Cold Springs Access 2/26/21

[Ham]

 Weather wasn't Great Friday, but I NEEDED a fishing trip. I always have multiple places I want to fish and I struggled to choose between them, but in the end weather and a slow start to my day helped me choose. 
 I had a work commitment and my fishing gear was in disarray. So I finally got headed for Mammoth Spring about 8:45 am and got underway about 10:45 am. Cold Springs Access is well marked and a great parking area with some bank fishing opportunities. The ramp is not Great. Too short. Waldo doesn't need much, but dang. 
 I headed up stream and found a fishy looking spot. Tossed a 1/16 oz Zig Jig in there and missed two bites before catching the trout on the third bite of the first cast. 10:53 am. I caught 5 fish on the first 7 casts.

 

I caught fish until I was bored with the Zig Jig and switched over to Trout Magnets under a float.

I swear to God I have no idea why a trout bites a Trout Magnet. They look so stupid, but bite them they do and did. A lot. I worked on my technique and hooksets. I missed a bunch of bites, but I got better at it.

I caught 25 at the first spot and left them biting. I'm not sure how many more I could have caught, but I bet a bunch. I needed to learn the lake a little better so I headed upstream. 

I ran upstream to the first pretty shallow really grassy riffle. I had looked at aerial images snd knew that it was going to be mostly shallow and fast water ahead. I was looking for Bass at this point so I shut Waldo down. 
 
 I looked for micros, but needed to look harder I guess. Trout were rising all around me so I sore mouthed a few more with Zig Jigs. Mostly 1/16 oz, but I did use 1/8 oz and 1/32 oz and caught fish on all of them. 
I left those fish and picked up a jerkbait. In a few minutes, I got my first Largemouth Bass  Kinda small, but I was Happy to get it. 
 Next Jerkbait fish was a Brown Trout. I had already caught several Browns on jigs. None were very large. I hope they Grow.

I tried a Chatterbait for kinda a while. Nary a whiff. Trout taunted me by striking all around me. Pretty much constantly. I would weaken and catch one occasionally on a Zig Jig or Trout Magnet. Whatever I picked up.

no more takers on jerkbait. I quit on that. I started picking on risers as I floated downstream close to the ramp. I threw that dang trout magnet about 12 inches under a float. Still learning.

I decided to run down lake. I found a deep bank. that screamed Ned Rig. I caught a bass almost immediately. I caught a decent trout on a Ned. I would occasionally mix in a 1/8 oz Zig Jig. It worked too. I stuck with that area until I got my 50 Burger. 

  I ran back up to the risers near the ramp. I caught a few more, but kept missing bites. That really pisses me off. I live and die with every hookset. A missed bite = complete failure. 
 Well, I stuck with it until I caught one of the culprits. And Boy was I Glad I did..

my last fish of the day was an unexpected treat. A Red Spotted Sunfish. 
 

[Ham]

Jerkbait Bass on Megabass 95 Wagin React. water temp is 56 degrees. I didn't catch any of size. A local told me that too many people catch and keep. 

[Ham]

Ned Rig Trout

[Ham]

I probably caught 7 or 8 Browns. 

[mzrealfish]

Great report.  Thank you for sharing.  I'm hoping to get a canoe trip in tbe weekend of March 12th.  🤞

Spring break at my school.  Won't get another shot until mid May probably.  

Until then, I'll continue living vicariously through you all.  

[Ham]

I have found another rod I really like. It is a B&M rod made for Leland Lures (the Trout Magnet guys). it is the Leland TCB rod. It is a moderately fast rod that protects light line. The combo comes with 4 lb line. I switched it to 2 lb. I eventually replaced the original dinky spinning reel with the smallest Pfleuger President. I like it a lot. It is a weird combination of micro/mini/ small fish rod that can wear down 18 inch trout. 

Light and smooth. It is a two piece rod for easy traveling. It has my full recommendation.

[Ham]

Here's another pic

[Johnsfolly]

Congrats Ham on making a bad day into a great fishing trip! Sorry to have missed out on that deal. Some nice looking fish buddy.

[Quillback]

Congrats on a great trip!  Isn't that Megabass a "110 Junior:".  😃

[jdmidwest]

I have been by that access hundreds of times but only dropped a canoe in and floated to dam one time. I may have to hit it with a boat one time myself