STRAWBERRY THURS

[Kent]

If you want to catch larger fish go with the minnows. Last fall was the first time that I ever fished with them myself. I net them fresh up there and put them on ice immediately. If you don't keep them on ice they go mushy really quick (besides it is illegal to fish with live minnows). I prefer to use a shiner minnow hook and run the hook up through the bottom of the jaw and out the top of the head of the minnow. If I am having my minnow stolen too often, I will sometimes use a minnow threader and run the leader through the length of the fish with the hook near the tail of the fish. I then either still fish or troll with them. Early and late in the day fishing can be red hot in the bays up there by merely casting the minnow out, without any weight on it at all, and drift troll it through the bay. I have also had good success using a slip bobber. If still fishing with them, pretend you are fishing for catfish when you get a bite. Let them run with it at least 5 feet before setting the hook. If you either miss the hook set, or hook the fish for only a few feet, let your line go slack, and most of the time the fish will grab it a second or third time (thank you BLM for this little bit of knowledge). I will troll with them without anything else on, with a small popgear, or with a dodger. I will use leaded line, or put them behind a downrigger; however, I am sure that long-lining them with monofilament would also work at times. The average size fish I catch at Strawberry on minnows is about 18 inches, and I usually catch several 20 inches or longer (longest caught was a 25 inch cutthroat -- only 1 inch short of state catch and release record).
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