trout and salmon with new bait rules

[ajsoma8]

hey guys this is my first post and I just wanted to let you know I have a place in Grand Isle, VT but live in montpelier/middlesex and fish as much as i can when i am not hunting.  I ice fish places like caspian, peacham, nelson (not anymore b/c it stinks) but like to fish champlain as much as I can and only fish it spring/summere/fall. 

Heres my question, when targeting trout or salmon what are you using for minnows.  I have tried the suckers and they work OK for lakers and the occasional brown but for salmon and rainbows without hunts or emeralds it is tough and seems like not worth spending the money for the fish you get out of the bait.  jigging smelt when you get on the ice is an option but if that plan fails you are screwed.  what do you guys use??

[whitetail05401]

Try worms from what I see they work great just a small part of a worm. Oh ya the worms you can take them home after your done fishing too...lol    You dont have to dump them on the ice or down the hole....jim s

[Browntown]

I've been leaving early and trying to catch smelt before daylight. I used to do this before the new laws so not much has changed, but I would often bring a dozen or two emeralds just for back up. Not any more.

[fish rascal]

I would have to say the using pond shinners makes the fishing very slow. smelts is much better. Caspian today 12 traps with shinners, 1 flag, we did get 7 lakers jigging which is pretty good. I tried to find smelt the other day but no luck on the lake.

[ajsoma8]

rascal,

I fished Caspian last saturday all day without a flag.  All the locals hadn't caught anything either so i didn't feel too bad.  But I think i should have been fishing with suckeres vs shiners.  What are you jigging em with, rapala fish or pimple???

[fishstalker]

IF YOU HAVE A CAMP IN GRAND ISLE, WHY DON'T YOU JUST GO TO THE ISLAND BAIT SHOP AND GET HUNTS? THEY HAVE PERFECT SIZE HUNTS FOR WALLEYE AND SALMON THERE FOR 6.50 A DOZEN.

[fish rascal]

we were using silver pimples. it was a nice day though

[ajsoma8]

fishstalker,

thanks for the info, I didn't know Mike had hunts up there.  If i would have know that, that is what I would have got.  He was CLOSED and prob fishing himself when we were up there.  i don't live in grand isle just have a summer place up there!

[fishstalker]

No problem AJSOMA8. I'm glad to help!

[TRT]

Fishing has been slow with new bait.  Caught smelt on Magog opening weekend
but we had very slow fishing.  I've been up to Willoughby
and have not had any luck with the smelt. Caught 3 nice LLS 2nd weekend of
the season all about 3-3.5 pounds. Four trips to Willoughby an have caught only
one 5 inch laker jigging for smelt. No luck jigging for lakers either.

I had to kill a mink Sunday. He eat a certified bait off my jig stick an came back
for more. He had no fear. Despite multiple attempts to scare him off. He kept coming an finally
clonked him on the noggin with my scoup at arm length range.   Rapid mink?
 
I was not taking any chances...

[fishandbeer]

TRT, what are you using to jig your smelt with? We have been using silver hali's tipped with a maggot, and have been catching the hell out of them. I just found some eagle claw lazer hooks that are snelled in a size 12 and added that for a top hook. It really improved my catch rate, and allows me to know if I should fish higher or lower in the water column based on what hook they are hitting. If that's not how you are setup, hope that helps. Have you ever fished for smelt in Seymour?   

[TRT]

I have been using Hali's with gulp maggots and or cut "certified" bait with no luck on
Willoughby. We caught plenty of smelt on magog. Yes i know guys hammer the
smelt off the beach on Seymour. How have you been doing? 

[fishandbeer]

We have been fishing Magog and doing very well on smelt and perch. We have caught a few nice trout and salmon, but not big numbers of them. The perch in that place are HUGE. We have been catching smelt and using them to move out deeper and catch those hog perch. The biggest trout I have gotten is a hen rainbow that went about 5lbs. I want to give Seymour a try sometime soon, as I catch a bunch of trout when I fish there, but I have been having so much fun doing the perch/smelt thing I haven't tried it yet. If we get a bunch of snow on the ice that will change the places that I fish. Seymour is a lake that you don't have to travel very far onto the ice to fish. The other thing I might switch to is fishing the smaller lakes with worms and small shiners in shallow water for browns and rainbows. I have had good luck doing that. The key is to fish less than 15 feet of water, set you tipups close and get to the flags quickly and set the hook quickly. Good luck if you go!!!

[ajsoma8]

I have heard that seymour has some great fish in it but I have always heard that it is pretty slow as well.  But really I guess when you are trout fishing how often is it not slow??   I am thinking of giving seymour a try over presidents day weekend but I don't know where to get bait or what to use.  I am really against using shiners.  Anybody know where I can get hunts on the way up to seymour from middlesex/montpelier area?

[fishandbeer]

There are 2 stores up there right next to the lake that used to sell bait. I assume they still do, but I have not been up there yet this year. The Seymour lake market used to have his bait tanks about 30 yards from the shanty's that were catching the smelt they sold in the store for bait. Can't do that anymore, so I assume they have those shiners like everyone else. If I go up I will jig smelt right where you get on the lake, then move out somewhere in the middle to set up for trout and salmon. There are some nice fish in there, but there is also a bunch of 15-19 inch lakers that will keep you busy if you want to fish out deep on the bottom. I've caught some really nice salmon out of there, but I always get those in the top 5 feet of the water column. Good luck if you go try it.!!!