01-01-2005, 02:31 PM
Bullfrog Fishing Report for Dec 27 Thru Dec 30
First off I want to wish Happy New Year to everyone. Bill and I just returned from Bullfrog where we had a wonderful three days of fishing. The 8 hours of driving was well worth it. We arrived Monday and after getting settled down in the Sutton creek area we ventured out to try some night fishing. We did not know the area very good so we stayed close to camp. We tried it for an hour and caught one fish each one nice five pound and a 2 ½ pound fish. Bill was not feeling the best so we called it a night. With the full moon we expected things to be slow so and Bill was not feeling the best so we figured we would check out the area around Bullfrog in case he started to feel worse. We decided to experiment with the JP rigs Kent taught me how to make and use. We didn’t start until 8:30 but I used a 3 oz weight on one pole and a 4 oz on another pole one at about 30 feet down and the other at 40 feet down. Bill decided to use the down rigger and set it at 30 feet. I was going to shoot for 70 foot of water to troll in but the bottom changed so much and so fast we had to work really hard to keep from hitting the bottom a lot. We started catching fish right away and they were all in the 5 to 6 lb range. It was great. We spent a lot of time figuring out how to position everything so that we had a routine. Simple things like where to put the hooks that needed to be batted, how to place everything in the boat so we could keep up with the fishing. It took quit a while to tire the fish down. It was a blast. By the time we made it to the marina our cooler was full. It only took 7 fish to fill the sucker up. They were longer than the cooler. We had to head back to camp to take care of the fish and change to the 55 gallon cooler. We made a place in the rocks to put the fish carcasses until we could haul them out with us. After soaking up the sun and beautiful weather we went out again and did not get 10 feet from shore and the crows were into the fish carcasses. A minute later a coyote grabbed one and was heading back into the tumble weeds. We fished until dark and had a great time. I quite the second pole because we could not keep up with the action of two poles and bate most of the time. The only thing that could of made the day better would have been if Bill would have been feeling better. It got dark really fast so we had a trick finding our way back to camp. The clouds moved in and boy was it dark. With a spot light everything looked the same. A friend lent me his GPS so it helped us find our way. It rained all night and Bill was miserable but fishing was at our doorstep so he got up despite the way he felt. By the time we got the fish taken care of and set for a wet day it was late getting out on the water. We had 20 crows and 3 coyotes watching us taking care of the fish this day. Everything was muddy and we were 20 pounds heavier by the time we tried to head out because of mud on the boots. With it being so dark all night I though it would be a great day of fishing especially after being spoiled the day before. I had high expectations for nonstop action. We decided to stick with what was working so we worked on refining our approach. I decided that I was not catching any more or less than Bill so I started using the down rigger. Things were a little slower the fish were smaller than the day before. They were hitting differently. We were missing a few fish and had established some areas were we were always getting fish or hits. I could not figure out how a fish could get the bate off of the hook and not get a hook in him. I was busy all day but we only landed 10 fish. I could not get my hands dry. It rained all day and when the wind picked up out of the west Bill wanted to get warm so we quit at 2:00. We had found a favorite area around the south west end of the house boats. I learned the hard way that when the rigs get roughed up that it was time to retire them or loose them. Despite our efforts to keep the boat clean the floor was red. Bill wanted to hit the sleeping bag to see if he could shake the cold a little, so we were in bed by 7:00. By 5:00 AM I had bed sores and talked him into going out early. I learned that you have to be set up better than we were to troll in the dark It was really tough. It seemed that every time we caught a fish near the main channel it was a small fish and that was the case for the first half hour in the dark. We drug one around and could not see the rod move and of course he managed to tangle up with the other line. We were use to having the line ripping out for 50 feet after the first hit. Trying to take care of that in the dark and keep track of where we were proved to be quite a core. The wind started to blow from the North then from the east then the north again finally settling on a constant south wind. By 8 AM we had 10 fish. It was a beautiful day except for the wind. It was tough trying to keep things slow enough to catch fish. We found fish just about everywhere. Some areas proved to be more productive than others but the fish were more abundant in the deep water. We caught more and bigger fish at 40 feet down than at 30 feet on Thursday. I saw fish come from 90 feet down and slam into our rigs at 40 feet down. The JP rig was dynamite in our book. We caught 21 fish on Thursday all but three over 4 pounds the biggest being 6.5 lbs. And 26 inches long. I know I need an electric fillet knife for the next trip. If Bill would have been feeling better and we could have fished like we normally do I think we could have easily doubled the number of fish we caught.
We had to chain up to get out of the mud in Sutton creek. If it is going to rain stay back on the hard packed path. It had a day to dry out so most of it was just fine but as you get closer to the water it turns to muck with a little rain. Oh one more thing that we learned about the marina is that the crow at the dock is very good at living out of boats. Before I made it to the end of the dock he was in the boat. I put a hat on my bread and he found that in about 10 seconds and was having his way with it before I got back to the boat. I put everything under coats and stuff and was going to head up the rest rooms and after going about 100 yard decided to take a turn and wait for Bill in the boat, by the time I got back to the boat that crow had pulled the coat off of Bills grocery sack tore open the side and was feasting on his sandwich rolls. I hope to try some of the other methods you all have shared with me on my next trip down. Thanks for all the help. Sorry about no pictures Bill and I are real mad about that oversight on our part. [cool]
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First off I want to wish Happy New Year to everyone. Bill and I just returned from Bullfrog where we had a wonderful three days of fishing. The 8 hours of driving was well worth it. We arrived Monday and after getting settled down in the Sutton creek area we ventured out to try some night fishing. We did not know the area very good so we stayed close to camp. We tried it for an hour and caught one fish each one nice five pound and a 2 ½ pound fish. Bill was not feeling the best so we called it a night. With the full moon we expected things to be slow so and Bill was not feeling the best so we figured we would check out the area around Bullfrog in case he started to feel worse. We decided to experiment with the JP rigs Kent taught me how to make and use. We didn’t start until 8:30 but I used a 3 oz weight on one pole and a 4 oz on another pole one at about 30 feet down and the other at 40 feet down. Bill decided to use the down rigger and set it at 30 feet. I was going to shoot for 70 foot of water to troll in but the bottom changed so much and so fast we had to work really hard to keep from hitting the bottom a lot. We started catching fish right away and they were all in the 5 to 6 lb range. It was great. We spent a lot of time figuring out how to position everything so that we had a routine. Simple things like where to put the hooks that needed to be batted, how to place everything in the boat so we could keep up with the fishing. It took quit a while to tire the fish down. It was a blast. By the time we made it to the marina our cooler was full. It only took 7 fish to fill the sucker up. They were longer than the cooler. We had to head back to camp to take care of the fish and change to the 55 gallon cooler. We made a place in the rocks to put the fish carcasses until we could haul them out with us. After soaking up the sun and beautiful weather we went out again and did not get 10 feet from shore and the crows were into the fish carcasses. A minute later a coyote grabbed one and was heading back into the tumble weeds. We fished until dark and had a great time. I quite the second pole because we could not keep up with the action of two poles and bate most of the time. The only thing that could of made the day better would have been if Bill would have been feeling better. It got dark really fast so we had a trick finding our way back to camp. The clouds moved in and boy was it dark. With a spot light everything looked the same. A friend lent me his GPS so it helped us find our way. It rained all night and Bill was miserable but fishing was at our doorstep so he got up despite the way he felt. By the time we got the fish taken care of and set for a wet day it was late getting out on the water. We had 20 crows and 3 coyotes watching us taking care of the fish this day. Everything was muddy and we were 20 pounds heavier by the time we tried to head out because of mud on the boots. With it being so dark all night I though it would be a great day of fishing especially after being spoiled the day before. I had high expectations for nonstop action. We decided to stick with what was working so we worked on refining our approach. I decided that I was not catching any more or less than Bill so I started using the down rigger. Things were a little slower the fish were smaller than the day before. They were hitting differently. We were missing a few fish and had established some areas were we were always getting fish or hits. I could not figure out how a fish could get the bate off of the hook and not get a hook in him. I was busy all day but we only landed 10 fish. I could not get my hands dry. It rained all day and when the wind picked up out of the west Bill wanted to get warm so we quit at 2:00. We had found a favorite area around the south west end of the house boats. I learned the hard way that when the rigs get roughed up that it was time to retire them or loose them. Despite our efforts to keep the boat clean the floor was red. Bill wanted to hit the sleeping bag to see if he could shake the cold a little, so we were in bed by 7:00. By 5:00 AM I had bed sores and talked him into going out early. I learned that you have to be set up better than we were to troll in the dark It was really tough. It seemed that every time we caught a fish near the main channel it was a small fish and that was the case for the first half hour in the dark. We drug one around and could not see the rod move and of course he managed to tangle up with the other line. We were use to having the line ripping out for 50 feet after the first hit. Trying to take care of that in the dark and keep track of where we were proved to be quite a core. The wind started to blow from the North then from the east then the north again finally settling on a constant south wind. By 8 AM we had 10 fish. It was a beautiful day except for the wind. It was tough trying to keep things slow enough to catch fish. We found fish just about everywhere. Some areas proved to be more productive than others but the fish were more abundant in the deep water. We caught more and bigger fish at 40 feet down than at 30 feet on Thursday. I saw fish come from 90 feet down and slam into our rigs at 40 feet down. The JP rig was dynamite in our book. We caught 21 fish on Thursday all but three over 4 pounds the biggest being 6.5 lbs. And 26 inches long. I know I need an electric fillet knife for the next trip. If Bill would have been feeling better and we could have fished like we normally do I think we could have easily doubled the number of fish we caught.
We had to chain up to get out of the mud in Sutton creek. If it is going to rain stay back on the hard packed path. It had a day to dry out so most of it was just fine but as you get closer to the water it turns to muck with a little rain. Oh one more thing that we learned about the marina is that the crow at the dock is very good at living out of boats. Before I made it to the end of the dock he was in the boat. I put a hat on my bread and he found that in about 10 seconds and was having his way with it before I got back to the boat. I put everything under coats and stuff and was going to head up the rest rooms and after going about 100 yard decided to take a turn and wait for Bill in the boat, by the time I got back to the boat that crow had pulled the coat off of Bills grocery sack tore open the side and was feasting on his sandwich rolls. I hope to try some of the other methods you all have shared with me on my next trip down. Thanks for all the help. Sorry about no pictures Bill and I are real mad about that oversight on our part. [cool]
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