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Thread: Saturday Session 11/26

  1. #1

    Default Saturday Session 11/26

    It wasn't supposed to rain until 1:00 so I figured I had time to get a trip in. Through the gate about 7:45 and on the spot at 8:15, sat up near Marley's Secret Spot 1.1. Missed the alpha spot on the first try, just too tricky getting the "anchors" to set the way you want in that morning down-canyon breeze. But I stayed for a bit just for giggles, thinking maybe Friday's fishing pressure pushed the fish off shore a bit. 45 minutes into the day with no bites and very little surface activity meant it was time to move.
    The breeze was dying to almost nothing, making it easier to park the boat where I wanted it. Hadn't even settled in to a comfortable sit when the first fish hit, a chunky 3-pounder. Hit the beloved half crawler, blown up and fished Carolina-style 16 inches off the sandy bottom. Number two came just a moment later, taking instead the designer, inflated meal worm. Third fish followed as quickly, nailing the inflated mealworm on the sink. I think both fish hit the falling mini-grub before the sinker hit bottom, just by the way the line behaved. Never felt it, just a visual thing.
    Three fish in less than twenty minutes was almost too fast, but you take them when you get them, right? Took about half an hour to finish the limit and then it was time to go home. On the lake by 8:00, having breakfast at Denny's with the folks at 11:30 with an 11-pound limit of hard-fighting, great-tasting Santa Ana River Lakes trout in the cooler. Not a bad Saturday morning, and I missed the rain by a couple of hours.
    Today my fish all ate the garden hackle. Three came on the inflated meal worm, two on the inflated half-crawler. Hopefully it worked as well for the young ladies I showed some (bait-rigging) tricks to and they caught some fish.

  2. #2

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Marley View Post
    It wasn't supposed to rain until 1:00 so I figured I had time to get a trip in. Through the gate about 7:45 and on the spot at 8:15, sat up near Marley's Secret Spot 1.1. Missed the alpha spot on the first try, just too tricky getting the "anchors" to set the way you want in that morning down-canyon breeze. But I stayed for a bit just for giggles, thinking maybe Friday's fishing pressure pushed the fish off shore a bit. 45 minutes into the day with no bites and very little surface activity meant it was time to move.
    The breeze was dying to almost nothing, making it easier to park the boat where I wanted it. Hadn't even settled in to a comfortable sit when the first fish hit, a chunky 3-pounder. Hit the beloved half crawler, blown up and fished Carolina-style 16 inches off the sandy bottom. Number two came just a moment later, taking instead the designer, inflated meal worm. Third fish followed as quickly, nailing the inflated mealworm on the sink. I think both fish hit the falling mini-grub before the sinker hit bottom, just by the way the line behaved. Never felt it, just a visual thing.
    Three fish in less than twenty minutes was almost too fast, but you take them when you get them, right? Took about half an hour to finish the limit and then it was time to go home. On the lake by 8:00, having breakfast at Denny's with the folks at 11:30 with an 11-pound limit of hard-fighting, great-tasting Santa Ana River Lakes trout in the cooler. Not a bad Saturday morning, and I missed the rain by a couple of hours.
    Today my fish all ate the garden hackle. Three came on the inflated meal worm, two on the inflated half-crawler. Hopefully it worked as well for the young ladies I showed some (bait-rigging) tricks to and they caught some fish.
    Good for you!!!! We were trying to make it out there this weekend but just couldn't make it. I use to fish SARL a lot in the not so much shad day's. (in those day's power bait was all you needed) Now with all the shad in there, you gave the secret to anyone who is listening. (me included) Do you use any scent on the worms?????

  3. #3

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    Thanks. I can remember the very first trout I ever caught at SARL, actually two that first time. I watched a man and his wife fishing the now-long-gone old spillway and catching their limits. Having decided that it was today that I caught something or I wasn't ever fishing again, I swallowed my pride, walked over to them as he was putting his basket filled with writhing rainbow trout into the trunk of their El Dorado and asked what he had been using for bait. The reply wasn't delivered nicely at all but the man told me the truth. "Half a nightcrawler, float it up." I thanked him and took off to the tackle shop.
    I had been watching the couple for some time so I already knew how far to cast and the general location of where his bait was hitting. I knew I had the means to blow up the worm, a remnant of a recent Beef Cattle Production lab at school, so I left the shop with my tub of nightcrawlers, fortified with a little bit of confidence now that I had inside intel.
    That first bite, the first hook set and the first trout to wind up on my stringer were absolute magic. I was hopelessly hooked.
    I was a smoker back then, who knows why we do those stupid things but I did, and I tried several things as a scent/odor mask to cover up the cigarette smell. From rubbing Pautzke's salmon eggs into my fingers (made lunch smell real good) to rubbing my hands with shoreline sand (didn't work at all) to washing my hands with rubbing alcohol (expensive, and now my hands smelled like alcohol which I'm sure the fish loved). I found and settled on garlic oil, and Pro-Cure became my brand. I like Garlic-Plus. A little more difficult to find these days but well worth the hunt. Quit smoking almost 20 years ago, best thing I ever did. But the Pro-Cure stayed in my tackle bag and I use it on every single half-crawler I thread on, blow up and fish Carolina-Style, 16" off the bottom. Meal worms came along after I quit smoking and my fingers stopped stinking so I just fish them natural-flavored. And like that man who helped me many years ago, I always at least answer questions when asked, often showing how to hook the worm and sometimes even sharing a hook or two or a spare bobber when the bite is on top.
    Last edited by Marley; 11-27-2016 at 06:03 PM.

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Marley View Post
    Thanks. I can remember the very first trout I ever caught at SARL, actually two that first time. I watched a man and his wife fishing the now-long-gone old spillway and catching their limits. Having decided that it was today that I caught something or I wasn't ever fishing again, I swallowed my pride, walked over to them as he was putting his basket filled with writhing rainbow trout into the trunk of their El Dorado and asked what he had been using for bait. The reply wasn't delivered nicely at all but the man told me the truth. "Half a nightcrawler, float it up." I thanked him and took off to the tackle shop.
    I had been watching the couple for some time so I already knew how far to cast and the general location of where his bait was hitting. I knew I had the means to blow up the worm, a remnant of a recent Beef Cattle Production lab at school, so I left the shop with my tub of nightcrawlers, fortified with a little bit of confidence now that I had inside intel.
    That first bite, the first hook set and the first trout to wind up on my stringer were absolute magic. I was hopelessly hooked.
    I was a smoker back then, who knows why we do those stupid things but I did, and I tried several things as a scent/odor mask to cover up the cigarette smell. From rubbing Pautzke's salmon eggs into my fingers (made lunch smell real good) to rubbing my hands with shoreline sand (didn't work at all) to washing my hands with rubbing alcohol (expensive, and now my hands smelled like alcohol which I'm sure the fish loved). I found and settled on garlic oil, and Pro-Cure became my brand. I like Garlic-Plus. A little more difficult to find these days but well worth the hunt. Quit smoking almost 20 years ago, best thing I ever did. But the Pro-Cure stayed in my tackle bag and I use it on every single half-crawler I thread on, blow up and fish Carolina-Style, 16" off the bottom. Meal worms came along after I quit smoking and my fingers stopped stinking so I just fish them natural-flavored. And like that man who helped me many years ago, I always at least answer questions when asked, often showing how to hook the worm and sometimes even sharing a hook or two or a spare bobber when the bite is on top.
    Great reply!!! Tell me (everybody) about the meal worms. Never tried them for trout but I'm all ears. What type and color? Small size, Large, Jumbo? Gold color, Red, small and Jumbo come in the colors just the way they are. What is the best hook size and weight to use with them??? I sound like Doctor Eviel trying to steal your Mo Jo but I really want to learn!!! With all those shad in there, Power bait and Power worms are pretty worthless till they drain it again. Thanks again!!!

  5. #5

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    Hey Doc, no problem. It's a fishing website for crying out loud. What fun is it if you don't share info? Spots are an entirely different story, but here goes on the mini grubs.
    Unlike my beloved nightcrawler that you can pump up as big as your little finger before it explodes, meal worms have a semi-rigid, segmented body that, while elongating a little bit, won't expand outward when air is injected between segments. While the nightcrawler can be effectively fished with even a size 1/0 hook and still float when injected with enough air, the mealworm holds only a tiny bubble of air. Care must be taken (1) not to use a hook too large to hide inside the worm, (2) not to use a hook too heavy for the bubble of air to float it as well as the weight the worm itself and (3) not to push in too much air and explode the worm. If that happens they're not good for this tactic.
    As for color, I like them natural, though I have not had the occasion or need to experiment with colors. Colored ones I have seen tend to be way too small even for a size 14 hook so I would not consider them for this use.
    For hooks, I prefer a size 14 Owner Mosquito hook, but can get away with a size 12 if the grubs are in that 1"+ range. Line size is also a concern as hooks that small have very small eyes. 12's will hold 4-lb. line but it's heavy and can drag down the bait, 14's will only hold 2-lb. or smaller. Inflated meal worms do not cast well and any roughness with them will cause them to lose their bubble of air or tear apart altogether. To help avoid damaging the presentation, I use a 1/64 oz. bullet sinker and pin it in place with a size BB split shot. You're not casting that rig very far (hint, hint) so once it kisses the water leave your bail open and line paying out until the sinker hits bottom, then close the bail and either set your rod how you like it or slowly jig it back to you.
    For what it's worth, I always check the stomach content of the fish I catch. I can't remember ever finding shad in the bellies of trout I catch at SARL, more often than not finding volcanic pebbles from the hatchery and midges.

  6. #6

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Marley View Post
    Hey Doc, no problem. It's a fishing website for crying out loud. What fun is it if you don't share info? Spots are an entirely different story, but here goes on the mini grubs.
    Unlike my beloved nightcrawler that you can pump up as big as your little finger before it explodes, meal worms have a semi-rigid, segmented body that, while elongating a little bit, won't expand outward when air is injected between segments. While the nightcrawler can be effectively fished with even a size 1/0 hook and still float when injected with enough air, the mealworm holds only a tiny bubble of air. Care must be taken (1) not to use a hook too large to hide inside the worm, (2) not to use a hook too heavy for the bubble of air to float it as well as the weight the worm itself and (3) not to push in too much air and explode the worm. If that happens they're not good for this tactic.
    As for color, I like them natural, though I have not had the occasion or need to experiment with colors. Colored ones I have seen tend to be way too small even for a size 14 hook so I would not consider them for this use.
    For hooks, I prefer a size 14 Owner Mosquito hook, but can get away with a size 12 if the grubs are in that 1"+ range. Line size is also a concern as hooks that small have very small eyes. 12's will hold 4-lb. line but it's heavy and can drag down the bait, 14's will only hold 2-lb. or smaller. Inflated meal worms do not cast well and any roughness with them will cause them to lose their bubble of air or tear apart altogether. To help avoid damaging the presentation, I use a 1/64 oz. bullet sinker and pin it in place with a size BB split shot. You're not casting that rig very far (hint, hint) so once it kisses the water leave your bail open and line paying out until the sinker hits bottom, then close the bail and either set your rod how you like it or slowly jig it back to you.
    For what it's worth, I always check the stomach content of the fish I catch. I can't remember ever finding shad in the bellies of trout I catch at SARL, more often than not finding volcanic pebbles from the hatchery and midges.
    They may not even be able to catch the shad to eat them. But I do know they chase them around by evidence of seeing them on my fish graph. In chasing them it takes them away from the bottom where most peoples bait's are located. Trust me on this one. I've seen it done multiply times, when they drain the lake and refill it. (killing the shad) The next year it will be wide open on Power Bait. If they don't drain it again, the following year your P/B becomes pretty worthless again!!!!
    Last edited by etucker1959; 11-27-2016 at 11:48 PM.

  7. #7

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Marley View Post
    Hey Doc, no problem. It's a fishing website for crying out loud. What fun is it if you don't share info? Spots are an entirely different story, but here goes on the mini grubs.
    Unlike my beloved nightcrawler that you can pump up as big as your little finger before it explodes, meal worms have a semi-rigid, segmented body that, while elongating a little bit, won't expand outward when air is injected between segments. While the nightcrawler can be effectively fished with even a size 1/0 hook and still float when injected with enough air, the mealworm holds only a tiny bubble of air. Care must be taken (1) not to use a hook too large to hide inside the worm, (2) not to use a hook too heavy for the bubble of air to float it as well as the weight the worm itself and (3) not to push in too much air and explode the worm. If that happens they're not good for this tactic.
    As for color, I like them natural, though I have not had the occasion or need to experiment with colors. Colored ones I have seen tend to be way too small even for a size 14 hook so I would not consider them for this use.
    For hooks, I prefer a size 14 Owner Mosquito hook, but can get away with a size 12 if the grubs are in that 1"+ range. Line size is also a concern as hooks that small have very small eyes. 12's will hold 4-lb. line but it's heavy and can drag down the bait, 14's will only hold 2-lb. or smaller. Inflated meal worms do not cast well and any roughness with them will cause them to lose their bubble of air or tear apart altogether. To help avoid damaging the presentation, I use a 1/64 oz. bullet sinker and pin it in place with a size BB split shot. You're not casting that rig very far (hint, hint) so once it kisses the water leave your bail open and line paying out until the sinker hits bottom, then close the bail and either set your rod how you like it or slowly jig it back to you.
    For what it's worth, I always check the stomach content of the fish I catch. I can't remember ever finding shad in the bellies of trout I catch at SARL, more often than not finding volcanic pebbles from the hatchery and midges.
    One last question about the meal worms. To make sure I know which ones you're talking about, "where do you buy them??" That will tell me for sure which ones your using!!!! Thanks again for all your help. I'll post up my reports when I go.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by etucker1959 View Post
    One last question about the meal worms. To make sure I know which ones you're talking about, "where do you buy them??" That will tell me for sure which ones your using!!!! Thanks again for all your help. I'll post up my reports when I go.
    I buy them at the lake, the ones at pet stores are just puppies meant for lizards and oscars and tend to be too small.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
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    Default

    So, for a smoker, it is bad to handle the bait after your fingers have picked up the odor of a cigarette?

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by briseno09 View Post
    So, for a smoker, it is bad to handle the bait after your fingers have picked up the odor of a cigarette?
    It's one of those things folks kick around. Some say it doesn't matter at all, others say it makes a big difference. For me, it made a big difference. Cigarettes stink and fish can smell. If for no other reason, it gave me confidence in what I was doing and I think that makes a huge difference in success rates.

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