Hot Smallmouth Bass Spots |
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| 1 - Shorline north of Mud Point, Alburg, VT; This area is good catch and release territory from late april to mid June when spawners hit the shorelines. Later as water warms fish north toward Windmill Point Reef. In fall fish are in 12 to 20 feet of water off channel ledges. Try bumping jigs down the drop offs. 2 - Point Au Fer Reef, Cooperville, NY; Fish the shallow rocky areas of the reef from open season through the summer until weeds choke up casting ranges. Move into deeper water of the channel during deep summer and return to edges of weedbeds and cabbage patches in the fall. 3 - Trombley Bay, Chazy Landing, NY; Early summer and late fall are the seasons to try the points and shoreline of this excellent bay. Check rocky areas around point just south of the cemetery. In the fall go to the north end of Trombley Bay and try the flat rocks just south of Trembleau Point (look for a big bolder on the point). 4 - Horseshoe shoal, Isle la Motte, VT; A number of small reefs dot is area of the lake making it a good smallmouth area during early summer as water warms fish go deeper and can be caught with schools of perch off Cloak Island and the Isle la Motte Head. Again in fall, try jigging the various reefs in the area. 5 - St. Albans Bay, St. Albans VT; There are plenty of big smallies in this bay! Fish the inner bay early in the season and move out to reefs and islands off Hathaway Point as water warms to upper 60s. Work the ledges off Ball Island in the deep summer. 6 - Long Point, Point Au Roche, NY; This point offers great smallmouth structure. Fish the west side leading into Deep Bay early in the season. Later in August, as water temps peek and then begin to decline, look for bass on the outer reef near the red bouy. If fish are hard to locate, try looking a short distance to the west where there are a few more humps worth checking out. These three small reefs are marked by a green bouy. 7 - Savage Island, Milton, VT; The shorline of this inland sea island is usually productive smallmouth territory. I have caught a number of dandy fish off the northeast and northwest corners. Move south to the next spot on the list if fish are hard to locate. 8 - Fish Bladder Island. Later in the year as water begins to cool try this and Cedar Island for fish returning from the depths. 9 - Valcour Island, Peru, NY; The shorelines around Valcour and Crab islands are perfect smallmouth habitat. As fall approaches, I like fishing jigs on the reefs between the islands or along outside (northeast) island shorelines. 10 - Providence Island, South Hero, VT; Like Valcour on the NY side, Providence Island offers great weedy and rocky bass structure allowing access to deep water and bigger fish. The northwest and southwest shorelines are a good bet in late summer and early fall. In spring and summer move east to the next hot spot... 11 - Weed beds east of Providence Island, South Hero, VT; Check the weedy flats and their southerly drop offs between Carltons Prize and the "cut" in the Colchester Causeway. Bass often hang where the soft bottom of the flats quickly drops away into deeper water. 12 - Malletts Head, Malletts Bay, VT; I placed this spot just west of the Malletts Head as a starting point. Here I recommend fishing slowly south and then west following the shoreline along Thayer Beach to Porter Point. If fished thoroughly, this should take several hours. Work shallower water in spring and early summer. Look for the two small reefs in this area. Try the soft bottom drop offs as water warms and continue fishing the same ledges into fall. 13 - Westport, NY; The north shore of this bay provides some steep rocky ledges and humps where bass hangout. Move into the bay toward the boat launch if the ledges don't produce. 14 - Crown Point Bridge, Crown Point, NY; The structure around the bridge and adjacent shoreline can be fished throughout the season. |
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