NorCal Kayak Anglers
Kayak Fishing Zone => General Fishing Tips => Topic started by: Bulldog---Alex on October 20, 2016, 08:56:16 PM
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So not sure if this will go anywhere but giving it a shot. :smt001
So when the weather starts to turn as we move into winter I start leaning towards fishing lakes. Not like i have been to many but working on that. Mostly to trout fish from my yak. Unfortunately the lakes I am close to are small and with just regular stockers that are replenished every few weeks because they get so much pressure. Don't get me wrong, some of them plant some bruisers to make up for the quality of the fight of some great lakes with hold overs that fight well.
So my post is about posting your favorite trout lure . It would be interesting to see some of people's favorite. I will start off with a few regulars and get into more favorites if there is input. :smt003
Pictured is the rapala j-7 floating. Your standard go to . firetiger and trout pattern.
Alex
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Hard to beat a Kastmaster or little Cleo.
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Daiwa Dr. Minnow
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Panther Martin spinner, black body yellow spots or F-4 flatfish yellow body black spots.
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Panther Martin spinner, black body yellow spots or F-4 flatfish yellow body black spots.
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Right lure wrong color,yellow and orange body with flo orange blade.the rest is top secret
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Those stocked trout have never seen lure or power bait when they were raised at a hatchery. Just gotta put your time in and time it right when they are feeding. Rapala J7 and 9 are my favorites.
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Panther Martin spinner, black body yellow spots
A great spinner, one of my favorites since I was a kid. The size 6 has caught me probably thousands of trout over the years.
As for my favorite trout lure: it's tough to only pick one, but the one I'm fishing with a lot this year is the P-Line Laser Minnow jigging spoon. It works great for rainbows, browns, mackinaw, kokanee, landlocked Chinook...pretty much all salmonids. You can use it at all depths. And the strikes are often vicious. I always have a handful of them with me on the lake.
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Those stocked trout have never seen lure or power bait when they were raised at a hatchery. Just gotta put your time in and time it right when they are feeding. Rapala J7 and 9 are my favorites.
Definitely some truth to that. But I also believe that color and type of lure can come in to play as well. When I was fishing lake mcswain 1st week of October, me and my father went through several types of lures before finding some that worked better than others. When I finally switched to
Panther Martin spinner, black body yellow spots.
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I was killing it. Tried that at shadow cliffs with no luck. Will post the lure that I caught 2 in a row at shadow cliffsif I get enough interest in this topic. :smt005 Now remember the responses I got about shadow cliffs about no one doing well the weeks before I caught two nice ones with my secret lure ,I also left before 12:00. . Toot toot . :smt044
Pictures on the lures please if ya got um. I am a visual guy.
Alex
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Panther Martin spinner, black body yellow spots or F-4 flatfish yellow body black spots.
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Right lure wrong color,yellow and orange body with flo orange blade.the rest is top secret
:smt044 C'mon now. If the slayer Clayman can give up the secrets ?
Alex
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Panther Martin spinner, black body yellow spots or F-4 flatfish yellow body black spots.
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Right lure wrong color,yellow and orange body with flo orange blade.the rest is top secret
Both are right depending on conditions.
Sunny, fish the bright color. Cloudy, fish the darker color.
Before I got into fly fishing PMs were my go-to lure in the streams and they killed it, even in the coldest of water.
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My favorite go to's are prob kastmasters and the j7 fire tiger
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Old discontinued megabait jb50.
And cotton Cordell wee shad those can be found at Walmart for a couple bucks sometimes.
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Does anybody have better success using flashers / dodgers while trolling? Lets say within 30 ft depth.
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What VK said.
If you throw a panther martin, and do not catch a fish in five casts...there are no fish there.
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yup VK selection is what I use lol
especially the PM in black body with 4 dots or 3 with the gold blade is my go to lure!
The KM is what I use first since you can cover a lot of water. Blue/silver or gold. Fan cast and vary the retrieve. No bite move on.
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Does anybody have better success using flashers / dodgers while trolling? Lets say within 30 ft depth.
Of course there is that aspect of it as well. So we know Clayman kills it with jigging, that's a given. :smt001
And of course the flasher/dodger combos. When I am trolling with a down rigger I prefer lighter gear. Especially the floating rapalas because I like trolling near bottom at about 20/25 feet of water to prevent snags. If not using down riggers I prefer heavier lures. There are also lures I prefer casting from shore that are less likely to snag bottom but with slower retrieves can be moved up and down the water column.
The Bouyant is one of my favorites when casting from shore as well as the jake.
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BTW.
That is one beautiful fish there Clayman. I would definitely have to practice my catch and release here locally so I would not have such a hard time releasing one of those beauties .
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What? No one is using tiny jig heads with dark marabou bodies? They kill.
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What? No one is using tiny jig heads with dark marabou bodies? They kill.
Can you post a pic Mako ? Always interested in trying new gear and technique's since all I really know is trolling lures or power bait . :smt003 Sounds like you and Clayman use more the jigging style. Guess I need to start reading up on jigging !
Alex
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What about flies under a casting bubble. That kills too!!
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What about flies under a casting bubble. That kills too!!
I have friends who kill um at baum lake with that style.
Alex
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So as you can tell I am a little pumped about trout fishing right now. When I mentioned trolling for trout with a downrigger that was with my aluminum.
So here is a pic of my humble 1st attempt at a downrigger for my yak until I upgrade. :smt001 Should get me by with the shallower lakes nearby.
A vintage rod I saved and vintage reel my wife gave to me. I have them raised high so that I have comfort for the hobie peddles ., The reel seems to be at a good level for winding. Of course wont know exactly until I try.
Alex
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What about flies under a casting bubble. That kills too!!
I have friends who kill um at baum lake with that style.
Alex
Last time I fished Baum lake ..late winter used a Kastmater in this pattern, smallest one I had ..killed them up there
When I was at courtright reservoir a few months back, I think I missed the boat by using too big a lure. When I stopped kayaking and pulled up on the bank for some shore fishing with my dad. You could see good sized trout just passing by about 10 to 15 feet off the bank paying no mind to peoples attempt at catching them. I did notice that a few shore anglers were casting bubbles with flies. Still no takers either.
No one has posted up my lure that caught trout at shadow cliffs last week. It is a original old time favorite !
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1. Red and gold speedy shiner
2. White or Chartruese grub, or gulp minnow with an action disk in front. (28" liter of 8lb test flouro with a barrel swivel on one end and a gamikatsu bait holder on the grub end) this one works great for me on lakes with planters as well as holdover trout. I typically run it on lead core or a downrigger. Top lines at lakes like almanor after the lake has turned over and the fish are on top.
3. Trolled flies on sinking line. I like to double them up with a larger fly trailed by something really small. Many different combinations depending on where you are fishing. I like j-fair wiggle tails, bead head wooly buggers, and a variety of nymphs. This set up works great in small lakes with native fish populations (especially on Browns and brookies)
Last but not least, Lucky Craft Pointer.
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1. Red and gold speedy shiner
2. White or Chartruese grub, or gulp minnow with an action disk in front. (28" liter of 8lb test flouro with a barrel swivel on one end and a gamikatsu bait holder on the grub end) this one works great for me on lakes with planters as well as holdover trout. I typically run it on lead core or a downrigger. Top lines at lakes like almanor after the lake has turned over and the fish are on top.
3. Trolled flies on sinking line. I like to double them up with a larger fly trailed by something really small. Many different combinations depending on where you are fishing. I like j-fair wiggle tails, bead head wooly buggers, and a variety of nymphs. This set up works great in small lakes with native fish populations (especially on Browns and brookies)
Last but not least, Lucky Craft Pointer.
Trolled flies on sinking line. I like to double them up with a larger fly trailed by something really small.
Think I really would like to try this with a small tear drop flasher I have. :smt007
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Clear plastic bobber with fly , A.K.A. "Okie Rig"
Caples Lake afternoon set up : clear plastic bobber 1/2 filled with water.. 2-4 #flouro leader 24-36" w/ grasshopper or cricket "fly"
:smt002
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So as you can tell I am a little pumped about trout fishing right now. When I mentioned trolling for trout with a downrigger that was with my aluminum.
So here is a pic of my humble 1st attempt at a downrigger for my yak until I upgrade. :smt001 Should get me by with the shallower lakes nearby.
A vintage rod I saved and vintage reel my wife gave to me. I have them raised high so that I have comfort for the hobie peddles ., The reel seems to be at a good level for winding. Of course wont know exactly until I try.
Alex
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=39695.msg430206#msg430206
Your DIY DR looks like it will work fine to me. If you end up experiencing performance issues and still want to try a home-made version, save the reel and try the version i made a few years back...still holding up nicely and getting far more use than my Cannon...it's just easier.
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So as you can tell I am a little pumped about trout fishing right now. When I mentioned trolling for trout with a downrigger that was with my aluminum.
So here is a pic of my humble 1st attempt at a downrigger for my yak until I upgrade. :smt001 Should get me by with the shallower lakes nearby.
A vintage rod I saved and vintage reel my wife gave to me. I have them raised high so that I have comfort for the hobie peddles ., The reel seems to be at a good level for winding. Of course wont know exactly until I try.
Alex
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=39695.msg430206#msg430206
Your DIY DR looks like it will work fine to me. If you end up experiencing performance issues and still want to try a home-made version, save the reel and try the version i made a few years back...still holding up nicely and getting far more use than my Cannon...it's just easier.
Sweet set up and nice pics of the koke candy . :smt007
Please post a hook up for New Melone's koke chase. :smt006
Thanks for the reply Dtizz .
Have had some luck with these little fatties. Think I found them at walmart ?? They have rattles in them as well.
Alex
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Kastmaster (silver/blue on clear days, gold on cloudy days)
Panther Martin- any gold/black variation seems to do the trick
For small mountain streams, I really like tossing the smallest size rooster tail - black body, silver blade.
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I'm certainly no threat to the trout population, but I've had some success trolling needle fish and a wooly booger a friend made for me behind a 1/2 ounce egg sinker.
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I'm not much of a trout fisher, but there's been a few times when fishing in streams that a little cleo was the only thing that would work. It seemed to me that it could get down just a little bit deeper than anything else, and that can be key.
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Getting near to the end of some of my favorites. Thanks for all the input.
A few more that I have had luck with.
Kastmaster's in trout pattern.
Good luck this winter to all you trout heads. Gotta make it up to Almador !!!!! :smt007
Kastmaster (silver/blue on clear days, gold on cloudy days)
Panther Martin- any gold/black variation seems to do the trick
For small mountain streams, I really like tossing the smallest size rooster tail - black body, silver blade.
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Wow. haven't fished a mountain stream in decades AlexB. The last time was somewhere near Bridgeport as a teenager. Yikes ! about 1977. :smt005
Alex
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Here are a few of my favs for stocker trout when not using a dodger & worm :)
(http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj494/redwoodcoastceramics/Amador%20favs_zpszppwaztk.jpg)
And if anybody gets an itch to go catch some monster trout in Nevada, here are my favorite pyramid lake lures, that spoon in bottom right caught more fish than all others combined. I think it called flashy times, by bass pro.
(http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj494/redwoodcoastceramics/DSCF5088_zps6cbg6loa.jpg)
but that 1/8th ounce grey and white marabou jig in pic above catches the biggest fish!
(http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj494/redwoodcoastceramics/1e_zpseiwspmwt.jpg)
Now is the time for the big ones!!! I miss that placeLake most of all since moving.
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Here are a few of my favs for stocker trout when not using a dodger & worm :)
(http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj494/redwoodcoastceramics/Amador%20favs_zpszppwaztk.jpg)
And if anybody gets an itch to go catch some monster trout in Nevada, here are my favorite pyramid lake lures, that spoon in bottom right caught more fish than all others combined. I think it called flashy times, by bass pro.
(http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj494/redwoodcoastceramics/DSCF5088_zps6cbg6loa.jpg)
but that 1/8th ounce grey and white marabou jig in pic above catches the biggest fish!
(http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj494/redwoodcoastceramics/1e_zpseiwspmwt.jpg)
Now is the time for the big ones!!! I miss that placeLake most of all since moving.
:smt007
Thanks for the post ISF ! I had read posts of pyramid but was not high priority list for some reason That pic got me thinking. :smt001 It is about 15 minutes closer than Almanor to me. Need to do my research on pyramid as well as techniques on jigging. Never tried jigging for trout.
That trout is the size of a small salmon ! :smt007
Alex
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I fish mainly 12-14" stockers these days as big mutant Lassen's are a Norcal thing. Ha ha, I do miss Shadow Cliff's. 90% of the fish I have caught kayak trolling are on the following lures:
Rapala J-7 Brook Trout or Rainbow Trout - > 14" hatchery trout
Rapala F-5 Brook Trout or Rainbow Trout 12"-14" hatchery trout
Rapala GSR-4 Perch > 14" hatchery trout
Rapala JSR-5 Silver Shad or Blue Shad - > 14" hatchery trout
Kastmaster 1/4 oz Blue/Silver, Firetiger >14" hatchery trout
Superduper 1/8 oz silver 12"-14" hatchery trout
Black or Olive Gold Bead Wooly Bugger >14" hatchery trout
Flatfish F-4 Perch Scale - 12"-14" hatchery trout
I do upscale the hooks on the J-7 to size 8 red Gamakatsu's and use a Rapala knot on the J-7 and F-5 and of course Procure on everything. I have been using a lot of custom designed hoochies for mixed species trolling (trout, kokanee, king) with daisy chained hoochie gang trolls which I make with Mac smile blades. They work well but nothing out fishes the Rapala J-7 and F-5 under most conditions unless they are deep. Their only weakness is the double trebles are hard on the fish if you are fishing CNR which I do a lot these days as catching a limit is often pretty easy.
Scott
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My favorite lures for Shadow Cliffs are as follows. I don't really fish too many other lakes for trout other than Almanor, as there's no point driving 2 hours for stockers when i can catch them 5 minutes away. I spend most of my time trolling at sc because the fish don't really school up enough for me to target casting lures. Its just a big crapshoot when I try to figure out where they are.
Topline -
BX-06 Jointed Shad Rapala - a little jointed rapala that has a nice wiggle and small size. I use them in several colors but the sc trout seem to like the blue back herring just fine, which is great because i got them on clearance and bought the entire stock that sport chalet had before they went out of business.
Rapala F9 in Rainbow trout - for what ever reason, the "ole reliable" just produces really well at sc. Its not jointed, it has no special features, its just a stick bait that catches fish.
Rapala JSR-5 - this is also a great bait when the fish are a bit deeper. I like to run this lure as well as one of the other top 2 when I'm trying to figure out if the fish are on top or a little deeper.
Grubs - they produce real well, but i hate fishing them. I have to troll too slow and the bites are not real aggressive.
Rapala J-7 - very popular lure for trout. I've done OK on them at sc but other lures have done better.
Downrigger - As I've mentioned before, I've had problems with downriggers at shadow cliffs because there are lots of small bass down deep. So i drop it down, then a small bass hits, and I have to reset the whole d*** thing.
Needlefish/Dick Nites
Grubs
F5 Rapalas
Non trolling - just use powerbait, power worms, power eggs or maybe a floating cigarette butt with a hook in it wacky style.
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Superduper 1/8 oz silver 12"-14" hatchery trout
Scott
Thanks for the reply Scott. So if any one was following my posts , ( :smt001 ) this was the lure that caught my fish at shadow cliffs a few weeks ago. The old standard .
Non trolling - a floating cigarette butt with a hook in it wacky style.
Some days that's all it takes
:smt044 :smt044
Alex
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Hey all.
Here is my (two-sided) trout box. Haven't used them much unfortunately, with all the ocean fishing. Bought a ton of lures heavily discounted when Sportsmart was selling their fishing section off. Really have to get some Eastern Sierra trips together next season (and maybe one before the season ends) - both dayhiking/backpacking and kayak fishing. Thanks to everyone sharing their lures and experience...
Panther Martins / Rooster Tails / Mepps, Super Dupers, Kastmasters
Rapalas, Yo-Zuri, Thomas Bouyant, Sierra Slammers Trout Jigs (few colors)
Been using the Bouyant's for a couple of years now casting from shore. had some good luck with them.
Alex
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:smt006
Rooster tails for me. I give them hair cuts before use though. I was getting short strikes one trip and determined the fish were grabbing the hair not the hook!
Fixed that by cutting the hair right at the hooks.
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Alex- Jigging for trout is super fun! At least with the marabou jigs and gulp minnows. I don't jig them like I would the gibbs minnows or like irons in the ocean. Its more of a subtle twitching action, I like to cast it out let it hit bottom or get close to bottom then reel, twitch, let drop, twitch, reel. this is the style that has worked best for me. I enjoy it more than casting and retrieving lures. The small tube jigs same sort of thing, cast um out twitch um around, I bet they would hammer those shadow cliff stalkers!! Squirt a little krill or shrimp procure up the skirt also. Grasshopper is my favorite but white is also good.
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Alex- Jigging for trout is super fun! At least with the marabou jigs and gulp minnows. I don't jig them like I would the gibbs minnows or like irons in the ocean. Its more of a subtle twitching action, I like to cast it out let it hit bottom or get close to bottom then reel, twitch, let drop, twitch, reel. this is the style that has worked best for me. I enjoy it more than casting and retrieving lures. The small tube jigs same sort of thing, cast um out twitch um around, I bet they would hammer those shadow cliff stalkers!! Squirt a little krill or shrimp procure up the skirt also. Grasshopper is my favorite but white is also good.
Gonna give this so called jigging a try. Sure its just a fad that will pass. :smt003
I use to use scent way back when for salmon on my chovies. Kinda got away from it over the years.
Now that I think about it. When I caught my Lasssen's at shadow cliffs the other week, I had rubbed power bait on my hands and lure because I had just pee'd. So don't know if it was the power bait scent or the pee ? lol
Alex
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Since I almost exclusively troll from my kayak, mostly top lining, I'll fish all the way from the surface down to 30' pulling Rapalas of various shapes & sizes. I'm kind of surprised that I'm able to consistently catch trout focusing on color & depth of the lure rather than size of the bait. I've caught more dink bows off of JSR-7, JSCR-9 & TDD-09 Rapalas than pulling rooster tails, needle fish and the like. I will also pull bigger walleye banana-style lures (TDD-09 & TDD-011) for larger fish in deeper water.
My main go-to Rapala lures are:
- JSR-4, 5 & 7 (fire tiger, orange tiger, red craw)
- JSCR-9 (fire tiger, hot steel, rainbow)
- TDD-7, 9 & 11 (any UV color, rainbow)
- ULC-03 (shad & silver/blue)
I usually run (2) rods at once to cover a 7-10' depth difference. Using longer rods helps to spread out the lines away from the kayak and actually helps with landing fish, IMHO.
I always like to give any lure I'm pulling a little of the Kavorka...garlic or trophy trout Pro-Cure does the trick.
Go Blue.
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I use to use scent way back when for salmon on my chovies. Kinda got away from it over the years.
Now that I think about it. When I caught my Lasssen's at shadow cliffs the other week, I had rubbed power bait on my hands and lure because I had just pee'd. So don't know if it was the power bait scent or the pee ? lol
Alex
I'm a firm believer in adding scent to lures, especially slow-action lures like jigs. It doesn't always make a difference, like when the trout are particularly grabby. But on those tough days when you may have a lot of fish follow your lure but not hit, I've seen scent become a game-changer. It's just another tool to keep in the toolbox.
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After landing and releasing the first fish by holding its mouth with wet fingers, I then like to rub my fishy fingers on the lure I'm using. I am convinced it works, for all species, salt or freshwater. Otherwise, I don't like messing with scents.
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Really appreciate and enjoy all the input. :smt006
Some great info that has brought back some things I hadn't tried in a llloooonnnggggg time. As a young trout fisherman back in the day I used a lot of these techniques, well except for the jigging.
Got away from trout fishing for a big minute (my sons taught me that term ) and am enjoying re-discovering it ! :smt007
The problem is I have to put in some miles to get to some decent trout fishing. Nothing to close to the Salinas area.
I did here that Los Banos creek reservoir will be planting soon.
I am also thinking of dedicating a trolling reel with lead core fishing line for the deeper ones. Advise on that would be appreciated.
I usually run (2) rods at once to cover a 7-10' depth difference. Using longer rods helps to spread out the lines away from the kayak and actually helps with landing fish, IMHO.
I run 7.5 to 8 foot rods on my boat and kayak when trolling the bigger lakes, but can be tough on the smaller lakes in a kayak where there is more traffic.
Big yes to the natural and artificial scents as another tool. I always wash ( rinse ) my hands in the water that I am fishing before I begin using my gear .
Alex
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Ice fishing jigging works great mariboo jigs or swedish pimples
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Whose this guy?
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Whose this guy?
:smt005 :smt005
Its the Bulldog ! Front page news. Been waiting on that. Shadow Cliffs. Stopped at the kiosk and demanded a photo. What a attention whore. :smt003
Made sure to get the kayak in there. NCKA ! represent ! Actually need a NCKA sticker on that one. recently purchased.
Stomping it up in your area Mel !!
Thanks Mel.
Alex
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All you Panther Martin guys right lure, wrong color Anodized Red, and Rainbow Trout !!!! and of course the old stand by Kastmaster !!!!
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Panther Martin rig -- I experience major line twist, cumulative with each cast. I have tried barrel swivel with a 12-18" leader to the PM, but it really jacks up the action. What do you guys do about line wind up after 1+ hour of casting, or do you have a better way to avoid it?
Jigging -- man I am bad at this. I cant keep my boat/sonar over the lure using freehand paddle to achieve Clayman's arcade fishing (helpful when spotting fish). Next, I struggle knowing how far to cast to reach bottom depth before starting the art of 'jigging' which in my case becomes a low depth retrieve. Do you guys cast out high and short, let drop? Or manually unspool beneath the boat? I am still practicing this, it has obvious potentially I cant wait to experience.
Thanks - and great thread by the way!
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Panther Martin rig -- I experience major line twist, cumulative with each cast. I have tried barrel swivel with a 12-18" leader to the PM, but it really jacks up the action. What do you guys do about line wind up after 1+ hour of casting, or do you have a better way to avoid it?
Jigging -- man I am bad at this. I cant keep my boat/sonar over the lure using freehand paddle to achieve Clayman's arcade fishing (helpful when spotting fish). Next, I struggle knowing how far to cast to reach bottom depth before starting the art of 'jigging' which in my case becomes a low depth retrieve. Do you guys cast out high and short, let drop? Or manually unspool beneath the boat? I am still practicing this, it has obvious potentially I cant wait to experience.
Thanks - and great thread by the way!
has that been true with every single panther martin you've tried? generally speaking in line spinners like that shouldn't twist the line so much if the spinner itself is running smooth. could be some burrs or something else that is making the entire spinner turn instead of just the blade. you could also use a small snap swivel to attach it to your line.
I haven't used panther martins in a while - i think they do great at certain lakes and up in the sierras where the water is clear and the fish are in skinny water. I just really prefer pulling plugs now since it gives me something to do.
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Panther Martin rig -- I experience major line twist, cumulative with each cast. I have tried barrel swivel with a 12-18" leader to the PM, but it really jacks up the action. What do you guys do about line wind up after 1+ hour of casting, or do you have a better way to avoid it?
Ditch the barrel swivels and pick up the smallest ball bearing swivels you can find. I'll run a small ball bearing swivel roughly 18-20 inches above the lure. This will reduce line twist, but it won't eliminate it. I do this with all spinners. While you can simply attach a ball-bearing snap swivel to the spinner, I'm not a fan of doing this. Adding a swivel directly to the lure will make the swivel appear as part of the lure to the fish. Sometimes this doesn't matter, but other times it does.
Jigging -- man I am bad at this. I cant keep my boat/sonar over the lure using freehand paddle to achieve Clayman's arcade fishing (helpful when spotting fish). Next, I struggle knowing how far to cast to reach bottom depth before starting the art of 'jigging' which in my case becomes a low depth retrieve. Do you guys cast out high and short, let drop? Or manually unspool beneath the boat? I am still practicing this, it has obvious potentially I cant wait to experience.
Depends on the depth you're fishing, weight of your lure, and prevailing wind. Most of the time I'll either drop straight below the boat, or will give it a little 8-10 foot flip forward and let it sink with an open bail. After you fish with a particular jig for a while, you start getting a sense for its rate of fall, to the point where you don't even need to see it on the depthfinder to have an idea of where it is. I recommend letting your jig fall to various depths until it hits bottom to get a feel for the jig's rate of fall. Count out the seconds as it sinks. Let's say you're in 40 feet and you're consistently hitting bottom at 15 seconds. Confident with your 15 seconds to 40 feet observation, you start paddling. All of a sudden you spot a big mark on your depthfinder sitting at 30 feet. You immediately grab your rod and drop your jig down on an open bail. Even if you can't see your jig on the depthfinder, you already know it takes roughly 15 seconds for your jig to sink to 40 feet. You'll want your jig at or slightly above the fish (they'll often move up to take it), meaning you want it roughly in the 25-30 foot range. So you count out 10 seconds, then flip your bail back and start jigging. You might not know the precise depth your jig is at, but you know it's gotta be around that 30 foot mark. If the fish wants your jig, it'll move a bit up or down in the water column to intercept it.
Hope this helps!
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Panther Martin rig -- I experience major line twist, cumulative with each cast.
Thanks - and great thread by the way!
I feel your pain. Love them and hate them when I am trolling. I have recently tried using the smallest pins I can find and doubling them up when this occurs. Haven't tried double pins on a fresh line. I am still using the ones with line twist and it seems to be untwisting little by little. I use gold pins on lighter colored lures and black pins on darker lures.
Might try the better swivels as Clayman mentioned.
Alex
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Since I almost exclusively troll from my kayak, mostly top lining, I'll fish all the way from the surface down to 30' pulling Rapalas of various shapes & sizes. I'm kind of surprised that I'm able to consistently catch trout focusing on color & depth of the lure rather than size of the bait. I've caught more dink bows off of JSR-7, JSCR-9 & TDD-09 Rapalas than pulling rooster tails, needle fish and the like. I will also pull bigger walleye banana-style lures (TDD-09 & TDD-011) for larger fish in deeper water.
That sounds like my kind of fishing...
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Does anybody have better success using flashers / dodgers while trolling? Lets say within 30 ft depth.
I use the small Sling blade by Shasta Tackle Co. when trolling lures like Kastmasters / little cleos or 3" Mad river worms, they help when you fish big lakes like Shasta when fish are spread out and you can't video fish jig them up :smt003. They work well with a keel weight hooked to the front of the blade. I run Rapalas by themself , and don't troll spinners at all except for lures with a smiley blade which don't twist the line because the blade is centered on the line.
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A must in my book
kastmasters , super dupers, rooster tails, mepps spinners and a handful of Panther Martins.
don't ever give up on bait as a standby.
Aint nuttin without eggs and worms in case all else fails :smt001
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Luckycraft 65DD and gulp minnows have become my favs. Rebel grasshopper has caught me a lot of fish as well
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Here's a great trout kayak fishing video, I get excited when his rod gets hit. :smt003
https://youtu.be/_OwthXuhEpc
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This thread is gold. Thank you all for all the tips! I only have a few lures (rooster tails, panther martins and 1 rainbow spoon) so I might go shopping for some soon, maybe tonight haha. Any recommendations for tackle shops in or around San Jose? I also don't want to spend a fortune.
Thanks,
David
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I also don't want to spend a fortune.
definitely don't do what i do and spend a bunch of money on lures i rarely use.
if you're fishing the EB lakes and if you're fishing one or two rods, i always recommend the following:
1 or 2 JSR-05 rapalas (jointed shad raps) - dive around 8-10 feet on average. my favorite color is the traditional shad and silver shad. best place to buy these is walmart.
1 rainbow trout F9 stick bait rapala - also best at walmart
1 j-7 rapala - color either rainbow trout or firetiger
1 bx-06 rapala - blue herring color this is my absolute best lure at sc. don't know if its because of the lure or because of my confidence in it. don't carry at walmart, i would imagine FW would be the cheapest. I also have some that i stocked up on that i am willing to sell to folks at $7 each (the price i paid-i just do this to help folks). i live about 5 minutes from shadow cliffs. alternative to the BX-06 rapala would be the JSR-04 rapala. very similar in size and diving depth and i've caught fish on them before.
1 needlefish - firetiger - use when cloudy
1 kastmaster - 1/4oz silver/blue - use when sunny
1 TDD9 rapala - deep diver. best when fish are deep, like when its super cold or strangely warm.
there are lots of other lures that work that would be similar to size and running ability to the rapalas above. these are just the ones i like the best.
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I also don't want to spend a fortune.
definitely don't do what i do and spend a bunch of money on lures i rarely use.
if you're fishing the EB lakes and if you're fishing one or two rods, i always recommend the following:
1 or 2 JSR-05 rapalas (jointed shad raps) - dive around 8-10 feet on average. my favorite color is the traditional shad and silver shad. best place to buy these is walmart.
1 rainbow trout F9 stick bait rapala - also best at walmart
1 j-7 rapala - color either rainbow trout or firetiger
1 bx-06 rapala - blue herring color this is my absolute best lure at sc. don't know if its because of the lure or because of my confidence in it. don't carry at walmart, i would imagine FW would be the cheapest. I also have some that i stocked up on that i am willing to sell to folks at $7 each (the price i paid-i just do this to help folks). i live about 5 minutes from shadow cliffs. alternative to the BX-06 rapala would be the JSR-04 rapala. very similar in size and diving depth and i've caught fish on them before.
1 needlefish - firetiger - use when cloudy
1 kastmaster - 1/4oz silver/blue - use when sunny
1 TDD9 rapala - deep diver. best when fish are deep, like when its super cold or strangely warm.
there are lots of other lures that work that would be similar to size and running ability to the rapalas above. these are just the ones i like the best.
Nice! I have a shopping list now. Will go to Walmart tonight and try out SC again tomorrow morning. Thanks a bunch bmb.
-David
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Lucky Craft Pointer 65 suspending deep diver. You can see it next to the toad trout (upper right corner)
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That's a trout? Looks like a novelty trout throw-cushion.
What a fatty!
p.s. Thanks again for everyone sharing so much great info here.
It's a bass in a clown costume
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Lucky Craft Pointer 65 suspending deep diver. You can see it next to the toad trout (upper right corner)
dude, rapalas are the gateway drug. you can't just start right off with the cocaine and expect to survive.
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Lucky Craft Pointer 65 suspending deep diver. You can see it next to the toad trout (upper right corner)
Who cares what lure! Where is what I want to know! :smt044
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Lucky Craft Pointer 65 suspending deep diver. You can see it next to the toad trout (upper right corner)
Who cares what lure! Where is what I want to know! :smt044
It rhymes with Shitoma
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Lucky Craft Pointer 65 suspending deep diver. You can see it next to the toad trout (upper right corner)
Who cares what lure! Where is what I want to know! :smt044
It rhymes with Shitoma
and is an anagram of Anger Rob! Coincidence? :smt044
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I also don't want to spend a fortune.
definitely don't do what i do and spend a bunch of money on lures i rarely use.
if you're fishing the EB lakes and if you're fishing one or two rods, i always recommend the following:
1 or 2 JSR-05 rapalas (jointed shad raps) - dive around 8-10 feet on average. my favorite color is the traditional shad and silver shad. best place to buy these is walmart.
1 rainbow trout F9 stick bait rapala - also best at walmart
1 j-7 rapala - color either rainbow trout or firetiger
1 bx-06 rapala - blue herring color this is my absolute best lure at sc. don't know if its because of the lure or because of my confidence in it. don't carry at walmart, i would imagine FW would be the cheapest. I also have some that i stocked up on that i am willing to sell to folks at $7 each (the price i paid-i just do this to help folks). i live about 5 minutes from shadow cliffs. alternative to the BX-06 rapala would be the JSR-04 rapala. very similar in size and diving depth and i've caught fish on them before.
1 needlefish - firetiger - use when cloudy
1 kastmaster - 1/4oz silver/blue - use when sunny
1 TDD9 rapala - deep diver. best when fish are deep, like when its super cold or strangely warm.
there are lots of other lures that work that would be similar to size and running ability to the rapalas above. these are just the ones i like the best.
Those rapala bx jointed shad are badass.
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Panther Martin rig -- I experience major line twist, cumulative with each cast. I have tried barrel swivel with a 12-18" leader to the PM, but it really jacks up the action. What do you guys do about line wind up after 1+ hour of casting, or do you have a better way to avoid it?
Jigging -- man I am bad at this. I cant keep my boat/sonar over the lure using freehand paddle to achieve Clayman's arcade fishing (helpful when spotting fish). Next, I struggle knowing how far to cast to reach bottom depth before starting the art of 'jigging' which in my case becomes a low depth retrieve. Do you guys cast out high and short, let drop? Or manually unspool beneath the boat? I am still practicing this, it has obvious potentially I cant wait to experience.
Thanks - and great thread by the way!
Spinning reel or casting reel ? If spinning then check the line roller on the pickup bail to be sure it is in fact rolling properly, light lures will sometimes stop it from moving. Put a mark on it with a sharpie to check it, then clean and oil , hope this helps you like it has me.
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These are my babies! Trolling, casting, or jigging. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Jakes-Spin-A-Lure/1168087.uts
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
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I love this guys videos:
https://youtu.be/7X_BCJ_y654
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Does anybody have better success using flashers / dodgers while trolling? Lets say within 30 ft depth.
I have had luck with this ultraviolet seps flasher pulling a Nightcrawler. Will add split shots till I find depth they like it at. Usually top 15 feet though
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These work well slow trolled when the bites off.... the little legs twitch like crazy and the fish can’t resist. I carry them in my lake, bay, and ocean tackle cuz I have had them taken by the rockfish just as hard as the trout.
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These work well slow trolled when the bites off.... the little legs twitch like crazy and the fish can’t resist. I carry them in my lake, bay, and ocean tackle cuz I have had them taken by the rockfish just as hard as the trout.
Definitely have to try those .