Tag Archives: Missisquoi

Lake Champlain Ice Fishing

Lake Champlain Ice Fishing Opportunities

Lake Champlain is a premier ice fishing destination, offering a variety of ice fishing opportunities. Quality fishing for many species is easy to find on this 120-mile long lake, including landlocked salmon, lake trout, northern pike, yellow perch, white perch, walleye, and crappie.

 

Lake Champlain Ice Fishing

Lake Champlain Ice Fishing shanties

 

Vermont offers a free Ice Fishing Day to introduce newcomers to the sport of ice fishing; this year the free ice fishing day is January 28th. So get out and try your luck ice fishing on Lake Champlain.

 

Northern Pike

Lake Champlain Ice Fishing: Northern Pike

Lake Champlain Ice Fishing: Northern Pike

In the northern part of Lake Champlain, the traditional pike hotspots are Kelley Bay, Missisquoi Bay, Dillenbeck Bay, Carry Bay, Keeler Bay, St. Albans Bay and the shallow flats south of the Sandbar Causeway (between Milton and the Champlain Islands).

In southern Lake Champlain, the area south of the Champlain Bridge from Addison to Benson is also pretty good fishing.

In winter cold temperatures slows their metabolism and they do not feed as often.  When they do feed it is typically in low light – sunrise or sunset. Pike will often seek out weed beds and structures for food. They tend to stick to the bottom of the lake and do not school. As winter continues pike will seek deeper water since it is typically warmer and more comfortable.

 

Trout and Salmon

Lake Champlain Ice Fishing Salmon and Trout

Lake Champlain Ice Fishing:
Trout & Salmon

Later in winter when more ice has formed, landlocked salmon can be caught in the Inland Sea north of the Sandbar Causeway.

On Lake Champlain there is no closed season for trout and salmon.

 

 

Lake Trout

If cold weather creates good ice over the lake’s deeper waters, lake trout can be found off the western shore of Grand Isle, as well in Outer Mallets Bay, Shelburne Bay, Converse Bay, and from Button Bay south to the Champlain Bridge between Addison, VT and Crown Point, NY.

 

Walleyes

Lake Champlain Ice Fishing: Walleyes

Lake Champlain Ice Fishing: Walleyes

Although walleyes can be found anywhere in Lake Champlain, the most consistent winter action can be found in the southern end of the lake between Ticonderoga, NY and Benson, VT.

Up in the northern end of the lake, Missisquoi Bay between Swanton and Alburgh, VT can produce some good walleye action.

As with northern pike, colder temperatures slow the walleye’s metabolism so they don’t feed as often, and when they do, it’s usually in low light conditions. They also seek out weed beds and structures and tend to stick close to the bottom.

 

Panfish

Lake Champlain Ice Fishing Perch and Panfish

Lake Champlain Ice Fishing Perch and Panfish

Yellow perch and other panfish can be caught in sheltered bays and shallow water areas all along Lake Champlain.

Since panfish, such as bluegill, yellow perch or crappie, are relatively small fish they tend to stay in shallow weedy areas or in areas near structures for protection and food. In winter months, they stay close to the bottom or just a bit above where the water is usually warmer. In the winter panfish tend to school together. Larger panfish will make small schools, and smaller panfish will make larger schools.

 

 

Other Lake Champlain Ice Fishing Articles:

ice fishing shanties on Lake Champlain

 

Vermont NRCS Conservation Funding Focused on Most Impaired Watersheds

Vermont NRCS Conservation Funding : EQIP Funds to Most Impaired Watersheds

 

Vermont NRCS Conservation Funding Focused on Most Impaired Watersheds

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack with Vermont US Senator Patrick Leahy and Vermont Secretary of Agricluture Chuck Ross announcing $45 million in Lake Champlain cleanup funds August 28, 2014.
(Photo by Taylor Dobbs, VPR) 

The Lake Champlain Basin will benefit from $45 million dollars of conservation funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Programs (EQIP) over the next 5 years. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack announced last August that in 2015, the NRCS will be implementing over $8 million dollars in conservation practices. 60% of the money available for 2015 will be targeted for the most heavily impaired watersheds, including: the South Lake, St. Albans Bay, and Missisquoi Bay. The remaining 40% will fund projects in other areas of the Lake Champlain watershed.

 

“We’ve found at USDA that voluntary conservation is particularly effective with agricultural interests.” ~ Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of Agriculture

Vermont NRCS Conservation Funding Focused on Most Impaired Watersheds

Aerial Photographs Capture Sediment Loading to Lake Champlain

 

Funding Priorities Encourage Voluntary Conservation

In all areas, priority for funding  will be given to agronomic practices that reduce soil and phosphorus losses, followed by improvements to manure storage and handling on farmsteads. Manure Injection is again included as a practice eligible for funding in Vermont. Farmers in the Lake Champlain Basin will also be allowed an option to receive five years of payments, instead of the usual three years, for specific agronomic practices that include: Cover Crops, Nutrient Management, Conservation Crop Rotation, Prescribed Grazing, Feed Management, and Residue Management.

Vermont NRCS Conservation Funding Focused on Most Impaired WatershedsProducers who are interested in funding to support conservation improvements on their farm are encouraged to contact their local NRCS office.

 

Information based on release from:

Vicky Drew, State Conservationist, USDA NRCS, 356 Mountain View Drive, Suite 105, Colchester, VT 05446, (802 )951-6796, Ext. 242

 

‘Lake Champlain’ is a new pictoral history of Lake Champlain compiled by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, and a part of the Images of America series from Arcadia Press.

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‘The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep’ is a casebook and field guide to the world’s mysterious sea creatures offers insight into pop culture and scientific beliefs, as well as advice on how to investigate such phenomena firsthand.

Conservation Law Foundation Takes Vermont To Court Over Best Management Practices Ruling

Vermont’s Environmental Court will decide whether farmers will be required to adopt best management practices for water quality controls in an effort to reduce manure runoff in the Missisquoi Bay watershed.

Conservation Law Foundation Takes Vermont To Court Over Best Management Practices Ruling

Runoff from farms using manure as fertilizer is one of the biggest causes of blue-green algae blooms in Lake Champlain. The Conservation Law Foundation takes Vermont to Court to establish BMP’s and reduce phosphorus runoff

Last week the Conservation Law Foundation appealed the Vermont Agency of Agriculture’s November decision not to require farms to use best management practices to prevent manure from flowing into waterways. Earlier this year, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) petitioned the state to enforce the new federal regulations.

Chris Kilian, vice president and Vermont director of the Conservation Law Foundation, speaking at a symposium at the ECHO Center in Burlington said farmers need to do their part to help clean up the lake.

“The time has come for mandatory best management practices on agricultural operations in Missisquoi watershed. The condition of the lake is horrific. This past summer was among the worst ever. The condition of Lake Carmi, also in that basin, is beyond description: it’s terrible. And that pollution is coming from farms.” ~ Chris Kilian, vice president and Vermont director of the Conservation Law Foundation

 

Vermont’s Plan for Lake Champlain Cleanup

Chuck Ross, the Vermont Secretary of Agriculture, rejected CLF’s petition because he said it conflicts with a process underway to work with the EPA to improve the lake’s water quality. Ross said the state is still committed to this plan, but added that the state does not have enough financial resources to help farmers implement the new best management practices.

The Environmental Protection Agency has required Vermont to develop a plan to restore Lake Champlain’s water quality. The state presented its plan in May, and a final ruling from the EPA is expected next spring. Part of the Vermont plan calls for new regulations on agricultural operations to reduce nutrient runoff.

Manure runoff from farms is the leading cause of phosphorus pollution in Lake Champlain. Missisquoi and St. Albans bays were among the sections of the lake hardest hit by last summer’s toxic algae blooms. Vermont is increasing enforcement in Franklin County. The state recently fined one farmer for washing equipment in a nearby brook.

Conservation Law Foundation Takes Vermont To Court Over Best Management Practices Ruling

Conservation Law Foundation Takes Vermont To Court In Attempt To Establish Farming Best Management Practices (BMP’s).
BMP’s Can Help Control Phosphorus Loading into Lake Champlain Due to Manure Runoff

“It is clear… that the state, CLF and many other stakeholders share the same goal for Lake Champlain and the waters of the state,” ~ Chuck Ross, the Vermont Secretary of Agriculture

Many farmers support improving water quality, but afraid that new regulations could be too costly without state financial assistance. Currently, all farmers are required to follow accepted agricultural practices, or AAP’s. Best Management Practices are required to address water quality problems on the farms. The state’s plan would require that small farms file a certificate of compliance with the AAPs; this is currently required for medium and large farms. The plan also increases the size of vegetative buffers and livestock exclusion, along with other water quality improvement efforts.

Kilian argues that farming is a private, for-profit industry that must do its part to help clean up the pollution caused by agricultural practices.

“The Clean Water Act is very clear: best management practices are required. And they are not required with a public bailout for farmers. There is no need for more resources. This isn’t about money.” ~ Chris Kilian, vice president and Vermont director of the Conservation Law Foundation

The CLF’s Position on Lake Cleanup

The CLF petition requires farmers to plant cover crops, prevent livestock from entering streams, plant grassed waterways and use other techniques to keep nutrients on farms and out of the waterways. The petition would require enforcement of best practices in places identified as “critical source areas,” in which phosphorus loading in streams is greatest.

Vermont Environmental Conservation Commissioner David Mears, said the state agrees with much of what CLF is requesting, but has a different procedure in mind. “It’s good news for the state of Vermont that most of us agree that these are problems that need to be addressed,” he said. “The questions start to arise when we dig deeper into what authorities and what timelines.”

The CLF has also petitioned the DEC to require commercial, industrial and institutional property owners to get permits that limit the amount of stormwater pollution flowing from their properties. Vermont has twice asked for an extension to respond to the petition.

 

More Articles About Lake Champlain Ecology and  Algae:

                               

 

New Year-Round Open Water Fishing Opportunities for Vermont Anglers

Are you a die-hard angler? New regulations have opened up new year-round open water fishing opportunities in the state of Vermont. Beginning in 2014, revised Vermont regulations allow catch-and release trout fishing with artificial flies or lures outside of the normal trout season. The eleven sections of waterways covered provide over seventy additional miles of river to year-round trout fishing.

New Year-Round Open Water Fishing Opportunities for Vermont Anglers

Year-Round Open Water Fishing

“The regulations were intended to provide expanded fishing opportunities for trout while limiting the potential impact to populations. The changes will give interested anglers the opportunity to take advantage of any mild days in late fall and early spring.” ~ Rich Kirn, Vermont Fish & Wildlife fisheries biologist.

Additionally, the state’s bass catch-and-release open water angling opportunities (not ice fishing) – also with artificial flies and lures only – have been expanded to include all lakes, ponds and reservoirs not listed as ‘seasonally closed waters.’ A complete list of ‘seasonally closed waters’ is available on the Vermont Fish & Wildlife website, www.vtfishandwildlife.com. Under the “Fishing” tab, click on “Law Digest and Guide” for more information.

“From the feedback I’ve gotten, many local anglers – primarily the hardcore, avid type – are really excited about the increased options in terms of fishable waters. Additionally, we’ve seen a rise in the non-resident interest in these opportunities and that should certainly provide a boost in visits from those outside of Vermont.” ~ Bob Shannon, owner of The Fly Rod Shop and Fly Fish Vermont Guide Service in Stowe, Vermont

The following rules are are in effect on these new catch-and-release waters:

  • Only artificial flies or lures may be used, except during the open season for trout (2nd Sat. in April – Oct. 31).
  • Catch and release only (trout must be immediately released where caught), except during the open season for trout.
  • During open season for trout, follow normal size restrictions, daily limits and possession limits.

Year-Round Open Water Fishing Opportunities for Vermont Anglers

The following sections of streams listed below are classified as open to year-round trout fishing :
  • Black River: From the Connecticut River boundary upstream to the Howard Hill Road Bridge in Cavendish.
  • Deerfield River: From the Woods Road (Medburyville) bridge in Wilmington upstream approximately 2 miles to the VT Route 9W bridge in Searsburg.
  • East Creek (Rutland City): From the confluence with Otter Creek upstream (approximately 2.7 miles) to the top of the Patch Dam in Rutland City.
  • Hoosic River: From the Vermont/New York border upstream to the Vermont/ Massachusetts border.
  • Lamoille River: From the Lake Champlain boundary (top of Peterson Dam in Milton) upstream to the top of the Cady’s Falls Dam in Morristown.
  • Lewis Creek: From the Lake Champlain boundary upstream to the State Prison Hollow Road (TH#3) bridge in Starksboro.
  • Missisquoi River: From the top of the Swanton Dam in Swanton to the top of the Enosburg Falls Dam in Enosburg Falls.
  • Moose River: From the confluence with Passumpsic River upstream to the downstream edge of the Concord Avenue bridge in St. Johnsbury.
  • Ompompanoosuc River: From the Connecticut River boundary upstream to the Union Village Dam in Thetford.
  • Otter Creek: From the Lake Champlain boundary upstream to the Danby-Mt. Tabor Forest Road bridge (Forest Road #10) in Mt. Tabor..
  • Passumpsic River: From the Connecticut River boundary upstream to the top of Arnolds Falls Dam in St. Johnsbury.
  • Waits River: From the Connecticut River boundary upstream to the top of the Central Vermont Power Dam in Bradford.
  • Walloomsac River: From the Vermont/New York border in Bennington upstream to the top of the former Vermont Tissue Plant Dam (downstream of Murphy Road) in Bennington.
  • West River: From the Connecticut River boundary upstream to the Townshend Dam in Townshend.
  • White River: From the Connecticut River boundary upstream to the bridge on Route 107 in Bethel.
  • Williams River: From the Connecticut River boundary upstream to the top of the dam at Brockway Mills Falls in Rockingham.
  • Winooski River: From the Lake Champlain boundary upstream to the VT Route 2/100 in Duxbury and Waterbury.

Additionally a section of the Walloomsac River in Bennington was also designated as a trophy trout stream with the changes and is being stocked with two-year old brown and rainbow trout – both with a daily limit of two per day.

            

Other Lake Champlain Fishing Articles:

VT Agriculture Secretary Rules on Mandatory BMPs in Missisquoi Bay Basin

Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Issues Decision on Mandatory BMPs in Missisquoi Bay Basin

Vermont’s Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Ross issued a decision last week that denied a petition from the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) to impose mandatory best management practices on farms in the Missisquoi Bay Basin. The decision did, however, direct the Agency’s Agricultural Water Quality Program to accelerate its agricultural water quality compliance and enforcement activities in the Missisquoi Bay Basin.

VT Sec’y of Agriculture Issues Decision on Mandatory BMPs in Missisquoi Bay Basin

A ‘honey wagon’ or liquid manure truck on a dairy farm near Mississquoi Bay

Last May a petition filed by the CLF sought to impose mandatory best management practices (BMPs) for water quality on farms in the Missisquoi Bay Basin that are “critical source areas” as modelled by a 2011 Lake Champlain Basin Program study. In July a public hearing on the petition was held in St. Albans, VT – that provided extensive testimony and comment. Secretary Ross considered the study a guidepost for on-going water quality work, but ruled that the data did not provide an adequate regulatory rationale to impose mandatory BMPs in Missisquoi Bay Basin.

Ross concluded that the actions sought by the CLF would not be consistent with the EPA’s continuing process for water quality improvement under the federal Clean Water Act. That process establishes a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Lake Champlain. Additionally, his decision notes that there are insufficient resources available at this time, to help the basin’s farmers to achieve compliance with mandatory BMPs, as required by state law. The full text of the decision can be accessed at: http://agriculture.vermont.gov/clf_petition

“The written decision speaks for itself. CLF’s initiative and the hearing process, in which stakeholders on all sides engaged in thoughtful and civil discourse, demonstrate why Vermont is a special place where we work together to address mutual concerns. CLF has pledged, on the record, to assist stakeholders in seeking additional resources devoted to agricultural water quality improvement.” ~ Vermont Secretary of Agriculture, Chuck Ross

Additional information, including the original hearing notice and audio files from the hearing, can be found at http://agriculture.vermont.gov/clf_petition

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