Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Darrell & Dads Family Guide Service
Well, what can I say, the fish are in the lake, but are very slow to bite. Boat anglers are able to find success drifting or trolling powerbait on the bottom, or using deeply trolled lures such as a flatfish. If you want to fish from the dock or bank to be honest, the fishing will be slow, even if you are using powerbait. My best advice is to use a bright colored power egg like chartreuse or yellow, and if you want to catch a cutthroat or possibly even a brooder (there are still some left), use half a worm and get your bait as far out toward the middle of the lake as possible. Strikes will be slow, and I advise that you fish with a slack line as the fish will often drop your bait if they feel resistance. The recent ice on the lake has shut down fishing, but it will hopefully pick up when the water warms a bit. Even the friggin cormorants are disappointed with how the fishing has been (stupid birds). For fly fisherman, you have two options. Fish deep and slow with dark patterned woolly buggers, or fish next to shore on the opposite side of the lake. The key to catching them is fishing next to logs as the fish are hanging around them (probably seeking relief from the perilous cormorants who can eat as many as twenty of them a day). No joke on that! Back to the subject of fly fishing, fly fisherman, expect your strikes to be nudges and taps. Don't set the hook as soon as you feel that tell tale nudge on your line, but try to entice them to strike harder, then when you feel the weight of the fish, set the hook. I use a three weight fly rod with a fast sinking line to get into the strike zone fast and keep my fly drifting just off the bottom. Trust me it works. Good luck to all of you and tight lines. I hope to see some of you out on the water soon!
Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Darrell & Dads Family Guide Service