Gibbs Minnows can be found at many retail sources, more stores seem to carry them than they used to. Fisherman's, Wholesale sports and BiMart all carry them and I'd bet that Dick's does too. I know I've seen them at other stores but I cannot remember specifically which ones. Good luck finding anything in pink though. The pink and white with the flash on the sides is usually the first to sell out. This started out as my favorite but now I'm not as fussy and usually the fish aren't either. I do like the effectiveness of contrasting colors and therefore I do recommend the pink and white combo's but in any of their configurations. I also like the orange with the flash tape, but I will warn you that this tape will wear off after several fish have attempted to destroy it.
I have used Buzz Bombs, Nordics, Zingers, Pline's, crippled herring, rattletraps, some customs jigs sold there in Oakridge, and I don't know how many other various jigs and lures, all with varying success. What I found was it was best to stop messing around with all of the possibilities that might, and usually did, work and get back to fishing. Any jig will work but not all of them will work equally well. I don't care much for the jigs that slide on your line because they are harder to keep straight in the tackle box and because they are harder on your line and can cause line failure, especially when casting. But with that said, the Buzz Bombs and Zingers perform well in the catching catagory. I think Nordics have a great shape but the Gibbs seem to work better, I think because of their smaller size and weight.
I do not troll at Odell ever, but then again, I only fish it in the early season and once summer sets in a little I go for the brook trout with a flyrod. When I first began fishing Odell, almost everybody trolled for the koke's, except for the few who were vertical jigging for the deeper fish. My buddies and I accidentally stumbled upon the casting method of jigging and have never looked back. I see more and more boats on this lake using the cast and jig technique and this year was no exception. I was amazed at how many boats were doing it.
I recommend looking for boats that are experiencing some success and try immitating them, at least until you learn the basics of what you are doing. If you see a boat that is motoring up to a school of jumping fish, it's okay to cast in that same general area but try not to crowd them if they were there first. Most of us don't mind sharing a pod of jumpers as long as you respect personal space. Try and watch for where the fishermen are casting and don't run over that water with your boat. And as best as you can, try not to cross your cast with others, this can get a reaction of a few ruffled feathers. Beware of the trollers who seem to not mind running their downriggers right through an area where you are casting, there's always a handful of people out there who don't seem to understand curtousy.
It is my understanding that the water temps dropped at Odell from all this nasty weather we've been having. I'm thinking this year the surface jigging will be hot a lot later than normal years. Things should still be pretty hot at least for the next week or two. Good luck to you and I hope to see you out on the water. I'm usually fishing this lake out of an older Boston Whaler but I may try taking my little pontoon boat out there for Memorial weekend. If you see me out there, feel free to stop by and say hello, and you can ask all the questions you want.
