Lakes Diamond Lake Fishing Reports

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Diamond Lake Charlie
I think Diamond lake is coming back, not mine but we got some close.
 
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Ultramepps
Monsters....
Diamond Lake Charlie said:
I think Diamond is coming back, not mine but we got some close.
 
troutdude
troutdude
Crikey!!!
 
D
Diamond Lake Charlie
A few years ago those were not uncommon, I was up with my wife one day and she did two of them back to back. Diamond can be very very nice to fish. One year I kept NOTHING under 17 inches and still limited out.
 
G
Gulfstream
How are the campgrounds there?
 
D
Diamond Lake Charlie
I have never used them, however one of my brohers camped there a few years ago and what I saw was pretty nice. They have a separate camp sight for just motor homes and if I am correct there are 4 separate camp grounds now. There are times of the year when the skeeters are bad and if you have a boat with a cover on it Dry sheets hanging inside the cabin works pretty well. Diamond is only about a90 minute drive for me and I drive like a very old man when I have my boat on. I think it is 60 or 62 miles from my home. One thing I know for sure is if I had two tow rigs I would not hesitate to take my camp trailer up, 19 ft cougar with slide out.
 
4labs
4labs
Friend called and said he needed to get away for the day. Pheasants coming to the ranch and guided hunts starting plus a lot of other stuff with cattle and sheep so I told him the options and he choose Diamond.
Knew the wind would be bad but started off decent. First couple of fish in the cooler in 10mins then nothing but 6-8 inch planters all day maybe 20 or more. Brads silver with dots and a nightcrawler inside. Trolled until 2pm with only 4 keepers.
Its all powerbait fishing and anchored up. Those that bait fished limited. Water 62 and temp about the same. Water is blue but a lot of small algae floating.
Lots of lakeside camp sites open , no bugs and all ramps still have docks. Water level still good.
Will be back just before the first snow when they are on the surface feeding.
Pics are only to show no snow left on any peaks anywhere .. not good.
 
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Mister Bisley
We had a great day out on Diamond Lake on Friday 09/14. Not smoky at all on the lake, but there was a little haze out in the distance. We started around 1PM and the water was quite choppy from wind when we were leaving the marina and there were actually white caps across the lake.

By the time we got to the South End, wind started to subside and by 3pm the lake was still again. It turned out to be a fantastic day, even though our party only pulled in two Rainbows, both were caught by yours truly :thumb:

A 14" caught on a blue Panther Martin spinner and a 16" caught on chartreuse Power Bait. Here are some pics of the day....enjoy!
 
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troutdude
troutdude
Excellent report and nice fish!
 
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Gulfstream
Nice! How were the mosquitoes?
 
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Mister Bisley
Gulfstream;n613942 said:
Nice! How were the mosquitoes?

Non-existent. From what I understand, they typically disappear around mid-August after the standing water from snow melt dries up and the nights get cooler. Over the years, I have been there a bunch in August and September and only saw a few on one trip in early August.
 
4labs
4labs
Ran up to Diamond to clear and cold start. (930am). 2 trailers at the ramp. Only ramp open is by the lodge. Started off with 2 downriggers @ 15 ft and 2 longlines @120ft back. No hits or saw anything on the north side. A lot of floating weeds that made trolling "interesting". Nothing for 2hrs not even a hit.
Finally 2 on the west side just above the weed line.
Gave up on trolling and did powerbait, went to the south end by the market nothing. Ran over to the west side where a guy was flyfishing and still nothing on powerbait.
Getting dark so longlined in towards the ramp then got 3 in 20 mins. Would have gotten my 2nd limit but had the worst tangled up mess of the day
A fun day no one around no wind and warm in the afternoon.
Water temp 45. Didn't have a vehicle behind me on the way up for 60miles . Icy road above 3500ft. 1st time I've ever fish diamond this time of yr without snow on the ground.
 
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Gulfstream
Looks like a beautiful day What's up with the tangle?
 
4labs
4labs
Gulfstream;n614628 said:
Looks like a beautiful day What's up with the tangle?

Had 3 longlines out when the bigger fish ran across all 3and then back. tangled up the braid into a birds nest. Sometimes I really hate braid.
 
G
Gulfstream
that is true
 
D
Diamond Lake Charlie
I don't know how you fish with power bait but you may give this a try. I use what is called an ajusta a bubble. It will slide on your line and you can fill it full of water. Depending on how deep you are fishing you will want to adjust your leader length. I.e. if you are in 6 ft then maybe 2 ft of leader and if you are in 20 ft plus then 4 to 6 ft of leader. If you have depth/fish finder I like to set my bait at about the middle of where the fish are hanging. If I don't have a bite in about 10-15 minutes I change something. If I don't have a fish in an hour I move my boat, it may be only a few feet but I move. I also fish with three anchors to help control the wind swing. If the fish are biting really lite you may want to use a small treble. There are a few things nice about this system, with the bobber full of water you have a good casting weight, it will place your bait above the weed line as it does not sink like a lead weight does and you don't have set a hook. Once you have put it out, leave a small belly in your line, set you pole in the holder and leave it alone,DO NOT SET THE HOOK as the fish will do that for you. Leave you pole alone until the fish tries to pull you pole over the side. I usually wait until the second time. I have used this system for many years and never set a hook and I am not saying it is really great but my 5 year old grandson caught and reeled in 17 fish one day with the average size of 16 inches. you will find most of the hook ups will be in the throat so if you don't want the fish don't even take it out of the water and you may want to revive it before letting it loose. When I was fishing a lot I did over 400 fish in 3 years and that was with a 5 fish limit and only 2 in the boat. That included the ones we let go. If you decide to do this with trebels have an ample supply. I also sharpen my single hooks. In the shallows I also look for a spot with no weeds, move to the edge of it and cast into the bare spot. It works for me.
 
4labs
4labs
Thanks Charlie.
That's totally different from how I was shown to use PB. A corky and sliding weight is the way I've tried with little success. A friend uses your method with a night crawler and does well.
So you must use a split shot in line to keep the PB form floating to the surface or is the hook enough weight and how much bait do you roll onto the hook say the size of a dime or smaller and does the color really matter?
I need to spend more time using PB just don't have the patience
Guys at Crane Prairie do well on it also latter in the season.
Thanks again.
 
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Diamond Lake Charlie
I don't use any lead at all, the ajusta bubble and the weight of the hook are enough to keep the power bait down and the main purpose is to get ABOVE the weeds. Lead has a tendency to pull the bait down into the weeds where it is hard to find. Once the bubble hits the water the only weight is the bubble itself which in water is really light. Before I bait up I roll a dab of power bait in my hands as it tends to eliminate the human smell and I toss that away. Then I put on just enough power bait to cover the hook and NO MORE. If you put on to much power bait the hooks can pull out without hooking up. Here is what I do, I put the bubble full of water with no air bubbles in it above my swivel as I use a 6lb main line that way I can use a lighter leader if I want which is normally 3 or 4 lb. and depending on how deep I am I have my leader and then the hook. I have seen as little as 6 inches in difference of leader length make a difference. Once I am baited up I put out in the water and after it sinks down I leave a belly in the line and I DON'T even touch the pole till the fish sets the hook, then I just reel it in. They will drive you nuts just watching the line, I have had them tease me by just moving the line but not bumping it, I have had them swim from one end to the other with out a bump and I have had them jumping out of the water with the bobber chasing them and never bump the line. However once you get into them it can be fast action especially if you have a two pole license. I have a friend who could not catch a fish on power bait then I taught him my system and one year it took out a bunch of friends, in middle July made two trips, and did 6 or 7 limits in one day. He uses basically the same system except he does not use a swivel and the bubble has surgical tubing in it and he just twists it so it does not slide and he adjusts his leader that way. If you are not sure give me a pm and we can swap phone numbers and I can answer any and all of your questions or if you want maybe we can meet at Diamond in the spring and we can go out. I am a lazy fisher but I do catch a few. My shortest limit time for two people is one hour. One thing that may help you is trout are hunters and the hunt from below, like a salmon does, they can look up but have a tough time looking down so you will want to keep your bait at there level or just above it. So lets say you are fishing in 15 feet of water and the fish are hanging at 12 ft then you want your bait at 10 to 12 feet so they can see it easier. If your bait is down around 13 to 14 feet they have to hunt for it instead of being able to see it and come up for it. If a fish has full stomach they may not hunt, but if they can see it and it is easy they may take it just cause they can. Kind of like a dog, they may be full but they will still take a snack just out of habit and cause they can.
 
4labs
4labs
Thanks again. probably the best info I've gotten in yrs . Will try it out next yr unless the winter continues this course. Will wright this down and keep it in the boat. Will even tell the wife to read it also. A couple I talked to at Lemolo limited out in 1hr last summer on PB too. I'm retired so we will have to get together next spring.
Thanks
Mark
 
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Diamond Lake Charlie
That will work. like you I am retired, or retarded never could figure out the difference. Except for my time in the service I have fished Diamond since at least 56. Doesn't mean I know how just means I have spent a lot of lazy time on the water. I own a 2012 Duckworth Navigator 18' with rag top on it. I don't like getting sunburnt anymore.
 
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