Courtesy of Vt. Fish & Wildlife
Aiden Good of Pittsford, Vt., holds up a beautiful Vermont largemouth bass that he caught and released earlier this year. Saturday, June 13, marked the opening of Vermont’s regular bass season, which runs through Nov. 30.
RUTLAND–Vermont’s bass fishing season kicked off on Saturday, June 13, and anglers throughout the state hit their favorite body of water in search of fun and exciting fishing adventures for largemouth and smallmouth bass.
“Anglers in Vermont are fortunate to have world-class bass fishing for both species right in their backyard,” said Shawn Good, fisheries biologist with Vermont Fish & Wildlife. “From big-water angling on lakes like Champlain, Bomoseen and Memphremagog and the Connecticut River, to hundreds of smaller, untapped ponds and reservoirs, Vermont is loaded with great bass fishing for anglers of all ages.”
Vermont’s general bass season opens each year on the second Saturday in June and extends through the last day of November. Outside of those dates, anglers can fish for bass on open water on a catch-and-release basis with artificial lures and flies,and only on waters that are not seasonally closed.
“One unique thing about bass fishing in Vermont, compared to many other states, is the sheer amount of quality, unpressured fish,” said Good. “You may find some larger fish in the southern and western parts of the country where growing seasons are longer, but for numbers of solid, two to four-pound bass that haven’t seen much fishing pressure, a lot of Vermont water-bodies are tough to beat.”
Vermont’s bass fishing has received national attention in a variety of fishing publications in recent years, and bass-rich Lake Champlain has become a favorite of touring bass professionals. In late 2014, World Fishing Network named Lake Champlain one of the seven best smallmouth bass lakes in North America. The renowned fishing media outlet went on to characterize Lake Champlain as “perhaps the best lake in all of North America for both quality largemouth and smallmouth bass.”
“There’s no question that Lake Champlain hosts a very special bass fishery, probably one of the best in the world,” said Good. “However, there’s tons of other water-bodies that might not get the attention, but can be just as good, if not better, simply because those bass populations don’t get much fishing pressure.”
“Bass fishing is a great way to get out and enjoy Vermont’s great outdoors and nothing can beat a tasty meal of fresh, locally-caught fish,” Good said. He noted that smaller, younger bass, which are also much more abundant, are generally better eating compared to bigger, older fish.
Anglers heading out on the water to fish for bass this season should be sure to reference all fishing regulations, including harvest and size limits, applicable to the waters they are fishing. Vermont’s fishing regulations can be found in the 2015 Vermont Fish & Wildlife law digest available at district offices and authorized license dealers, or online.
For more information visit www.vtfishandwildlife.com.
