Hey all, I'm a spring/summer/fall CJ Strike regular. I was wondering if any one was having any luck, I've been duck hunting there, but haven't wet a line since Nov. I'm tempted to bust out the boat, but bankin' it works just as well sometimes. So any info is greatly appreciated, thanks.
...A little reminiscence from early last spring, only a few hours of work catching em, cleaning them was another story haha
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Nice Catch and Cool Plate!
OvidCreek
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I spent last winter fishing there and it was pretty good. I didn't have a boat to chase them in either so you have a chance to one up me. You'll want to use red and white or chartreuse and orange tube jigs which you can only order online or get at Cabelas in Boise, tipped with perch meat 1-2 ft over the bottom with a snagless weight below it around the deep water near the dam from 20-70 ft deep and slow troll or drift over sandy bottom for the nice perch and there are some pigs in there. If you don't have cut bait you can hit the irrigation canal on the far side of the dam that is over the bridge and up the hill. You will probably have to make a hole in the ice over the center of that pool at the mouth of the canal and you'll want to use the same jigs I mentioned before but pinch the tails half off to get more hook ups and you should be able to get plenty for cutbait in record time. By the way, i've started messing around there catching runt to medium perch, little smallies, crappie in the lower light hours or around tumbleweeds in the water, and a few really nice rainbows from 15-24 inches so if you decide to stay there and goof around, expect alot of runts but expect to stay busy. If it has frozen almost solid, the fish in there will not survive the winter. If you don't launch the boat, you can just still fish for the big perch off of the dam into the main channel using two small perch chunks on number six baitholder hooks with a 1/2 to 1 oz. sinker below them, but make sure you get there really early because the best bite seems to happen at first light. If you just want to catch hundreds of fish with a few decent ones in the mix and would take quantity over quality like I did just about every time I went, you can fish off of the stairwell in the park next to the floodgatesand catch so many fish it is ridiculous. Note, however, that you will be leaning over a chain link fence and casting and reeling in an awkward position which can get a little uncomfortable. If there is enough wind you will be stuck to perch fishing with a one ounce weight below your jig. Don't bother with the cut bait here unless they are acting unusually finicky. There are so many perch out the toward the middle on the bottom that I bet you could get enough for dinner even if they weren't biting by just accidental fowl hooks. The crappie are usually suspended from 1 to 2 feet and if you want to bust them the orange and chartreuse jig way out-produces the red and white this time of year. Use a long rod with light line and a lead-weighted bobber so you can get way out there. You might stick with a slip-bobber rig if you want to change it up if you don't find them that shallow, but 1-2 ft seems to be the most productive. If you fish closer to the wall most of the crappie will be dinky, but if you huck that jig way out in the middle from three to 30 ft off of the spillway, and your bobber will usually be headed down almost immediately with a decent pan sizer. Give me a report and let me know where you went because I might be taking a drive out from Salt Lake some time this winter.[fishin]
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Wow. Thanks for the detailed report.
Windriver
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"If you don't have cut bait you can hit the irrigation canal on the far side of the dam that is over the bridge and up the hill."
Are you talking about the canal by the CJ Strike Village, or the one close to North Park, or neither? Haha
But this weekend however, I'm making the long haul to CJ, I will post a report when I return.
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The canal I am talking about is right next to the deep channel where the water enters into the turbines. on the southwest side of the dam. Tight lines
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Do we need the pickup to get around CJStrike in the winter, or will the car with good mileage get around the dam? We have always fished there in the warm months, usually with a boat.
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A car will suit you fine around CJ in the winter.......HWY 78 and HWY 51 are both usually clear of snow this time of year so if you come out of SE Idaho (assuming that you are) you'll be ok....if you are in fact coming from SE Idaho, get off at the Hammett exit and take 78 along the snake past the sand dunes and the HWY will eventually run into 51 which will take you to Strike the back way-pretty drive. If you aren't coming from where I think you are this info is all for naught[
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We'll be coming from Custer county, so we cross the interstate at Mtn Home. But I have taken the Hammett route before. Thanks.
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Just got back from a cj strike trip below the turbines. it was pretty slow for everything. but i caught four trout, one was really nice at least twenty inches and the rest around seventeen inches. no crappie, no pearch, but did get a few sturgeon too, pretty cold and miserable but hey, it sure beats work!
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