Weekly Lake Champlain Fishing Report 8/22/10

Fishing for lake trout is getting a little tougher as the water is the same surface temp., 68 degrees all the way to 82 feet of water. This has moved the lakers off the top of the refs and onto the sides which makes it a little tougher to catch them. We did find some good water on yesterdays afternoon charter where the lakers were still at their 92 feet range and we picked up some nice ones.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Hot Lure Report 8/22/10

Champion Glow stick baits were working on the lakers this past week. Sun wasn't out much and when this happens the Champions work well.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Lake Champlain Fishing Report 8-7-10

Fishing is still very good. Nice salmon, browns, steelhead and lots of lakers are still on the feed. Salmon are down around 65ft with the browns and steelhead above them in a little warmer water. Best year I’ve seen in a while for the salmonoids to still be around and catchable.

Just got back from a great few days of fishing. Weather was beautiful with a nice breeze and the fish are still hungry. Can’t wait to get back on the lake.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Lake Champlain Fishing Report 8-5-10

Laker fishing is still very hot with the big ones reallly showing up the past month. The Champlain Laker record has been broken for the 3rd time yesterday. A lucky fisherman boated a laker that weighed 18.96 pounds and was 33 3/4 inches long with a girth of 23 inches. Check out my fishing photos for the picture. Huge fish. I’m sure someone will catch a 20 pound lake trout this year and I hope its one of my customers.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Lake Champlain Fishing Report 7-28-10

Hi Fishermen.

Weather has been hot and so is the fishing. Lakers are still biting like they haven’t eaten in days. Green glow bellys have been pounding them on the last trips. Seems they work the best on those real sunny days. To Bad Luhr Jensen stopped making them. Sure wish they would start making them again as our supply of green is running low. Best laker lure we’ve ever found. We did 12 nice lakers in a couple hours and missed another 6. This may be the year we catch a 20 pounder. We setup for salmon at midday which isn’t usually good salmon fishing and managed to catch a nice 20 inch. I’m offering a $50 DISCOUNT to the next 2 customers to book a 6 hour charter with me. Come to Lake Champlain for some great fishing.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Hot Lure Report 7-23-10

Caught a 15 pound laker this past week and other 11 & 12 pounds. The big boys are hungry. Hot lure on Monday was the Champion rapala in fire tiger green glow. We did 3 doubles and I think we could have caught 100 lakers. On a dark day with no sun this lure works great on lakers.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Lake Champlain Fishing Report 7/20/10

Caught our biggest laker to date on a charter Sunday. Fish was 33 inches and 15 pounds, what a hog. Client was so excited he said he was going to sleep with it that night. Had great charters last week with some big fish. Our biggest on Monday was a 12 pound pig that worked hard to stay on the bottom. We ended up with 18 lakers on that charter but we had to work hard for them as we had a tough 15 mph south wind. Found the Champion rapala in glow tiger green was the hot lure yesterday. Couldn’t keep the fish off it. We also caught a 12 foot fishing pole off the bottom with a spinning reel. Saw it coming up on the sonar and thought we had Champ. Never know what your going to pull up from the bottom. I’ll get this giant fish posted later today. Check it out. Champlain lakers are growing fast.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Lake Champlain Fishing Report 7-10-10

Just finished several charters this week during the most intense heat I can remember. Temperature hit 100 in Charlotte, Vt. Lakers are still biting at the 80 to 90 foot level on the Glow Bellys. Caught some beauties on yesterdays charter. Lake trout 32inches and 13lbs 3 oz. We had a double charter as there were 9 customers so I had Captain Obe White helping out with his boat. They also caught a 13lb 2oz laker on his boat. Lakers are growing like pigs. Was a rough ride yesterday with a 25 mph South wind but we got it done. Woke the lakers up a little. We also caught one around 7 lbs that had 8 feet of line hooked to ice fishing hooks. Our lure was caught in the line hanging out of the lakers mouth and we dragged him in by the tail. Salmon shut off in the heat but they will turn back on when the temp drops back to normal. South wind was pushing up the cold water from the bottom. I will post pictures of the big laker later in the week.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Lake Champlain Fishing Report 7-4-10

Fished Champlain the past few days and the salmon bite was a little slower but we still managed to hook some big fish. My son, Ben hooked into a 5lb Brown Trout and after a great battle we boated him. Removed the lamprey, took a picture and returned him to the lake. 59 degree water on the NY side has sunk to 50 feet. We were catching fish at 22 feet. I heard some guys on the radio catching them down to 70 feet. Salmon were feeding on smelt in the colder water. Check out my fishing pictures for a picture of the nice brown trout. Headed back up Wednesday for several charters.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Lake Champlain Fishing Report 7-1-10

Bigger salmon are showing up with a friend catching a nice 7 1/2 lb salmon. Has been a great year for fishing, one of the best in the last 10 years. Lakers can be found in large numbers and catching them is fairly easy with the right equipment and lures. Salmon have dropped down to the 35 to 40 foot range. Looks like a great weekend coming up with low wind and high pressure. If you want to catch some great fish hook the boat on the truck and head for Champlain.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Lake Champlain Fishing Report 6-23-10

Fished from 6/17/10 straight though to 6/21. Did a charter on Friday with 2 other charter boats as we had 13 people. What a day of fishing. While we were waiting for our clients we trolled out in the bay and in 30 mintues caught a brown around 5 lbs. and a salmon around 4 lbs. Between the 3 charter boats we caught 90 lakers. All but a couple were returned to the water. We had an 8 year old on our boat and he caught his biggest fish ever. A 32 1/2 inch laker that must of weighted around 13 or 14 lbs. I didn’t think he would reel it in but he did. Saturday was the start of the Lake Champlain fishing derby and we never miss it. Started out slow as we went south where the fish had been biting a week before but it was slow and then the wind began to blow 20 out of the south. We decided to go in around 11am and take a break and fish for bowfin off the dock. While the boat was sitting in the slip all the electronics stopped working on the control panel. Worked on it all afternoon and couldn’t fix. Finally hot wired and went back out fishing. Salmon bite disappeared so we went back after lakers. Boated some good ones but nothing to complete with a fellow charter captain, cloud 9 charters who boated a 16.77 lb laker. We charted together on Friday. Fish was a new Champlain and LCI record and I think they won over $40,000. Could have been us. We had a great time with one of the grandkids hooking a fresh water eel on the dock and also a big Northern Pink.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Lake Champlain Fishing Report 6-13-10

Getting ready for the big Lake Champlain Fishing Derby this coming weekend. I’ll be on the lake for several days looking for big fish before the Saturday start. Last year a 16 pound laker took the big prize. Several 15 pounders were caught during the Rotary derby a couple weeks ago. Water temps are rising and the fish are dropping deeper. 30 to 40 feet is the range right now. 64 degrees on the surface. I’ll drag bottom for those big lakers with a green glow belly. We’ll run stingers and speedy shiners for the salmon. Thrown on a few Harry’s on the sliders.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Lake Champlain Fishing Report 5-23-10

The bite is on folks. If you like to catch Atlantic salmon then now is the time to head for Champlain. We fished from Friday at 3pm to Sunday around noon and caught 27 salmon and a few lakers. We caught many salmon between 20 and 22 inches with one 23 inches. I don’t know how much they weighed as we put them all back accept for a few small ones for the smoker. These salmon are prime and will test your tackle with jumps and then dig down and rip off your drag til it smokes. They are nothing but power. Heard of one fishermen that boated one almost 8 pounds. Speedy shiners are the ticket. The trick is the right color tape. Book a charter with me and I’ll show you a few of my hot spots.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Champlain Fishing Report 5-10-10

We have had a rough week of weather with high winds and a cold front dropping temperatures down into the 20s. Nothing worst then cold fronts to shut the fish off. When the warm weather hits this weekend the fishing will take off again. Cold nights have dropped the water temperatures back down.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Champlain Fishing Report 4/17/10

The best fishing of the year for salmon,browns and lakers is taking off on Champlain. Fish are moving into the skinny water following the bait and now is the time to get them with planner boards, flat lines and downriggers run down only to around 6 feet. Book a charter with me from now into mid june and experience some of the best fishing of the year. The fish are real hungry as the water starts to warm up into the mid forties. Even in this colder weather the fish are still active. Most fishermen don’t like to deal with air temperatures in the 30s and 40s and it is tough in an open boat. My 25′ Thompson is completly closed in to keep you out of the cold air and comfortable. Get your buddies together and give me a call for some Atlantic salmon fishing. They are just like hooking into a lightning bolt on the light tackle we use. When you hook into a 10 pound laker on the light action rods you will have more full then you’ve ever had catching fish.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

May 10 Turkey Actions

Has been a tough past 4 days of turkey hunting with heavy rain on Saturday when I elected to hunt Mass. Had a Tom going the first 10 minutes but then it starting pouring and he disappeared. I got wet and no turkey. Sunday I hunted with a buddy in Vermont and stayed at his camp. The wind almost blew the roof off the camp. The wind blew hard into Sunday making for terrible conditions but we hiked looking for a bird. Finally headed back to camp and saw my sons truck parked and looked into the field and there was a Tom. Come to find out my son and grandson had him 20 yards from them but when my grandson went to move his barrel he was busted. Did hear of a local hunter that bagged a nice 21 pounder, his first bird ever. Lots of turkey hunting left with many hunters giving up and the woods will start to get quiet. Many hens have nested so the Toms are lonely.
Good luck.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

May 3 Hot Lure

20 lakers and 1 salmon this past weekend with green and silver still the hot ticket. We didn’t try many lures this weekend as the green and silver was working so well they were chewing the paint off trying to eat them.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

March 30 Lake Champlain Fishing Report

Water temperature is still pretty cold. In the mouths of some of the big rivers it has hit 41 but the main lake is still in the mid 30’s. Most of the fish being caught seem to be around the river mouths which make sense as they love that warm spring water as that is where the bait is. Mouths of the rivers in the lake are also full of logs, brush and whatever else gets picked up by the river. Weather is suppose to warm up into the high 60s this week and that could turn the salmon on in the skinny water.
Good Luck
Capt. Birch

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Weekly Lake Champlain Fishing Report March 21, 2010

Water is warming up and the lakers are starting to bite on the surface. Skinny water around the mouths of the major rivers seems to be the best spots. Few salmon here and there. I heard on a 7 pounder a couple weeks ago. Small 3″ stickbaits seem to be working the best trolled at 100 feet just under the surface. Beware of all the trash in the water. Logs on the surface and sometimes just under the surface can do a job on your boat & motor.

Good Luck

Captain Bill Birch

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Lake Champlain Fishing Action

Looks like an early spring on Champlain as many of the bays are already open or never froze this winter. Some of the fishermen are already on the main lake where it is slow but their picking up a few. Water is still very cold with a high of 36 in some of the shallow bays. This is where long lines seem to work the best. Run a flat line back 125 feet and lines on your downriggers down about 2 to 4 feet, back 75 feet. Small stickbaits and 3″ metal lures.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.

Champlain Fishing March 8, 2010

Lake Champlain Frost Bite Fleet is back on the water as some of the boat launches are clear of ice. Water temperature is in the 34 to 36 degree range. Still pretty cold but the salmon and lakers still eat once in a while.

Some fishermen are catching salmon in the 20 inch range and lakers around 5 pounds. Top 10 feet of water seems to be where the action is.

In another 3 or 4 weeks the action should really start heating up. Head for the shallows and get into that skinny water 6 to 12 feet where the water is warmer. The salmon will be moving into the shallows following the bait fish.

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Lake Champlain Fishing Charters for Salmon & Trout & Walleye. Captain Bill Birch, an avid hunter & fisherman has 20 years experience Fishing Lake Champlain. We offer fishing for Salmon & Trout out of Charlotte, VT.