Shelburne bay 2-20-15

[iverson111]

Decided to go out for a few hours this morning before work and wanted to stay close to home, so I walked out from the point until I got into 42 FOW I wanted to jig lakers so lures I played with included a 3.25 inch white gitzit  it tube . Had some followers and a few bites and quickly realized those weren't lakers so I switched to some panfish jigs in color pink tired with spikes and pulled a few decent perch up before switching back to the tube. Didn't see any Lakers and there were a few guys on snomachines out further in 80 FOW.  Not sure what they got into.  Also tried a Hali jig tipped with a mousie and didn't get anything even interested so I packed it in. Ice was 12 inches about. With a foot of hard packed snow on top.

[bootstrap]

thanks for the report hope to get out there in the next week or so.

[troutcrazy]

Was that you in the blue pop-up?
I think I got there just before you left.  I fished around that little point for a few hours without much action.  Some dink perch and a couple ok ones-- not enough for lunch, sadly.   I had a spiked Hali and a little pink and green jig on the same line.  Nothing bit the Hali.  My other rod had a Swedish pimple for lakers-- no bites on that.

I went out for a couple hours mid-day on Wednesday, too.  That time I went out by Redrocks and fished the end of Redrock point.  No bites.  Blue sky and sunshine at noon made for a pleasant walk, though.

Plenty of ice.  I saw a couple guys fishing way out on the main lake.

[troutcrazy]

Yeah, I would have gone out further if I'd had more time, too.  I enjoyed the walk-- I was travelling light with my rods in a backpack and my hand-auger over my shoulder.  Didn't bring a sled or a bucket... just a bag to put fish in.
The guys who were roaming around  didn't seem to be catching much-- judging from the way they kept moving.
I'm not used to fishing in deep water like that.  I'm pretty intrigued by that bay right now, even though I haven't had much luck there.  I'm going to crack the code and find the fish in there!  Save some gas money, too

[Joe Butler]

Troutcrazy;        I grew up in the 60s fishing the area around Red Rocks Park, (the old Hatch Estate) and used to catch alot of Perch.  If we wanted smelt we would go out to Red Rocks Point and fish them in 80 to 90 FOW.   Those fisherman that were  roaming around out there were probably trying to run Perch,  that is,  find and follow the school of Perch.  Thats what I used to do as a kid growing up there in QCP.   Our best Perch catch was out in front of the Red Rocks Park Beach area about 400 yards in about 30 FOW. Its now been 50 years since I ice fished that area.   Now I am fishing Perch here on Chaumont Bay, Lake Ontario, NY.  I still have plenty of kin in VT

[pikeslayer31]

Has anybody tried catching smelt by the mouth of the Laplatte right by the parking lot? I remember years ago when we would hammer them there all the time.

[troutcrazy]

Thanks for the tips, Joe.
That's a sweet little neighborhood, right there... must have been really nice growing up there in the 60's.
It must have been the early 1980's when I was fishing around Burlington as a kid.  Memory is funny, but I swear there were a LOT more fish back then.   

Pikeslayer, I drilled a hole by the bridge and fished there for a few minutes but no bites (I don't have a flasher).  I saw some guys there last year, but they said they weren't finding them either.
 
I have a feeling the fish patterns in that bay have changed dramatically.  I haven't seen a shanty town out there for years.  The smelt are pretty much gone   I'm still holding on to hope that I'm going to find some in there.  There have been little hopeful murmurs that they might bounce back.  The best theory is that they've been displaced by the #$*% alewives.

[FishHawkVT]

Trout crazy - how much ice was there out by Red Rocks point? Would love to try for lakers out there...

[Joe Butler]

I fished off the Ledges on Red Rocks Point in the early 80s, When I was home on Leave from the military.  I was targeting Perch,  I didn't catch a single perch, like when I was a Kid.  I just sat on the Rocks watching the hugh Lakers swim by.   

Joe

[FishHawkVT]

The lakers still hang in that area in the late fall- I catch them fishing from shore
Casting heavy spoons like little cleos. Should be lakers around during the winter as well and would like to try for them thru the ice if conditions allow.

[Joe Butler]

HawK,,, Sounds to me like there is plenty of ice out off Redrocks Point right now.   Judging from what troutcrazy said about his trip out there last Wednesday.  Yup know those heavy spoons well,  "Laker Takers"

[troutcrazy]

Yes lots of ice.  I don't have a number for you but probably more than a foot.

[Mr. Jitterbugger]

We went out Saturday and fished off shelburne point in about 40 ft of water. Super windy out and no fish to show for it. Oh well.

[Leafmountain10]

Just happened to be in Burlington for the UVM game Saturday night, spent the night and checked out Shelburne Bay, Sunday when it was BEAUTIFUL!  Sunny, warmer, and no wind.  I was shocked to see almost no one there!  Unless folks were way out by the main lake I could only make out a shanty and one or two guys on buckets.  12 rigs in the parking lot and most folks were skiing or walking their dogs.

Wow!  Different than 15 years ago when there would be a couple hundred folks out on a day like that.  Fishing mush stink!?

[VTarborist]

I live on Bay Road and occasionally fish Shelburne bay but I can't say I've had much luck.  I had one good day last year jigging for perch off of Allen hill near the moorings.

[Joe Butler]

Just happened to be in Burlington for the UVM game Saturday night, spent the night and checked out Shelburne Bay, Sunday when it was BEAUTIFUL!  Sunny, warmer, and no wind.  I was shocked to see almost no one there!  Unless folks were way out by the main lake I could only make out a shanty and one or two guys on buckets.  12 rigs in the parking lot and most folks were skiing or walking their dogs.

Wow!  Different than 15 years ago when there would be a couple hundred folks out on a day like that.  Fishing mush stink!?

Yea,  I can remember a few decades back when there would be a hardsided fishing shanty village, hundreds of shanties,  at Bartlets Bay just north of the fuel tanks, if they are still there,  on the east side of the bay.  It looks like things have changed drastically.  Wow is an understatement.

[802spinnerbait]

Walked from Burlington Breakwater to Juniper then to Shelburne Bay and back yesterday the 22nd.  Plenty of ice with the occasional pucker up crack, but couldn't ask for better weather or ice quality out there.

I started drilling 6 inch holes every couple hundred yards from the break all the way to juniper island and I saw a consistent 10 inches of ice all the way.  8 in some spots but very consistent.  That said I found it very hard to transition from the Burlington break to the main lake.  The stress crack from Friday has grown larger and it looks really sketchy heading north up to the Red Rock point.  You can go around it pretty easy if you drove up into the north end of Burlington or just do what I did and walk out off the southern tip of the breakwater.  Its a smooth transition to ice.   

I dropped my lowrance flasher each hole checking for baitfish and jigged with a big flasher/dodger and a bucktail jig on a 3/4 foot flouro leader off the dodger trying to locate some lakers.  No luck, and each hole I spent 5-10 minutes jigging various depths all from 20 - 150 FOW.   This thread makes me want to head over to Red Rock point and see whats up.

Any hot spot suggestions for jigging lakers I would love to hear.  I have a good spot in now but they only seem to like smelt on a tip up sitting on the bottom....I rally want one on a jig pole with a spoon or jig.

B

[Joe Butler]

   Wow,, That was a walk and a half,  Probably 6 to 7 miles if not more.    Did you try out by the schoal, marked by the buoy between Juniper and Red Rocks point?  I can't remember the name of that schoal, But its on the lake charts.  It comes up to 4 to 6 feet of the surface.

[802spinnerbait]

  Wow,, That was a walk and a half,  Probably 6 to 7 miles if not more.    Did you try out by the schoal, marked by the buoy between Juniper and Red Rocks point?  I can't remember the name of that schoal, But its on the lake charts.  It comes up to 4 to 6 feet of the surface.

I did not, I will look for it on my unit tonight on the couch.  Hehe.  And yes, my phone says I had about 15000 steps.  According to Google , roughly 8 mile Hike. 

B

[Joe Butler]

802  The name of that schoal is " Proctors Schoal'   Its actually between Oak Ledge and Juniper,  The chart says it comes up to 5 and a half feet from the surface.  I know better,  I have stood on it.  and it was about 4 feet.

[TRT]

802 did you fish with that one set up the entire hike. 
Did you have some interested fish at least check out
your presentation?

How much snow were you hiking in once you went past the breakwater area?
Thank you for the conditions update..

[802spinnerbait]

802 did you fish with that one set up the entire hike. 
Did you have some interested fish at least check out
your presentation?

How much snow were you hiking in once you went past the breakwater area?
Thank you for the conditions update..

I used that setup the entire way.  I considered pulling the bucktail jig at one point and switching to a pimple or larger jigging spoon.  I was really surprised the dodger/flasher didn't "call" anything in the area to at least come look. Not a single fish mark, close to 30 holes. 

The snow conditions were light.  Patches of exposed ice and patches of snow 2-3 inches beyond the break.  Its too windy out there in front of the breakwater for snow to really accumulate.

A buddy of mine and I are headed down to Champlain bridge Friday night to try for smelt at night and go for Lakers in the morning.  I will be back to this area in front of Burlington in a week and will def try the Oak Ledge and Red Rocks point.
Its hard not to go out there when my office looks right over the Breakwater.

B