Salmon River targeting Steelhead! Persistent lake effect snow squalls and varying river flows had the ironheads pretty finicky. We did pick up a few in the upper river, while fishing in some of the heaviest lake effect squalls i have ever experienced! pretty cool non the less! As they say, " Classic steelhead weather!
By 7049171703 09 Dec, 2019
Our Busiest Fall Yet & Winter Offerings Available Soon!
By 3rdalarmcharters 30 Sep, 2019
Bass, Pike & Steelie Blitz on Champlain!
By 3rdalarmcharters 26 Aug, 2019
Record Steelhead from Champlain!
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Record Steelhead from Champlain!
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