Am rating this trip a 3 because surface conditions played a part in our fishing which, even though we caught more quality fish, I believe it also slowed the bite some.

We went up Friday evening so we could get an early start Saturday. We headed out of the marina right at 8am and there were 5 rigs already in the parking lot.

Armed with some information I gleaned from our last outing I turned downstream for one of my favorite spots for a test and it paid off nicely.

Started off much further downstream due to winds and “drift trolled” the opposite direction I usually do. The last 3 trips it has been fish on almost as soon as the rod went in the holder, but not so yesterday.

Gear out at 8:25 and almost 9 before our first hookup which came on my side. Played it right to the boat, and as Debbie reached over with the net, it spit the hook. Drat, It was a nice carryover too. Oh well, that’s why we call it fishing rather than catching!

Debbie hooked up next and reeled in a nice 17 ½” carryover. Reset, back to trolling and my turn again with a carbon copy at 17 ¼. Reset gear again, with a lull in the action before our next hookup but it was a double! Reeled mine to the boat first, quickly netted a 17” carryover and promptly dropped it on the deck so I could ready the net for Debbie. I could tell from the rod bend hers was a nicer fish, and oh was it, 3lbs, 3ozs, 20 inches and no adipose fin!

I was thrilled none of our catch had an adipose fin as I truly expected one or two to be a redband. By this time we were about 4 miles upstream from our start so decided to set gear back one more time before moving back downstream. A short while later Debbie hooked up with an 18” carryover and that was when I decided to back to where we started.

Our 6th keeper came shortly after the move and the very next one was a 16” redband which was carefully released. After 2 ½ hours on the water and 6 really nice carryovers from 17 to 20 inches in the cooler, we decided to call it and head back to the marina.

I noted a nearly full parking lot as we went by, evidently several other anglers were enjoying the nice day at Roosevelt too. We put the boat away, had a leisurely lunch and while Debbie packed things inside I took care of a few things outside before loading the truck. Winds had died down, the sun was warm, both my gals dozed on the way home, and that made it a 5 in my book. :-)

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