Northwest Fishing Reports

I'm amazed how the water surface temperature raised so much with just a few days of sun.
It felt like bath water. It was cool and over cast Saterday and the water was warmer than the
out side air. I caught one fish near the surface, released it, without touching it and no bleeding
and it died. I tried to resuscitate it with no luck. It was a small one. After that I only fished deep.
Paid off going deep, 17" 2# and 16" 1.5#
Trolled 10:00 - 1:00 Should of had more fish but I was trying some new set ups and missed some
bites. Looks like its going to be another overcast weekend. Seems like the big ones are starting
to bite more:cyclopsan

Generally, the higher the water temperature, the less oxygen in the water. With less oxygen, the fish stress out much quicker. I have noticed that in the early spring when the water is much cooler, Rainbows will jump more frequently than in the heat of the summer.
If you are fishing catch and release, it is a good practice to hold off on any fishing until the water temperature drops. This is especially true on rivers where the flow drops dramitically in the heat of the summer like the Clark Fork in Montana.
My personal rule of thumb is if the long stretches of hot weather are taking a toll on me, it is probably doing the same to the fish. That's when I catch up on weekend indoor projects around the house.o:)

Generally, the higher the water temperature, the less oxygen in the water. With less oxygen, the fish stress out much quicker. I have noticed that in the early spring when the water is much cooler, Rainbows will jump more frequently than in the heat of the summer.
If you are fishing catch and release, it is a good practice to hold off on any fishing until the water temperature drops. This is especially true on rivers where the flow drops dramitically in the heat of the summer like the Clark Fork in Montana.
My personal rule of thumb is if the long stretches of hot weather are taking a toll on me, it is probably doing the same to the fish. That's when I catch up on weekend indoor projects around the house.o:)

GeryG wrote:I'm amazed how the water surface temperature raised so much with just a few days of sun.
It felt like bath water. It was cool and over cast Saterday and the water was warmer than the
out side air. I caught one fish near the surface, released it, without touching it and no bleeding
and it died. I tried to resuscitate it with no luck. It was a small one. After that I only fished deep.
Paid off going deep, 17" 2# and 16" 1.5#
Trolled 10:00 - 1:00 Should of had more fish but I was trying some new set ups and missed some
bites. Looks like its going to be another overcast weekend. Seems like the big ones are starting
to bite more:cyclopsan

I see you are up in my neck of the woods. Where abouts did you go fishing at? What were you trolling? I'll keep it mum! I swear!

Flatfish

Mikey
I was fishing lake KI.

I fish there once a week and use home made wedding rings.
I'll be out there Saterday if its not pouring rain.
I would switch to the Snohomish for pinks this weekend
but I think the crowds will still be there.

GeryG,
If you get to the banks early the crowds aren't bad at all...Even if there are any crowds, there's still tons of fish to be had...

GeryG wrote:Mikey
I was fishing lake KI.

I fish there once a week and use home made wedding rings.
I'll be out there Saterday if its not pouring rain.
I would switch to the Snohomish for pinks this weekend
but I think the crowds will still be there.

What's the best way to get the wedding ring down low? Do you use a three way swivel, or do you use inline weight?

How deep are you going? Do you use a DownRigger?

I'm using a 5/8 oz inline keel sinker.
I troll with a electric motor on 1 & 2 speed.
I dont use a down rigger.
And I will stop the motor and let the weight drag the wedding ring down deeper.
Then kick it up to 3 speed for a few seconds and you get a lot of bites doing this.
Then back to the trolling speed that is getting the bites.
Hope this helps.

GeryG wrote:I'm using a 5/8 oz inline keel sinker.
I troll with a electric motor on 1 & 2 speed.
I dont use a down rigger.
And I will stop the motor and let the weight drag the wedding ring down deeper.
Then kick it up to 3 speed for a few seconds and you get a lot of bites doing this.
Then back to the trolling speed that is getting the bites.
Hope this helps.

That helps somewhat. I'm not sure what a Keep sinker is, but I'll do a search. I'm sure I can come up with a picture.

I have a 1 person Pontoon boat and a trolling motor, so I'm wondering if I troll too fast. That boat s pretty light, and the motor pushed it around pretty good. Seems to me that the variable speed does better than constant speed.

Thanks for the advice!

I have a canoe w/trolling motor, same issue of the motor pushing the boat too fast for trolling. I have found that I get better results by turning the motor 180 degrees and running it in reverse for trolling, the reverse gears are lower speed. Kind of awkward & probably looks a little funny, but it works...

Gringo Pescador wrote:I have a canoe w/trolling motor, same issue of the motor pushing the boat too fast for trolling. I have found that I get better results by turning the motor 180 degrees and running it in reverse for trolling, the reverse gears are lower speed. Kind of awkward & probably looks a little funny, but it works...

Good Idea! Thanks!

To slow your boats down while trolling try dragging a parachute type anchor or even a small bucket will work. Just be sure to mount it near the front of the boat, it dosnt have to extend past the end of the boat.