Lake Sonoma 10/27

I couldn't help myself... it was such a nice day, so I skinned out of work at around 1:00 and headed to Lake Sonoma for another shot at the landlocked steelies.  Quite a few boats working the cove / point across from the boat launch when I got there.  Some old timers had caught a few fish trolling flashers with nightcrawlers... depth anywhere from 40 feet to 15 feet they said. 

I didn't bring any crawlers, but I managed to boat one fish on a black/silver needlefish at 40 feet on the wire.  I tell ya, these fish really give it their all... very feisty fish.  Could be a very fun fishery on a hot bite.  Shortly after I boated my fish some dork wakeboarders decided that my trolling pattern along the shoreline was the only place they could do their wakeboarding so no more fish for the rest of the afternoon. 

Fish was just shy of 15 inches... pink meat... we'll see how they eat tomorrow night. 

Shortly after I boated my fish some dork wakeboarders decided that my trolling pattern along the shoreline was the only place they could do their wakeboarding so no more fish for the rest of the afternoon. 

I LOVE  it when they do that!

Great fish, what a beauty.  How'd the downrigger work?

Nice job Erik couple of weeks and they will be on top.

If they come on top, then those of us not schooled in the art of deep water trolling from a kayak might have a shot eh?
Someone please let us know--and I hope when the lake turns over the wakeboarders are gone for the season.

Downrigger worked awesome.  Fish hit lure... clip released... rod bent over... fish went airborne... fish hit net... game over.

The new trolling rods I built worked perfect too... nice and noodly so these little acrobats can do their thing without coming unbuttoned.

I had a second rod running leadcore and it is such a pain in the doopah compared to the downrigger.  Takes forever to get the leadcore deployed on a kayak.

EK

Nice job Erik,

They eat well.  My son and I normally target them after the rains start, by trollling up on top back in the creek arms (see my thumbnail picture of a day back in Yorty Creek).  It's nice up in that end of the lake too becaue there is no skeeing and a lot of the areas are 'no wake'.  The Yorty Creek launch is nice and rarely crouded also.  They get really fat too as they get ready to spawn......

Hope to see you up there after the rains come, I'll post when we are heading up.  I'd like to see how you rigged the downrigger as well, been thinking about doing that for a while myself.

Norm

YEA!!! Finally a fish caught on a downrigger from a kayak!! Way to go Big E!!!!

Hope to see you up there after the rains come, I'll post when we are heading up.  I'd like to see how you rigged the downrigger as well, been thinking about doing that for a while myself.

I'll look forward to it.   Lake Sonoma is proving to be a good place for me to get some fishing in when I only have limited WAF to spend since its close to home and I can get out early... get back early type of deal.

EK

Yeah, I always love L Sonoma, good boat in campsite too, we should do a group camp there. Ive caught a few of those steelies and man do they pull hard! They go balistic when they see the boat. Yummy fish. Lots of timber hugging bass too.

What a beauty! Nice fish!

Z

That thing looks so clean!  great healthy looking fish

Nice fish and I am sure they fight hard--Steelies are one of the favorites among flyrodders because of their spunk and acrobatics. I'd love to get one.

So....when are we going to see a downrigger rigging article? Eric? Tote?

So....when are we going to see a downrigger rigging article? Eric? Tote?

SM...  Here's the thread on my downrigger setup.  May be article worthy once I get a chance to finish tweaking things and test it in the ocean.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/bb/index.php?topic=5997.0

Nice report and trout.  Cool info on the downrigger.   

Erik,

A few questions...

Where did you get your downrigger?
Did you ever end up using the SEPS "simply trollin' devise" that you mentioned in a previous post?  It seemed like it would be useful with a hand operated downrigger.
If you ever need company to Lake Sonoma, let me know.  My wife is tired of rockfish and really wants trout or salmon.  I'm guessing landlocked steelhead would suit her just fine.

Brian