AnglerBob
05-22-2009, 09:37 AM
Hit up the upper lake today, striper fishing 7:30-1:30 from a rental. I was delighted to find that the aging rental fleet has been given new Tohatsu 8-horse motors, and they FLY!
Those of you who’ve read any of my previous striper trip reports can attest that they’re often lacking something. Specifically, stripers. I’d begin the day with the confident gusto and an onboard tackle shore, but return home reeking of failure and sun-ripened anchovies. Today proved to be an exception though, as the little guys were on the chew near the end of the Ski Arm.
In the early morning I worked down the west canyon walls approaching the end dam there (buoy line is gone), drifting for nada, although the meter marks were insane. I headed across the dam to the cove on the opposite (east) shore and had a few hits, so I decided to anchor up and picked up a few small fish.
Later in the morning, I moved back outside the cove just past the mouth, and this was where all the action was. As the wind picked up, the stripers grew more active and I landed 9-10 small fish, biggest maybe a bit over a pound, on anchovies. What they lacked in size, they made up in number, spirit and willingness to eat seriously defrosted, mushy and oderiferous pieces of bait.
The fish were all caught in around 40-60 feet of water, most on the bottom, but a few on flylined chunks. Stripers love to grab a sinking bait, so re-casting every few minutes gets more hits than bait-and-wait. Quick tip for those of you who like to fish stripers from a rental: invest in a proper Danforth anchor from a marine store and 150’ or so of line so you can anchor in some of the deepest parts of a lake where striper fishing can be at its best. This really made the difference for me today. The fish really wouldn’t bite on the drift and I don’t know if was the motion or the trolling motor they didn’t like, but staying put was the key.
Around mid-morning, the northwest corner of the dam began boiling in a fury; perhaps this is where water enters from the duct? I’d think this would be an awesome spot, but I don’t know how close you could safely get.
Back at the ramp, guys on shore were wacking freshly-planted DFG trout, so that could be where all the BIG stripers are. Get out there today and catch some fish before the summer weekend rush starts! (Sorry for the lack of photos, forgot the camera today.)
Those of you who’ve read any of my previous striper trip reports can attest that they’re often lacking something. Specifically, stripers. I’d begin the day with the confident gusto and an onboard tackle shore, but return home reeking of failure and sun-ripened anchovies. Today proved to be an exception though, as the little guys were on the chew near the end of the Ski Arm.
In the early morning I worked down the west canyon walls approaching the end dam there (buoy line is gone), drifting for nada, although the meter marks were insane. I headed across the dam to the cove on the opposite (east) shore and had a few hits, so I decided to anchor up and picked up a few small fish.
Later in the morning, I moved back outside the cove just past the mouth, and this was where all the action was. As the wind picked up, the stripers grew more active and I landed 9-10 small fish, biggest maybe a bit over a pound, on anchovies. What they lacked in size, they made up in number, spirit and willingness to eat seriously defrosted, mushy and oderiferous pieces of bait.
The fish were all caught in around 40-60 feet of water, most on the bottom, but a few on flylined chunks. Stripers love to grab a sinking bait, so re-casting every few minutes gets more hits than bait-and-wait. Quick tip for those of you who like to fish stripers from a rental: invest in a proper Danforth anchor from a marine store and 150’ or so of line so you can anchor in some of the deepest parts of a lake where striper fishing can be at its best. This really made the difference for me today. The fish really wouldn’t bite on the drift and I don’t know if was the motion or the trolling motor they didn’t like, but staying put was the key.
Around mid-morning, the northwest corner of the dam began boiling in a fury; perhaps this is where water enters from the duct? I’d think this would be an awesome spot, but I don’t know how close you could safely get.
Back at the ramp, guys on shore were wacking freshly-planted DFG trout, so that could be where all the BIG stripers are. Get out there today and catch some fish before the summer weekend rush starts! (Sorry for the lack of photos, forgot the camera today.)