Champlain whites

[ice fiend]

The ice will likely hold for at least another week or two, so get out there while you can! Judging by the crowd this weekend, word is out!

I’ll try but every time I get a time to go the wind is really ripping

[VTMatt]

Bite was slow yesterday. Had to work for them just to fill a bucket.  Trash, cigarette butts and a whole bucket of yellows left all over the ice...pretty disgusting. 

Way to go locals!

[Perchjerkin]

Bite was slow yesterday. Had to work for them just to fill a bucket.  Trash, cigarette butts and a whole bucket of yellows left all over the ice...pretty disgusting. 

Way to go locals!

You are in St. Albans!

[VTMatt]

You are in St. Albans!

Yyyyyuut!

[Smelty88]

Hey there easy Matt. I  am a local and pack out what i pack in. Also whether they where local or not makes no difference!

Bite was slow yesterday. Had to work for them just to fill a bucket.  Trash, cigarette butts and a whole bucket of yellows left all over the ice...pretty disgusting. 

Way to go locals!

[Floatman]

Here’s the sad statistic..  For every one of us that care about & try to protect our outdoor environment there are 9 others who only see it as a place to exploit or a dumping ground for their refuse.  Except, they would go crazy if they woke up in the morning to find a bag of trash on their lawn.

[Light liner]

Its frustrating, this last weekend i picked up half a bucket of trash off the ice in a bay I was fishing.
It reflects all of us unfortunately.

[mudchuck]

Well it’ll be coming to an end soon, will be very windy this weekend.

[VTMatt]

Hey there easy Matt. I  am a local and pack out what i pack in. Also whether they where local or not makes no difference!

I live in Swanton and can tell you going from fishing around Colchester for years and years before buying a house up here, things are much worse up our way.  That's been my observation at least. 

[mudchuck]

I live in Swanton and can tell you going from fishing around Colchester for years and years before buying a house up here, things are much worse up our way.  That's been my observation at least.

Matt you're right about that, I've been fishing the Champlain area going on 20 years now, 10+ of them over hardwater, and St. Albans-Swanton is by far the trashiest of all the places I fish, so much so, it forced me to buy a small boat because some of the usual spots are not only trashy, but dangerous with needles and I cannot let those I love dearly, including my dog or my close friends that I want to introduce to fishing, be in places where needles are discarded to potentially hurt and infect.

It's sad that this area seems to have more people that access the lake/bays/rivers to fish, only to leave behind their trash and other nasty things like the needles and dirty diapers among other things.
Like Floatman said, if these people had the their trash dumps on their property they'd be outraged...

Most places don't seem to have this extent of trash, but they're are pockets down near Vergennes/Ferrisburgh that I've encountered greater amounts of trash.
I agree with most that comment here & on social media that those that do this are going to cause unintended consequences for all of us with less & less access to the waters we want to fish.

Ron White is right in that you can't fix stupid!
But it doesn't mean we all should have to tolerate it...if you see someone leaving trash/butts/beer cans or whatever behind, take a pic, we all carry phones with cameras now...and send it to the wardens...it's time to crack down and we all need to do our part.
I'm not one for liking this idea of snitching on those that are litterbugs, but if we just keep b***hing about it, and turning a blind eye to it all without doing something ourselves about it, we will lose more areas to access from or other adverse consequences.

[LittleFishin]

Anybody fishing them today? About to drive up - probably start at the green can area. Hope to find some.

[VTMatt]

Anybody fishing them today? About to drive up - probably start at the green can area. Hope to find some.

They were a little further towards Kilkare last night. 16-20 fow.

[keithm87]

Matt you're right about that, I've been fishing the Champlain area going on 20 years now, 10+ of them over hardwater, and St. Albans-Swanton is by far the trashiest of all the places I fish, so much so, it forced me to buy a small boat because some of the usual spots are not only trashy, but dangerous with needles and I cannot let those I love dearly, including my dog or my close friends that I want to introduce to fishing, be in places where needles are discarded to potentially hurt and infect.

It's sad that this area seems to have more people that access the lake/bays/rivers to fish, only to leave behind their trash and other nasty things like the needles and dirty diapers among other things.
Like Floatman said, if these people had the their trash dumps on their property they'd be outraged...

Most places don't seem to have this extent of trash, but they're are pockets down near Vergennes/Ferrisburgh that I've encountered greater amounts of trash.
I agree with most that comment here & on social media that those that do this are going to cause unintended consequences for all of us with less & less access to the waters we want to fish.

Ron White is right in that you can't fix stupid!
But it doesn't mean we all should have to tolerate it...if you see someone leaving trash/butts/beer cans or whatever behind, take a pic, we all carry phones with cameras now...and send it to the wardens...it's time to crack down and we all need to do our part.
I'm not one for liking this idea of snitching on those that are litterbugs, but if we just keep b***hing about it, and turning a blind eye to it all without doing something ourselves about it, we will lose more areas to access from or other adverse consequences.

Fully agree with that area being nasty. We were at tabors last week and there was a pile of needles in the parking lot.

That said, there are times when littering is unintentional. For instance, when the wind is blowing 25mph on the ice, if a can or bag take off, they are not going to be caught on foot. I had my bait slip take off saturday, it was 200ft away in no time, and was out of site in like 4 seconds. But I try to make up for anything like that by picking up things I find.

[NHHARDWATER]

That is absolutely disgusting that there are piles of needles lying around up there. I wanted to take my boy up for some shoreline fishing for whites after the ice rotted away, but I was told the black bridge is "no place for kids" because of the "crowd" and the needles. GROSS.

[Pickerelslayer]

Didn’t seem like there were many fish there today, only saw 2 guys catching them caught some yellows and a really nice smallmouth but not one white. I went from the green can all the way in to the point then over to the Kilcare side.

[mudchuck]

That is absolutely disgusting that there are piles of needles lying around up there. I wanted to take my boy up for some shoreline fishing for whites after the ice rotted away, but I was told the black bridge is "no place for kids" because of the "crowd" and the needles. GROSS.

Yup, hence one of the spots that I determined I needed to get a boat to fish from.
Wait until the crappie run starts, that place becomes a zoo!

[BRES57]

NHHAERWATER, I would love to do the same with my 3 year old grandson. But the problem is finding a place to take him to get him interested into fishing. I'm from southern VT. and  he lives up in that area. If any one could / would give me an idea of where to take him I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

[stick eyes]

breez57  I fish off the state access area in milton, you can always catch perch there. also the sandbar area is good. and georgia has a nice park you can access the lake from . don't let these guys make you think it's a bad area to fish. been fishing this area for 50 years and i think some of these guys may be a little over board on there comments . Maybe just stay away from the guys fishing for $$$$

[Champlain Islander]

Yeah trash left behind by fishermen is concerning. I know a lot of people who pick up stuff when they see it. A couple years ago I ditch fished in the early spring for pan fish. I hit Charcoal one day and was shocked at all the trash along the shore and in the water. The next day I went back and filled a 45 gal trash bag with various trash. When I returned a few days later it was just as bad. I guess mentioning it on social media is a good start along with sportsmen making a point of taking more off the ice/ water than they brought in. Every little bit helps.

[mudchuck]

breez57  I fish off the state access area in milton, you can always catch perch there. also the sandbar area is good. and georgia has a nice park you can access the lake from . don't let these guys make you think it's a bad area to fish. been fishing this area for 50 years and i think some of these guys may be a little over board on there comments . Maybe just stay away from the guys fishing for $$$$

Agree on the sandbar area, but black bridge is a no-go to take kids when the money fishers are there...and needle city...

[Light liner]

Odd those fish came and went so fast.

[koissu]

Odd those fish came and went so fast.

Went out for 3 hours last night in hopes of finding a master angler size white. Walked and drilled the entire time and only saw them once for a brief second on my finder near dusk. Only other thing I found was tons of cigarette butts and a huge pile of dink perch left on the ice 

[Adam.love05]

I went out Wednesday.. Found them a little, but I think the school has been pounded down in size.. Cigs and crap everywhere, as well as that pile of perch.. Pretty pathetic, but it happens every year.. And every year I say I'm not going back because of the mortgage, maybe this is the year that I actually make true on that..  It's to bad but what can ya do!

[perch bait]

How is the ice holding up off of Hathaways? Looking to get up there this weekend. Thanks in advance!

[ice fiend]

Pressure crack opened up about six feet from what I was told and ya could feel the ice moving I’d say find a safer place

[Light liner]

Was there yesterday afternoon. They were still driving on it!
Ice is going fast.
Pressure crack was sketchy, I agree find a better spot to get on.
Big yellows are in there if you move around and weed through the dinks.
I couldn't locate any whites I was a day late and a dollar short.
Hopefully you get into them,good luck.

[NHHARDWATER]

How is the ice holding up off of Hathaways? Looking to get up there this weekend. Thanks in advance!

PB, If you and your Dad are going Sunday, I will be there with my boy and my father. Look for the 2 man clam flip, and come over and say Hi.

[LittleFishin]

They were a little further towards Kilkare last night. 16-20 fow.

Thanks for the advise, We tried for some Wednesday afternoon and found none; tried 10-40 ft doing circles. Definitely some keeper yellows though like previously mentioned, just gotta weed through the dinks. The other people I saw out there also said they were more towards Hathaway. Like Mudchuck said there are a lot of holes that could swallow a tire and are barely skimmed over. I could break through them with ease. They were everywhere so I'd pay attention if you bring a wheeler.

[perch bait]

PB, If you and your Dad are going Sunday, I will be there with my boy and my father. Look for the 2 man clam flip, and come over and say Hi.

We'll keep an eye out for you! Hopefully the fish will be easy to find and cooperating. If anything, it should be a beautiful day on the ice. Good luck to you and your crew!

[NHHARDWATER]

We'll keep an eye out for you! Hopefully the fish will be easy to find and cooperating. If anything, it should be a beautiful day on the ice. Good luck to you and your crew!

You too Bud. be nice to meet you and your dad finally haha. See you then