blufin loui
10/3/2010 8:37:00 AMGlad to see you guys are out and plying the waters, and able to post some pics. Can't wait for the water temps to cool down.
You two stay safe and well
Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Austin's Northwest Adventures
Made an early run to Roosevelt yesterday hoping to get into some 'bows. Talked to a friend of mine that was out on Thursday and they caught one shy of 3 limits (3 licensed anglers in the boat) between Seven Bays and the mouth of the Spokane arm near Two Rivers. Said they caught several carryover 'bows that went close to and over 3lbs. So, unlike normal, we decided to try that area and see how it worked for us.
We started fishing just east of the marina and our lines weren't in the water 5 minutes before the first strike. We had a fish on shortly after, and lost it about 50' short of the boat. That was the norm all day!!! I don't know if they were short striking on our offerings or what. I managed to get the 4th fish to the boat and my wife scooped it up. Not huge, but a chunky 16oz 'bow. For a change, my side of the boat was the hot side, and I picked up a nice carryover next that went 2lbs, 8ozs. Hooked into another just as soon as I set the rod in the holder and it was another carryover but this one got bumped off the hook during netting.
Next it was my wife's turn to hook into a carryover and the scale showed it was 3lbs, 1oz. Turns out it was the largest fish of the day. Most fish were in the 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 ound range today, and will make for tasty smoked delicacies. ;-)
We worked the area from Seven Bays to just shy of the confluence and had 6 fish in the boat to show for it - me with a limit and my wife with more to catch. About 11:00, we decided to run to the marina for relief breaks for the dog and us, and then motored down to Sterling Point to see if fishing was better. We toughed it out at Sterling Point, finally managing to get Debbie's limit, but it took all afternoon to do so.
The best way I can describe the bite is fickle. I don't know how many times I saw the rod do a serious nose dive only to come right back up. Other times it was a tap, tap, tap and a slow pull then nothing and this was while trolling! The weirdest bite I think we've ever experienced at Roosevelt.
There were a lot of boats out yesterday, more than I think we've ever seen on Roosevelt. I guess the word is out fishing is good, and with the fair weather, everyone wanted in on it. We were suprised to see dozens of people camping out on the shorelines still, and several of the large house boats out and about. There were even a few jet skis on the water.
Conditions were nice and cool in the morning, with surface temps still quite warm at 68.8° when we launched to 72° when we finally headed in. There was a pretty good breeze early in the day which accounted for some good wave action, especially in the middle of the lake near Seven Bays. It was rough enough my wife had to hang on to the side when she was holding her fish for the picture. We caught the carryover trout suspended over the open water near the middle of the lake.
We started out fishing with a pair of leaded line rigs with 50' leaders out 165' and a pair of mono only outfits with plugs at 225'. Each leaded line rige was pulling a Frisky Jenny fly, one in perch pattern the other a Trick or Treat. Only the perch pattern produced, so the Trick or Treat was changed out to another perch pattern Frisky Jenny. The mono outfits produced one trout after a couple hours so they were stowed. Only one side of the boat produced consistently, and all day, yesterday, and I can't explain why. Both leaded line outfits we use are identical, and they were rigged with the same fly and tipped with the same 1/3 crawler.
We had a nice day on the water, and enjoyed being away from "life" for the day, I rate yesterday's outing a 4 only due to the many fish that were on, then off. We easily had double or more fish on than we actually put in the cooler. Maybe I need to sharpen hooks? :-)
Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Austin's Northwest Adventures