Steelies out smarted us today ---

[Jlawsen]

NGT and I found the fish right off the bat but those buggers were sneaky as heck. We threw out Orange and green Uncle Larrys, Uncle Larry's tubes, and straight up threaded night crawlers behind Sep 2/0 flashers. Those buggers were cleaning the worms right off the hooks no matter how we set them up. Eric (NGT) was feeling pretty bad after I gave him the first and second stikes and he came up empty handed. I took the third and I swear that fish was hooked up but came up empty and then finally on fourth strike Eric landed one. We C/R'd it and we both came up empty on the rest of the strikes for the day.

Usually we downsize the hooks when that starts happening but that didn't work either. The only think I can figure is that the head wind I was bucking had us trolling way to slow and the fish weren't chasing the bait they were swimming up to it like we were serving it on a platter.

There will be another day. Getting as many strikes as we did meant we almost had it right. Now we just have to figure out what wasn't right and fix it.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Steelies out smarted us today ---

Too bad you weren't targeting gold fish, NGT would've slayed them!

A GPS really helps with the trolling speed if you don't have one, I'd be lost without mine.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Steelies out smarted us today ---

Were you guys using snubbers? I've had much better hook-up ratio's trolling trout with snubbers, than without.

I make my own snubbers, swivels, surgical tubing, spectra fishing line and crazy glue, easy to make

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Steelies out smarted us today ---

Fishrdan, you know, I didn't even think snubbers. I've got em, I just didn't think about using them. These are land locked steel head which are technically a trout but hit like a ton of bricks and run like a shoplifter. I think the snubber might just be the answer.

Jigngrub, I have a Lowrance HDS-8 and my Power Drive V2 has iPilot. I had the cruise control set at 1.7mph and the troller was running on between 8 and 10 and barely holding 1 mph in about a 20 knot headwind. I also had the top on the boat and was bucking 3-4' waves. Early in the morning I was running 1.7 and not getting strikes so I dropped back to 1.2 and we started getting hits.

The reason I was thinking speed was because I got one to chase the worm by reeling and stopping and reeling again. It hit it hard during the second reel in and that's what got me to thinking later that it was the speed. He still got the worm though so maybe the snubber is the answer..

Regarding Eric (NGT), I know you're just kidding about the gold fish. He's not afraid to asks questions when he doesn't know and I have a lot of respect for that. He's one of the few people that I've had on the boat that watched everything I did but didn't try to do anything he wasn't sure of. That sure makes for a smooth and relaxing day on the water.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Steelies out smarted us today ---

The reason I was thinking speed was because I got one to chase the worm by reeling and stopping and reeling again. It hit it hard during the second reel in and that's what got me to thinking later that it was the speed.

I've had a lot of success "ripping" trolled lines, hold the rod and rip it forward, then let the lure slowly flutter back. If can be tiring though as I'm usually trolling lures with a lot of water resistance.

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Steelies out smarted us today ---

I've had a lot of success "ripping" trolled lines, hold the rod and rip it forward, then let the lure slowly flutter back. If can be tiring though as I'm usually trolling lures with a lot of water resistance.

That would probably work to. But you're right, it gets pretty tiring. We were running on the down rigger out the back and the rod holders off the sides. We were also running all the lines at different depths and I had the iPilot in GPS autopilot mode with the serpentine turned on so we were covering a lot of water. It's hard to pump a rod when your running like that so maybe next time I'll just run straight and pump and see what happens.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Steelies out smarted us today ---

I've had a lot of success "ripping" trolled lines, hold the rod and rip it forward, then let the lure slowly flutter back. If can be tiring though as I'm usually trolling lures with a lot of water resistance.

We call that exercising the rod.

When fish are finicky when trolling I use the speed up and slow down presentation. This raises and lowers the lures in the water column. Some bites will come on the speed up, but they majority of bites will come on the slow down when the lures start falling deeper. It can be very effective.

 

[ngt]

Re: Steelies out smarted us today ---

Too bad you weren't targeting gold fish, NGT would've slayed them!

A GPS really helps with the trolling speed if you don't have one, I'd be lost without mine.

haha! Fishing SSU's 4ft deep cement catfish/duck ponds with hot dog chunks and trolling the 150-200ft deep Lake Sonoma are just a little bit different.

Jlawsen's boat is well equipped. That was definitely not the issue. The only real issues that day came from me being brand new to this type of fishing and gear. The whole day was a learning experience for me. I'm sure he would have caught the first couple of fish that I missed, but he took me out and was giving me a shot. I really appreciate it and had a great time either way! Hopefully I'll get them next time!

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Steelies out smarted us today ---

We call that exercising the rod.

When fish are finicky when trolling I use the speed up and slow down presentation. This raises and lowers the lures in the water column. Some bites will come on the speed up, but they majority of bites will come on the slow down when the lures start falling deeper. It can be very effective.

I was teasing one back after he hit and ran using a similar type rod action. I don't have a name for it though, just something that sort of seems natural to do. It worked, he came back and took the rest of the worm.. little bugger!...

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Steelies out smarted us today ---

O.K. tomorrow is another day - Eric came over with his boat and trolling motor and after careful consideration we decided it was a no go. I gave him a couple of Optima Blue Tops and then we headed down to Outdoor Pro Shops in Cotati, Ca. I introduced Eric to Josh and we got him going on his fly tying. I headed over to the lure section and headed straight to the flat fish. I picked up a few Worden T4's and a few APEX's and threw them on the table in front of Josh. The response was a simple "Bingo" confirming my hunch. With all the people in the store you really don't want to say too much or they'll be fishing your spot before you get a chance to.

On my way out I walked over to see NGT and the son of a gun was getting a free fly tying lesson! This guy learns fast!

Won't know for sure if I'm going out in the morning until later this evening but right now it looks like another go for Lake Sonoma Steelies.

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Steelies out smarted us today ---

I probably should end this thread.. Yes, I whacked em pretty good yesterday.\

The END...

 

[ngt]

Re: Steelies out smarted us today ---

I probably should end this thread.. Yes, I whacked em pretty good yesterday.\

The END...

HAHA! Yeah, that was definitely my best trip to the pro shop. Not that anyone is ever not cool to me there, but I do think you got me some special treatment. I wasn't going to say no to the free fly tying lesson. I will admit, my first couple woolly buggers don't look nearly as good as his did. Of course mine were my first two flies aver and made on a shaky alligator clamp on a 15 year old soldering station. lol. My other buddy is going to lend me a spare fly station until my kit arrives and hopefully that will help. He said both of mine are definitely fishable, but the true test is what your fly looks like after you catch a fish with it. So hopefully I'll get a chance to see when I get something on one and hopefully my next fly will look a bit better. Having a tough time getting the thread back through the feather without pinning down a few hairs here and there. Wish I could have made it out, but family first. Hopefully next time I'll be out there with you. Thanks again!