Great day at Wilderness. I took all four of my boys fishing last Saturday. We hit the lake about 9AM. I usually like to troll using a hot shot or triple teaser, no pop gear because I feel like I'm fighting the pop gear more than the fish. But I've notice lately that the fishing has been slow for trolling.
The last time I hit this lake a couple of weeks ago, a friend and I trolled for a few hours and only managed one fish. Then I dropped him off because he had to go, and I started bottom fishing with orange garlic scented marshmellows and worms. Within 45 mins I had my limit! So this time I said forget the trolling, cuz I have four boys under the age of 8 in the boat, we need to get into some fish fast if it's gonna be any fun.
I went right back to the same spot where I limited out the last time and we started hauling them in. I've also noticed at this lake that it does you no good to get there early, other than to stake a claim to a good honey hole, because the fish start biting exactly at 10AM every time! Anyways, we had six fish in the boat after only a few hours and the kids were getting restless so we started to head in, we reeled in our lines and nobody had marshmellows on the hooks, so I decided we would troll in to the launch slowly with the worms. Halfway to the launch we had two fish hit at the same time, my 8 yr old loved it!
On a side note, two guys got there the same time we did and were trolling and only had one fish, I told them what was working, but they seemed kinda grumpy and didn't want to listen. I never understand this, if I'm not catching fish and someone wants to tell me how they are, I'm all ears.
One more thing, I don't know if I'll ever use power bait again! I've gone with Gomakutsu red hooks, orange garlic mellows, and worms and smoked more fish then I ever had with power bait. I'd put money on this at any lake!
If you want to catch fish at this lake, use this recipe and you'll have a nice meal, if you're looking for a good spot on this lake, try anywhere on the east shore, about 15 yards from the bank and they're there. Good luck, and tight lines!
