Shaver lake 5/24

Went to shaver lake with the yak. Did some diving to scope it out and saw lots of trout and a few carp. Tried what danglin showed me st HOW(drop shotting) Expected to catch a few but didnt even get a bite. Maybe I rigged it wrong? I put the worm about a foot off the bottom and the fish did seem to be higher.

Can I rig a work a couple feet off it? Seems like it would be a mess.

How do you work the work withou moving the sinker? Seems like you'd need a ton of weight. Do you just bounce the tip around gently?

yes, you can rig it longer. You only need a heavier weight if you are drifting too fast and want to keep it down on the bottom. Normally a slow drift is good cuz it adds the natural bounce and motion to the worm and makes it dance. You could also just do a vertical jig with a jigging lure. Hit bottom and then crank it up a couple of feet, then a couple more til you get a strike.

Wtf, I thought those were bass but a few people there said there were no bass in that lake. Those were almost all bass I saw weren't they?!

Shaver has had small mouth bass for years, In fact so many that fish n game had an annual catch all you want no limit on them. They gathered the catch and transplanted them to different lakes. They didn't get as big as some do because of the cold water and short warm season to grow. When they drained Shaver a couple of years ago they were planning on capturing the fish they could and them foaming the lake to kill everything left. The plan was to remove the bass so the trout n kokanee could thrive without predation. But, F n G nixed it and it didn't happen. So, they are still there evidenced by your film. The first several looked like small mouth to me, even seeing red eyes on some. The one under the stump was a cat or carp.

That's even more irritating. There were hungry bass in there and I didn't even get a bite? Are the trout deeper or something? I was never deeper than 30'.

If you don't already have one, a drop shot specific rod will help you feel the weight. Also, using braid will help as well. Just tie on some flouro at the end.

Dropshotting, especially in gin-clear water, takes LOTS of finesse. You need skinny line (6 lb test or less), small hooks, small worms, and lots of patience. Work the worm SLOWLY by just barely jiggling the tip of your rod with the line mostly slack. Even holding it dead still will often work.

Did you dive that area you fished BEFORE fishing it? If so, the fish were likely a bit spooked.

What kind of worm were you using?

Thanks. See I had 80# braid with 30# mono leader. No idea. I dove before but it was hours before. The worms were plastic brown green ones. Can remember the name but I was a popular brand.