Lafayette Res. Trout 5/19

Tried out my wife's new SIK at our local Lafayette Reservoir on Saturday. She insisted I drill no holes, so it was pretty tough rigging two rodholders, which I accomplished with wood, PVC, and plastic ties. Anyway, I got on the water at 8am (leisurely start) and tried everything: trolling flashers, trolling dodgers, anchoring in the South Cove and fishing PowerBait, tying up to some reeds and fishing bait and lures... nada. 

Then at 11am I put on a new lure I saw written up in a magazine - Yozuri Snap Bean. Really weird-looking round thing. Anyway, trolling on top with this thing was just what the fish wanted. I got 4 in 20 minutes, 12-16 inch planted rainbows!     So not a skunk this time, finally.

After that the bite seemed to dry up, but there was trout for dinner.

I'm really enjoying this forum, and am learning a lot. This is my first post of a fishing report. Heading to Shasta Lk next week with a rented OK Prowler 15 and a houseboat. Hoping to catch a few there, too. (Advice welcome)

At Lake Shasta stop at "Phil's Prop Shop" he does propeller repair and has a extensive local tackle selection.They have been helpful in the past with whats working.There are lots of spotted bass which usually take kalins or yamamoto  grubs on the drop along the shoreline.There are smallmouth,largemouth,and you can troll for trout or salmon.

Hey WTG

I've been skunked so many times on LR my kids jokee about it.

scott

I was wondering what those trout tasted like. Last couple times I fished there (or the last couple times that I didnt get skunked) the trout tasted muddy and were almost inedible. I would love to know if I was there the wrong time of year, or if that is generally how they taste. Thanks. Gabe

She insisted I drill no holes, so it was pretty tough rigging two rodholders, which I accomplished with wood, PVC, and plastic ties.

Hey, finaegelin,

I've never tried this gadget on my SIK because I fish out of my SOT, but it might be a solution for you:

http://www.kayakfishinggear.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=99

Janice aka "Big J"

Well, my wife, who is a gourmet cook, says the trout tasted great, and I agree. The first one I ate had nice firm orange flesh and the one we had yesterday had nice firm white flesh.
Lafayette Res. gets kinda muddy after big rains, which didn't happen much this year. Also, I think the trout don't typically last very long in the lake, since there's so much fishing pressure, not to mention all the ospreys and cormorants (& occasional terns) that are supported by the trout plants. So I'd say you probably got a bad one and should try again. I caught a 6 lb. trout there once and we smoked it. Very tasty.
Mostly, though, I come home empty-handed. I think winter/spring is the best season.

Also, thanks to everyone for the tips. This may be my last fishing trip in a SIK, since I plan to buy a P15 after seeing the new version this summer.

nice report. did you use the 3/4" or the 1" snap bean?

were any other lures as small as the snap bean that you used?

starting to think those little trout mainly want 1" and less lures.

J

Caught 'em all on the larger one. So 1" I guess. And no, I didn't try any other real small lures. Maybe that's it. I'll definitely try this again.

Four in twenty mins?!   thats better than the "0" for two years i've been trollin that pond!
Way to stick to the plan....as soon as i pass up a few of those bassy spots, I can't get back to trollin. (one of my many downfalls)

Thanks for the report and details! take some pics to share with us next time if possible(it gets me through)

a 16" trout can hit a bigger lure like a 5cm shadrap, that is a nice sized trout.

but 12" have to be brave and/or hungry to hit much above 1" is my new theory.

but a tiny lure is hard for the fish to find...

so to help the small fish find the tiny lure in a bigger lake,
you can put a set of those Seps micro flashers 1 to 4 feet
ahead of the tiny lure.  I used 3lb test to the tiny lure.

the micro flashers:

http://seps.web.aplus.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=MMF5

you can crimp shot to the wire to make them sink faster, or put a bullet weight ahead of them.

we caught a small trout with orange flesh on this 1" lure behind some seps flashers recently:

http://www.troutlet.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=455

I had a 3/4" snap bean with a single barbless hook ready to try too, but didn't get a chance to try it,
but I have heard reports of those working in the small reservoir we were at.

the 1" snap bean has rattles, the 3/4" does not, maybe that is enough to help the fish find it.

J