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[cool][size 1][#0000ff]Man! October 22 and I had not caught a trout yet this year. Took care of that at Yuba this morning.
Launched with TubeBabe about 7:30 AM, under the bridge. Still lots of water. Air temp 35, water 52 at launch. Mist coming off the still water. Very clear. No ducks flying.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No surface action visible anywhere on the lake. Tried a variety of lures in front of the spillway and then started working up the face of the dam. About halfway down the dam, got a huge whack, a surface flurry, a long run, some underwater rolling and a long line release. Got my heart going anyway.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]After a couple of non-hookup pokes, I finally got the single hook on my homemade spinner solidly into a nice rainbow. Love to hear the drag sing on a light reel. Those Yuba bows put on a show. Netted my first of three four pounders.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A few minutes later, my retrieve stopped dead and then my little rod arched over and my reel screamed at me. A bodacious bow jumped about six times in a row before flinging my spinner back at me. No probs. I got the fun outta that bad boy. It was probably the largest I hooked all day. Easily over six or seven pounds.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I kept moving around to the end of the dam and then onto the sand and gravel shoreline, casting my spinner close to shore and beginning the retrieve almost as soon as it splashed down. Had several hits within seconds. Handcuffed me on a few, but I did keep another 4 pounder and "released" a few more.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Hooked and landed my six pound 23 incher just off the rocks across from the ramp. My spinner landed within inches of the rock and the fish was on and jumping as soon as I made the first turn on the handle. Took me almost 10 minutes to convince that porky lady troutski to climb into my net.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That was about 9:30. The sun was growing higher and warmer and the fish seemed to leave the shoreline. Although the trollers, working out farther, never had a bite that I could tell. There were about 4 trollers and several "bank tanglers" TubeBabe saw one guy catch one near the dam right at daybreak, but that was the only fish we saw taken besides ours.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe had scored one 20 inch 3# bow, and had a couple of other inquiries. Oh yeah, she snagged a yearling carplet too. I figured the trout action was over for the morning so I rigged up with a chartreuse roadrunner jig and started casting and jigging for perch. On about the fourth or fifth cast into deeper water with the bright little bit of paint and spinner, I was hooked up into another reel screamer. A third 4# bow went into the basket, along with two others and the six pounder. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The last trout came at 11 AM. We picked up the kicking pace and started moving back along the dam toward the launch point. I had a couple of more thumps on the chartreuse Roadrunner. Just before we got to the end of the dam, and the channel, I had a solid take and the battle was on. I handed the rod off to TubeBabe, to fight the fish. Low and be old. It turned out to be a little 20 inch northern pike...on that dinky little Roadrunner. He posed for a picture and got TubeBabe's hands slimy before being slipped back in the water.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I took my rod with the deadly tidbit on it back, and started fanning casts around before we headed in. Two more hard hits, but no hookups. I changed to a spinner with a single hook and lots of chartreuse. A few casts later, a second northern. Got a few pics of him and sent him back to join the others. Looks like a population is underway.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The rainbows are glutting on minnows. Every fish I hooked was barfing up minnows. And, every one that hit the fillet board had a gutful. They also had surprisingly pretty pink flesh for meat eaters. (see pic)[/#0000ff]
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Tube.
I'm hoping to get out Wednesday with my tubing partner. Your account of your trip with your wife to Yuba has got me "stoked". I've had my tube inflated for several days now with no evidence of a leak so it must have been a sticky Boston Valve.
The flesh of those rainbows is nice and orange. Must be some crustaceans as well as minnows in their diet. The last trout I caught looked like that. I took 15 crayfish out of her and about half of them were still alive.
We're limited to flyfishing on the ponds we fish but I've taught my buddy to push the envelope. We discovered the "bows" like tube jigs. And based on your success with the spinners I'm going to toss some flyrod spinners and "beetle spins". I'm gonna have to check out Bass Pro and see if I can get some tiny roadrunners. I've been flycasting tiny jigs for years now but have never used the Roadrunners. They look like a winner. I'm hoping they never get around to banning lead up here in Ontario. There's talk of a ban on the sale. If they ban the usage it will be indeed. Have you ever made jigs from tin or are you still okay with lead down there?
Thanks to your Yuba account and the great pictures I can't wait for Wednesday.
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[cool][#0000ff]Thankfully, not many states have gone completely wacko by outlawing the use of lead jigs. Hope I am fishing in the celestial ponds by the time that happens.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are no crayfish in that lake, and that is why I was surprised about the color. Some of the fish were paler than others, but about half were nice and orange. They must at least be getting some insects in the diet, to provide the vitamin A and carotene.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I make all of my own lures and spinners. If you go down to the bottom of the Best of The Best, you will find some TubeDude's Tidbits that include links to some of my posts on lure making. Here are some pics of some of the trout lures I make...spoons, Roadrunners and spinners.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you're lucky, maybe Santa will tuck a few samples in with those stickers.[/#0000ff]
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You both had a real nice day of fishing! Kinda nice that your wife doesn't mind the coldness and loves fishing! I'm in the mood for a rainbow trout dinner....
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[cool][#0000ff]Take my word for it, those were great. I broiled some for dinner last night, and smoked three of them all day yesterday. Here are some pics of the smoking process.[/#0000ff]
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Yummmmmmy.... I gotta go change my shirt, it's all wet!
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You just reminded me i have a smoker duh![ ] Whats one of your recipes for smoking? Gonna do it next time i catch some bows.
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[cool][#0000ff]I have previously posted [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=205567;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread"]SMOKED CATFISH[/url] (link), with pics and everything. The basic recipe is the same.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I do not soak them in brine, like a lot of folks. I don't like them too salty and I am not worried about curing them to last for a long time. They don't stay around long enough to spoil.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I just sprinkle them with salt, sugar and a mix of spices and let them sit an hour or so to form a glaze. Then, I smoke them over a period of several hours, checking to see how they are doing...adding a new pan of chips about three or four times. You may want to rotate the shelves a time or two to get even cooking and smoking.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The one thing I do with trout that I don't do with catfish is leave the skin on. Trout will fall apart as they cook if they are completely filleted and skinned before smoking. BUT, if you leave the skin on, you might want to put the racks in the smoker before putting the fish in...skin side down. The skin is slick and they slide off the metal rack while you are loading the smoker. I found out the hard way.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also, trout are better if they are not always smoked until they turn to jerky. I like to leave them a little bit moist.[/#0000ff]
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[cool][#0000ff]I do a lot of "dipsticking" and "donut dunking" with a long rod made from flyrod blanks. It works especially well when working around shoreline cover, but will work just as well in the open water, if it is not too deep. The long rod is not as sensitive for feeling light "ticks", when the fish are tentative.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The reel loaded with mono should work fine, but you can also just put a few feet on the end of your flyline...like an elongated leader. I have done that in stream fishing before, when I wanted to "dropshot" or flip cast sunken flies when the fish were deep.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]By the way, I am attaching a pic of some small Roadrunner jigs I have just put together, for fly rod casting. They are on size 6 hooks and 1/32 oz. heads. It is quite possible that some of those may be included with your BFT stickers.[/#0000ff]
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Thank you T.D. You are an inspiration indeed. The finders alerted us to the fact that most of the fish were fairly close to shore. We didn't fish too much in the open water and tried to present at about 4 feet down which is where most of the fish were showing After catching a couple with my new jigging setup I started tossing tiny jigs with my poor man's "spey rod". This netted me a couple more fish but I lost quite a few to poor hook sets. (Gotta get a decent hook hone!)
I really do enjoy long rods and this spring I was hoping to find an affordable 10 foot flyrod. Not wanting to pay almost $900 for a 10 foot Sage I browsed around the new Bass Pro up here in Ontario and found a 10 and a half foot steelhead rod. I can cast my tiny jigs very efficiently using an 8 weight weight forward fly line on that rod. It is very efficient when the trout are hugging the shore lines. I can toss it almost into the grass retrieve mostly with a rod lift, for a few feet and then pick it up and recast while moving slowly down the shoreline. This rod will also be very efficient for fishing those little jigs in a "high sticking" fashion in moving water. Brought a couple of rainbows home for dinner. Wish I had a smoker. The club I fish actually allows us to keep 40 fish with our seasonal membership. I am mostly a catch and release guy but if I had a smoker ............?
I noticed in the Bass Pro catalogue that they carry rods up to 14 feet long for crappie fishing. Have you ever tried one of those?
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[cool][#0000ff]I have been using long rods to "reach out and touch some fish" for many years. They are really handy from a tube. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Yes, I do use a 12' crappie rod, purchased from Bass Pro several years ago. It is made by B & N (I think). It only has a foam handle, with no real seat, although I think they come with reel seats these days. I tape on a small cheap crappie reel, filled with 4# mono and I am good to go.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Here is a [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=130545;#130545"]LINK TO A POST[/url] we had on this issue a while back, with some pics of several different long rods I have made for different fishing situations.[/#0000ff]
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Oh boy that's a lot of rods that u got leaning at one coner! I looked in [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=4366;"] [#333366][size 1] PAT'S OFFICE.jpg [/size][/#333366][/url][size 1](61.8 KB) and I liked the office! Mine is the woodworking office and not as neat as your office![/size]
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[cool]Wow! Just read that old thread that you linked to on rod building, and it was quite impressive. I hate to admit it, but it looks like you've peaked the interest of another "future rod builder," TD! I just got a new job, so the income will get a little better for my fam soon, but right now I still need to pay off some debts and get outta my in-laws and into a house next summer. However, after that I may have some funds and time (yeah right on the time part) to start getting into that stuff. Let's see, let me dream a little...I need a couple of great perch/bluegill/crappie rods, a couple more great spinning medium action rods, a couple of nice cat spinning rods, cat baitcasting rods, bass bait casters, and of course, they'll all have to be Loomis blanks too... Like Jed said in that thread last year, I want to (and hopefully will) have as much tackle and materials as you some day too! Well, a fella can dream, can't he?[crazy]
For right now though, since funds are tight, I'd better just stick with making my own jigs with what I have at the moment. Dang you, Pat-you got me into that too, LOL!,
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[cool]Hey, this rod-building part of the thread got me to thinking about which type of spinning REELS do you prefer, TD? I've never really asked you that one before. Personally, I've purchased a few of the nicer Shimano ones (the ones with the 3 or more steel ball bearings in the $80-$110 range) the past few years and have been VERY pleased with them so far, but I've also heard that the Pflueger(sp?) lineup is pretty good too, but I'm still pretty much a rookie so what do I know yet? Which do you prefer, and why?
Also, I currently don't have any baitcasters yet (but hope to change that next year) but I think I remember a thread where you said you like some of the Abu Garcia Ambassedor models?
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[cool][#0000ff]Hey Geoff, congrats on getting the job. Hope everything works out well for you. I am sure that once you have some "net spendable" that you will find a place to "invest" some of it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Reels? Over the years I have tried just about every kind made. I tend to buy the light models, and I catch large fish on them, so that really puts them to the test. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I still own and use several Shimano ultralight spinning reels I bought in the 80's. I keep them tuned up and have replaced quite a few bail springs, but they still work like fine watches. However, I have not been as happy with some of the newer models. More plastic inside. You have to get spendy to get good Shimanos.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I do own and love some of the Shimano baitcasters though. You can get good ones for a bit over $100. Can't get very good baitcasters for much less. Again, I have used Daiwa, Garcia, and several others.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The Pflueger President is a great little spinning reel in the price range...about $60. But, I have really been enjoying the Okuma light spinning reels. I currently carry two of the Okuma Epixors and a Fina on my five rod setup for my tube. The other spinner is a Shimano and the baitcast is also a light left handed Shimano. The thing I like most about the Okumas, besides lightness, is the smooth retrieve and drag system. Never had a failure in the drag yet.[/#0000ff]
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[cool]Pat, thanks (as usual) for your excellent advice and tips on reels. I'm going to have to check out the Okuma spinning reels, and next year I'm going to get a good baitcaster rig too!
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[cool][#0000ff]A word of advice on the baitcasters is to try to get someone to let you try a couple of different models, and learn the basics of using them before you buy. Just like fly casting, the right gear and a bit of instruction can make a world of difference in the learning curve and in the enjoyment of the new tackle.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I'm sure there will be "someone" to help show you the ropes...or lines.[/#0000ff]
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