Strawberry 05/26 Slayfest

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Well, I hit Strawberry today with a friend around 7:00 AM and the slaughter commenced. Water temp is 50 degrees and has cleared considerably during the last week. We started with pointers on the south end and never switched, the action was amazingly fast, as we boated over 60 fish (six over the slot) before 11 AM when the wind got strong. The key was shallow, shallow & shallow. We did not catch a fish deeper than 8 feet, and a majority in 3 to 5 feet of water. I kept the boat at about 10-12 feet deep and we casted to the bank, often landing the lure within 3 feet of the waters edge. The fish seemed to be keying on the waters edge, possibly gorging themselves on food coming into the lake as the water comes up. Twice we saw minnows being chased out of the water by a big cut. We promptly cast right onto the jumping minnow and foreclosed on the hunter. I talked to some guys jigging as we pulled out and they had fished four hours and had six fish between them. I’m sure some of the top jiggers on the board could crush that total, but it proved in my mind that the techniques we employed today were correct for the time of year. For those going this weekend, find a nice bank with access to deeper water, put on a pointer or deep diving rapala, and work it shallower than you feel comfortable with. We took 5-6 trips to the bank to retrieve a hung pointer, but I’d say 60+ was worth it.
Nice picture of a 24incher attached.
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