Dam report-- 5/5/15

[kjackson]

Launched at Dam Site late on my first solo trip of the year. Checked out my usual spots in the wind and caught one smallish hybrid trolling crank baits. Also caught one 20" walleye on a Berkley Frenzy crank bait--the predecessor of the Flicker Shad. And a gizzard shad on the same. The second rod was running one of the new Mag Lip 3.0s in wonder bread finish. Caught four or five smallies on it--which was a surprise as I couldn't buy a smallie on the other lure.

Finally gave up the trolling bit and started throwing the Varmint. Three casts in, and I hooked a spot. A little later tagged a smallie of about two pounds. Missed a couple and tagged another decent smallie with the Ned. I did have trouble keeping fish on, and I'm not sure what the problem was. May end up using Fireline next time instead of XL to see if that helps set the hook.

It did surprise me that the smallmouth were still way back in the end of a small cove. They were post spawn fish, and i would expect them to be heading out to summer pastures. However, it could be that it's just the mother lode of smallmouth.

I used to do a lot of fishing similar to the Ned-- light jighheads and grubs and small worms, so I obviously have lost my touch--given that it's been 15 years or so, it figures.

[1969Larson]

Man, that's a beautifully created fish!

[hoglaw]

I can't say enough about braid with a leader. Nanofil, light power pro, whatever. The low stretch helps hook ups and bite detection 10000% in my opinion.

[Guest]

I'm going to the dam area this weekend if things work out right.

Maybe a keitech swimbait would catch the smallmouth biting the trolling baits.

I'm not setup to troll, but I can throw a swimbait & deadstick the Ned.

I'm thinking the topwater bite is about to go off. too many spawning shad last week.

One things for sure, there's no shortage of big gizzard shad in Beaver.

I didnt see any game fish feeding on them either. that surprised me

swimming the Ned should be good on windy & cloudy days, I might give that a try.

[J-Doc]

I tried Nanofil. Hated it. Could be the knot I used was not condusive to Nano. I went with 6lb Pline and I'm happy.

I've learned with the Ned. Let them munch on it vs setting hook if you feel a bite. They will often short strike it once or twice. Let them taste it and sample the Charmin. :-)

[kjackson]

I spent too much time trolling, but there was a good "walleye chop" that made me feel confident I could do better than I did. At one spot where I only catch one walleye per trip, the wind waves were 18 inches at times, and it just looked fishy so I camped there a bit. Probably should have changed over to spinners and crawlers, but opted to play with Ned instead. One walleye is dinner for us, so I try not to be greedy.

The cove I chose to play with bass was still pretty windy, so the 1/16 head Ned was a floater--didn't really touch down and was difficult to work out what it was doing because the boat was still being tossed around with the wind. All bites I had--that I felt-- were all of the rubberband variety...just a sense that there was a light pressure. I swung a couple of times at line jumps but didn't connect. Probably should have tied on a one-eighth head, but I was limited for time, so opted to stay with what I had.

I will say I was extremely impressed with the number of bites and the size of the fish I was hooking. And I think I'll try Fireline next time. I did fish a swimbait on a RoadRunner head (Randy's Rollin' Something or Other) with no bites. As clear as the water was, and as active as the bass seemed to be, I'm guessing a topwater or wake bait might be a good option.

[Quillback]

When I first started fishing the Ned, I had the same issues with missing fish. It's hard to get over that feel a bite, set the hook right away mind set. If I do that, there's a good chance that I'll miss the fish. I've trained myself to let them hold it for a second, get some pressure on the rod tip, then set the hook.

I use 6# Invisx, but a lot of guys like braid.

Also, if you miss a bite, don't reel it in and recast, just let it drop, oftentimes the fish will come back for it.

[kjackson]

When I first started fishing the Ned, I had the same issues with missing fish. It's hard to get over that feel a bite, set the hook right away mind set. If I do that, there's a good chance that I'll miss the fish. I've trained myself to let them hold it for a second, get some pressure on the rod tip, then set the hook.

I use 6# Invisx, but a lot of guys like braid.

Also, if you miss a bite, don't reel it in and recast, just let it drop, oftentimes the fish will come back for it.

It sounds like I need to practice more. That's a real shame.

[dtrs5kprs]

When I first started fishing the Ned, I had the same issues with missing fish. It's hard to get over that feel a bite, set the hook right away mind set. If I do that, there's a good chance that I'll miss the fish. I've trained myself to let them hold it for a second, get some pressure on the rod tip, then set the hook.

I use 6# Invisx, but a lot of guys like braid.

Also, if you miss a bite, don't reel it in and recast, just let it drop, oftentimes the fish will come back for it.

What this guy said...he's about half ruined now.

If you can't feel it, you are doing it right. Fight the urge to bump up in head size as long as possible.

[kjackson]

What this guy said...he's about half ruined now.

If you can't feel it, you are doing it right. Fight the urge to bump up in head size as long as possible.

Thanks, guys.

Waiting a bit after sensing a fish will be difficult. But I'm willing to practice. I was using my old set-up for the Ned-- 6 1/2-foot ML rod (one of the new Berkley E-Motion rods) and 8-lb. XL (same diameter as 6-lb XT). One thing I didn't do and should have was sharpen the hook...I was using some very old Gopher heads that were poured on standard hooks.

Next trip will see some changes. I will also be playing with a rod rigged with either braid or Fireline. I may also give Nanofil a whack. It is worth any effort, based on the success I had. It may be a one-time flash in the pan, but I doubt it. It's a super technique.

First, though, we need to get past the next blast of weather.