Conditions on Sunday

[Angler Dan]

I will be hitting the Vine for the first time this year and bringing along a buddy who has never fished before. We are camping Saturday night and fishing on Sunday.

Our plan is to rent a boat and fish the West Shore, slowly moving along until we find the hot spot.

I am familiar with the standard techniques - we are likely going to stick with inflated nightcrawlers, powerbait and mice tails.

My biggest concern is about the conditions on Sunday. Day after a tournament means light tackle will be best for the heavily fished lake? Rain on Saturday.....shorten up the leaders for Sunday? Usually I go with 18"-24". Do I need to change that? Anything else to keep in mind after a day of rain?

Doubtful we will try to troll, but if we do, will the rental boats move slowly enough to be effective?

And if anyone else is camping, feel free to stop by the campfire. We will be the ones trying not to freeze to death. :)

Thanks for the information.

[zzzfish]

Hey Dan,

I'll be there Saturday fishing in the rain.

I would almost always go for light tackle and, in my opinion, you don't have to leave the leader that long given the water clarity but it wouldn't hurt. The rental boat can go slow enough to troll.

Jake

[Fish Bait]

Im gonna be going saturday as well and its gonna be my second time ever and im rather new to fishing kind of going just for the free reel, ive never fished in the rain or a tournament is there anything diffrent from fishing in the rain besides getting wet? I have no idea where to fish either im thinking of staying close to the docks any tips would be greatly appreciated, thanks guys

[hamdenst]

I too will be there Saturday. Any tips for fishing in the rain? Sorry to hijack the thread

[olfishergal]

wear water proof boots, lots of mud

[VineVideos]

Dan.... I was filming at the lake this afternoon. Great fishing along the west shore. Check out the stocking video I just posted. The methods you mentioned
seemed to all be working well.

I have never had a problem getting bit trolling in the rental boats. Some days better than others of course.

I just checked the NOAA weather for Silverado. Supposed to be mostly clear tonight but light rain late Saturday morning. After that it is anybody's guess.
The Weather Service missed the last three completely. But they might have this one nailed down. Gonna be wet.

This is the kind of weather you want to dress warmly because it is going to be cold; especially with any breeze.

Hope you get 'em !!

DJ

[Troutin Man]

Definitely wear your slickers and boots. It's gonna be damn cold. Keep your hands warm or it will be tough to tie knots. I wear the latex gloves when it's raining. Keeps my hands dry and it's tight enough to tie knots, put dough bait on, etc. Then use a towel to wipe your gloves off and dry. Then put them back in your slicker pockets to keep them warm.

As for the leader, I have read somewhere back in the day that after rain, go with a bit of longer leader due to possible lower clarity in water. Maybe 3 feet? But of course if they aren't biting, then change the length of your leader. I always recommend that anglers use a "Carolina Keeper" to be able to change the length of a leader with great ease.

Good luck and stay warm.

[Angler Dan]

Thanks for all the good advice, everyone. It is greatly appreciated.

My buddy may be flaking on me (I think the weather is scaring him off), so now I may not make it out there for another few weeks. But we will see.