Lake Bomoseen, V Fishing Report

Name: Lake Bomoseen VT - The hunt for smallies and pike
Rating: 5

5 Rating based on 5 Reviews

Lake Bomoseen VT - The Hunt For Smallies And Pike

My family and I had our yearly week-long trip to Lake Bomoseen in Castleton, Vermont. The lake has a reputation for excellent fishing especially for small mouth and pike. Despite its good name I had difficulty bringing in fish. The weather for half the week was sunny and warm and the second half was cloudy, rainy, and cooler - which did vastly improved the fishing. We rented a 17' v-hull with a 15hp Mercury so we could really hit the sweet spots. Most of the fish we landed were hanging in about 20 to 30 feet of water right on the very edge of the weed lines.

The first day proved very frustrating with only one largemouth to show for it.

Day two was even worse. 5 minutes after dropping anchor Fish & Game showed up and sent us back to shore because I did not have a VT boaters license. I spent the next 6 hours taking the exam on my phone.

Day 3 yielded the same results with only 1 fish caught.

Wednesday, day 4, the weather turned to the low 70's with rain. The bite FINALLY turned on. I landed 10 fish in about 2 hours of fishing with the best one being a 3 pound small mouth. I lost maybe 10 fish as well. It was a welcome change to the nearly fishless previous days.

Thursday, day 5, proved to be equally good. Fishing the same spots that I had luck with the day before, I caught 5 bass including a 2.8 smallie. I tossed a crankbait parallel to a deep weed edge and got totally rocked. The drag on the reel was screaming. Whatever fish was on the line was big. I never saw it until it was too late. It was a northern pike and it must have been 30". The head of the fish broke water right next to the boat and before I could do anything about it, he shook his head, and severed the line. I don't think I've ever been so bummed out about a fish before.

Day 6 and the hunt for Essox was on. Following the advice of Muskie, I hit up an area on the northern side of the lake. It's a relatively shallow and weedy area. I bought a dozen extra large minnows, a case of beer and a fresh pack of smokes. I planned on staying there all day until I caught a gator. I didn't even get to my second beer before my slip bobber was ripped straight down into the depths. And there is was, my first ever northern pike. It weighed only 3lbs but I didn't care. I was stoked. Unfortunately the fish did not live through the fight (I'm going to head mount it and give the meat to my buddy at a Chinese restaurant). I tossed out another minnow and waited. Suddenly my rod was launched across the boat. Thankfully the reel caught on the edge of the gunwall. My rod tip was almost bent in half. I horsed the fish out the weeds and had a 7lb pike on the other end. Unfortunately I did not have my phone with me so the only picture is on a 35mm camera haha.

Needless to say the trip got better each day and my goal of getting a water wolf was met.

Oh also I watched a bald eagle swoop down and snag a trout not 15 feet from the boat. Totally badass.