10-23-2013, 09:31 PM
[#0000FF]It's been a couple of years since I last fished Huntington (Mammoth) up on the Skyline. The last couple of previous trips were somewhat disappointing...lots of fish but mostly smaller ones. This trip produced a bit larger fish but not many of them. Goes that way sometimes.
Launched about 8ish. Air temp 28 and water temp only 41. Figured it would be a few degrees warmer still. Nope. Glad I had a couple of pairs of good wool socks under my neoprenes. Got cool but not uncomfortably cold.
The water level was also up a bit higher than I expected. In years past I have had to hike a ways down from the end of the ramp to launch my tube. Brought my new deer cart tube/motor/battery carrier but didn't need it. Only about 8-10 feet from the end of the ramp to the water. But steep.
Most years the tiger trout are schooling up in three or four defined areas this time of year. Not this year. I worked through all the usual suspect spots and was demazed at how few fish showed up on sonar. In fact, it was well after 8:30 before the first fishy mark moved across my screen...and shortly after that I went bendo on my first tiger.
After that I used my electric trolling motor to move me slowly in big S turns...from shallow to deep...from near shore to out in the middle...from one end of the lake to the other. I varied my offerings from spinners to single flies on flatline to bubble and fly to jig-fly combos. I kept changing up depths and colors. Not many fish on sonar and even fewer on the end of my line.
A couple of times I saw fish hanging near the bottom and stopped to do some vertical jigging. Good exercise for me but none for the fish. Most of the fish I saw were suspended about mid-depth over water deeper than 20 feet. 25 to 30 feet showed the most fish. I did see a few over the deepest spot near the dam...in 40 feet. But they just swam on by with middle fins upraised.
On "normal" late fall trips I usually find a good concentration of fish and then work through an assortment of lures and flies to see what DOESN'T WORK. When the fish are plentiful and active I can only fish one rod at a time. On this trip I kept two rods out all morning...with a changing assortment of offerings.
Boy am I glad I came up with the "Copper Pat" pattern a few years ago...for the Boulder Mountain Boys. That was the hot ticket today...both in marabou jigs and in "hot head" flies. Something about the combo of metallic copper head and body...and root beer marabou tails...that those tigers really like. I only caught a couple of fish today on my "silver-back black".
Even though I was not seeing a lot of fish on sonar, there were evidently a few cruising at mid-depth. I got a lot of hits from fish I had not seen on sonar. In that clear water they often come in from the side and will never show up on TV. Not ashamed to admit that I missed a lot of those hits too. The fish are either too experienced to get the hook...or not experienced enough. But it kept me a little more active so I did not develop rigid hypothermia.
I don't carry a clicker and I don't make marks on the side of my tube whenever I catch a fish. But I keep semi accurate accounts of what I am catching. I think I caught about 15 or 16 tigers today...from 13" to almost 18". I lost one that would have gone over 20...the only colored up one today. And I kept 4 about 16 inches each for the table.
Not the worst day I have had on Huntington but definitely not the best either. I have had a few trips of over 100 fish...up to 22 inches.
I have a concern that the ice fishing is not likely to be stellar this year. In years past the fishing in October and early November has set the tone for the first ice fishing around Thanksgiving. Good numbers in the fall usually translate to good ice fishing. Maybe I just didn't find the magic spot this year but all the ones that typically hold fish were empty. Hope the problem was mine and not a problem with fish numbers in the lake.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
Launched about 8ish. Air temp 28 and water temp only 41. Figured it would be a few degrees warmer still. Nope. Glad I had a couple of pairs of good wool socks under my neoprenes. Got cool but not uncomfortably cold.
The water level was also up a bit higher than I expected. In years past I have had to hike a ways down from the end of the ramp to launch my tube. Brought my new deer cart tube/motor/battery carrier but didn't need it. Only about 8-10 feet from the end of the ramp to the water. But steep.
Most years the tiger trout are schooling up in three or four defined areas this time of year. Not this year. I worked through all the usual suspect spots and was demazed at how few fish showed up on sonar. In fact, it was well after 8:30 before the first fishy mark moved across my screen...and shortly after that I went bendo on my first tiger.
After that I used my electric trolling motor to move me slowly in big S turns...from shallow to deep...from near shore to out in the middle...from one end of the lake to the other. I varied my offerings from spinners to single flies on flatline to bubble and fly to jig-fly combos. I kept changing up depths and colors. Not many fish on sonar and even fewer on the end of my line.
A couple of times I saw fish hanging near the bottom and stopped to do some vertical jigging. Good exercise for me but none for the fish. Most of the fish I saw were suspended about mid-depth over water deeper than 20 feet. 25 to 30 feet showed the most fish. I did see a few over the deepest spot near the dam...in 40 feet. But they just swam on by with middle fins upraised.
On "normal" late fall trips I usually find a good concentration of fish and then work through an assortment of lures and flies to see what DOESN'T WORK. When the fish are plentiful and active I can only fish one rod at a time. On this trip I kept two rods out all morning...with a changing assortment of offerings.
Boy am I glad I came up with the "Copper Pat" pattern a few years ago...for the Boulder Mountain Boys. That was the hot ticket today...both in marabou jigs and in "hot head" flies. Something about the combo of metallic copper head and body...and root beer marabou tails...that those tigers really like. I only caught a couple of fish today on my "silver-back black".
Even though I was not seeing a lot of fish on sonar, there were evidently a few cruising at mid-depth. I got a lot of hits from fish I had not seen on sonar. In that clear water they often come in from the side and will never show up on TV. Not ashamed to admit that I missed a lot of those hits too. The fish are either too experienced to get the hook...or not experienced enough. But it kept me a little more active so I did not develop rigid hypothermia.
I don't carry a clicker and I don't make marks on the side of my tube whenever I catch a fish. But I keep semi accurate accounts of what I am catching. I think I caught about 15 or 16 tigers today...from 13" to almost 18". I lost one that would have gone over 20...the only colored up one today. And I kept 4 about 16 inches each for the table.
Not the worst day I have had on Huntington but definitely not the best either. I have had a few trips of over 100 fish...up to 22 inches.
I have a concern that the ice fishing is not likely to be stellar this year. In years past the fishing in October and early November has set the tone for the first ice fishing around Thanksgiving. Good numbers in the fall usually translate to good ice fishing. Maybe I just didn't find the magic spot this year but all the ones that typically hold fish were empty. Hope the problem was mine and not a problem with fish numbers in the lake.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
