Bait Down Deep

While the N/E winds continue to plague me, I hit the lake again today for another shot at redemption. This time however, Norm & his faithful companion Buddha were to join me and hopefully our luck would change. I thought I would try a different section of the lake and see if we could get something started. Air temps were a balmy 38 degrees at the start but at least the sunshine made it feel less painful. The winds however were a different story as they were blowing from the N/E at 15 to 25 knots. Although it was suppose to reach 60 plus degrees, we weren’t there yet as we began our troll. Fly rods and deep sinking lines were set and the waiting game began. Tons of baitfish were present, along with plenty of fish arches but nothing seemed to be moving. I swapped one deep line for a high line and tried again but with the same results. Another change to lead core and planer boards for a while with only a couple of bass to show and I went to the downriggers and controlled depth fishing. The lures were running straight through the fish but still nada. Lure changes from small stick baits to spoons and finally a line released. Unfortunately the lake trout fell a little short at 19 inches and was immediately sent back to where he came from. This was to be the story of the day as it seemed like every fish that came aboard was either too short or just the wrong species all together. The only thing good about this was that at least we were catching fish! Sometime in the afternoon we decided to try slower jigging with minnow baits and hit the sand drops and edges hoping to change our luck. Well, it didn’t work as the same thing was happening all over again. To make matters worse, the winds were at their strongest and boat control was a real treat. Shortly after 4:30 P.M. we decided to call it a day and just packed it in. We had covered all kinds of water, seen all kinds of bait & fish arches and tried several methods all in vane. Tomorrow I will try a different section of the lake once more and hopefully this time, hit the mother load. Maybe this time I can find water temps better than the 43 degrees that these cold winds are creating and hit some silver in the process!!