Posts: 15,506
Threads: 1,313
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
12
08-01-2020, 05:04 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-01-2020, 05:14 PM by Kent.)
I usually wait until the middle July to begin fishing Strawberry again after ice fishing. I did the same this year. I typically do OK in July, August and September, but my go-to months have been October and November (all trips are vertically jigging and casting and bouncing back to my boat).
This year has been unusual in the quantity of fish that we have been catching, so early in the year. Two of us fished on July 23rd and we caught 131 cutthroat. We fished yesterday and the Strawberry newbie, caught 44 and I caught 128 (all cutts).
We started fishing at 7:00 AM and got off of the water at 3:30 PM. During that time, I think there were a couple times that I went 2 minutes without a bite! The quantity was unusual, and what really surprised me is that the fish were acting like it was October or November. About 1/3 of the time, when I reeled in a fish another fish was following behind. If a fish got off, sometimes even after reeling it in for 20 feet or more, that fish, or perhaps it was a trailing fish, would immediately grab my jig again. If I started quickly, reeling in from the bottom, and stopped reeling, down at least 15' (we were fishing in 42' of water), almost every time, a fish would hit my jig.
Only disappointment is that we didn't catch anything over the slot. Tipping with cut bait worked the best, and tipping with 1/2 of a crawler would also get a bite. White tube jigs were the hot color but other colors would also generate some action.
Posts: 927
Threads: 39
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
2
08-01-2020, 06:19 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-01-2020, 06:21 PM by lovetofish.)
Great report. That is unusual for this time of year. The dog days of summer are usually slow fishing at Strawberry. I have to agree on the fall fishing at Strawberry. There is nothing that compares to it. October is my favorite month at Strawberry. For me I like the Renegade area.
Posts: 1,435
Threads: 117
Joined: Nov 2013
Reputation:
5
Wow, what a day. Over 100 fish by yourself is fantastic.
Posts: 336
Threads: 16
Joined: Jan 2013
Reputation:
2
I don't know about an early winter, But I would like to see some 70deg days.
Posts: 2,036
Threads: 177
Joined: Aug 2007
Reputation:
20
( when I reeled in a fish another fish was following behind. )
the other day I was reeling in to change my dodger while fishing for kokanee, it was down about 45 feet
when it got close to the boat I saw this great big cut the biggest I think I have ever seen following behind the squid.
Posts: 1,196
Threads: 80
Joined: Jan 2016
Reputation:
7
(08-01-2020, 05:04 PM)kentofnsl Wrote: I usually wait until the middle July to begin fishing Strawberry again after ice fishing. I did the same this year. I typically do OK in July, August and September, but my go-to months have been October and November (all trips are vertically jigging and casting and bouncing back to my boat).
This year has been unusual in the quantity of fish that we have been catching, so early in the year. Two of us fished on July 23rd and we caught 131 cutthroat. We fished yesterday and the Strawberry newbie, caught 44 and I caught 128 (all cutts).
We started fishing at 7:00 AM and got off of the water at 3:30 PM. During that time, I think there were a couple times that I went 2 minutes without a bite! The quantity was unusual, and what really surprised me is that the fish were acting like it was October or November. About 1/3 of the time, when I reeled in a fish another fish was following behind. If a fish got off, sometimes even after reeling it in for 20 feet or more, that fish, or perhaps it was a trailing fish, would immediately grab my jig again. If I started quickly, reeling in from the bottom, and stopped reeling, down at least 15' (we were fishing in 42' of water), almost every time, a fish would hit my jig.
Only disappointment is that we didn't catch anything over the slot. Tipping with cut bait worked the best, and tipping with 1/2 of a crawler would also get a bite. White tube jigs were the hot color but other colors would also generate some action. Who's "They" ?
Posts: 15,506
Threads: 1,313
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
12
(08-02-2020, 05:10 AM)Jmorfish Wrote: Who's "They" ? "They" are the fish. The fish are already in the pattern that I typically don't see until October or November, so I say the fish are forecasting an early winter, by moving into their late fall pattern in July. Obviously, I could be wrong, but maybe they know (or sense) something that we don't. Write or wrong it is fun to conjecture.
Posts: 33,278
Threads: 413
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
33
Nice report Kent, it it normal to catch slot busters this time of the year or is that more likely to occur in the Fall?
Posts: 15,506
Threads: 1,313
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
12
(08-02-2020, 08:00 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: Nice report Kent, it it normal to catch slot busters this time of the year or is that more likely to occur in the Fall?
I usually catch more in the fall and winter (ice fishing). I think the largest fish are hanging out in what they consider more ideal conditions. I believe, at this time of year, the larger cutthroat are in deeper water, in order to find cooler temperatures, than what we were fishing.
Posts: 931
Threads: 6
Joined: May 2012
Reputation:
0
08-04-2020, 03:52 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-04-2020, 04:09 AM by RonPaulFan.)
It's true -- we will have a harsh winter!
Of course, the fish know. But, I have a further confirmation from the same source used by the National Weather Service.
It's late Autumn and the Indians on a remote reservation in North Dakota have asked their new Chief if the coming winter is going to be cold or mild.
Since he was a modern-day Chief he'd never actually been taught the old indian ways or their secrets, so when he looked at the sky, he just couldn't tell what the winter weather was going to be like. Nevertheless, in order not to disappoint the tribe and to be on the safe side, he told them that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that they should collect firewood and be prepared.
However, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, “Is the coming winter going to be cold?”
“It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold" they responded. So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be better prepared. A week later, he called the National Weather Service again, “Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?”
“Yes”, replied the man at National Weather Service this time, even more certain,“it's going to be a very, very cold winter.”
So the Chief went back to his people once again and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could lay their hands on.
Two weeks later, worried about the mountains of wood and the hard work the tribe was putting in collecting it, the chief called the National Weather Service just to be absolutely sure."Are you definitely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?”
“Absolutely”, the weatherman said, “It's looking more and more like it's going to be one of the coldest winters on record.”
“But how can you be so certain?” the chief asked. "Well, for a start" the weatherman replied, “the Indians are collecting a shedload of firewood.”
https://www.thestoveyard.com/news/news/2...t-firewood
|
