What do you do?

Ok, this question is for all you fishermen/gals in the know. I have always been one of those kiss (keep it simple stupid) type of people. I fished Anderson for years using just short lake trolls (6-8 inch 3 blades) and a silver wedding ring with pink beads and shoe peg corn and always got all the fish I wanted. I still do ok at Anderson, but only fair at L.P. I have tried the squid and dodger, wedding rings, and a lot more, but just didn’t ever feel like I could say I know what I was doing. Ok I will say it; I am a SH@tting fisherman when it comes to L.P. I will take the kid one day and get 6 or 7 fish and take a friend the next and get nothing. I use to be pretty good at this fishing but lately I thinking maybe I should take up a new hobby, like basket weaving. I have read books and forums and anything I can get my hands on. So here is the question: what rules do you go by? After reading all the info out there, I am so confuses. I would need a laptop to remember all of it. What are the basic things you do to catch kokes?

Dont sweat it Grizz...I think we all have those days too...All I can say is I just keep trying and trying...learning and gathering as much info as I can. Like for example I have recently had a convo with a guy who basically informed me that my hoochies were way to far back behind the dodger...so days when Ive only gotten 6 fish...possibly could have been gangbuster days...so he said I need my hoochies about 8 inches behind dodger and I had been putting them about 16 to 18 back...drastically reducing the bounce factor...so within a few days Im heading up to Arrowrock to test the theory...I use scent on my corn as well...have a few different colors of hoochies to throw at them...change depth if no love...change distance behind the downrigger balls if no love...there may be a ton of variables but its all about your ability to change up until you develop a pattern...and the sucky thing is they change daily if not hourly...so what works now may not tomorrow and such...Just dont give up big guy...basket weaving although intriguing...sounds like a poor replacement for such a fun hobby...LOL Also speed is very important as well...too fast, or too slow and no bites...I think 1.6 mph to 1.8 is a pretty sure bet...over 2 and no love...under 1.4 and wasting time...knowledge is power bro...later days..Jimbo

Thanks Jimbo for playing I need to get my GPS out to check my speed. Got a new boat this year. Hoping it will troll slow enought.

Thanks Jimbo for the info. I'm just getting started. I got the gear all ready to go and now I just need to learn how to use it. Like Grizz, I'm looking for all the good pointers I can find!

Barch
Something else to look at is contrast of color. Read a lot about using lures with two colors (pink/ white, pink/purple) I always used just solid colored lures. I am also looking at more glow and UV color. I still reading about when to use these.

Always glad to help...

Barch and Grizz...always lookin for some new guys to go with me...so if you guys ever wanna just tag along and hang with me we can slam it together...boat partners are fun...LOL

Until you can adjust your sped and keep it there you are fighting a losing battle. Find a way to verify your speed and a way to keep it there. Once you get the speed thing down everything else is really simple.

Jimbo We can take my boat. I am always looking for someone to tAke. Like meeting new people and sharing info. Got to get my downriggers mounted.

Well get er done...Im going maybe a couple times this week if ya wanna just go with me...up to you bro.

speeds

The distance that the hoochie is behind the flasher varies. Each has a speed they work best at. We caught 13 koks and 1 trout on Saturday. Our speed was 1.5 on the beginning hook up but after we slowed down we got nailed. Not sure if stuff went deeper with the slower speed or under 1 mph works when the water temp is 33. I think changing speed up and down all the time may set the fish off. They may see that 1 thing that catches their eye. It took 2 trips to figure some things out, and things do change every year. Keep changing things till you find the one that works. Then take the identical set up and play with the distance between flasher and hoochie. Good Luck!

thanks jimbo I appreciate the offer...when do you start fishing for them? I know we have had some beautiful days recently but is it to early to catch them now? Hey Kingtut, where are you going this time of year?

Great information!! One thing I didn't see mentioned is speed changes and "S" turns. I've found that alot of times they seem to follow and the minute the action of the lure changes...BAM!! signfishin Also, like mentioned if your not getting hit adjust your depth, color, speed, set-back, scent, and direction in relation to the sun (try trolling perpendicular to it.) Most days I've found it's the color change and varying the speed/doing "S" turns that gets their attention. Keep an eye on what rod gets hit while doing the turns as one side will drop as the other rises...adjust the depth if you see a pattern. I normally start out the day running ball trolls with a short set-back (10-15') on one side and no ball trolls fishing farther back (20-40') on the other to see which gets more hits...then change accordingly. The ball trolls work good some days till the sun is high over head...after that they might be too much flash.

Can someone give me an idea when you use glow and U.V lures. I have tried the glow, I can't say if it helps. I sure as the fish get deeper it might make a difference. Do you fish this type of lures at say, 1-20 feet.

My gf and I are gonna go give it a whirl on Wednsday...will post the after game report...LOL Hoping the gorgeous weather is still here for it...and next to no wind would be nice as well...

idaho_Grizz said:

Can someone give me an idea when you use glow and U.V lures. I have tried the glow, I can't say if it helps. I sure as the fish get deeper it might make a difference. Do you fish this type of lures at say, 1-20 feet.

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I start fishing at first light and usually will make sure I am using charged up glow for the first couple hours, depending on the sun. If your glow is not working it may not be charged correctly. Use the search option and you will find many posts about charging uv. You may also want to check out http://glowinc.com/. They don't sell fishing stuff but do have great info on how stuff glows in the dark.

UV requires the uv rays of the sun to penetrate the water. On a sunny day it is usually about 9-10 in the morning before the sun gets high enough to really penetrate to fish depth, before that, it is glow all the way.

Even in the middle of the day I will use glow if I am down below 50 feet or so, all depending on the amount of light hitting the water and water clarity and of course what mood the buggers are in.

There is really no hard and fast rule, and I am certainly no expert. 2cents

DLM
Great info! Thanks