Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Hammer Down Excursions
The fishing has been very slow this winter and today was no exception. Last year winter fishing was hot, so maybe word got out and the lake was fished heavily, earlier. I went across the lake from the launch and trolled clockwise in about 12 feet of water, along the shoreline, past the dock almost back to the launch, with a black wooly bugger/bead/smile blade rig of my own that has worked well here in the past couple years, and not a bite.
At this point I headed to the south west end of the lake where they seemed to hang out last winter and started trolling counter clockwise with a similar rig in purple, having snagged my black one as soon as I made it down there. After a couple of passes, I swapped out for a white wooly bugger combination and got one hit, then nothing, then another hit, then nothing, then a fish! It was a nice 14/15" rainbow and he gave a little fight but not as much as I've gotten used to here. He was quickly released, and I got another bump, but that was it. A 2nd pass across the same area didn't even get a nudge. By this time it was closing in on 4 pm and I motored back.
One guy who launched just as I was headed to the south west end and left just before I did said he never got a bite, and hadn't the 3 previous times he'd been there this winter. And one of the residents out in his yard said fishing had been very slow for him and all those he'd spoken to as well.
This is a great lake. I guess we'll just have to wait until it warms up!
