Fastwin
Well-known member
I got to take my step-son fishing this Saturday so we put in at Suck Creek then let the current take us all the way to Pot Point. Since most people were reporting fish being taken on spinner-baits last week that's what I started with. I tried a 1/2oz white Rooster Tail but the blade never would turn properly. Perhaps the current was pushing against it too hard but I'm not sure what the problem was. I tried a bleeding chartreuse and white buzzbait and had a strike fairly quickly after the bait rose up and broke the surface but I pulled too hard and yanked the lure out of it's mouth. It's been awhile since I've had a top-water strike which got me excited about the rest of the day. That was the LAST bite we had until noon when I caught a 1-pound spot on a chartreuse spoon about 10 feet down as I pulled it away from the bank and down-river.
We fought the current all day, only stopping in a few hard-to-find eddy lines. We threw the entire tackle box at them but nothing was interested; however, fish were actively rising in the channel all day. So my fishing report for Saturday and Sunday can be summarized into the following statement: "Nothing works and the fish hate you - The water is 58 degrees."
(end of fishing report)
Since I wasn't busy releasing fish, I had plenty of time for some thoughtful reflections and since I don't have any fish to write about I will share with you my exchange of information which I had with my step-son during our bonding trip. A successful trip isn't measured by the size or quantity of fish caught, but instead by the quality of the trip and the knowledge gained from the experience.
I entered into conventional fishing after more than 16 years of fly fishing and the techniques used while fishing below the dam or in the Gorge are akin to fly fishing. One needs to always be mindful of the current at all times and the effect it has on retrieval rates and lure movement. For instance, if an individual throws a jig on the down-river side of a boat it will most likely never stay connected to the bottom as the current will sweep it upward creating a magical floating crawfish suspended in the current. If they cast a jig on the up-river side they need to be aware not to reel except to take up slack since the current will carry the boat slowly and pull the jig at the same speed of the boat.
For jig and spoon fishing, it seems best to anchor or find an eddy and cast up-river, let the lure swing down and across the current, never against the current. This technique of course changes with flow rates because when the flow is 12,000 or less it's almost like fishing in a lake and the variables change.
I'm not aware if catfish and black bass are more intelligent than trout but when trout fishing, the goal is to avoid any unnatural movement such as drag, a give-away that your bait is fake. Wild trout are very good at detecting artificial bait, while the stockers have found an extra link in their food-chain. . . corn.
Another contradiction to be mindful of while retrieving a lure which imitates a wounded or dying minnow is to avoid pulling it against the current. It doesn't make sense to a fish, at least to a trout. The lure needs to fall, and/or get swept down-river. How can a dying or wounded minnow not only have enough strength to suspend it's position in the current, but actually swim or jerk against it? It can't, and I am certain that fish are suspicious of un-natural behavior.
When I work a jerkbait for example, I will imitate a wounded minnow with the classic jerk-pause-jerk action until the point at which that lure is at the end of it's swing and begins to face head-on into the current. At which point, I change my retrieve by reeling steadily to imitate a now healthy baitfish cruising slowly up river because a jerk-pause-jerk imitates a dying fish and dying fish do not have enough strength to swim up river or hold their position.
The point which I am making is this: When retrieving a lure always be aware of subtle and strong environmental variables and work with those variables to create a natural-behaving imitation. Sure, you already know this; however, my step-son who is more interested in cross-country and soccer was simply casting and reeling wildly in every direction with little-to-no thought as to what he was doing. So when you take your kids, grandkids, or an individual fishing who is unexperienced be sure to explain the "Why" and not just the "How."
We fought the current all day, only stopping in a few hard-to-find eddy lines. We threw the entire tackle box at them but nothing was interested; however, fish were actively rising in the channel all day. So my fishing report for Saturday and Sunday can be summarized into the following statement: "Nothing works and the fish hate you - The water is 58 degrees."
(end of fishing report)
Since I wasn't busy releasing fish, I had plenty of time for some thoughtful reflections and since I don't have any fish to write about I will share with you my exchange of information which I had with my step-son during our bonding trip. A successful trip isn't measured by the size or quantity of fish caught, but instead by the quality of the trip and the knowledge gained from the experience.
I entered into conventional fishing after more than 16 years of fly fishing and the techniques used while fishing below the dam or in the Gorge are akin to fly fishing. One needs to always be mindful of the current at all times and the effect it has on retrieval rates and lure movement. For instance, if an individual throws a jig on the down-river side of a boat it will most likely never stay connected to the bottom as the current will sweep it upward creating a magical floating crawfish suspended in the current. If they cast a jig on the up-river side they need to be aware not to reel except to take up slack since the current will carry the boat slowly and pull the jig at the same speed of the boat.
For jig and spoon fishing, it seems best to anchor or find an eddy and cast up-river, let the lure swing down and across the current, never against the current. This technique of course changes with flow rates because when the flow is 12,000 or less it's almost like fishing in a lake and the variables change.
I'm not aware if catfish and black bass are more intelligent than trout but when trout fishing, the goal is to avoid any unnatural movement such as drag, a give-away that your bait is fake. Wild trout are very good at detecting artificial bait, while the stockers have found an extra link in their food-chain. . . corn.
Another contradiction to be mindful of while retrieving a lure which imitates a wounded or dying minnow is to avoid pulling it against the current. It doesn't make sense to a fish, at least to a trout. The lure needs to fall, and/or get swept down-river. How can a dying or wounded minnow not only have enough strength to suspend it's position in the current, but actually swim or jerk against it? It can't, and I am certain that fish are suspicious of un-natural behavior.
When I work a jerkbait for example, I will imitate a wounded minnow with the classic jerk-pause-jerk action until the point at which that lure is at the end of it's swing and begins to face head-on into the current. At which point, I change my retrieve by reeling steadily to imitate a now healthy baitfish cruising slowly up river because a jerk-pause-jerk imitates a dying fish and dying fish do not have enough strength to swim up river or hold their position.
The point which I am making is this: When retrieving a lure always be aware of subtle and strong environmental variables and work with those variables to create a natural-behaving imitation. Sure, you already know this; however, my step-son who is more interested in cross-country and soccer was simply casting and reeling wildly in every direction with little-to-no thought as to what he was doing. So when you take your kids, grandkids, or an individual fishing who is unexperienced be sure to explain the "Why" and not just the "How."
And that picture is awesome, great shot
