I decided that since skiing was not so great, and that I hadn't suffered enough in the cold this winter, I would go float tubing Saturday.
Where? somewhere easy to get to and open!
I put in at 7 Bays and kicked out dragging a big olive bugger and a sculpin pattern. I drug those around for an hour or so and switched to an egg sucking black bugger, size #4 xxlong hook.
The water was about 36 degrees and as i was deciding to leave, like always, I got a hit. So, forgetting that my toes were soon to go numb, I fished on for another half hour. Again, as I was preparing to leave, I hooked something nice. After a quick fight I brought to hand a nice 20" Rainbow.
Those fish know just when to dangle a carrot in front of your nose because I fished for another 1/2 hour and as the pain form the cold was driving me towards the boat ramp I hooked another fish. This time it was a spirited 16" rainbow that jumped a few times before being led to the net.
That was enough...I couldn't feel most of my feet and the pain radiating up my legs form the cold sent me packing.
My smoker was happy with the 2 fish and I have already forgotten how cold it was.

gregsalmon

2/16/2015 2:36:00 PM

Makes me wonder if your action to leave involved more speed, a change of direction, or a change in lure depth. Further, did any of those actions result in the bites?

Many times out mooching in the ocean I would tell everybody "reel em up" . Very common to get at least one bite on the way up.

Schenk

2/17/2015 10:11:00 AM

That is what I speculated too. The first good hit (no hook up, I failed to set the hook well and it got off right away) was at a dead slow float tubing troll speed. The next was while I was doing some short, but quick, 10" strips. 2-3-4 strips, and stop. Then 2-3-4 more strips, stop, and repeat. I was using a Rio Deep 7 line, 6wt, and probably down about 20 feet.
The second fish brought to hand hit my fly while I was doing longer strips with pauses. I think it was the pause and then the fish would hit when the fly moved again. That could have even been the case when I was just dragging the bugger around and got the first hit. I could have been messing around and at some point lifted my rod tip and then dropped it which would have caused a start-stop-start action.

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