B
bernduffy
Late arrival at 9am revealed nearly pea soup fog conditions. Visibility at one point was maybe 30 yards. Water temp 59. When fog burned off we had one of the most beautiful fall days imaginable. Blue skies; amazing cloud formations. That fresh autumn air. Very comfortable temps. Just good to be alive, y'know what I mean?
I am still marking good numbers of large trout, especially in the deeper parts of the old channel. They seem to be 20-40 feet down. I caught four legals 8-12" and a half dozen sub legals. Again, I could not seem to keep the little guys off the hook after 5pm. Kinda frustrating. Champ rig of the day: Silver trout killer with e-chip tipped with worm chunk and Berkley crappie nibble, trailing a willow nickel/brass lake troll with 1oz banana weight. Lots of zig-zagging, speed changes and occasional brief cranks seemed to get notice. Once you get a bump/nibble/drive-by, make a brief change in direction, speed or depth, then be patient: that fish is still watching.
Biggest excitement of the day was a tremendous strike that bent rod in half. I set hook with a lip-rippin' pull...began reeling in and had strong play from the monster for about ten seconds...then nothing. Reeled in a broken 8# leader. This is the second time this scenario has played out. It's also what keeps me coming back. As God and OFF are my witness: I will land one of these big trout by season's end. (I probably just jinxed myself...)
About twenty boats, hardly any bankers. The fish are too far out for them. Until the brooders arrive: they cruise the shallows. Everyone I spoke to connected with medium sized trout or bass, but it took time. This is a very patient fishery at this point.
Cheers,
Bernie
I am still marking good numbers of large trout, especially in the deeper parts of the old channel. They seem to be 20-40 feet down. I caught four legals 8-12" and a half dozen sub legals. Again, I could not seem to keep the little guys off the hook after 5pm. Kinda frustrating. Champ rig of the day: Silver trout killer with e-chip tipped with worm chunk and Berkley crappie nibble, trailing a willow nickel/brass lake troll with 1oz banana weight. Lots of zig-zagging, speed changes and occasional brief cranks seemed to get notice. Once you get a bump/nibble/drive-by, make a brief change in direction, speed or depth, then be patient: that fish is still watching.
Biggest excitement of the day was a tremendous strike that bent rod in half. I set hook with a lip-rippin' pull...began reeling in and had strong play from the monster for about ten seconds...then nothing. Reeled in a broken 8# leader. This is the second time this scenario has played out. It's also what keeps me coming back. As God and OFF are my witness: I will land one of these big trout by season's end. (I probably just jinxed myself...)
About twenty boats, hardly any bankers. The fish are too far out for them. Until the brooders arrive: they cruise the shallows. Everyone I spoke to connected with medium sized trout or bass, but it took time. This is a very patient fishery at this point.
Cheers,
Bernie
