B
bernduffy
0
Spent a week camping on Suttle Lake. Had family staying nearby at Black Butte Ranch, so I was off and on the lake, but managed to hit it every morning as early as 5:30. Firstly: there are a ton of fish in this lake, both kokes and browns. Secondly: I've never had to work so hard for so few in the net. Re; kokanee. Caught 15, the largest being 7". You heard that right. I threw back the first few before realizing this was all I was going to catch. Caught mostly on different kinds of wedding rings tipped with corn soaked in tuna oil. A little anise scent on the lure seemed to help. Brass/nickel willow leaf and Ford fender lake trolls worked. My dodger and hootchie collection were useless. Also needed to put on extra weight to get down to the 30' feeding zone. So with 2-3 ounces of lead and lake trolls, I was hardly feeling the little kokes when they hit. Should have brought my downrigger. Still, it provided good action while I hunted for the real game: German Brown Trout.
My fish finder was marking dozens of these bad boys in all parts of the lake. Many of good (12" and up) size. They are obviously gorging themselves on the abundant kokes. The problem is, as many of you know, this has got to be one of the most cautious, hard to catch species. I heard of others having success with rapalas and Zinger type jigs. I tried both for hours before throwing the tackle box at them...for a solid week. Seriously: I would mark 20 tightly schooled browns, half of them bigguns, and wouldn't even get a bump. no matter what I was presenting. Then, on day 6, having given up on Mr & Mrs Brown, I was trolling my kokanee rig...when, you guessed it: my lightest rod bends in half with a 13" brown. Great fight on light gear lasted about 5 minutes. A lot of fun which somehow made the whole week worth it...know what I mean? How strange is the mind of a fisherman...? We'll work for 6 days without success and in five minutes it all turns around.
And how strange are these trout, taking a wedding ring with corn! Don't they know what they're supposed to go for? We need to set up a computer on the bank so these guys can get online and learn what they are supposed to be hitting.
Seriously, one guy told me that with the powerboat noise (remember, I was there around Labor Day) the browns settle in and don't come back to biting until mid Sept. If that's the case, I'd like to get back, cuz that lake is loaded.
Beautiful dry weather. Water temp 62-65. A few days saw strong winds as early as 10am. Water clarity approx 10 feet. As many as 12 Ospreys working the lake, taking lots of kokes (and keeping the browns down).
Culinary notes: The little kokes were absolutely delicious. The brown was surprisingly bland and needed a lot of help: lemon, fish sauce , etc.
Final thought: living on the shore and fishing every day? I could get used to this!
Cheers,
Bernie
My fish finder was marking dozens of these bad boys in all parts of the lake. Many of good (12" and up) size. They are obviously gorging themselves on the abundant kokes. The problem is, as many of you know, this has got to be one of the most cautious, hard to catch species. I heard of others having success with rapalas and Zinger type jigs. I tried both for hours before throwing the tackle box at them...for a solid week. Seriously: I would mark 20 tightly schooled browns, half of them bigguns, and wouldn't even get a bump. no matter what I was presenting. Then, on day 6, having given up on Mr & Mrs Brown, I was trolling my kokanee rig...when, you guessed it: my lightest rod bends in half with a 13" brown. Great fight on light gear lasted about 5 minutes. A lot of fun which somehow made the whole week worth it...know what I mean? How strange is the mind of a fisherman...? We'll work for 6 days without success and in five minutes it all turns around.
And how strange are these trout, taking a wedding ring with corn! Don't they know what they're supposed to go for? We need to set up a computer on the bank so these guys can get online and learn what they are supposed to be hitting.
Seriously, one guy told me that with the powerboat noise (remember, I was there around Labor Day) the browns settle in and don't come back to biting until mid Sept. If that's the case, I'd like to get back, cuz that lake is loaded.
Beautiful dry weather. Water temp 62-65. A few days saw strong winds as early as 10am. Water clarity approx 10 feet. As many as 12 Ospreys working the lake, taking lots of kokes (and keeping the browns down).
Culinary notes: The little kokes were absolutely delicious. The brown was surprisingly bland and needed a lot of help: lemon, fish sauce , etc.
Final thought: living on the shore and fishing every day? I could get used to this!
Cheers,
Bernie
