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.