6-29-2014 Report

[YAKFM]

Total Fish: 7

3 walleyes (2 legal-18.25" and 18.5") and 4 spots to 15"

Air Temp: Low 90's

Water Temp: 81-82

Water Clarity: 5 ft

Put in at 12 bridge at 4 pm and fished until 7:30. Pleasure boat traffic was heavy around the islands so I paddled for a couple of miles to a bluff I have had some success fishing in the past. I found the school of fish on the graph suspended 20-25 ft down over 35-40 FOW in a transition area from bluff to flat. One of the legal walleyes came on a #5 Hot-N-Tot with a 1 oz snap weight 20' ahead of the lure. The other bit on a #6 Flicker Shad with a 1 oz snap weight 20' ahead of the lure. Baitfish appeared to be plentiful on the graph and there was some surface activity in the area.

[kjackson]

Well done and good report.

I've often thought that fishing out of a small boat can make you a better fisherman. You have to concentrate on a given area and think through the location and presentation.

[M_Taylor]

Thanks for report. Couple questions. Is that weight placed 20 feet or 20 inches from lure?

What colors were you using, and how fast of a trolling speed? Thanks!

[fisherofmen11]

Did you catch these trolling or just long linning or just casting?

[YAKFM]

Well done and good report.

I've often thought that fishing out of a small boat can make you a better fisherman. You have to concentrate on a given area and think through the location and presentation.

I agree, KJackson. Having a motorized boat can be both a blessing and a curse. 20 years ago I was fishing bass tournaments every couple of weekends on Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend in East Texas. At the time I had a 17' Tracker with a 90 hp. It was a good rig, but it wasn't suited for making long runs on 100+ thousand acre reservoirs, particularly when I was competing against guys that were running 20' rigs with 200 hp. I had the lakes broken down in sections and would approach creek arms as though they were lakes within a lake. I would further dissect the creek arms by identifying high percentage fish locations for a given time of year. Once I committed to fishing a creek for the tournament I was staying put. I would often spend several days during prefishing probing the creek with a hookless 20+ crankbait to help locate brush, humps, trees, grass, and fish. This methodical approach helped my partners and I win a number of tournaments that I don't believe we would have been in the money for had we had the luxury of being able to run all over the lake at 70 mph. It would have been too easy to give up on a pattern and just "run and gun". I use the same approach on Beaver with the Kayak, only now I mostly troll rather than cast to probe the depths.

[YAKFM]

Thanks for report. Couple questions. Is that weight placed 20 feet or 20 inches from lure?

What colors were you using, and how fast of a trolling speed? Thanks!

20 feet. I free spool both lines as I am starting to paddle forward. I marked with a sharpie (tip of the cap to F&F) where the 20 foot mark is on each spool. When the 20 foot mark is visible I attach the clip on weight. This is the 20+ method, which is a variation of the 50:50 method from the trolling handbook. In theory, you should expect that at 1.7-2.2 mph your bait should reach 33% deeper with a 1 oz weight than if your lure were straight line trolled. 1.5 oz should be 50% deeper and 2 oz should be 66% deeper. Speed, line (type and diameter), and style of bait can all impact your depth. I calibrated this method for my rig on a long flat that allowed me to probe 15, 20, and 25 foot depth intervals. I estimate that my trolling speed is between 1.5-2.0 mph. Colors were fire tiger and pearl white, with one fish coming on each. I will usually have different colors on the two rods until the fish tell me which ones they want. Last Friday when I was catching the crappie they wanted the baits slow (1 mph or less). Color didn't seem to matter much that day.

[YAKFM]

Did you catch these trolling or just long linning or just casting?

All of the fish were caught trolling.

[rps]

Really excellent information, well explained. All of us appreciate reports and comments that educate us without telling us "spots to fish."

[M_Taylor]

Thanks for sharing. Great information. Now if I could only get back out there!

You must also have a system for getting the weight off while bringing in a fish.

[YAKFM]

Thanks for sharing. Great information. Now if I could only get back out there!

You must also have a system for getting the weight off while bringing in a fish.

I do. Its not ideal for a one person setup, but like most kayak applications it is a compromise. Yesterday I fished two 6'6" rods with the fluoro/snap weight system. When the snap is within 6-7' feet of the rod tip I quickly move my hand from the rod handle up the rod towards the eye closest to the reel. At the same time I point the rod away from the fish so the line comes close enough that I can reach with my free hand and quickly (hopefully) remove the snap weight. Fortunately, the walleyes are generally pretty worn out by the time I have reeled them in from 100+ feet back, so they don't fight much when they get close to the kayak. It worked great yesterday and hasn't cost me a fish yet, but may at some point. In July and August I will use lead core more frequently, particularly in open water when fishing away from trees and brush.