What am I doing wrong...???
 

Skunked again....

This past Weds, trolled from Meredith Bay down to Spindle Point and back. Dragonfly was showing fish 10-25'. Had 5-ish colors of lead line out on one rod and the other was up high with just mono line. Mooselook Wobblers on both lines. Trolling speed was 1.5 - 2+ mph. Bupkus....:(

Thursday, took a different approach and just drifted down Meredith bay with a live smelt on one line, varying depth from 10-20 ish feet. Second line was casting with one of AJ's brightly-colored spoons. Same result as Weds....:confused:

Any obvious errors in my approach?

I have not fished in that area for many years so take this for what it is worth.... This is just a general guide from my personal past experience..

1. Water temp is a factor to consider. What is the temp at the depth you have your bait? 50-60 degrees is what lake trout like.

2. Speed is a factor to consider... What is the speed at the depth you have your bait? 1.5MPH'ish is what lake trout like. The speed that you see on your speedometer is the surface speed and is skewed by wind and travel speed so it is not accurate for the conditions of your bait.

3. Lures are a factor to consider...Shiny stuff on shiny days (Silver) and dull stuff on dull (overcast) days (gold) and if you are using spoons/spinners etc... That can slightly change the speed of the bait you are streaming

I use a sub-troll that I send down on a down rigger that lets me know the speed/temp at that depth.


Also, remember that fish like to feed UPWARD, so make sure your bait is at or slightly above their "feeding" temp.

Try trolling flies in some shallower water. AJ has some nice trolling patterns. Ask him about the golden demons with gold beads. We had a good week trolling flies. Good luck!

Trying to fish and expecting results? :) ;) :laugh:

five colors is probably too much. That would put you below most of the fish.

Talk to AJ about your leader size. I'm guessing you are running 8# mono and will have to drop that and go with floro.

Speed is very important. Since you didn't mention it, it is not important enough for you. If you aren't going 1.5-2.4 you are not in the zone. If you don't have a GPS that gives you speed (your speedometer is probably not very helpful for this), then assume you are going too fast unless you are running a kicker motor. Drag a couple of 5 gallon buckets from your front cleats on about 5 feet of rope...that should get your down.

While we have gotten a few fish on the surface this year...I wouldn't contribute 50% of my offerings to the surface unless you are seeing fish rise.

Ask aj about hot lure patterns and buy a few. Don't mix flies and live bait. Live bait wants to be dragged slowly (down around 1 mpg), flies like to be dragged faster (2.5-3 mph)....spoons in the middle. Choose one of these types and stick with it.

Call Glen Leathers at (603) 493-7559. Pay him to come out with you on your boat, and fish with your gear. I did it several years ago and it's worth every dime.

most of our action lately has come at 12-23 feet down. most have been caught on flies at 3 or 4 colors. anywhere between 1.8 and 2.2 sog works well. make sure you're using a fluorocarbon leader, especially on you leadcore rigs. i use 50ft. of 8lb. seaguar to a spro swivel, then a short 6 ft. leader of 6lb. seaguar to a duolock snap (or you can tie direct to the fly/spoon). i use a similar setup on my downrigger rods, but run a full spool of 8lb. seaguar. then the swivel and a 6lb. 6 foot leader to a duolock snap.

when i started out i was using regular mono for my rigger rods and tying a snap swivel to my leadcore. never caught squat. too easy for the salmon to see, they wouldn't hit it. changed things up to the above and started catching fish right away.

Angling in the Smile of the Great Spirit
 

15-20' down on down riggers until June 1, then drop down deeper as water warms

3-4 colors of lead-core line, gradually going to more colors as water warms: jigging your rod increases hits

2 MPH speed

4 pound test mono 6' leader with tiny swivel to the fly and 50' of 6-8 pound test to the lead-core

Fish between 5AM-8AM or between 7PM til dark.

Fish shallow waters 15'-30' now for foraging salmon

Streamers flies from AJs. 8 to 1 favorite last two years: "Hal's Spirit" Fly

Like someone else said, be optimistic and expect a fish to hit any minute!

Release them quickly and carefully being careful not to tear the mouths: nearly half the salmon from the annual Fish & Game Lake Winni fall netting survey had torn mouths and these fish do not compete successfully for the smelt and other forage fish and, hence, do not gain weight and length over the next few years. If you do tear a salmon's mouth, keep, cook, and enjoy this delicate culinary delight.

Good luck!! Hal Lyon of Bear Island, author of Angling in the Smile of the Great Spirit: Named "Best Book of the Year" by The New England Outdoor Writers Assoc: deepwaterspress.com