12/13 report

[hooks]

The water temp. was 58 and went to 60. Hit the water and headed down toward the damn. Hardly anyone here compared to Friday. The water was like glass (something I don't see much at the vine). Under these conditions, I noticed the lake has vast areas of what appeared to be motor oil covering much of the lake surface. The patches appear as brown slicks from a distance but don't look dark up close. I wonder if this is because of heavy boat traffic or or all the speed boats racing around. Maybe someone dumbed a bunch of oil in the water. I've noticed a fair number of dead coots floating around the lake also. Something or someone is killing them.
On to the fishing. I trolled most of the day. I didn't see any bait fishermen catching anything. Power bait and night crawlers had no effect at all.
I'm beginning to think the trout are keying on the massive schools of shad now.
I did manage 3 fish, the biggest being about 4.5 pounds. For the 3rd trip in a row, I lost huge fish trolling (2 yesterday). So if anyone catches thoses giants with my rapalas hanging out of their mouths, I'd like them back (JK).
tight lines....:Twisted:

[TaperSteve]

Gotta make sure you have that drag dialed in so you dont lose any big ones. Way to get on the fish again. Good luck landing the big one next time.

TS

[Señor.Chilax]

Another one that got away, sorry to hear that. Thanks for the report.

[hooks]

My friend was suppose to meet me there but didn't show. I left one of my heavier trolling poles at home to save space(stupid).
I was forced to use one of my 6 pound set ups to troll. The heavier pole worked well as did the other (except for the really big fish). I lost the big fish of 6 pound (never again). The drag was okay also, there was no way I could of landed those big ones on 6, (ain't happening).

[TaperSteve]

Anything over 6lb test is too much for trout. You can get away with using 6lb test when trolling but baitdunkers shouldnt be using anything over 4lb test. Last years 17lb lake record steelhead at the Vine was landed on my friends rig from shore using 2lb test. The heavier lb test your using the lower your overall fish count is going to be, big or small ones...

TS

[hooks]

Anything over 6lb test is too much for trout. You can get away with using 6lb test when trolling but baitdunkers shouldnt be using anything over 4lb test. Last years 17lb lake record steelhead at the Vine was landed on my friends rig from shore using 2lb test. The heavier lb test your using the lower your overall fish count is going to be, big or small ones...

TS

Ummm okay, I disagree but to each his own....

[Trout 1]

Anything over 6lb test is too much for trout. You can get away with using 6lb test when trolling but baitdunkers shouldnt be using anything over 4lb test. Last years 17lb lake record steelhead at the Vine was landed on my friends rig from shore using 2lb test. The heavier lb test your using the lower your overall fish count is going to be, big or small ones...

TS

Totally agree! I jig 99% of the time and if i use 4lb test i get less fish than when im using 2lb test. You just have to use your drag and play the fish, dont horse them in.

Andrew

[MAVERICK27]

I never troll less than 6 lb...no reason to. Fish don't get line shy when the lure is going 1.8 mph and higher. same reason I catch trout on 14lb tossing lures, same theory. I'd have to say, for baitfishing and jigging....4lb or less. But yeah, to each his own for sure. Ive seen fish caught on 20lb at Irvine and just shrugged lol. Not being able to land a big trout trolling deep water on 6 lb test? Hmmmm....

[TaperSteve]

Just trying to help you get on more fish and land that big one next time hooks, def not trying to bust your b****. Hopefully next time you're posting a report with a pic of you holding a DD lunker. Like T1 said, dont try and horse your fish in. Let your drag/reel do what it was made to do. Good luck next time!

TS

[TaperSteve]

When I first started trolling I had no clue what I was doing. I was trolling with a bass rod with black braided line with no leader and still caught some fish. When using smaller lb test line will count is on those heavily pressured week/weekends when you have 100 boats all dragging the same lures multiple days in a row. I wish I had GPS on my boat so I can check my speeds when trolling because like Mav said when you go over a certain speed trolling what lb test your using doesnt matter as much. Its a matter of what the fish are biting on that day really. For me its a guessing game. If the bite is slow I might speed up alittle or slow down some. Experiment till you find what they their hitting on that day. Its also possible to catch trout drifting countdowns.

TS

[tinfish]

Hi Steve...do you mean literally drifting in a stiff wind so they troll or are you drifting and casting?

[hooks]

It's all good,
My troll speed is 1.8 mph too. I usually won't troll with anything less then 8 and have been using 10 to 20 lately and it works great. My drags are in free spool with the clickers on while trollling. After a hook up, I'll engage the gear with about 6 pounds of drag. Enough to put the hurt on the fish but not enough to pop or straighten the hook.:Thumbs Up:
I bait fish six pound and don't find any difference with lighter line. Either the fish are hungry and biting or their not. Trout aren't the smartest of fish.
Some folks may not believe some of my claims of hooked fish but they are true. I just try pass on some my experiences here. I've hooked monster cats on PB at the vine in years past.
Rumor has it the vine is going to be getting some water real soon. Sierra cove will be the hot spot VERY soon !!! :Secret:
I just restocked my ravaged rapala collection and may hit the Vine again in the morn' if it ain't a pourin'. I will get one of these DDs soon...:Cold Fishing:
tight lines...

[Surfer]

This might be a stupid question but is a 45lb thrust trolling motor fast enough to troll for trout at the Vine?

[hooks]

Depends on what it's pushing.....
The wind can be a factor too.

[Rooster]

Something you should consider that most trollers are not aware of. When trolling Cranks, The heavier the line the less depth the lure will go.
For example, a lure that's running 10 feet on 10 pound test will run at 12 feet on eight pound test, but only 5 feet on 17 pound test line.

[TaperSteve]

Hi Steve...do you mean literally drifting in a stiff wind so they troll or are you drifting and casting?

Yeah drifting when the wind is blowing and just using your trolling motor to keep yourself straight. There was an article about a year ago in Fish Taco Magazine called something like "Drifting for Trout at the Vine". The person who wrote the article tells a story about a line he accidentaly left out one day and he was just drifting in the wind when his line got hit. The guy then started expermenting with what had happened and had soon found a new and productive way to catch trout. Sometimes when I troll ill go so slow im barely moving. It all depends what the fish want that day, fast moving bait, slow moving bait, so on...


This might be a stupid question but is a 45lb thrust trolling motor fast enough to troll for trout at the Vine?

Im guessing your motor has 5 foward speeds so there should be atleast 1-2 of those speeds you can use for trolling if not all 5. Again it depends whats working that day.


Something you should consider that most trollers are not aware of. When trolling Cranks, The heavier the line the less depth the lure will go.
For example, a lure that's running 10 feet on 10 pound test will run at 12 feet on eight pound test, but only 5 feet on 17 pound test line.

Also the action of some lures isnt as good on heavier lb test.

TS

[MAVERICK27]

I believe ya Hooks. I stopped alot of my use of light line a while back. Don't worry, you'll whack that DD soon, perhaps tomorrow!

Rooster, great point! Especially if mono is used, as we know it floats. Lead core is also an under-used trolling tool at the Vine. There has been many days where nobody was getting action, but the lead core hammered them. The secret lies in where the bulk of the fish are suspending around the lake. Pay attention to your graph on the first passes and adjust the gear to target that depth...Instead of guessing and dragging random lures around all day. :)