JAG107
08-19-2014, 07:27 PM
I needed to test the Trophy out after doing my annual service (oil, lower unit, impeller) and wanted to test out the new 4 blade stainless prop before heading up to the Loop for Labor Day, so what better way to do that than hit up the Wood for some striper meat?
Started off in Miller as usual, and didn't have any marks for the first hour. There was another boat trolling the same area, only they were laying hate to the smaller schoolie models on what appeared to be toplined crankbaits (never saw or asked what they were using). Having my usual arsenal of scrounger flukes on the downrig setup, I began to question if that was going to work. I usually always nail at least one in Millers right away, so what's going on? I made another pass close to the buoy line, and WHAM! SPLASH! Holy hell this is no schoolie! I could hardly gain any line! A few minutes later, I found out why:
http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/attachment.php?attachmentid=44833&d=1408500391
Didn't get a weight, just a quick pic and let 'er swim.
Looking at my notes from last year, I decided to head to Chamise in search of the striped kind. After another hour of nothing, passing the inlet, I notice I have a few groupies circling me about 100' back. Seagulls. Hmmmm this has happened to me before. Sure enough, it was a 12" schoolie who I'd been dragging around for God knows how long was floating on the surface. Too little to release the clip! I set the tension a bit lighter, circled around and it was game on. I got 6 of em in about an hour, and 4 of them all came 5 minutes apart when passing over the same hump. About 10:00, it was getting hot, the skiiers were getting thicker and the motor proved it was in good shape, so I called it a day, leaving them biting. Oh the other guys trolling (had a dog and a small kid reeling in fish left and right) had been putting on a school back in Chamise, and had 25 by about 9:30 and were still destroying them on every pass. They admitted to having moss problems on their lures, which I didn't really have a problem with on the DR's. I did see a few just cruising a couple feet below the surface in 100' of water, so it made sense that they were on a shallow bite.
I ran a quick lap and headed in. Switching from the 3 blade aluminum to the 4 blade stainless didn't affect the troll speed a bit, but I did gain about 4-5 MPH at the top end, which is nice.
http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/attachment.php?attachmentid=44834&d=1408500409
Started off in Miller as usual, and didn't have any marks for the first hour. There was another boat trolling the same area, only they were laying hate to the smaller schoolie models on what appeared to be toplined crankbaits (never saw or asked what they were using). Having my usual arsenal of scrounger flukes on the downrig setup, I began to question if that was going to work. I usually always nail at least one in Millers right away, so what's going on? I made another pass close to the buoy line, and WHAM! SPLASH! Holy hell this is no schoolie! I could hardly gain any line! A few minutes later, I found out why:
http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/attachment.php?attachmentid=44833&d=1408500391
Didn't get a weight, just a quick pic and let 'er swim.
Looking at my notes from last year, I decided to head to Chamise in search of the striped kind. After another hour of nothing, passing the inlet, I notice I have a few groupies circling me about 100' back. Seagulls. Hmmmm this has happened to me before. Sure enough, it was a 12" schoolie who I'd been dragging around for God knows how long was floating on the surface. Too little to release the clip! I set the tension a bit lighter, circled around and it was game on. I got 6 of em in about an hour, and 4 of them all came 5 minutes apart when passing over the same hump. About 10:00, it was getting hot, the skiiers were getting thicker and the motor proved it was in good shape, so I called it a day, leaving them biting. Oh the other guys trolling (had a dog and a small kid reeling in fish left and right) had been putting on a school back in Chamise, and had 25 by about 9:30 and were still destroying them on every pass. They admitted to having moss problems on their lures, which I didn't really have a problem with on the DR's. I did see a few just cruising a couple feet below the surface in 100' of water, so it made sense that they were on a shallow bite.
I ran a quick lap and headed in. Switching from the 3 blade aluminum to the 4 blade stainless didn't affect the troll speed a bit, but I did gain about 4-5 MPH at the top end, which is nice.
http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/attachment.php?attachmentid=44834&d=1408500409