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we had a good day Sunday. we decided to get there earlier than last time, and got there about 8. fished my go-to white glow jig tipped with salmon egg.

within 20 minutes I had a super-fat 14" one on the ice. we had dead spots in the action for anywhere from 30-90 minutes. in fact the joke between us was, there was just a single group of fish lapping the lake and it took 90 minutes to complete a lap. at one point i said "any minute now..." and hooked into a fish that would have been a personal best rainbow -- in summer or winter. i feathered him in real gentle and had him 2/3 out of the hole when he spit the hook and slowly slid backwards into the hole. i dropped to my knees and shot my arm into the hole but missed grabbing him bare-handed. my buddy has been relentlessly reminding me how comical that whole scene was.

buddy caught and lost one, we both had nibbles and misses. i did land one 12" so came home with two. that was enough action, and the fish huge enough, to keep me coming back for more.

other notes:

stomach all the way to the poop chute was absolutely bursting with snails. they're eating well there!

the ice creaked, popped and pinged just about the whole time. very creepy. but rock-solid.

romanfishing

12/20/2011 10:13:00 AM

Are you fishing in Hog Lake or Fishtrap Lake?

Jay K

12/20/2011 12:10:00 PM

@romanfishing - Fishtrap closed Sept 30.

TroutCowboy

12/20/2011 12:25:00 PM

i was at hog, which is more or less right next door to fishtrap. in fact you take the fishtrap exit off i-90 to get there.

raffensg64

12/20/2011 10:30:00 PM

Just curious, Troutcowboy......are those glow jigs you are using of the rubber tube type and about 1.5" long? I always used teardrop jigs and swedish pimples tipped with salmon eggs at Hog, but have found the most popular lure here in AK are the glow-in-the dark tube jigs. All fish love em.....trout, char, silvers, even pike. Folks up here fish them straight, no eggs, worm, or anything......and the fish will crush them even when "dead sticking". They're made by Live Line Lures out of Colorado Springs, CO and are something you guys might want to try. I never saw them in stores in the Spokane area, though, but they can be ordered directly from the company.

TroutCowboy

12/20/2011 10:46:00 PM

thanks for the tip! i will definitely look for them online, i am on the last of the half-dozen i bought several years ago. i don't remember the make or model, only that i bought them at the general store in spokane. it's a very small jig, maybe 1" total, from the head to the tip of the tail. the body is more of a regular rubber jig bod, kind of ribbed like a maggot, with a whispy little tail that moves while jigging. i haven't tried a tube yet.

they are effective in the same ways you mentioned -- tipped or plain. i catch fish either way, with movement or without (in fact, i caught the 14" in the photo while i the rod was laying on the ice and i was walking over to bring my chair over to the hole!). i just bring it up every once in a while to recharge the body with some light.

i am definitely look up the live line website, thanks again!

raffensg64

12/21/2011 11:16:00 PM

Live Line Baits if Live Line doesn't get you anything!

Wheezzy

12/22/2011 9:34:00 AM

We we're out there Sat, I had one take my whole pole down thru the ice. I was lucky enough to reach thru the hole and grab it.
keep an eye on those poles, dont stray too far from the hole.

MotoBoat

12/22/2011 10:31:00 AM

Wheezzy, was the fish still there?

Wheezzy

12/22/2011 9:30:00 PM

Nope, it was gone.

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