GatorNate
4/28/2008 3:07:00 PMDo you guys release the bass??? I know it takes them SEVERAL years to get that big in the cooler waters we have here in the northwest. I notice you put a ton of reports on Eloika Lake (it's one of my favorite lakes too) so I'm hoping that the bass are catch and release! Thanks for your constant reporting - you guys seem to know what fishing is really about, fun!!!
Paul & Sammi
4/28/2008 4:43:00 PMWe release 95%+ of all the fish we catch. But this particular bass will be tonight's dinner. Sammi wanted one big one to eat once, It's the only large fish we have ever kept or probably ever will. We do keep a few crappie, perch and bass in the 9-12 inch size to eat now and then, and the trout that swallow the hook and can't be released. But that's it. All the rest go back for someone else to have some fun with. And the next time they are caught they will be even bigger fun. :)
bazzdude
4/28/2008 7:41:00 PMHey you two, i saw you guys out there sunday evening. I got skunked from 3-7, tried spinnerbaits, rapalas, jigs everything. I was woundering does the color of the jig matter and you say you are a few feet from the bottom? I usually put mine around 3 feet or more below the bobber. Hopefully the water temp goes up soon. O ya, do you also tip your jig with any worm? Ok that is all. O ya, and sammi, nice fish, i am happy for you. There will be more, use the top waters in a month or so and you will see. Nice Job. How did it taste?
*PRACTICE CATCH AND RELEASE*
*PRACTICE CATCH AND RELEASE*
Paul & Sammi
4/28/2008 11:42:00 PMHey bazzdude, We saw your truck there. Saw your report on Downs Lake too. Very Nice !!
Here is our no big secret method:
We use 1/16th or 1/32 oz jig heads with varying colors of skirts, or what a lot of people call tubes. We fish those below pencil type bobbers because of their sensitivity and and they let you work the jig to make it twitch and swim along. We use a slow retrieve by jigging it along for a couple feet and stopping for 30 seconds. This seems to get the best results, especially for crappies. Most of the time we are fishing from 3-5' down, which is about a foot or two above the bottom weeds in 90% of the lake. We always tip the jig off with a worm.
As for the colors, i don't know why fish like one over another. It seems to change from day to day sometimes. The yellow/white combo worked good the last time but nothing hit on any we tried yesterday but the black/orange ones. I often use 2 jigs with the second a foot above the first and put a different color on each and give em some variety. With 2 of us in the boat it also gives us more choices to throw at them and find the days favorite. The colors we have had the most luck with are: yellow, black/yellow, red/yellow, yellow/white, cream, black/orange, orange, and brown, in no particular order.
We spend a LOT of our free time at Eloika. We fished there about 40 times in 2007, so i would hope we do a little better than average there by now. But yesterday was a day we had to pay our dues to get a fish. Sammi has never been skunked at Eloika yet. I however....have! She was just born to fish i guess. Or maybe its because i am such a super fantastic boat operator and guide?? hmmm...........
Here is our no big secret method:
We use 1/16th or 1/32 oz jig heads with varying colors of skirts, or what a lot of people call tubes. We fish those below pencil type bobbers because of their sensitivity and and they let you work the jig to make it twitch and swim along. We use a slow retrieve by jigging it along for a couple feet and stopping for 30 seconds. This seems to get the best results, especially for crappies. Most of the time we are fishing from 3-5' down, which is about a foot or two above the bottom weeds in 90% of the lake. We always tip the jig off with a worm.
As for the colors, i don't know why fish like one over another. It seems to change from day to day sometimes. The yellow/white combo worked good the last time but nothing hit on any we tried yesterday but the black/orange ones. I often use 2 jigs with the second a foot above the first and put a different color on each and give em some variety. With 2 of us in the boat it also gives us more choices to throw at them and find the days favorite. The colors we have had the most luck with are: yellow, black/yellow, red/yellow, yellow/white, cream, black/orange, orange, and brown, in no particular order.
We spend a LOT of our free time at Eloika. We fished there about 40 times in 2007, so i would hope we do a little better than average there by now. But yesterday was a day we had to pay our dues to get a fish. Sammi has never been skunked at Eloika yet. I however....have! She was just born to fish i guess. Or maybe its because i am such a super fantastic boat operator and guide?? hmmm...........