I've had good luck catching cutthroats at Strawberry, but it's been years since I've caught a rainbow there. Any ideas on how I might hook into some rainbows next time I go? For cuts, I've been having success with black wolly buggers and sinking line. Last Saturday, the fish were just below the surface (and almost swimming above the surface in the thick fog). I caught plenty of cuts, but no bows. What do I need to do differently to catch rainbows? I understand the DWR has planted thousands of sterile, catchable-size bows there, but I can't seem to find them.
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Welcome to BFT. You will find a lot of folks here with the information that you are looking for. I have also had a hare time locating the rainbows at the Berry. Move around to locate them. With the new regs, a lot of the bows are going home so there will be fewer than in years past. I have picked up some small ones around Chicken East and Renegade but no size to them. Next year they will be larger of course. I have found olive buggers on fast sink line[type 5] to work best until the water temp gets a little colder. I also bring a spinning rod and tube jigs to use in deeper water with good results. Now if the Berry will just ice over ,I will be a happy camper.
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Fishing from a boat i have caught them jigging spoons in deep water.I would drop the spoon deep jig it up 2-3 cranks and let it fall down and sure enough they would hit it on the way down.I have never caught a cutt there on a spoon but have caught tons of them trolling.Hope this helps you out some.I always head out of strawberry marina head towards the channel then i stop a couple hundred feet away and jig away!Good luck!
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[cool]How do your usually fish? From shore, from a tube, or trolling/jigging from a boat? I've had good luck for rainbows from shore in the Mud Creek area, but that bay is so shallow now, that I don't know. Soldier Creek from the shore has been good to me for rainbows (especially using rainbow powerbait under a bobber near the weedlines).
Good luck, and welcome to BFT, Skinney.
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I caught 2 bows yesterday trolling a black wooly bugger. Lots of cutts but only 2 bows. More luck than skill I am sure. Years ago we used to catch more bows bait fishing in shallow water. Seems like the cutts are more aggressive and that is mostly what you will catch jigging, trolling, and chucking lures. Sit something on the bottom in the shallows and you'll probably increase you chances of catching a bow. Good luck!
Bigcat
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I haven't tried any flies for bows this year , but the double renegade use to hook me a few along with the woolly buggers . I have hooked a few this year on jigs and spoons in chartreuse color , I have caught more this year than the past 4 years combined . Ice fishing last year I had a big bow 25"+ come to my jig but I couldn't entice him to bite . Fish shallow and you should find a few but the cutts are going to be shallow now too . Rainbows do like spoons too if you spin fish .
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Thanks for all the good advice. I'll try jigging near the bottom next time I go to Strawberry and maybe I'll catch a few rainbows. I fish from a boat and I also fish from a tube, and I use sinking fly line and spinning gear, so all the suggestions should apply.
When jigging, do you tip the hook with bait? I've done that with splake at Fish Lake. A bit of perch or sucker meat (or even a peeled crawdad tail or shrimp) on a perch-pattern castmaster gets 'em every time. Does that help with the rainbows at Strawberry?
I guess I've got one more question. When we were trolling around Strawberry last Saturday morning, the fish were all near the surface. Even though we were catching cutthroats left and right, my fish finder didn't show hardly any fish below the boat. In fact, for most of the day, the finder hardly ever showed any fish--especially on the bottom. If I'm going to jig for rainbows on the bottom, should I troll around until the finder shows fish on the bottom and then anchor there? Where would be a good place to start looking?
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I would work water 25' or shallower . I hooked bows deep thru the ice at 60' at the berry but most are shallow . I like 10' to 20' depth range . Don't rule out the surface for bows . I was throwing 3" chartreuse curly tails from shore and reeling fast in the surface and scored 2 bows in a row doing that . Bait if you want but you can catch them without . I did hook one this year on what I thought would get a cutt on . A spoon (neddlefish) vertically jigged with carp meat on it . Rainbows like crawfish too , but fish the smaller size crawfish jigs .
I also caught them on chartreuse scuds vertical jigged with a jig below . Just tie it up about a foot above the jig . I'm sure other colors would work but I do like chartreuse .
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