first time at the berry

[RalphL]

heading up to "scope out "strawberry in mid Aug.. Wont be hauling the koke boat with the DR's on this first trip so will rely on the 12 ft porta bote and 4hp yam. No dr means lead line and possibly banana sinkers Would really appreciate any suggestions as to rig , depth and area I can get into with the pb In reading latest posts it sounds like fish are 50 ft down and deeper That a bit of a push for lead . Any advice..

 

[SuperD]

Lake is very big and can get very rough. Stay CLOSE! The Cutthroat will likely keep you busy.

 

[stan55]

Has slowed down for Kokes at least last Friday. Caught two at 45 to 50ft one on a keel weight line. I'd suggest Soldier Creek side with that boat. Fish west side south from marina to the narrows. Early AM better. Should find a few Kokes willing to play. For sure the Cutts will be around. Caught a lot of them and few Bows.

 

[RalphL]

How much weight/speed do you need to get down to 50 ft with a keel. Are you catching the cutts and rainbow on the same rigs your using for koke or rigging differently. Will follow your advice and keep the PB in close enough for a dash to shore, although they are very stable in rought water and surprisingly dry running in the chop, they flex

 

[Bduck]

Try a pink lady, deep 6, or equivalent to get a rig to the depths. Main part of the lake is large and common for early afternoon winds. Soldier Creek side may offer some protection.

 

[RalphL]

You guys are great,, hope I get to wet a line and pop a cap with you someday.. Our home lake (Heron) dried up so were on the hunt for a long summer stay option . Strawberry seems ideal with the 20 ft pontoon rigged for koke 'If this works out we will haul it up. Will also be checking Starvation and a few others in the area but an all season slip rental is a must have. If you see the little Porta Bote next to a white truck camper on a one ton dually,, stop by.... Beers on me and the coffee is always hot..

 

[stan55]

My buddy and I were trolling at 1.5 to 1.7mph 3oz keel weights back 70 to 100ft. Caught some bows, two cutts and the Kokes on same rigs - pink Apex tipped with maggots and a pink/white spinner I made hyper plaid and pink/silver dodgers in the hour I fished on the Soldier side. Spent way more time over on the Strawberry side and was it was one Cutt after another on the same setups. I went over to Soldier to see if any Kokes wanted to play should have started there. For some reason the downriggers caught zip it is usually a 50/50 split.