11-11-2019, 05:44 AM
Joatmon and I went to Trial on Saturday on a quest to catch all four species of game fish-- a grand slam. We started out early but hit a few snags along the way and got there mid-morning. Quite a few anglers were scattered over the lake, but there was plenty of empty space. There was no snow or ice on the road until the last bit and up onto the parking area. The lake was free of any snow and had a rippled and undulating surface, almost like the waves had flash-frozen in place. The drag down to the lake was a hundred yards or so. Most of it was over shallow snow with some rocks poking up through intermingled with patches of bare rubble. It wasn't very steep but I did have to stop my sled once with my calf--ouch. When we got onto the ice we went until we found some fresh holes and set up to try there. It was only about four feet; I drilled another hole further out and was in seven fow. We got our lines in the water and soon landed our first of many planter rainbows. It was good to see fish on the ice and to have the skunk booted right out. The fish were pretty aggressive and were pulling my bobbers under while I was scurrying around getting things set. A nice guy who was fishing farther out came by and told us they were in 17 fow and had been catching a lot of fish including several tigers. They were having their best success using crawlers for bait. A while later they packed up to go to the other end of the lake and said we were welcome to take their spots. We eagerly did so.
I was using a lime Ratfinkee with a white glow head and a pink and white Ratso; both were tipped with waxworms. Brett was using some sort of white jig with earthworm. He used several different things. I hope he'll chime in and tell what was working and what was not. Anyway we had steady, not hot, catching all day long with lulls and spurts along the way. I think we were over the old streambed and the fish may have been cruising up and down it. Eventually I caught a tiger and was happy to add a species for the contest. Then Brett caught a nice little brook. We were on our way to getting a slam but it was not to be. He never got a tiger and I couldn't dredge up a brookie. Neither of us caught a grayling and it was frustrating because we know they are being caught by a lot of people. Toward the end of the day I tried meal worms and they caught fish too. We traded the lead back and forth all day and Brett caught a flurry at the end that put him ahead with 24 fish. I ended the day with 21, three of which were tigers. Most of the fish were caught within inches of the bottom though some were at mid-column, 8-10' down. We tried fishing at 4-5' from time to time as we had read that the grayling were being caught up top but had no luck there. The fish weren't jumping out of the holes into the buckets--we had to work at catching them. Sometimes they would bite a still bait but jigging was usually required. Where the fish had bitten aggressively in the morning, later the bite became very light. Brett's spring bobbers were working well for him. I used the smallest bobbers I could find and sometimes the bite merely made them quiver a bit. I had to practice a lot of patience while waiting for the fish to commit themselves. It was a good tune-up for finessing the fish this winter. I feel like it was a very good warm-up for the season ahead.
We may have stayed a little late but we were both stubborn about trying to catch those other species. We started to groan and say, "Dang it, another rainbow!" But we were rewarded by a beautiful moonrise. I won't try to describe it; just see the photo below. I figure you already know what stocker fish look like so I won't include any pictures of those.
Well, I have to go back and catch those other two species sometime this week. I don't mind going alone but if anyone else wants to go along we could watch each other's backs. PM me if you are interested.
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I was using a lime Ratfinkee with a white glow head and a pink and white Ratso; both were tipped with waxworms. Brett was using some sort of white jig with earthworm. He used several different things. I hope he'll chime in and tell what was working and what was not. Anyway we had steady, not hot, catching all day long with lulls and spurts along the way. I think we were over the old streambed and the fish may have been cruising up and down it. Eventually I caught a tiger and was happy to add a species for the contest. Then Brett caught a nice little brook. We were on our way to getting a slam but it was not to be. He never got a tiger and I couldn't dredge up a brookie. Neither of us caught a grayling and it was frustrating because we know they are being caught by a lot of people. Toward the end of the day I tried meal worms and they caught fish too. We traded the lead back and forth all day and Brett caught a flurry at the end that put him ahead with 24 fish. I ended the day with 21, three of which were tigers. Most of the fish were caught within inches of the bottom though some were at mid-column, 8-10' down. We tried fishing at 4-5' from time to time as we had read that the grayling were being caught up top but had no luck there. The fish weren't jumping out of the holes into the buckets--we had to work at catching them. Sometimes they would bite a still bait but jigging was usually required. Where the fish had bitten aggressively in the morning, later the bite became very light. Brett's spring bobbers were working well for him. I used the smallest bobbers I could find and sometimes the bite merely made them quiver a bit. I had to practice a lot of patience while waiting for the fish to commit themselves. It was a good tune-up for finessing the fish this winter. I feel like it was a very good warm-up for the season ahead.
We may have stayed a little late but we were both stubborn about trying to catch those other species. We started to groan and say, "Dang it, another rainbow!" But we were rewarded by a beautiful moonrise. I won't try to describe it; just see the photo below. I figure you already know what stocker fish look like so I won't include any pictures of those.
Well, I have to go back and catch those other two species sometime this week. I don't mind going alone but if anyone else wants to go along we could watch each other's backs. PM me if you are interested.
[signature]
The older I get the more I would rather be considered a good man than a good fisherman.