Hi Folks, Another stellar day in Vermont fishing with clients on the boat. We saw a nice bald eagle today launch from a big pine tree, pretty impressive, and up close and personal. Heavy morning fog once again. Burned off around 8:00am. Surface temperature of the water was 72 degrees and climbed to 74 degrees by lunch. Flat calm morning so we worked the top water bite. We actually found decent sized fish in pretty shallow water. Interestingly, we found the bigger smallmouth taking lures very subtle while the smaller bass were pretty darn aggressive. We had a 2lb smallmouth eat a fire tiger popper that we would not have caught if I had not seen it move slowly to the surface and slurp in the top water. Really mellow top water take. Landed several 1lb smallmouth that absolutely crushed the popper. The surface feeding fish were holding over soft bottomed areas that had weed and down wood. The fish seemed to be cruising and long casts with a retrieve to the boat worked well. Once the top water fishing slowed we fished the incredible edible Senko in green with red flake and crawfish on a red off set hook. We focused on sharp drop offs and flats with hard bottoms in 10' to 20' of water. A measured 19.5" smallmouth landed and man did it not come in easy. Really turned some drag. The bass picked up the Senko and the line barely moved. Real gentle take. It has been the year of the bass! Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
