White River Fishing Report 1-12-14

[Ham]

I fished with Richard Cross today on minimum flow out of Cotter. There is enough water to get around with a jet. I was tempted, but did not fish below Roundhouse or above the Rainbow Bridge. We fished from 0830 until about 1330.

We got lucky and the wind held off until after lunchtime. We only fished Zig Jigs (shocker). We used 1/16 oz and 1/32 oz. I much prefer throwing the 1/16 oz, but at times the trout CLEARLY preferred the 1/32 oz. I'm going to have to buy more jigs. I Only have about 8 x 1/32 oz jigs total. That needs fixing.

I freely admit that Richard caught more fish than which is as it should be, but it's hard to have hard feelings about it when I caught 74. I'd guess we boated between 160-175 fish. Lots and lots of good quality fish. Big fun.

Of note, we caught ZERO Brown trout. None. We did have 3 suckers. I added a River Redhorse sucker to my list for the year.

[raise the motor]

Very good numbers for minimum flow. Were the results better than expected?

Joe

[Ham]

Yes, but only because I expected the wind to blow harder and much sooner in the day. IF we had less wind later in the day, we would have caught a lot more. We fish barbless so you lose a certain number of fish from that and just plain miss bites. I'm certain that I missed another 100 bites which flat kills the bass fisherman in me.

[Quillback]

That's pretty darned good fishing. What set up do you throw the 1/32 oz on?

[Ham]

Same rods I throw the 1/8 oz and 1/16 oz with. It was NOT ideal. I really like to get the jig as far away from the boat as possible which I wasn't really able to do very easily.

I may have to establish a set up with 4 lb P Line CX Premium on days I know I'm likely to throw the 1/32 oz.

[Quillback]

Yeah I was thinking that 1/32 would be tough to toss.

[Ham]

In the past, I would just grind it out with a 1/16 oz jig and catch what I caught. BUT when the other guy is getting bit 4 or 5 times as often as you, you need to make a change.

[Quillback]

I hear you on that. The rod I was using is rated down to 1/32, so it should toss them, but like you're suggesting, I'd need to spool it with 4 lb. line. I was using 6# when we fished in December, great for 1/8. just OK for 1/16, and probably be a bit of a problem with 1/32.

[Ham]

That little 1/32 oz jig has a smaller hook on it that the 1/16oz. A lighter rod might help keep from pulling as many hooks out, but there was plenty of user error on my part as well. I'm used to leaning on them with the 1/8 oz hook and nanofil and ruling the day fairly quickly.

It is important to check your hook after a couple of missed strikes or lost fish. I broke the hook on a jig and didn't notice right away. I mised a lot of bites on about three casts in a row before checking. I also had a hook get bent beyond recognition that cost me some fish because of my inattention. it is also very important to have a hook sharpener along for every trip to keep your hooks very sharp. A dull hook will cost you a lot of fish.

[Quillback]

Yep good points.