My plans for a dawn patrol were thwarted by my 11 month old’s new tooth, so I ended up launching my kayak at 2pm in 5-10mph winds with ugly skies spitting rain.
Before I continue, I have to mention that an anonymous fellow fisherman left me an Easter present in the way of a fully paid parking receipt at the parking machine at the launch. Whoever you were, thanks! I owe you a beer.
Now, having primarily been a fly chucker for the last 13 years, I am still at the beginning of the learning curve for fishing lakes with spinning gear and a fish finder (Eagle Cuda 350s with GPS). So by no means does my no-fish day mean the fishing couldn't have been better.
Having read past reports on the lake, I decided kokanee would be my target, and set up one pole with mini-dodger (white with green stripe) with a wedding ring and white corn kernel trailing. The other pole I set with a another dodger (pearl with pink stripe) with a small squid and white corn kernel behind.
I set out in search of sonar pings, and was surprised to see nothing on my screen from the dock on the west side of the lake to the east side of the lake where I planned to start my troll. Not a one. I found this a bit odd. Regardless, I began my troll (1-1.5mph) heading north on the east side. Mid-way up the lake, I encounter fish jumping all around me, so I shortened my lines for a shallower troll and continued on.
After 30 minutes I had no hits on the green wedding ring, so I changed out to pink, and continued the hunt.
I worked different depths, water column heights, and lures for the next 2 hours with the only mention of fish coming from my finder. All fish pinged, except those at the surface, were shown hugging the bottom.
Overall, a good day to practice using the finder, and with the wind, I got a great workout in the yak.
Next time it'll be better!

Idstud

4/26/2011 6:00:00 AM

Not sure what corn you were using but white shoe peg by green giant works best. Found at Safeway,walmart and now at Gregs custom rods. I use 4/0 flashers/dodgers and swing blades. 50/50 color works good. Rseas has some great reports and blogs on what he uses. Good luck. You can even try some small pink or red flys. Tight lines

lifeisyellow

4/26/2011 4:17:00 PM

Idstud, thanks for the tip on the corn. Who knew a specific type/brand would work better? I was using fresh, right off the cob.
I've picked up a couple 50/50's and a couple different squid patterns to try, too. One question I have for you or anyone else, is what type of weight should I be using to get this rig a little deeper? Any info is appreciated.

G-Man

4/26/2011 4:39:00 PM

Lifeisyellow - you mentioned that you were a fly chucker for quite some time so that means you should have some old school kokanee gear at your finger tips. Grab your 5 to 6 weight rod and fill a spare spool with leaded line and about 30 feet of 6lb or 8lb leader. Attach your terminal tackle and run one color for every 5' you want to go down, simple! The other method I would suggest is the use of snap weights. Not only can you vary the size of the weight you can also change where you attach it to your line. Check out this link for more details. http://www.offshoretackle.com/graphics/instructionsheets/OR20%20Snap%20Weight%20System%20Instructions.pdf
You don't need the whole kit, just buy a couple of the special snaps (see below) and use your own weights!
Snap weight clips - http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/trolling-equipment/023072893165.aspx

Leave a Comment:

Login

Flag

×

Why is this comment inappropriate?

Close Submit

Delete this comment? Provide reason.

No Yes

Edit

×

Cancel Save