Made my first attempt at fishing in Idaho. Went to Twin Lakes for a good 5 hours. Only caught 3 LMB and 2 BG. Missed one solid LMB (on three strikes, no less) that would have been in the 3-5# range.
Anyhow, I was very unproductive. Looking for any assistance on how to fish that lake.
I threw spinnerbaits, crankbaits, wacky worms, grubs, rat-l-traps, rapalas...
Primarily worked the shoreline from my boat, completely circumnavigating the lake. Mainly on the southern half.
Fish #1 = 5" BG on 1.5" curly tail grub
Fish #2 = 14" LMB on smallscale white spinnerbait
Fish #3 = just like #1
Fish #4 = 10" LMB just like #2
Fish #5 = The one that got away. Rolled on my white spinnerbait twice and missed. Cast back to it, got it, ripped back to set the hook... and pushed the button on my friggin' reel in the process... Fish off. #$%^&!!!
Fish #5 (for real) = 15" portly female on large chartreuse spinnerbait...
I hauled a lot of water with minimal results. MUST be doing something wrong. Please help! If you don't want it public knowledge, just send me a private message.
Thanks.
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I was there a few weeks ago, and caught 10 lm's. 4 were little dinks all caught using a rapala from the shore. 5 were in the 10-13 inch range and were caught wading in the trees and bushes in the water using night crawlers. 1 was 14 inches and was caught on a green senko wading in the trees. Almost all of the ones caught wading were ones I could see, and would then present them my bait.
I just purchased a little boat and will be headed to Twin Lakes for the entire week of 07/2 to 07/06 so I would also love any advice on how to fish the lake from a little boat, or the shore for that matter as well! Let me know if you go out again before then what works for you.
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Perhaps all you need to adjust is your expectations. It wasn't a total bust. If I had (fill-in-the-blank) for every time I was skunked, I'd have a lot of (fill-in-the-blanks).
You did get some action and no one kills them every time. And you said it was your first trip. Doesn't sound too bad to me for un-familiar waters......
I hope you aren't offended by my comments. I'm just sayin'....... it could have been a lot worse.
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BTW, You didn't mention if it was Twin Lakes in SE Idaho, or in Northern Idaho........ Which was it?
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[quote iwantabuggy]I hope you aren't offended by my comments. I'm just sayin'....... it could have been a lot worse.[/quote]
Not offended at all. Perhaps a reality check is what I need. I typically only fish a couple lakes, and I guess I've grown spoiled with knowing how to fish them (do NOT read too much into this statement [angelic])... Mediocrity compels me to work harder. [
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[quote iwantabuggy]BTW, You didn't mention if it was Twin Lakes in SE Idaho, or in Northern Idaho........ Which was it?[/quote]
SE Idaho. I live on the Utah side of the border and ponied up for the out-of-state license this year to expand my territory a bit.
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Twin is just plain a strange lake. I have gone for a lot of years and it is never the same from one trip to the next. Some were great trips, but I really stink at bass fishing, and many of my trips have been more miss than hit.
There might be lots of reasons for the fish ups and downs. Post spawn hangovers, changes in the weather, ski boats all weekend, and lots of fishermen pounding the weeds, any and all can make for shy bass. Also they might have started moving out deeper in the lake now.
Wish I had some real advise for you. Maybe if you find something out you would tell me, please! [blush]
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I'm in the same boat, well - different boat same story. Though I haven't made my first northward crawl yet.
Been hoping to hook up with some friends that have been up and around the Preston lakes.
New waters usually baffle me for a while.
Whether it's techniques, or location, or timing - did you have a banana perchance? [crazy]
So did you hit south or north of the twins?
Maybe that's what I'll do this Friday after work.
[quote CoyoteSpinner]So did you hit south or north of the twins?
Maybe that's what I'll do this Friday after work.[/quote]
We launched on the east side, just south of the middle. Pretty stong winds, so we boated along the eastern perimeter til we came to the northern dam, then continued around, making our first fishing stop on the northwest side of the meridian. One bluegill...
Traveled back through the gap and over to the west side. From that point on, we were stop and go all the way around the perimeter, back to our ramp.
So, technically, I didn't hardly fish the north half at all... There was so much structure along the south, I had a hard time going more than 40 yards before anchoring again.
Eventually had my bored 12 year old drive the boat as close to trolling speed as a 15hp motor will go - while I fished from the front.
I'm still haunted by the one that got away. Just keep replaying that fiasco in my mind. I have REALLY got to buy some decent rods and reels some day...
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I was camping there for the last 5 days, and the water has dropped 6-7 feet in a little over a week. That combined with all the wind has made the fishing there pretty tough. I saw a lot of empty bluegill nests in the shallows, which are probably now too shallow for them to continue to use. I seemed to do best in the evenings when the wind would stop for a little while.
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[quote reservoir_dog]...the water has dropped 6-7 feet in a little over a week.[/quote]
Good heavens. No wonder I couldn't find a consistent pattern. That makes me feel just a bit better about it all.
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