Got on the water at 11am and off at 6pm after boating the 15th keeper. Released probably a dozen or so. Pretty much the same presentation as my last two Hayden reports - a red wedding ring on one pole and a pink hoochie on the other. They produced bites at about the same rate. Ran the downriggers 35-40 feet, which seemed to be the hot zone.

I did double up on the snubbers this time around, using a heavy one in line with a thin one. It might've helped the hook-up to boated ratio. It sure didn't hurt.

The fish were more concentrated around English Point this time. Anytime I moved very far away from there, the bite slowed considerably. With maybe one exception. With 10 in the box, I started trolling west from English point, in the general direction of the boat launch, but staying within a couple hundred yards of the shore. Bites slowed considerably, although I did manage to boat 2 fish before turning the boat south toward the launch. Crossing the flats there, it got hot again - in fact it was it's hottest as I was almost to the area where it starts getting shallower, just a few hundred yards from the launch. Fish number 14 came right there - I've attached it's picture.

That fish is far and away the biggest blueback I've ever caught in Hayden lake. I was stunned when I caught her. 18-1/2 inches, although he only weighed 1.2lbs. Almost as long as the Kokes in Lake Roosevelt, although not nearly as fat. As you can see, this fish was getting pretty red, too. the other fish I caught weren't anywhere near this red, they're just getting a purplish tint in areas. But this one had coloring I'd expect to find a month from now. She cut very orange though, so no worries there. I'm sure she'll be delicious.

Not wanting to pull out of the water at only one fish short of a limit, I pulled a u-turn as I saw the depth starting to drop. Didn't take 60 seconds and I had number 15.

Overall, another great day on one of my favorite lakes. It's been absolutely red hot lately. But if you want to go, hurry! Time is running out, these fish will be spawned out here within weeks.

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