Need some help guys! Want to come up this spring to Lake Champlain to go smallmouth fishing. St. Albans Vermont is where we were going to stay.

Any recommendations on when to go in the spring?? or any month really. Just want to go up and catch a lot of fish. If you guys think the NY end of the lake may be better let me know. It would be closer to me. I'm coming out of NJ. It doesn't have to be Lake Champlain it can be any lake. Please let me know your thoughts or and help on this matter would be great. Just didn't want to drive up and not catch much.

Smallies are a bit hard for me to predict and can be mysterious, but either of the first two weeks of June or the end of May can be good; and then they school up in deeper water and shoals all summer, so any time can be good (or not, but that may be my lack of skill).

Thanks for the help! Keep the tips coming! Thanks Again!!

Smallmouth can be tough to predict. I got a few around Hero Island and Valcour Island on my kayak in early August last year. St Albans is right near hero island. The west side of the island around the boat launch near Gordon's landing has some roughly flat rocky bottoms that's roughly 13-16 feet for a bit and I got a few smallmouth on a dropshot and dragging a football jig there. Definitely prime smallmouth territory and because of its depth, it may be good year round. The east side around Grand Isle was more largemouth but if you go south so you're just north of 2, it looks like it should be a good small mouth area, but I think I only caught largemouth and pike there. The south side of route 2 is all shallow and weedy. The deeper part yielded a lot of smaller largemouth there, almost a creek channel.

My best day ever smallmouth fishing came at the point at the Button Bay state park on a cool day at the end of a week long heat wave. They hit absolutely everything, every cast it was nuts. Will you have a boat or kayak? If not, it would definitely be worth it to visit Button Bay state park and walk to the point. It's a little bit of walk to the point but not bad, just be careful on the rocks that get wet, I slipped and broke some ribs when I wa there. Spinnerbaits worked the best at pre dusk, and once it started getting dark, crankbaits and topwater. Got a few on a T-Rig and football jig too.

Champlain is a really fun lake.

We will have a boat

I live just up the road from there. "Best" starts in ernest end of the first week of May (look at the hills and you see a slight shade of green due to trees budding). Tons of fish around there that time of year. My Champlain pb came out of Lapans (next bay north) then at 6lbs, 2 casts before I got a 6.5 lm. It's "amazing" til about Father's day. Message me if you want any info.

Ya last year we were up in late June and didn't catch a lot. No big ones at all. What did you use for lures/baits??

Late June they break up. Some go deep some go shallow. The May timeframe everything works. I carolina rigged the marina in St Albans bay one cast , jerkbait the next (caught fish on both). Senkos, ikas, Ned's, Keitech footballs, bladed jig, ALL work. Water over 50 degrees a spook comes into play.

Thanks for the advice!!