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View Full Version : They turned Lake Wohlford into a trout pond!



etucker1959
02-04-2019, 09:01 PM
This report will be kinda brief. Because I just sound like a broken record, we went to lake Wohlford again in a boat and in 3 hours it was full limits for the boat again! That makes it 5 for 5 this year on limiting the whole boat out in just a few hours. If you read the lake Wohlford Press release here on FNN, you will notice they are stocking the crap out of the place! They did 2 stocking 5 day's apart then another 2,000 pound stocking a week later. That lake is getting stocked more then a trout pond! Their not stocking this week, but it doesn't matter because it rained so much. But their stocking it again next week! I also read their doing a double stocking the first week in April, which will be the last stocking of the year. So their trout season is only 5 months long, but what a 5 months! No lake even comes close in having that much success. They actually stock more trout in Dixon lake but they don't bite as well in there. So the numbers of fish stocked isn't always the only measure of success.

On to the fishing!

It's just too dam easy in there, I'm convinced anybody who goes there and does the same thing as I do, will limit themselves out every time. (as long as the water doesn't turn over) All's you need is light line #2-4 pound test, 1 number 5 size split shot and a number 16 size treble hook. The bait is Rainbow power bait with garlic, dipped in Bite on garlic sauce. That's the hot rig and bait! Drift between the 2nd to the last air ratter to the last air ratter in the East end of the lake and your good. This trip we went on a weekend and it was kinda crowded. So we just drifted where there was no other boats in the area I described. We just picked them up 1 fish at a time till we were all done! We drifted a little bit around for catfish but we had no luck on them. However, my spidey sense did pick up something kinda interesting. When we were drifting around the deep end of the lake, I saw a boat tied up to the West buoy's. It's a bad place for trout and the catfishing is much better just off of them. So what were these boy's doing there? (I know that is also a known Crappie spot) If I read in the reports of someone making a good catch of Crappie on the West buoy's, that would be them. Sure enough in the next report, I read 2 guy's caught 20 Crappie to #2 pounds on the West buoy's. That was them alright! So the next time we get a warm spell, I'm going to pick up some minnows and giving it a go on Crappie. After were done limiting out on trout of course!

Piss on Myspace
02-05-2019, 01:49 AM
If its such an easy limit every time, why not try a different technique??

etucker1959
02-05-2019, 07:38 AM
If its such an easy limit every time, why not try a different technique??

Excellent question!!!

Actually I have but the nature of the lake makes 2 techniques out shine everything else.

Let's talk about the lake first.

It's not very big and it's sorta deep at the West end (35 feet) and the East end is very shallow. (6 feet) In the middle towards the East end which I call the Donut hole is about 12 feet deep. The color of the lake is a very stained, the water looks just like Corona lake. (that's where I learned to drift a boat for trout 20 years ago)

Here's how the trout react.

They stock them at the boat ramp early in the morning usually on Wed. The spot they call Boat Dock cove is right there 100 feet away. In effect you're just fishing freshly stocked fish as soon as they get in the lake and haven't left yet. So let' talk about techniques that would work there. (other then P/B) My buddy last month fished the next day there after they did a double plant. He killed them on Mice tails. We have in the past did ok on throwing mini jigs there. But the problem with fishing Boat dock cove, the fish take off from there a day or 2 after they plant them there. They now have also put up a buoy line in there, so it's now very limited on how many boats can even fish it.

The majority of the fish head East towards the East buoy line. Why they don't head West into the deep water I'll never know. When Irvine lake was around that was a trolling paradise! I don't mean to brag, but I was "THE BEST TROLLER IN THAT LAKE!" (So I know a thing or 2 about trolling) Trolling is no good at Wohlford! I tried!!

So that leaves Fly boat fishing or drifting in a boat. (I don't fly fish so that doesn't do me any good) The people who try and there is many who do try, to anchor up in the East end just do ok but not great. If you could land on a group of fish lures would work real well. (but most people aren't that lucky to land on a group of fish) Remember it's dirty stained water with straggling fish every where. You could drift and throw lures all day and pick up fish. (man that would be a lot of work) Or you could smell fish like what I do! I drift Garlic injected Rainbow power bait dipped in more Garlic. The fish basically smell their way to my baits! These fish come from the Calveras hatchery and are very fond of Garlic. How do I know that? 2 years ago they planted the lake with Nebraska Tail Walkers who weren't all that crazy about Garlic. So we used Bright orange power bait and did great on it. (they could see the bright orange P/B in the stained better) When they switched over to Calveras trout last year, we started out using orange P/B but they would bite it and just spit it out and not eat it. As soon as we switched over to the Garlic injected P/B they would bite it and eat it! So any where they stock Calveras trout use lot's of Garlic on any bait or lure you throw!

The beauty of Lake Wohlford is it isn't a private pay lake. (where you catch your limit and go home) You can legally fish for the other species of fish that live in Lake Wohlford after you limited out on trout. I mentioned eyeing those Crappies soon and I always drift for a little catfish action. I'm also trying to get a Bass pro to go with me and see what he could come up with on the Bass front. So overall it's a very nice lake to fish!

TUNAVIC
02-05-2019, 08:00 AM
Nice report etucker, that certainly sounds like a trout paradise,what average size were they?

Cya Tuna Vic

etucker1959
02-05-2019, 08:05 AM
Nice report etucker, that certainly sounds like a trout paradise,what average size were they?

Cya Tuna Vic

The past 2 years they averaged 1.5 to 2 pounds. This year they are smaller with a 1.25 average. I know why they did it. More fish in each stocking. So it really is more like a trout pond!