So, I've been itching to give this cutt fishery a shot. I've been getting everything together and getting the boat ready, but my outboard won't start and is taking way to long in the shop. Today I decided that I couldn't wait anymore. I strapped on the Minn Kota and trolled right out from the dock. I trolled south from Magnuson park down in to the bay in front of Windermere Park. It was fairly windy and pretty hard to keep my little aluminum pointed up in to the wind so I started out moving between depths quite a bit. I wasn't having much luck for the first hour I was out, but when I made a turn and started heading back north with my downrigger down about 40 feet I started getting in to a bit shallower water. I hooked my first fish right on the bottom in forty feet of water with a wedding ring + gulp worms. I had tried a lot of other stuff, flatfish, needlefish, etc., without any luck. Now, I think it was probably my own fault, having been very used to fishing for chinook with 20# test leaders, but just when I could see the flash of the fish my 6# leader snapped. So, on my first shot at a LW cutt I pretty much blew it. Circled around and continued trolling a new wedding ring along the bottom. Had a pop off but nothing was there. Then in about the same spot as I hooked the first fish I hooked another. This one was smaller than the first, probably 13". I grabbed the net and just before I got it under the fish the little bugger shook off. Didn't get any more hits after that. So, it was a little frustrating my first time out for cutts, but I was very excited that I actually found a few so close to my house. I'll be out tomorrow morning to give it another shot. Hopefully I can boat a fish this time. I'm hooked.

P.S. any tips on what to use this time of year or how deep to look?

The Quadfather

10/5/2008 9:48:00 PM

Oh man!!! your killin' me. I've been outa town for the weekend. I am off tommorrow and not sure where to go. Give me a holler when you want to try it.

G-Man

10/6/2008 9:24:00 AM

Bro-Rando, depending on what type of rod, reel and line you are using you may need to invest in a small rubber snubber to help absorb some of the shock during the fight. I use a very limber rod and a reel with a good drag when fishing for cutts and kokes and helps limit the number of fish I lose. Also, this time of year the surface temps are cooler and the fish don't tire as easily so you'll need to play them a bit more before netting. Keep the rod tip down, under the water if need be, to stop them from thrashing about on the surface as this is when they usually shake the hook or cut the line with their nasty teeth. This time of year the fish can be found almost anywhere in the water column. I saw fish feeding on the surface Sunday and caught them between 25' and 55', learn how to find the thermocline using your fish finder and target that. Marc Martyn, has a great article under the features tab on this site to help understand the thermocline and how to find it. I normally use spoons when fishing for cutts, but have caught them on flatfish and small hotshots as well. Oddly, I've tried larger lures and spoons to try and entice the larger fish without much luck. I know other folks use spinners with great success, I just feel more comfortable using the small spoons but I also experiment quite a bit. Believe me you did great, most folks go several trips before hooking into these fish. Keep it up!

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