12-22-2013, 06:23 PM
I spent the day at the Soldier Creek Dam on 12/21.
The road to the dam was passable with 4WD, but I wouldn't travel down that road with anything less. There weren't many tracks down to the dam and I didn't see another fisherman all day. I did see one truck duck hunting on the river side of the dam though. They must have done well as I heard a couple dozen shots and then they left (saw lots of ducks flying out of there). As I was driving out, I did see one set of foot prints and sled tracks closer to the freeway, but they had left before me.
The dam area is frozen with 4-5 inches (at least where I drilled). There is a lot of open water on both Strawberry and Soldier Creek (even in some of the bays).
I arrived just about sunrise and fishing was fantastic for the 1st hour. I was using two rods and I couldn't reel them in fast enough. It soon slowed to a more manageable pace and I was able to put up the tent so I could watch the action.
There were a lot of slot cuts and mid-sized bows, but just a TON of stocker sized rainbows. I would often have swarms (there is no other way to describe it) of 8-12" fish nailing both rods. I managed one slot buster early in the day, but I had to discourage the smaller fish from harassing the jig long enough for the larger fish to see it.
I used a speckled glow tube for most of the day and they really seemed to like to hit it on the drop or just after the drop. If I let it sit, they weren't interested. I did tip the jig with the normal worms and baits, but even if the meat was stripped, they still were aggressive. They didn't seem to be picky as long as it was moving once in a while.
Over all it was a fantastic day. I stopped counting after 40 fish through the hole (at noon) and if I wanted to catch smaller trout, it could have been a nearly unlimited. I hated leaving as the fish were still very active when I left (an hour before sunset), but with the wind, I was worried about snow drifts on the road out. I don't get days like this (with so many fish) often, but it sure is nice when I do.
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The road to the dam was passable with 4WD, but I wouldn't travel down that road with anything less. There weren't many tracks down to the dam and I didn't see another fisherman all day. I did see one truck duck hunting on the river side of the dam though. They must have done well as I heard a couple dozen shots and then they left (saw lots of ducks flying out of there). As I was driving out, I did see one set of foot prints and sled tracks closer to the freeway, but they had left before me.
The dam area is frozen with 4-5 inches (at least where I drilled). There is a lot of open water on both Strawberry and Soldier Creek (even in some of the bays).
I arrived just about sunrise and fishing was fantastic for the 1st hour. I was using two rods and I couldn't reel them in fast enough. It soon slowed to a more manageable pace and I was able to put up the tent so I could watch the action.
There were a lot of slot cuts and mid-sized bows, but just a TON of stocker sized rainbows. I would often have swarms (there is no other way to describe it) of 8-12" fish nailing both rods. I managed one slot buster early in the day, but I had to discourage the smaller fish from harassing the jig long enough for the larger fish to see it.
I used a speckled glow tube for most of the day and they really seemed to like to hit it on the drop or just after the drop. If I let it sit, they weren't interested. I did tip the jig with the normal worms and baits, but even if the meat was stripped, they still were aggressive. They didn't seem to be picky as long as it was moving once in a while.
Over all it was a fantastic day. I stopped counting after 40 fish through the hole (at noon) and if I wanted to catch smaller trout, it could have been a nearly unlimited. I hated leaving as the fish were still very active when I left (an hour before sunset), but with the wind, I was worried about snow drifts on the road out. I don't get days like this (with so many fish) often, but it sure is nice when I do.
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