Trolling on Bomoseen
Toolbox
By Kris Martin Correspondent - Published: September 6, 2008
Located in the southwest of Vermont, in the towns of Castleton and Hubbardton, Lake Bomoseen is the largest lake (2,370 surface acres) that lies entirely with the state. Bomoseen has an average depth of about 27 feet and a maximum depth of about 65 feet. Despite the well-documented problem the locals have faced with the introduction of Eurasian watermilfoil, the lake's shoreline is dotted with private residences, a state park and a couple of state boat launches. The lake is also home to a diverse species of fish – brown trout, large and smallmouth bass, perch, sunfish, crappie and northern pike can be found swimming in its depths. I've been saying all year long, "I'd like to get the boat down there for a day."
Accompanied by Joe Yoder, I finally got down there last week.
After consulting with local guide Shawn Hayes (www.thefishwhispererguideservice.com) about the good brown trout fishing that could be found in the southern end of the lake, Joe and I decided it would be wise to spend some time trolling the depths for a few hours and then if needed we could switch over to exploring the shoreline for pike and bass.
Note of interest: The island in the middle of the lake, Neshobe Island, has a pretty good history. Back in the day (from about 1919 to 1929, or in other words waaaay back, but not waaaay way back) a small group of New York City writers, actors and critics referred to it as the "Algonquin Round Table." See, we've always had tourists here!
Some of the members of the New York crowd included Franklin Pierce Adams (columnist), Robert Benchley (humorist and actor), Heywood Broun (columnist and sportswriter), Marc Connelly (playwright), George S. Kaufman (playwright and director), Dorothy Parker (critic, poet, short-story writer, and screenwriter, Harold Ross, The New Yorker editor Robert E. Sherwood, author and playwright), John Peter Toohey (publicist), Alexander Woollcott (critic and journalist) and – yes – Harpo Marx (actor and comedian).
I would be remiss if I didn't note that while researching the Harpo Marx tidbit I became very intrigued and discovered a more definitive biography of the island and lake at www.wikipedia.com. Yeah, a little local history from the Shoestring Fisherman. Now, back to fishing.
Joe and I set out about 9 a.m., me with my mini-downrigger and he in his cap, err, I mean leadcore. And no we didn't settle in for a long winter's nap! We trolled. According to Shawn, we needed to be down between 24 and 31 feet, and trolling at a speed of about 2.2 knots. With a small piece of half-inch plywood, I am able to clamp the mini-rigger just about anywhere on the boat. After spending about 15 minutes working out the mechanics, we were under way.
"Any fish down there?" asked Joe.
"I'm marking fish anywhere from 12 feet down to 34," I replied. "Looks like we're right on top of them."
One thing about salmon and trout fishing on big lakes: It's probably going to kill me. Or, at the very least, get me killed. Who would've thought just HOW different bass and pike fishing is from trout and salmon? For me, a spoon has always been a spoon. Now they're "salmon" and "trout" spoons. I have a new interest. Instead of big bass jigs, plugs and plastics, I'm hanging around looking at totally new hardware – and spending money. Not a whole lot, mind you – that's the part that will get me killed (Hi there, sweetieshnookiewookiepants). With some help I've zeroed in on the Honeybees from Tamiron (www.tamiron.com) and the Stingers from Michigan Stinger (www.mistinger.com). Not that there aren't more manufacturers, but from what I've read and heard those two companies really take care of their customers. Here in Vermont, the little guy often gets overlooked. But not by them. Their products come in a myriad of mind-bending colors, and just shopping for them is an experience. Monkey Puke (yeah – a Shoestring favorite!), Tequila Sunrise, Kevorkian, Freezer Burn, Stevie Wonder, Santa Claus and Circus Freak are just a few (Personally, I'm waiting for Beer Nuts, the official disease of Alchemist Brewpub patrons).
Joe and I trolled around for the better part of four hours, changing depths, lures and speeds and managing only one release. While I was still game to troll some more, I wanted to at least salvage the day with SOME fish, so the decision was made to bag the trolling in favor of exploring the rest of the lake and casting for bass and pike.
Down on the southern end of the lake, we both managed to pick up some pocket (small) largemouth bass on a variety of Senkos, tubes and spinnerbaits. Nothing huge, but still more than we'd caught the rest of the day. After gassing up, we headed north past Neshobe Island and stopped to read the graffiti messages on the slate piles at the lake's northwest shore. After a few casts there we headed north under the bridge and into very weedy territory, where I hooked up with some 2-foot pike on a tandem willowleaf spinnerbait. Again, not big, but not bad either. With thoughts of traffic in Rutland dancing through my head and a stop at Wendy's to fill my stomach, we were off the lake and headed home around 4:30 p.m.. Not a great day, but we left with good reason to visit again – maybe with Shawn himself next time.
Quick Strikes
Three other days on the water
On Sunday I ventured north to fish Champlain with my dad. A strong north wind made staying in one place difficult and contributed mightily to my poor attitude. I picked up a small pike inside Keeler Bay and that was it for the day. Dad managed a small largemouth and lost a decent pike and smallmouth on the boat. Outside "the Gut" I had numerous good-sized smallmouth chase my lures back to the boat but not take. Usually that causes me to speed up my retrieve, but the fish still veered off. In retrospect, I probably should have anchored the boat and thrown more at them instead of relying on the trolling motor to try to stay in one spot.
Last Monday I finally got the chance to hook up for a day of fishing with Tony Bushway, captain and owner of An Bradon Charters in South Hero (www.anbradoncharters.com). Instead of chasing salmon, which is Tony's passion (and he's damn good at it), we spent the time searching for smallmouths and pike. Tony shared some of his underwater hot spots and techniques and I shared mine. September is a tough month to salmon fish the main lake or the inland sea as the salmon start staging for their spawning run up tributaries. When I can't get to the lake, Tony's fishing reports have been what keeps me interested. In addition to being a reliable source for information, he's also one heck of a nice guy.
On Tuesday I met up with Ron Winter for a shot at the elusive salmon out on the broad lake, just north of the Grand Isle ferry crossing near Hatchery Brook. Hopes were that maybe we could catch a few salmon getting ready for the mating run. Ron's knowledge of salmon is every bit as intimidating to me as Tony's, and his knowledge of boats may be more so. I got the chance to check out the Cannon Digi-trolls that Ron runs for downriggers and was very impressed. Teamed with an auto-pilot system, one guy can get out and fish without too much worry as to how to steer the boat, and more time can be spent sending lures up and down. We managed to get a release on a small "stockie" salmon that ended up throwing the lure before easing back the speed a bit and dropping the ball down in an effort to find some browns instead. No luck, but great company and a good time. I'm learning so much it gives me headaches.
And Finally
Everywhere I stopped all week the talk was of the lake trout bite on Champlain. Dattilio's, Dick's Sporting Goods – it didn't matter. Shawn even called to tell me they'd caught four dozen fish in just five hours down in the southern end. Maybe I should've been insisting we go get some of them instead.
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