Hello All. I went back to the Mountains for a second time for a little longer trip and was surprised at the mixed results after last years trip. I fished Santeetlah, Fontana and Bear Lake this trip. I started on Bear with the Temps at 24 Degrees....and I was moving a little slow. I headed right up to the upper section expecting to find the Trout stacked up there once again. I put out two Hoochies and had my first Trout in a few minutes.....a 14 incher. Thirty minutes later I had a second twin. I did Not find the Trout busting shad like the year before. There were also fewer fish showing up on my electronics. I continued to troll the upper areas and picked up a fish about every thirty minutes.....kinda slow compared to 2019. After about an hour of trying spinners and spoons with no strikes, I decided to explore a bit. I began trolling back towards the Dam. I put out a Rapala and a Hoochie and just drank coffee and meandered along. I picked up a nicer 16 inch Trout on a silver Rapala....in the middle of nowhere....down at 30 ft. I tested that area for a bit and then headed for the Dam. I picked up one more fish on the Hoochie and then started working the Dam. I then found two more Trout near the Dam on the Rapala. I called it a day at 4 pm.
The next three days I spent on Fontana and Santeetlah. I headed straight up Eagle Creek....again, with expectations from the year before. Again....I spotted No Shad....or Bass busting them. I picked up some scattered Spotted Bass here and there....but no large groups. I trolled and caught two 14 inch rainbows on Rapalas....no browns. The third day Fontana was too icy to access....so I went to Santeetlah. I caught two Spotted Bass and two Rainbows....one each on a Hoochie and a Rapala. I went back to Fontana the next day and got completely Skunked! This was Not the trip I expected. The fish were definitely NOT where I was expecting them to be.
Fontana was 54 degrees, Santeetlah was 50 Degrees and Bear Lake was 45 degrees at the surface. The Air Temps started out with highs in the 40's and gradually warmed to the upper 50's by the end of my week.
For the 5th day, I decided to head back to Bear and was on the water at daybreak. I headed for the Dam to check things out and dropped a Hoochie and a Rapala again. I switched to a Hot Steel colored Rapala F9...one of my favorites. I got Nothing. I headed up for the creeks and picked up a few decent fish right away. By noon....it was over. I couldn't buy a strike as I rotated through different lures. At 1:30 I had five Trout in the box and had released two others. I was in the Dam area. I went back to the Hoochie/Rapala combo and as soon as I got the Rapala set...it went off. It was a nice 16 inch Trout. I reset and it went off again immediately? It was another 16 inch Bow. I was working both lures down around 25-30 ft to try and get to the holdover Trout. I switched the Hoochie to a Rapala X-Rap and ran two Rapalas. After that....it just went completely wild! I was getting aggressively slammed on every pass. I switched back to a Hoochie, then a silver Rapala on the second rod. I switched the rods around. They wanted the Hot Steel Rapala 3-1 over the X-Rap, Silver Rapala and the Hoochie. I caught 15 more Quality Trout over the next two plus hours. They were All nice 15-18 inch Trout and were absolutely Crushing the Rapalas. It was maybe the most exciting two plus hours of Trout Fishing I've experienced.....ever!. I extended my normal load out time because of the action.
For my sixth and final day....it was naturally back to Bear Lake. There was a steady rain falling and it was forecast for the whole day. I headed straight for the Dam......Nothing! I trolled the same spots as before, but, came up empty! I headed towards the upper lake again and remembered that nothing had happened at the Dam until the afternoon the day before. I picked up a couple of fish Up-Lake on the Hoochie....and then a couple hit the Rapala.....and then all quiet again. I headed back to the Dam....in the steady rain....and the dinner bell was back on. It was 1:00....and over the next 90 minutes I caught six more nice Trout....5 on the Rapala and 1 on the Hoochie. Again....all Quality Fish. I was drenched but Happy....and I headed back to watch some football.
Overall, It was a Very "Choppy" trip with a good ending. There were long periods of no fish, then Amazing Fishing, Bitter Cold, then Warmer temps, then Rain. I have So Many questions about what the heck the Trout were doing?
Big Takeaways: I never caught a single Brown Trout...unlike last year where I caught several???
I kept (25) Trout. In cleaning them.....I did Not find a single fish with eggs??? Last year I took back a whole bag of roe? Why weren't the Trout Spawning?
Where were the Shad? I only located two bait balls down below 60 ft during my trip?
I was surprised at Thanksgiving to find the Trout still located near the Dam....and then again this trip?
There was a surprising lack of Bass activity for me this trip as well...which is likely tied to the Shad?
I Still have so MUCH to learn. Tie on a Hot Steel Rapala right now and you'll likely be have pretty good luck. The Trout are Healthy and Active. Good Fishing to all....D
The next three days I spent on Fontana and Santeetlah. I headed straight up Eagle Creek....again, with expectations from the year before. Again....I spotted No Shad....or Bass busting them. I picked up some scattered Spotted Bass here and there....but no large groups. I trolled and caught two 14 inch rainbows on Rapalas....no browns. The third day Fontana was too icy to access....so I went to Santeetlah. I caught two Spotted Bass and two Rainbows....one each on a Hoochie and a Rapala. I went back to Fontana the next day and got completely Skunked! This was Not the trip I expected. The fish were definitely NOT where I was expecting them to be.
Fontana was 54 degrees, Santeetlah was 50 Degrees and Bear Lake was 45 degrees at the surface. The Air Temps started out with highs in the 40's and gradually warmed to the upper 50's by the end of my week.
For the 5th day, I decided to head back to Bear and was on the water at daybreak. I headed for the Dam to check things out and dropped a Hoochie and a Rapala again. I switched to a Hot Steel colored Rapala F9...one of my favorites. I got Nothing. I headed up for the creeks and picked up a few decent fish right away. By noon....it was over. I couldn't buy a strike as I rotated through different lures. At 1:30 I had five Trout in the box and had released two others. I was in the Dam area. I went back to the Hoochie/Rapala combo and as soon as I got the Rapala set...it went off. It was a nice 16 inch Trout. I reset and it went off again immediately? It was another 16 inch Bow. I was working both lures down around 25-30 ft to try and get to the holdover Trout. I switched the Hoochie to a Rapala X-Rap and ran two Rapalas. After that....it just went completely wild! I was getting aggressively slammed on every pass. I switched back to a Hoochie, then a silver Rapala on the second rod. I switched the rods around. They wanted the Hot Steel Rapala 3-1 over the X-Rap, Silver Rapala and the Hoochie. I caught 15 more Quality Trout over the next two plus hours. They were All nice 15-18 inch Trout and were absolutely Crushing the Rapalas. It was maybe the most exciting two plus hours of Trout Fishing I've experienced.....ever!. I extended my normal load out time because of the action.
For my sixth and final day....it was naturally back to Bear Lake. There was a steady rain falling and it was forecast for the whole day. I headed straight for the Dam......Nothing! I trolled the same spots as before, but, came up empty! I headed towards the upper lake again and remembered that nothing had happened at the Dam until the afternoon the day before. I picked up a couple of fish Up-Lake on the Hoochie....and then a couple hit the Rapala.....and then all quiet again. I headed back to the Dam....in the steady rain....and the dinner bell was back on. It was 1:00....and over the next 90 minutes I caught six more nice Trout....5 on the Rapala and 1 on the Hoochie. Again....all Quality Fish. I was drenched but Happy....and I headed back to watch some football.
Overall, It was a Very "Choppy" trip with a good ending. There were long periods of no fish, then Amazing Fishing, Bitter Cold, then Warmer temps, then Rain. I have So Many questions about what the heck the Trout were doing?
Big Takeaways: I never caught a single Brown Trout...unlike last year where I caught several???
I kept (25) Trout. In cleaning them.....I did Not find a single fish with eggs??? Last year I took back a whole bag of roe? Why weren't the Trout Spawning?
Where were the Shad? I only located two bait balls down below 60 ft during my trip?
I was surprised at Thanksgiving to find the Trout still located near the Dam....and then again this trip?
There was a surprising lack of Bass activity for me this trip as well...which is likely tied to the Shad?
I Still have so MUCH to learn. Tie on a Hot Steel Rapala right now and you'll likely be have pretty good luck. The Trout are Healthy and Active. Good Fishing to all....D