Boldfin
09-07-2010, 09:16 PM
What a weird weather season this has been. I thought I'd be chasing exotics on the local banks, but instead I'm chasing boils on the lake. Not that I'm complaining...
Hit the lake at opening, and searched the coves for signs of shad. We don't dip 'em, but we do have flies that imitate them. Found a cove with boils, and a fellow angler who'd given up after trying with artificials was on his way out. He told us the only way to get bit was to cast right on boiling fish. No blind strikes.
I watched the pattern of the boiling fish for a while before positioning the boat so as to set up in a good spot to make fly casts. First I just wanted to get bit, so I selected a small Zara Spook and tied it on my conventional rig with 6lb and waited for a boil. A few other boats pulled in. They were dipping shad, and getting bit instantly by very small stripers and 2-3lb largemouth.
I cast the spook on a few boils, but didn't quite hit the target. My spook was ignored. Then I cast on a boil across the cove. Shad were getting tossed in the air, and a fish knocked my spook clear up onto the bank. I jerked it back into the water, and got hit instantly. It must have been a real small striper, because my hookset sent it flying back towards me. It came unbuttoned mid-air.
A bigger boil erupted right off my stern, and I made a perfect cast. My spook was inhaled and taken under. This fish gave me a decent tussle. A green bass! It was good to get something on topwater...
I put the convetnional rig down, and started chucking the shad fly. No love... Several other boats had moved in, and the boils were few and far between. I decided to move.
Cruised around for some time, until I spotted some boils back deep in Elizabeth. It was now nearing mid-day, and the last bit of shade was rapidly disappearing along the rocky wall where the fish were boiling. I chucking the fly into the shade and let it sink for a ten count. Two strips, and I was on. Another Largemouth...
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s163/Boldfin/Castaic/P9060855.jpg
Further casting into the shady spots did not produce results, so we moved yet again. Didn't meter any bait or predators on the points, or in other coves. Looked like it was going to be quitting time, but decided to give the area near the main ramp a try.
There were boats launching and sending huge wakes at us left and right, but there were signs of life in the structure spots, so I had to give it a try. A few casts later I had another hookup on the shad fly. This one put on a show for me, leaping a couple feet in the air. For a small bass, it sure was chunky. They've definitely been eating well.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s163/Boldfin/Castaic/P9060856.jpg
Decided to call it a day not long after that. I left satisfied with my results for a busy holiday weekend.
Hit the lake at opening, and searched the coves for signs of shad. We don't dip 'em, but we do have flies that imitate them. Found a cove with boils, and a fellow angler who'd given up after trying with artificials was on his way out. He told us the only way to get bit was to cast right on boiling fish. No blind strikes.
I watched the pattern of the boiling fish for a while before positioning the boat so as to set up in a good spot to make fly casts. First I just wanted to get bit, so I selected a small Zara Spook and tied it on my conventional rig with 6lb and waited for a boil. A few other boats pulled in. They were dipping shad, and getting bit instantly by very small stripers and 2-3lb largemouth.
I cast the spook on a few boils, but didn't quite hit the target. My spook was ignored. Then I cast on a boil across the cove. Shad were getting tossed in the air, and a fish knocked my spook clear up onto the bank. I jerked it back into the water, and got hit instantly. It must have been a real small striper, because my hookset sent it flying back towards me. It came unbuttoned mid-air.
A bigger boil erupted right off my stern, and I made a perfect cast. My spook was inhaled and taken under. This fish gave me a decent tussle. A green bass! It was good to get something on topwater...
I put the convetnional rig down, and started chucking the shad fly. No love... Several other boats had moved in, and the boils were few and far between. I decided to move.
Cruised around for some time, until I spotted some boils back deep in Elizabeth. It was now nearing mid-day, and the last bit of shade was rapidly disappearing along the rocky wall where the fish were boiling. I chucking the fly into the shade and let it sink for a ten count. Two strips, and I was on. Another Largemouth...
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s163/Boldfin/Castaic/P9060855.jpg
Further casting into the shady spots did not produce results, so we moved yet again. Didn't meter any bait or predators on the points, or in other coves. Looked like it was going to be quitting time, but decided to give the area near the main ramp a try.
There were boats launching and sending huge wakes at us left and right, but there were signs of life in the structure spots, so I had to give it a try. A few casts later I had another hookup on the shad fly. This one put on a show for me, leaping a couple feet in the air. For a small bass, it sure was chunky. They've definitely been eating well.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s163/Boldfin/Castaic/P9060856.jpg
Decided to call it a day not long after that. I left satisfied with my results for a busy holiday weekend.