S & M

[Gone Forever]

After getting my car aligned took way longer than it should, my son wanted to go fishing so we decided to run up and see if the Kokes had turned red yet and were gathering in the stream, I did not see any.
Water level is good for this time of year, maybe only 6' or so below full pool with just a couple of weeks of water year left.  We took an inflatable kayak and not much else.  No fish finder or other gadgets. The stocking report looked like they have been putting a steady stream of 11 inch fish in every 2-3 weeks since ice off so I expected the population to be pretty good and from what I has seen rising a couple of weeks ago on a recon mission I wasn't wrong.
We inflated and my son headed for the East side.  He fished around an inlet but the wind wouldn't him have any boat control so he moved to the middle where he would have time to fish while he drifted back to shore.  
I went back down lake a bit and set my chair up to throw some PB while casting spinners.
Things were kind of smelly for a while, then, just about when the sun started to come off the East side it started.  
I watched my son catch several fish casting and could see them surfacing and splashing close enough to him he could have hit them with the paddle.  It was happening for me as well on the shore.  Lots of fish around. This kept up until dark and was all over the lake.
We saw a couple of paddle boarders, a couple of kayakers (reported same luck as us) and one motorboat that launched around 5, went to the inlet area, circled a couple of times then anchored and were jigging.
Final count was 2 small kokanee and 3 rainbows for my son and 2 rainbows for me.  The Kokes were about 10" and maybe 2nd year fish...no color at all, bright silver and almost black back. The bows ranged from 13" and fat to 11".
Lure of the day was a 1/4 oz Thomas Buoyant in Brown trout pattern thrown and reeled back in medium fast and shallow. Hits were savage.
S&M is such a gem, close enough yet far enough, beautiful views, quiet and not crowded. No wakers.

[lovetofish]

I haven't fished there in a couple of years. I like catching the grayling using a fly and bubble. It sounds like a trip there is in order but think I'll wait until the leaves start turning color. I have a friend who has a cabin nearby, so I'll have to see if he wants to join me.

[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for the report, we don't get many from S&M. Sounds like a good day, even though you got there late. So your son caught the kokes on a fly?

[Gone Forever]

Thanks for the report, we don't get many from S&M. Sounds like a good day, even though you got there late. So your son caught the kokes on a fly?

No, Thomas Buoyant in Brown Trout pattern.  
 The bugs the trout were surfacing for were fairly large and very dark in color but I could not get close because I was on shore.

[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for the report, we don't get many from S&M. Sounds like a good day, even though you got there late. So your son caught the kokes on a fly?

No, Thomas Buoyant in Brown Trout pattern.  
 The bugs the trout were surfacing for were fairly large and very dark in color but I could not get close because I was on shore.

OK, I had never heard of a thomas buoyant lure, so I was thinking it was some kind of streamer fly. Is this what your son was using?

[Gone Forever]

Thanks for the report, we don't get many from S&M. Sounds like a good day, even though you got there late. So your son caught the kokes on a fly?

No, Thomas Buoyant in Brown Trout pattern.  
 The bugs the trout were surfacing for were fairly large and very dark in color but I could not get close because I was on shore.

OK, I had never heard of a thomas buoyant lure, so I was thinking it was some kind of streamer fly. Is this what your son was using?



Yes, that is the one. It is one of our "go to" lures and is responsible for my PB 26" Cutty at the Berry.  He had tried a dodger and squid, couple of colors, small Rapala but the Buoyant worked.  He caught the kokes trolling and the bows on the cast.  I caught my bows casting same lure from shore after he told me what to put on, and it worked.  

Buoyant - (thomaslures.com)

[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for the report, we don't get many from S&M. Sounds like a good day, even though you got there late. So your son caught the kokes on a fly?

No, Thomas Buoyant in Brown Trout pattern.  
 The bugs the trout were surfacing for were fairly large and very dark in color but I could not get close because I was on shore.

OK, I had never heard of a thomas buoyant lure, so I was thinking it was some kind of streamer fly. Is this what your son was using?



Yes, that is the one. It is one of our "go to" lures and is responsible for my PB 26" Cutty at the Berry.  He had tried a dodger and squid, couple of colors, small Rapala but the Buoyant worked.  He caught the kokes trolling and the bows on the cast.  I caught my bows casting same lure from shore after he told me what to put on, and it worked.  

Buoyant - (thomaslures.com)

At that link, it says, "It is important to use a moderately slow retrieve or troll speed for the Buoyant to achieve its most effective action." What would you guess is the moderate slow retrieval speed they are talking about? I'm guessing it's less than one MPH but what do you think?

[Gone Forever]

[quote pid="1157021" dateline="1725217238"]
At that link, it says, "It is important to use a moderately slow retrieve or troll speed for the Buoyant to achieve its most effective action." What would you guess is the moderate slow retrieval speed they are talking about? I'm guessing it's less than one MPH but what do you think?
[/quote]

As with all lures and spoons things like line size and lure size make a difference but I would say 1 to 1.5 would be about right.  On a swivel you will see it spinning if you are going too fast and swinging from side to side when it's right.

[wiperhunter2]

[quote pid="1157021" dateline="1725217238"]
At that link, it says, "It is important to use a moderately slow retrieve or troll speed for the Buoyant to achieve its most effective action." What would you guess is the moderate slow retrieval speed they are talking about? I'm guessing it's less than one MPH but what do you think?

As with all lures and spoons things like line size and lure size make a difference but I would say 1 to 1.5 would be about right.  On a swivel you will see it spinning if you are going too fast and swinging from side to side when it's right.
[/quote]

OK, thanks, that's about the speeds I troll for trout, 1.5 but I'm not sure if this, new to me, gas kicker will go 1 mph. Worse case, I'm sure my electric will work at that speed just fine.