Fishing, Tuesday June 28

[Phil Lilley]

Crazy.

Took Vince out from 4-6 pm today... backup.

I got up early this morning, not planning to, but I have the same thing my dad has had- can't sleep past 4 am some nights. Rain storm - great rain! To my surprise, there was little fog on the lake at 5:30 so I headed up. Two units. Wanted to try something. I kept the boat close to the bluff bank below Lookout and worked it like I would flipping for bass. The water is stained so we can get away with it. Normally it's clear -- trout run from the boat. I've caught fish directly below the boat in 4 feet of water- they're not spooky in this water.

I caught alot of rainbows doing this. Most of the time I got bit on the first drop from the cast. They key is to let it drop, even if you think you're close to the bottom. "If you're not losing jigs, you're not letting it sink enough, working it too fast." -- me.

So when I took Vince out, we tried drifting below the dam with rebels and white woolies but "they weren't havin' it", as Babler would say. The wind was blowing us upstream and if you've drifted here and know that wind you know how tough it is.

I thought, "Vince can do this", thinking of the flipping thing. So we headed down and started, and yes, he did do well. I think he caught a half dozen rainbows before he had enough.

Video to follow.

I dropped Vince off at the Riverpoint ramp and started home... well I thought I'd try my flipping thing on the bluff bank there so over I trolled and flipped a 3/32nd oz olive jig in an eddie, let it sink and "tap", I set the hook into a solid fish. Man!! I would not come up! I thought -- smallmouth! May be a brown trout! But I was thinking bass. I've only caught a handful so far this year so I'm not looking for browns. But it was (pic). Slipped it in the live well and cranked it up. Second cast-- "tap" and set the hook on a screamer. This trout didn't start down. It wasn't to play! Rainbow (pic). Caught another dozen rainbows on the stretch, not a slouch in the bunch. Headed back up to Fall Creek's dock and started again. Caught a blue gill and a chub on 2 cast. What's going on??? I'd caught several crappie and white bass earlier in the morning in the eddies upstream and now I'm continuing in the same pattern.

Got back to the dock and had Marsha met me with the camera. Snapped some pics and all the fish went back in the lake.

A young man on the dock was fishing with his grandpa. He was a little put out that I'd caught so many big fish in a short time and he had been fishing all day and not done as well. So I asked if he wanted to learn. He and his grandpa jumped in the boat and we headed to Lookout.

I'll have to get alittle more info on the pair. They are regular guests but their last name eludes me. Vaughn is the boy's name and they're from O'Fallon, Missouri.

Anyway, I explained what I knew about fishing jigs, the main thing was you lose jigs under and over the water and it takes time so don't get frustrated. Vaughn lost one jig, I lost 3. And Vaughn caught several trout, missed a few strikes. But the main thing is he casted very well, worked the jig and felt the strikes- set the hook. I think he's going to make a fine jig fisherman. He informed his grandma, once back at the dock. that he would never use that bait-stuff again. Within in 5 minutes, he was reeling in a rainbows from off the dock.

BTW, I added another nice fish to my daily total on the short trip up- a smallmouth (pic).

[Phil Lilley]

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[John Smoot]

Phil, thanks for sharing. As usual, great pics and videos!