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Took the tandem kayak out to Hagg lake with my son Zach on Sunday. We got to boat ramp C at the crack of 9:30am and were on the water a bit after 10am.
We started trolling for trout but Zach said that it was boring and that he was not interested in doing that. It was misty and chilly with the slight breeze and he wanted to go explore and to try to fish some of the spots we had fished earlier in the year. We had not been to Hagg since the 4th of July and so I told him that those spots were high and dry. The lake looks so different we could not even figure out where they were (we wanted to see what they looked like now).
We just kind of moved around cast a little bit here and there, but Zach really wanted to find a spot like we fished in the summer. Clear weedy water where we could see the fish. He loves to watch the perch, bluegill and crappie bite on his lure and wanted to do that kind of fishing. After spending a couple of hours catching a few perch, but not able to find a spot that he liked he was getting kind of cranky.
Finally, I told him we were going to troll for trout. He was really unhappy with that decision, but I told him we were going to try it for a bit. He said he did not want to fish and just sat there trying to look sad and mad at the same time
Anyway, I only put out my rod and started trolling along boat ramp A side. I had a few hits but they did not stick so I suggested we head across the lake and that if we did not catch anything we could troll along that side back to the boat ramp C where we put in. We trolled over to the other side and I slowed down to a trolling speed. It is now about 1:30 and Zach is starting to saying that he wants to go and that I may not know what I am doing.
However, after about 15 minutes we troll to an area where we see a couple of trout splash on the surface and Zach gets kind of excited. As we troll through the area my rod starts dancing in the holder and I have the first trout of the day on! I ask Zach if he wants to reel it in, but he says that he wants to net it instead. I bring it to the kayak and we land a pretty little trout about 11". Zach was pretty excited.
I told him we could head back but he said he wanted to keep trolling. I set the rod back out and within about 15 minutes it starts dancing again. Zach says he wants to reel this one in. He reels too hard and the fish gets off. I tell him thats OK and how to handle the fish better. I ask Zach if he wants his own rod but he says lets just fish the one. He says has an idea how to make the worms taste better.
As long as he is having fun I really don't care so I say OK. He takes a worm and puts it in his tackle box tray with a few drops of water and a couple of Gulp maggots. After about 5 minutes of rubbing the worm around in that little soup he says its ready. I reel in and try a piece of Zach's special worm. As I am lowering it down I get bit, but miss the fish. Coincidence I figure. I troll bit further and get another bite that does not stick then nothing. I troll a bit further and reel up to no worm.
Put on another special worm, lower it down and get a few bites that don't stick until the really rod starts dancing in the holder. I hand the rod to Zach and he does a good job of fighting this fish and we land our second fish, another 11" rainbow. I put on a regular worm and go back to fishing while Zach prepares another special worm. I get no bites. When Zach says it is ready I reel in, put on the special worm and once again get a bit as I am lowering it down. The fish goes away but I keep it down there get a few bites that don't stick and then finally get a good hard bite. After a nice scrap I bring a nice 13" fish along side the boat and Zach nets it.
At this point, even though the bite is awesome Zach says he has to go the bathroom and once to leave so we can get some fried chicken from the Lake stop store. We start trolling back to boat ramp C and immediately hook and land another trout. Zach says he is not going to make any more special worms and he wants to go fast back to the ramps. So with a big sigh I reel in and leave a red hot bite and head back at "full speed".
Once we get to the ramp Zach bolts for the bathroom I get loaded up and I call in a 16 piece fried chicken order to the Lake stop store. Man that smell drives you crazy on the way home!!! We get home and I tell Zach he can take the chicken up and he and my wife and daughter can start eating while I unload. I get upstairs to 2 pieces of chicken. Zach ate 9 pieces and my wife had to actively guard the last two pieces for me. They really make some awesome chicken!
As for fishing details. I was doing about 12-14 pulls that were probably about 2' pulls. I was trolling around 1.1 mph with a 1oz of weight on a 2' dropper and a 4' leader. The lure was a smallest size panther martin (I think it is 1/32oz) with silver bladed and red dotted yellow body. While I think everyone was doing well, I will say that we did troll a fair bit of water where we did not get any bites. I never did mark may fish, even where we were catching them I only marked an occasional fish. Also, one point while waiting for Zach to make a special worm I did rig up and put out a second rod with a different spinner (Joe's fly) with a special worm but we never got a bite on that rod. I was really surprised by that.
We started trolling for trout but Zach said that it was boring and that he was not interested in doing that. It was misty and chilly with the slight breeze and he wanted to go explore and to try to fish some of the spots we had fished earlier in the year. We had not been to Hagg since the 4th of July and so I told him that those spots were high and dry. The lake looks so different we could not even figure out where they were (we wanted to see what they looked like now).
We just kind of moved around cast a little bit here and there, but Zach really wanted to find a spot like we fished in the summer. Clear weedy water where we could see the fish. He loves to watch the perch, bluegill and crappie bite on his lure and wanted to do that kind of fishing. After spending a couple of hours catching a few perch, but not able to find a spot that he liked he was getting kind of cranky.
Finally, I told him we were going to troll for trout. He was really unhappy with that decision, but I told him we were going to try it for a bit. He said he did not want to fish and just sat there trying to look sad and mad at the same time
Anyway, I only put out my rod and started trolling along boat ramp A side. I had a few hits but they did not stick so I suggested we head across the lake and that if we did not catch anything we could troll along that side back to the boat ramp C where we put in. We trolled over to the other side and I slowed down to a trolling speed. It is now about 1:30 and Zach is starting to saying that he wants to go and that I may not know what I am doing.
However, after about 15 minutes we troll to an area where we see a couple of trout splash on the surface and Zach gets kind of excited. As we troll through the area my rod starts dancing in the holder and I have the first trout of the day on! I ask Zach if he wants to reel it in, but he says that he wants to net it instead. I bring it to the kayak and we land a pretty little trout about 11". Zach was pretty excited.
I told him we could head back but he said he wanted to keep trolling. I set the rod back out and within about 15 minutes it starts dancing again. Zach says he wants to reel this one in. He reels too hard and the fish gets off. I tell him thats OK and how to handle the fish better. I ask Zach if he wants his own rod but he says lets just fish the one. He says has an idea how to make the worms taste better.
As long as he is having fun I really don't care so I say OK. He takes a worm and puts it in his tackle box tray with a few drops of water and a couple of Gulp maggots. After about 5 minutes of rubbing the worm around in that little soup he says its ready. I reel in and try a piece of Zach's special worm. As I am lowering it down I get bit, but miss the fish. Coincidence I figure. I troll bit further and get another bite that does not stick then nothing. I troll a bit further and reel up to no worm.
Put on another special worm, lower it down and get a few bites that don't stick until the really rod starts dancing in the holder. I hand the rod to Zach and he does a good job of fighting this fish and we land our second fish, another 11" rainbow. I put on a regular worm and go back to fishing while Zach prepares another special worm. I get no bites. When Zach says it is ready I reel in, put on the special worm and once again get a bit as I am lowering it down. The fish goes away but I keep it down there get a few bites that don't stick and then finally get a good hard bite. After a nice scrap I bring a nice 13" fish along side the boat and Zach nets it.
At this point, even though the bite is awesome Zach says he has to go the bathroom and once to leave so we can get some fried chicken from the Lake stop store. We start trolling back to boat ramp C and immediately hook and land another trout. Zach says he is not going to make any more special worms and he wants to go fast back to the ramps. So with a big sigh I reel in and leave a red hot bite and head back at "full speed".
Once we get to the ramp Zach bolts for the bathroom
I get loaded up and I call in a 16 piece fried chicken order to the Lake stop store. Man that smell drives you crazy on the way home!!! We get home and I tell Zach he can take the chicken up and he and my wife and daughter can start eating while I unload. I get upstairs to 2 pieces of chicken. Zach ate 9 pieces and my wife had to actively guard the last two pieces for me. They really make some awesome chicken!As for fishing details. I was doing about 12-14 pulls that were probably about 2' pulls. I was trolling around 1.1 mph with a 1oz of weight on a 2' dropper and a 4' leader. The lure was a smallest size panther martin (I think it is 1/32oz) with silver bladed and red dotted yellow body. While I think everyone was doing well, I will say that we did troll a fair bit of water where we did not get any bites. I never did mark may fish, even where we were catching them I only marked an occasional fish. Also, one point while waiting for Zach to make a special worm I did rig up and put out a second rod with a different spinner (Joe's fly) with a special worm but we never got a bite on that rod. I was really surprised by that.
