Heading out on Green Bay soon? Anchor a Slider Rig with a No. 3 Rapala Jigging Rap, dress your “cheater hook” with half a Mustache Worm and hang on, says in-demand Door County guide and ICE FORCE Pro JJ Malvitz.
“The whitefish bite has been amazing,” he says. “And the cool thing about whitefish is that they’re really easy to catch and you can catch a lot of them.”
There’s more to whitefish angling than just quantity though, Malvitz notes – the fish provide a quality fight as well, especially in the deep water in which they’re often found in Green Bay this time of year.
“You’re catching them in super-deep water – 50 to 100 feet – so you get a lot of time on the rod to really play them out,” Malvitz says. “Any time you can prolong a fish on the end of your line, it maximizes the fun factor. It provides a lot of action, so it’s really good for kids and people who have not ice-fished much before.”
Also, whitefish are delicious.
“They are great table fare,” Malvitz says. He likes them deep-fried, pan-fried and says “you can’t beat smoked whitefish.”
A good keeper whitefish is anything 16 inches long or better, Malvitz says – “you can really get a really good filet off of them.” A whitefish big enough to brag about a bit will be 21-plus inches, about 4 to 5 pounds. “That’s a really good one,” he says. Most you’ll catch on Green Bay will weigh around 1 ½ to 2 pounds. The bigger ones taste better smoked, he says. Wisconsin’s daily limit is 10 whitefish.
“We just started in the first weekend in January to be able to get on this bite safely – to get to that offshore structure where we catch whitefish,” Malvitz says. “We’ve been catching limits from the get-go.”
Slider Rig Finding whitefish can often be the hardest part of catching them. Once you find a group of fish, though, getting them to bite a Slider Rig is usually pretty easy.
“It’s really kind of a neat little rig,” Malvitz says. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Malvitz’ Slider Rigs comprise a main line of 6-pound-test Sufix 832 Advanced Superline, a six-foot tip line of 6-pound-test Sufix Invisiline 100% Fluorocarbon, a 12- to 16-inch leader of the same Sufix fluoro and four pieces of tackle:
• A heavy, bottom-pounding anchor bait like a No. 3 Jigging Rap or 1/8th oz. VMC Rattle Spoon. Black-gold, silver-black and Firetiger color patterns have all been “producing pretty good,” Malvitz says.
• A small VMC swivel
• A No. 6 VMC Octopus hook
• A brown Trigger X Mustache Worm with one of the arms pulled off. (The brown color is named “Natural”
Here’s how the rig all comes together:
• Use a double-uni knot to connect the main line and the six-foot section of fluoro
• Thread the Octopus hook onto the fluoro, point up, then tie the swivel to the end of the fluoro. Some people call this section of the rig the “cheater hook or slider hook” Malvitz says. (Note: Don’t tie on the hook – after threading it on the line, just let it slide around, free)
• To the other end of the swivel, tie the leader.
• Tie the Jigging Rap or Rattle Spoon at the end of the leader
• Nose-hook the center bulb of the half Mustache Worm on the cheater hook
Fish the rig by dropping it to the bottom, banging the anchor bait around a bit and then lifting it all up. Repeat until you get bit. “Sometimes they’ll pin the Jigging Rap on the bottom and we’ll catch ’em on that, but 75 to 90 percent of our fish come on that top, slider hook,” Malvitz says.
More times than not, you won’t feel your bites. “It’s not a detection bite like when you’re walleye or bluegill fishing, where you’ll feel the fish smoke your lure,” Malvitz explains. “You’ll be lifting upward and all of a sudden, the weight of the fish is just there.”
Steep and Deep As safe ice allows, Malvitz targets steep drops from 15 to 25 feet of water to 40 to 90 feet. “You want steep breaks with an edge that has some structure. The fish will hold on those breaks. They’ll be running all over those edges.”
Because whitefish are in the salmon and trout family, productive areas will have current as well. “They really relate to current,” Malvitz says. You’ll know you found adequate current when your line very obviously drifts to the edge of your hole.
Unlike some other freshwater fish, whitefish can survive trips to the surface from very deep water, Malvitz says. “They have the ability to ‘burp’ themselves,” he explains. “Sometimes, when you’re reeling up, you’ll have this surge of bubbles come up through your hole. That’s the fish purging its air bladder. They don’t puke up their air bladder like perch out of deep water.”
High lakes trout fishing is one of Washington’s premier recreational pastimes. Geology pressed its thumb into some of the state’s most gorgeous places when it laid in the alpine lakes. Trails into remote mountain potholes wander across flowered meadows and pass through shady forests of cedar, fir and hemlock. At trail’s end, trout grow plump on mayflies, midges and other minute delectables.
Western Washington has about 1,600 lakes that are considered “high” lakes, above 2,500 feet elevation. East of the Cascades, nearly 950 lakes lie above 3,500 feet, which qualifies them as high lakes. A small percentage of our high lakes have self-sustaining trout populations, while others are stocked periodically with a variety of trout species. Still others are purposely left barren.
Some lakes are stocked every two or three years, while others may be stocked only once in a decade, dictated by average fishing pressure and lake productivity. These rotating stocking schedules cause a lake’s trout abundance and size to vary from year to year. Finding the season’s hot spots is part of the fun: topographical maps, good hiking equipment and a willingness to get out and explore are as important to high lakes angling success as the right terminal tackle.
The “Leave No Trace” Ethic
Special alpine etiquette is mandatory for these mountain adventures. With approximately 100,000 anglers and a million hikers roaming Washington’s high country each season, care must be taken to minimize human impact. Alpine meadows and shorelines are often extremely delicate. Ill-planned camps or focused foot traffic on fragile near-shore vegetation can easily leave near-permanent scars. Wilderness resource users must educate themselves on the simple, but essential, principles of no-trace camping and hiking. The U.S. Forest and National Park Services offer several excellent brochures on this subject; pick one up at your local USFS Ranger Station or Park Service district office.
Alpine fish populations are often equally fragile. Thoughtful anglers practice catch-and-release fishing (see “Tips for Successful Catch-and-Release Fishing”), keeping just one or two for the pan and releasing the rest for others to enjoy. Often, it’s a long way back to the car on a warm summer day and the fish may spoil on the way out. What would have been a delicious meal in camp or a larger fighting fish for another angler is no better than garden fertilizer by the time you get home.
Although fish entrails are biodegradable, a respectful alpine angler will never discard them in lake shallows where they can be seen by others. Pack out viscera in a zip-lock bag, or dispose of them in water at least 25′ deep. Never bury or try to burn fish parts near the lake; the remains may attract sharp-nosed bears. Burial at least 100 yards away from the lake, trail or camps is an acceptable alternative.
Please remember the following tips for responsible use of our back-country:
Take the time to learn both fishing and land-use regulations for the area you plan to visit.
Pack out everything you pack in; if possible, take out any litter from less-thoughtful hikers or anglers.
Maintain water quality by keeping human waste and waste water away from lakes and streams. If possible, camp at least 200 feet from the nearest lake or stream.
Where campfires are legal and safe, use an established fire ring and only dead and downed wood.
Pack out the offal from any fish kept, or dispose of it in a manner that will not attract wildlife or harm the aesthetics of the area.
Be mindful of damaging fragile vegetation, both along the shoreline and in campsites.
The Fish and Fishery
Most fish stocked in our high lakes are rainbow, cutthroat or eastern brook trout. (“Brookies” are not a true trout, but actually belong to the char genus.) Other trout or char that can be found in some lakes include brown trout, mackinaw or lake trout (another char) and bull trout/Dolly Varden (also char). A few lakes have been stocked with golden trout, Kamloops-strain rainbows, Montana black-spot (a cutthroat sub-species) and Atlantic salmon.
The primary rainbow stock used is Mt. Whitney, of California origin. Cutthroat plants include several varieties: coastal (mostly on the west side of the Cascades), westslope (stock from Twin Lakes near Leavenworth), and Tokul Creek (from the hatchery of the same name near Snoqualmie, and originally from Lake Whatcom).
The Department of Fish and Wildlife continues a long tradition of fish stocking that began around the turn of the century when miners, loggers, woodsmen and the U.S. Forest Service transported fish to lakes in buckets and large milk cans by horse or mule. Stocking became more systematic in the late 1920’s when county governments began managing game fish and wildlife, and has continued essentially without interruption since the Department of Game was created in 1933 (since changed to Department of Wildlife in 1985, and to Department of Fish and Wildlife in 1994).
The stocking program has come a long way from the milk can days. The department now uses airplanes and helicopters to stock up to 20,000 fry at a time in the large, more heavily-used lakes. It’s not all high tech, however. A large percentage of all fry stocked are carried to the lakes on foot, and hand-stocked by groups such as the Seattle-based Trail Blazers or various Backcountry Horsemen of Washington chapters. Considerable effort is spent on accuracy and precision in maintaining the “put-grow-and-take” recreational fishery in order to ensure that these more sensitive aquatic ecosystems are not overtaxed.
Not all high lakes are maintained with fish populations. Many are left fishless to avoid impacts on the aquatic communities found in naturally fishless lakes or tarns. Many of these lakes contain invertebrate and amphibian populations that serve as genetic reservoirs throughout Washington’s subalpine and alpine ecosystems. Fish do not eliminate these species, but they can alter numbers. Thus many lakes are preserved as sites for scientific and educational purposes.
Although there is natural reproduction in some high lakes, most do not have the right conditions for a self-sustaining population. Besides correct timing of sexual maturity, most trout species need inlet or outlet streams that flow over gravel, year-round. This is an advantage for managing a quality high lakes fishery, as fish densities can be controlled by limited stocking numbers and frequencies, resulting in maximum growth to the lake’s potential.
Eastern brook trout and some strains of cutthroat and rainbow are more adaptable and prolific in their spawning habits, sometimes using springs or upwellings. A number of northern and western Cascade lakes have excessive, stunted populations of brookies or westslope cutthroat. Some of these lakes have management regulations that provide for more liberal harvest; others are stocked with predator species to bring these populations under control.
Since attractive, fishable populations can be maintained in most high lakes by stocking small fry infrequently, and at light densities, the high lake recreational fishery is one of the most cost-effective fisheries managed by WDFW.
Regulations allow fishing year-around in nearly all high lakes. (Note: As a general rule, lakes are considered “high” when over 2,500 feet in Western Washington or 3,500 feet in Eastern Washington.) Although some high lakes are ice-free in May, most clear in late June and July. These same lakes begin to freeze anytime from early October on, depending on elevation, exposure and weather.
Equipment
Fishing vies for attention with Sloan Peak in the Monte Cristo area of Snohomish County.
For the most part, fishing high lakes can be done effectively using the same techniques that are productive in low lakes. One major difference between lowland and high lakes is water clarity. The gin-clear water of high lakes requires light leader tippets (usually 4 pound test or less) and a stalking approach as the fish can see out of the lakes extremely well.
Fly fishing can be very effective in the high lakes under many weather conditions. Back-casting room is often a problem, though, unless you go to the effort to bring in a small raft or float tube. Typical fly rods and reels that you would use in low lakes or streams will work, with the main concern being rod length when broken down while hiking. Medium-weight lines (5-7 wt.) will handle most conditions for casting and presentation, while long leaders (12’+) work better than short ones. Leader tippets should be as small as possible, while maintaining 2-3 pounds breaking strength. Where fly-casting is impractical, tossing flies with a light spinning outfit and casting bubble can be equally productive.
Standard spinning rods and reels can be used very effectively to fish with spinners and spoons or with bait. Light or ultra-light weight tackle is recommended. A vest or small tackle box containing a dozen or more spoons and spinners of different sizes and color patterns will usually be sufficient. For bait fishing you should obtain egg hooks in sizes 10-12, bobbers or bubbles for weight and flotation, and slip-sinkers plus split shot.
Backpacking rods that break down to short lengths to fit within a typical pack are available at most sporting goods or hiking equipment stores. Some backpacking rods will double as spinning or fly rods fairly well. Very little rod effectiveness is sacrificed for spinning or bait-casting, but most combination rods are only moderately good (at best) for fly fishing. Trolling flies can be easily done with these outfits, or casting the fly-and-bubble combination mentioned above.
Trolling requires a raft, float tube or similar device. Medium-priced inflatable vinyl rafts are available at many sporting goods outlets. A one-person raft may weigh about 5-7 pounds and have moderate durability (two to four years). More expensive rafts are available, providing greater durability, carrying capacity and less weight. Be sure to wear additional flotation (a PFD) while in a raft or other water craft, as a puncture in mid-lake creates a sinking feeling and a substantial risk of hypothermia and drowning. This is especially serious as mountain lakes are very cold. Don’t count on swimming far in water that’s typically less than 50 degrees.
Other potentially valuable gear includes: needle-nose pliers, hemostat or other gripping device for removing hooks; line clippers; knife; point-and-shoot camera; sunscreen; insect repellant; first-aid kit; and all standard hiking safety gear. (See the section below titled “Safety.”)
Techniques
Fishing from shore can be very productive. Most fish feed in the shallower water close to shore where insect activity, both terrestrial and aquatic, is highest.
Bait-fishing can be effective, using worms, eggs, artificial paste baits, or combinations. Bait can be dangled downward from a floating bobber or can float upward from a slip-sinker, both of which provide weight to cast the bait outward from shore.
Bait-fishing should only be done when you plan to keep the fish you catch, since the fish tend to swallow the bait and hook, making injury-free release much harder. This is why fish caught while using bait count as part of your daily limit, whether or not you keep them. Also check to make sure bait is legal where you’re planning to fish; some lakes have selective fishery regulations or other quality rules designed to improve survival and growth of fish.
Lures, mainly spinners or spoons, can be very effective trolled or cast, especially for cutthroat. Treble hooks can be easily replaced with single hooks and remain effective at catching fish. Releasing a fish from a single-hook spoon or spinner is relatively straightforward and easy, while it can get awkward from a treble-hook. To make release even easier and increase liklihood of survival of the fish, pinch or file down the barb or barbs.
Fly-fishing can be nearly as effective as bait-fishing. Use dry fly patterns when fish are surface feeding, and nymph, leech or other subsurface patterns when little feeding activity is apparent. Effective dry patterns include black gnat, mosquito, Adams, blue dun, black ant, and deer-hair caddis. Wet patterns of choice include wooly worms, chironomids (TDC’s), hare’s ears, and carey specials.
Timing
Spectacular scenery at Snow Lake in King County
The most effective times to fish are generally early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Midday can be slow, especially in sunny weather. Exceptions are usually related to weather and insect activity. During midday periods, when fish aren’t rising, the more effective approach is to use bait or lures near the lake bottom, 50-150 feet from shore.
Insect hatches can produce visible feeding activity at any time. If there is a single type of insect hatching, trout may be very selective and hard to catch with general fly patterns and lures. At other times, trout may be slurping a variety of insects from the surface film. A general pattern fished dead slow or cast to rises may be effective.
Weather has a significant influence on fish and insect activity. If you are heading into your favorite high lake for fishing, it’s late summer, the lakes have been ice-free for several weeks, but it’s been warm for several days and then cools off (10-20 degrees) just before the weekend, get set for some slow fishing. Insect activity usually rises and falls with temperature, and trout feeding activity seems to do the same. Another bad time is when it has been very warm for several days and the trout have gorged themselves on insects and aren’t interested in another bite, however pretty your lure. If your trip coincides with the second or third day of a warming trend, you are likely to have good fishing opportunity at some of the time on your trip. But if the weather turns foul, the fishing usually does likewise.
Safety
The keys to a safe and enjoyable high country fishing adventure are preparedness and a healthy respect for nature. Keep the following in mind when planning your trip:
Solitude is great, but the buddy system is much safer, especially off-trail. Always tell someone where you’re going and when you intend to return.
Mountain lakes are too cold to do much swimming in. Check frequently for leaks in rafts. Use an inflatable sleeping pad as insulation under you and as a backup flotation device. Wear a personal floatation device; some PFD designs, such as slim “horse collar” types and inflatable suspenders, are relatively unobtrusive.
Even for day trips, carry raingear, warm clothes, survival blanket, compass, map, extra food, backpacking stove and flashlight, especially when off-trail.
Never walk on a “frozen” lake. The freezing pattern is erratic, so a lake may have some supporting ice below the surface snow/slush in one spot, but be unsupported in another. For this reason, high lakes are generally unsuitable for ice fishing, particularly in Western Washington.
Suggested Lakes
The high lakes listed below are recommended for hiker/anglers who are interested in experiencing trout fishing in the Cascade mountains and foothills. This list is intended as a general guide only. It is by no means complete–nor guaranteed.
Lakes were selected using the combined experience of members of the Washington Hi-Lakers and Trail Blazer clubs and WDFW professional biological staff. These lakes are on maintained trail systems or have road access, and are considered able to withstand the increased fishing pressure that might result from their listing here. They generally have self-sustaining populations of trout, or are regularly stocked by the WDFW. After the county-by-county listing of hike-in lakes is a list of “drive-to” lakes.
These chunky rainbows are typical of what can be produced with proper high lake fishery management.
Several methods are provided to help locate listed lakes. First, an approximate location based on geographic features or trailheads is given. Next are a page number and map coordinates for locating that lake in the Washington Atlas and Gazeteer (DeLorme Mapping Company). Following that, specific township (N) and range (E or W) data are provided, followed by elevation (in feet above mean sea level), both taken from Lakes of Washington, Volumes I and II (Wolcott, 1973). The latest USGS quadrangle maps for the area you intend to visit are usually the most specific and up-to-date source of trail information. U.S. Forest Service district maps are valuable aids for finding lakes and trails that fall within national forests. Specific county maps, such as those produced by the Metsker and Pittmon map companies, are also helpful.
Lastly, species information is provided. Fish species listed are the latest assessments by the review team (see above), but may not be exact or all-inclusive. Fish species and stocking schedules change occasionally because of various biological reasons.
Material in this document was originally published in SignPost for Northwest Trails, April 1986. It was edited and reprinted by the Department of Wildlife from 1987-1994. This version is adapted from a revision by Gerry Erickson of the Washington State Hi-Lakers, Bob Pfeifer and Susan Ewing of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Captain John Houston is a Sanibel Island, Florida, guide who grew up on the backwaters between San Carlos Bay and Charlotte Harbor, building a guru-like knowledge of the movements and preferences of the snook in his areas, and no matter what the weather, he usually is able to solve the daily puzzle and put his anglers on fish.
I was apprised of that fact on a trip with Houston a few weeks back, on a morning when a chilly wind was whistling out of the north at close to 20 knots. Normally, for snook anglers, the best strategy on a morning like that is to turn over, pull the covers up and sleep until noon.
Houston and I didn’t have that option–he had one morning when he could fit me into his busy winter schedule, and this was it–we were going snooking. We met at the ‘Tween Waters Marina at a leisurely 8 a.m., because the guide had been out since daylight loading the live well with an assortment of pinfish, grunts and pigfish that would allow us to target big snook.
“Young snook will take shrimp about as well as anything, but when they get up in the 30-inch range and bigger, they want some meat,” Houston told me. “I do especially well with the grunts and pigfish. They make a lot of noise on the hook, so they’re snook magnets.”
Houston is an easy-going guy who bounces around the world between sessions of guiding on his home waters. He has a second home in Costa Rica and has hiked the mountains of Columbia, including the drug-lord territory, as well as regularly visiting island communities all over the South Pacific. He’s also a yoga instructor–needless to say, his resume is a bit different from most skiff guides.
Houston advised me that the south shore of Redfish Pass–which is the cut that separates North Captiva island from Captiva Island proper–is usually stiff with undersized snook (less than 28″) along the south shore, while the rock jetties that jut out from the north shore–where the Kohler Plumbing mansion is the most visible structure–is the home of much larger fish much of the year.
“The big ones get in the pass starting in late April pre-spawn, and they’re in there pretty much into early November most years,” he told me. “A lot of them go out to the reefs when it gets colder in December and January, and some go up into the rivers, but other than that you can catch trophy snook in the pass most any trip.”
We made the 10-minute run across the choppy water, dodging spray blown up by the howling wind the whole way. We were in the lee as we moved in close to the jetties, but waves generated by the combination of the wind and the strong current through the pass had Houston’s center-console bucking so hard it was tough to get an anchor to stick.
After a couple of attempts, we were finally in position. I sailed an unhappy 6-inch piggy out toward the end of the rockpile, where the green water of the pass swirled in a foam-capped eddy. The bait went down, the 20-pound-test braid jumped a couple of times, and I was hooked up to what felt like a submarine. One big head roll, mouth the size of a coffee can, and I got the mauled pigfish back sans snook.
Next cast, basically the same result, but even faster. Third cast, a good stick but then Flipper showed up. The dolphin chased the fish around the rockpile at flank speed, and the hook pulled. I couldn’t tell if the fish went down the hatch or got away clean, but in any case it didn’t come to the boat.
“The dolphins here have really learned to home in on fisherman,” lamented Houston. “Some days it’s tough to get a fish to the boat, and if you do get one in and release it, they eat it right away.”
That was the end of the story for the jetty–the next pigfish that went in the water got chased all the way back to the boat by a dolphin that came up right next to us rolled on his back, I swear grinning an evil grin.
No problem, Houston had plenty more spots up the sleeve of his foul-weather gear.
“There are quite a few people who live on the water and dump their live bait and their fish carcasses by their docks, and the snook get on to that pretty quick,” he told me as we motored into a series of canals on the back side of the island. “If you throw a few sardines or shrimp in there as chum to get them started, you can get bit pretty quick.”
He wasn’t wrong–the second dock we tried produced a pair of 28-inchers, both legal fish if we had been in harvesting mode. The limits on the Gulf Coast are 1 fish per angler per day from 28 to 33 inches long.
We caught a few smaller fish at another location, then finished off with a muscular lunker that was over 30 inches. Not bad for a three-hour trip on a 20-knot morning.
Houston said snooking is good in the area year around except after severe cold fronts, but if he had to pick two prime times they would be April and late October, when water temperatures and weather combine to create the most reliable action.
The Gulf Coast snook season is closed December 1 to the end of February to protect cold-shocked fish, and from May 1 to August 31 to protect the spawning period. For more information, Captain John Houston can be contacted at www.nativeguidesfishing.com. Houston also runs tarpon charters, chases trout and reds, and offers shelling and diving trips as well.
Though Florida fishing stays a whole lot more comfortable than that found in the rest of the country in the winter months, it’s definitely a different ballgame so far as the fish are concerned. The broad, shallow flats that are loaded with trout, reds and snook along much of the West Coast in the temperate months empty out almost completely after a few cold fronts blow through, and by mid-December in most years, it’s hard to find fish anywhere outside the deep (and warm) coastal rivers and canals.
The South Shore area of Tampa Bay is classic habitat for this type of fishing. The Little Manatee and Manatee rivers, along with vast acreages of small creeks and canals, create ideal winter hideaways for fish and bait seeking to escape the chill of the shallow flats.
Not only are the big three of the flats here, but there are plenty of sheepshead and mangrove snapper for those seeking tasty fillets, along with sometimes countless ladyfish and jack crevalle chasing glass minnows for those who simply want to keep the rod bent–great targets for kids and anglers with less experience.
This is great country for flats boats, of course, but it’s also fine for bass boats, jon boats, canoes and kayaks because the water is protected from wind and waves. There are even some areas where fishing from shore or wading can bring good action.
The fish gather pretty much anywhere there’s a deep hole or rocky ledge. Sharp bends are often good, as are areas where side creeks fall into larger rivers. And, on sunny afternoons between fronts, the fish sometimes prowl into shallow bays with black mud bottom, which create a sort of heat-sink that keeps them comfortable for a few hours.
Plastic shrimp like the DOA are also deadly for this winter fishing, for those with the patience to fish them properly. Basically, you cast them upstream and allow them to drift down, then repeat–move them any faster than the current and they catch little, but do it just right and they’re as effective as live shrimp much of the time.
For those seeking big snook, the rivers are also a good winter target. Some find them by towing big diving plugs in the deep river holes. Drifting large pinfish or jumbo shrimp in the rocky holes and around docks and bridge pilings can also do the job.
Smaller snook (and sometimes keeper trout and reds, too) hang around the creek mouths on outgoing tides, and you can sometimes catch these fish on topwater lures like the Rapala Skitter Vee. A live shrimp under a popping cork is also a good offering at these locations.
For sheepshead and mangrove snapper, a size 1/0 hook and a fresh-cut shrimp tail is hard to beat–add just enough weight to sink it against the current around barnacled bridges, pilings and rock ledges. Reds like this approach, too.
***** Where to Stay for South Shore Fishing
The village of Ruskin, about 20 minutes south of Tampa, has several resort choices where you can simply step out the door and be in prime angling and boating country.
Little Harbor Resort is the largest and best-equipped of these locations, and also the only one directly on Tampa Bay. In fact, the harbor itself is known as one of the best snook spots in the area, as linesiders often stack up under the docks and feed under the lights at night. Both reds and trout also push into the canal that runs to the on-site marina in winter, providing a potpourri of angling possibilities.
Or turn up the Little Manatee River, just a few hundred yards south of the resort. Good fishing starts right at the mouth around residential docks, and gets even better in some of the deep holes at the bends upriver. Go upstream above the I-75 bridge and you’re in largemouth bass country–though the snook go all the way up there in the colder months, too.
The marina is a full-service location capable of handling boats to 50 feet and more, and also has fuel, bait and repair service.
For anglers who bring their own boats, there are several concrete ramps, and the marina offers dockage and fuel as well as live shrimp and fishing supplies. There’s also a kayak rental, and this is a great spot to make use of one of these shallow-draft vessels.
While you’re enjoying the fishing, Mom and the kids can rent a jet ski or a stand-up-paddleboard, play tennis or enjoy the beach right in front of the resort.
Harborside Suites is set up to function as a sort of home away from home, with larger units offering full size kitchen, living and dining areas as well as separate bedrooms. And all units have a patio or balcony, great to see the local wildlife or to take in a Tampa Bay sundown.
Little Harbor Resort, Harborside Suites and marina–as well as the Sunset Grill, a pleasant open-air Tiki bar and restaurant overlooking the bay–are located at 536 Bahia Beach Blvd. in Ruskin. The website is www.staylittleharbor.com.
Lake Weiss again proved a good fisherman can catch fish under terrible conditions for others. In the Potato Creek Bassmsters August tournament at Lake Weiss, 16 members fished for 16 hours to land 45 keepers weighing about 81 pounds. There were two five-bass limits and six fishermen zeroed for both days.
Raymond English had a great catch Saturday, bringing in a limit weighing 13.68 pounds and big fish of 4.52 pounds. He added four more at 6.26 pounds for first place of 9 bass weighing 19.94 pounds and the 4.52 pounder was big fish.
Sam Smith had a limit on Sunday and weighed in 8 bass weighing 16.24 pounds for second place. He had a 4.49 pounder to anchor his stringer. Third was Kwong Yu with five keepers weighing 11.87 pounds and Lee Hancock came in fourth with six bass weighing 10.84 pounds. Niles Murray came on strong on Sunday and had five weighing 9.50 pounds for fifth.
I left for Lake Weiss last Tuesday with such anticipation.
Five fishing days and two keeper bass later, I am disappointed, to say the least. I tried everything I could think of for three days of practice. Fished up above causeway Wednesday looking for anything shallow – docks, grass, rocks, not a bite. Rode ledges and found all kinds of cover and fish but could not get them to hit.
Thursday went down below the causeway and did the same thing. Schools of fish in brush on ledges but nothing would hit crankbaits, worms or drop shot.
I went back up Thursday and got a three-pound spot on a buzzbait at 10:00 AM on a shady bank, so I decide to gamble on that pattern and run shady banks in that area all day in the tournament.
Saturday I caught nine short fish, lost two keepers at the boat and landed a 3.10 spot. It hit a whacky rig on a seawall at about 11:00 AM when I got tired of watching the buzzbait not get hit.
Sunday I missed one on a buzz bait early then got one 11 inch spot on a whacky rig. Never hooked a keeper in seven hours of casting!
The one spot got me 9th out of 16 people so it was tough for a lot of us.
Weiss is a beautiful lake with miles of shoreline grassbeds, seawalls and docks to fish. The Coosa River channel winds through flats and is joined by numerous creeks to form ledges that drop from shallow to deep. I found dozens with five to ten feet of water on top dropping to 25 to 30 feet deep in the channel.
Many of those drops had brush on them, both natural stuff that washed down the river and hung up or brush piles put out by fishermen. Time after time I watched fish follow my bait around those brush piles but not hit it.
Weiss is known as “The Crappie Capitol of the World” and is full of big ones. They have to be 10 inches long to keep, so that insures a good population of quality fish. I am sure many of those fish I saw were crappie and you could catch a lot of good eating fish on live minnows fishing them.
Today’s feature, from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, is a reminder for all in ice-fishing states that fishing “hard water” makes a great family outing, and kids who start early often pursue the sport for a lifetime.
What brings a woman — reared in the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, with the lilt of her regional roots still in her voice — to ice fish in mid-February at Minnesota’s Winona District, part of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge?
Yes, she’s the project leader of the refuge that touches Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota. But that’s not the answer.
“It was the first winter that we lived in Wisconsin, my son was four and the refuge was offering a free clinic to introduce kids to the sport,” recalls Sabrina Chandler. “He loved it. Because when the fish aren’t biting, he could build a snowman on the ice.”
More motivating: Ice fishing is very social in a season when people can feel cooped up at home. People bring their fish cookers and it’s “kind of a party,” Chandler says. “More important than catching fish, it’s spending time outdoors.”
Chandler and her family not only go to the annual kids fishing clinic at the refuge’s Winona District, but they also take their rods – and a plain five-gallon bucket – to ice fish on their own several times a year. “We don’t bring the pop-up tents. We don’t have a big ice house,” says Chandler. “We wait for a sunny day, get out the poles and bait, fill a cooler with snacks and a thermos with hot chocolate. And we catch plenty of fish.”
Ice fishing creates family memories. Tom Wickstrom, wildlife biologist for Partners for Fish and Wildlife at Waubay National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota, has been ice fishing since he was five years old. “I went with my dad, and he sure didn’t have to drag me!” recalls Wickstrom, who grew up in Minnesota and has been on Waubay staff since 1989.
Now he goes ice fishing often, sometimes two or three times each week “if the fish are biting.” He and his friends have a portable fish house and a heater to stay warm.
In South Dakota, the ice may be thick enough as early as Thanksgiving. It is certainly thick enough – about 18 inches to two feet – by Christmas. At Waubay Refuge, you can catch walleye, perch, northern pick and white bass. “Ice fishing is easier than other fishing because you can just walk out onto the lake, drill a hole and go fishing.”
Ice anglers coming to Waubay Refuge can park on the south side of the entrance, take fuel for their portable heaters and walk to their fishing spot. Visitors cannot drive onto the water. Visitors to Waubay Wetland Management District can also find ice fishing opportunities.
Here is a sampling of national wildlife refuges and wetland management districts where there can be great ice fishing. Restrictions vary, check with an individual refuge before you go. Year-round quality fishing opportunities are available on more than 270 national wildlife refuges. The National Wildlife Refuge System is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife & Fish Refuge
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information, visit www.fws.gov, or connect with us through any of these social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.
As water temperatures in lakes throughout Arkansas and the rest of the South finally start to dip into the 50s, many anglers will hang up their rods and reels after a prolonged warm season that offered many extra days of comfortable fishing. However, for those willing to bundle up and brave a few chilly hours, fishing can still offer some great action if you change your mindset and tactics.
Fish are cold-blooded creatures, meaning they have metabolisms that rise and fall with the temperature of their surroundings. During spring and summer, warm water means higher metabolic rates and more of a need to feed. As the water temperature cools, so does the activity level of bass, crappie and other sport fish, but that doesn’t mean they can go without food entirely. This is the time of year when quality is much more important to fish than quantity. In terms of food, that means getting the most energy for the least amount of energy spent chasing down prey.
Be Patient With Jerks
Cold fronts not only slow the metabolism of larger fish, they outright stun some of the smaller baitfish species, such as threadfin shad and gizzard shad. While some shad will die immediately, most will struggle for a few days before finally succumbing to the temperature if they can’t find some thermal refuge. This means there will be plenty of free and easy food for predator fish to take advantage of just before winter sets in for good. Largemouth bass, spotted bass and smallmouth bass all are gluttons for this shad buffet, but it presents a problem for anglers who try to “match the hatch” so to speak. The day of the cold front, getting a fish to fall for your lure over the real thing can be difficult, but after a day or so a suspending jerkbait can be the ticket. Cast the lure out, crank it down a few turns of the reel handle, then let it pause. Give it a few seconds at rest, then crank a few more reel turns before you pause again. Some people prefer to snap or sweep the rod tip to move the lure and reel up the slack to ensure they give the lure time to rest, while others prefer to crank the handle quickly, saving the wear and tear on their wrists. Either approach can work, but the time you pause can be the key to getting more strikes. Some days, a quick jerk-jerk-pause cadence will elicit a strike, while other days may require a long pause of up to 10 seconds or more to get the fish to finally react.
Lovin’ Spoonful
Another great presentation that fools fish into believing it’s a stunned shad is the jigging spoon, also called a slab spoon. This unassuming chunk of lead with a treble hook tied to the end doesn’t look like much, but when worked properly across the bottom its fluttering fall can offer just the right amount of flash and vibration to trigger a strike from a lethargic bass sitting with its belly on the bottom. Just look for areas without a lot of jagged rocks or woody cover as the open hook of a spoon can lodge into these surfaces and cause more frustration than fun. Cast the lure, let it fall to the bottom, then pop it up with a quick snap of the rod tip. Reel up the slack and stay in touch with the lure as it flutters back to the bottom. The technique looks like a shad that is dying and struggling to get away from predators. Even lethargic fish will find it hard to pass on the easy meal and the sudden snap of the fleeing fish will trigger their predatory instinct to react. Usually the hit will come as the lure is dropping, so keep an eye on your line for it to jump or stop instead of continuing its descent. Don’t be surprised if you catch fish other than bass with this technique, either. Walleye, catfish and even large crappie will take advantage of the easy meal imitated by this lure.
Alabama Bound
Big rewards is what the Alabama rig is all about, both for the fish and the angler. Constructed of wire and jigheads with small swimbaits attached, Alabama rigs mimic a small school of baitfish swimming along over likely cover. In winter, this offers bass a chance at grabbing a few small fish in one swipe. While smaller fish do hit the Alabama rig, it’s known for producing big fish who are looking for a big mouthful. Just be ready for a workout, as casting and retrieving an Alabama rig all day can definitely wear on the shoulders. Use a heavy action rod and lob the lure more than trying to whip it back and cast long distances. Braided line that’s around 80-pound-test breaking strength also can help avoid some tears if your Alabama rig snags up on unseen cover. A slow hard pull can often straighten the hook on the swimbait that’s snagged, allowing you to retrieve the rest of the rig and save a few dollars. Just be sure to loosen the drag on your reel enough to allow a fish to get a good bite on the lure instead of yanking it away when setting the hook. Fish often will set the hook on themselves as this is one of the few winter presentations that will elicit a bone-jarring strike.
Deadly Ned-ly
For decades, many bass anglers believed soft plastics were no good once the water temperature dipped below 60 degrees. Jigs tipped with pork chunks were the only smart option for a slow, bottom-crawling bait. But times and tactics have done a complete turnaround since those days. Small, straight worms like the Zoom finesse worm, Gary Yammamoto’s Senko or the ZMan TRD have proven that it doesn’t take a lot of wavy tentacles to catch a bass’s attention. Sometimes the best action is hardly any action at all. During winter one of the best finesse presentations is the simple Ned rig. Sliding a 2- to 3-inch morsel of a soft-plastic stick bait slowly over the bottom can entice a bite when reaction strikes from the above-mentioned tricks fail to produce. The key to fishing the Ned rig is the size of the jighead. Go as light as possible, and use spinning equipment to keep things small. You don’t want the jighead to crawl around on the bottom but to glide slowly just over it. A 1/16-oz. head with a no. 2 or no. 4 hook is a great option to start learning the technique, and the use of Zman’s special Ned rig soft-plastics will help float the bait. Often you won’t feel a hit, so it’s important to keep a sharp eye on your line for any twitch or odd reaction.
Be sure to check out the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Weekly Fishing Report for up-to-date information on the hot bite across Arkansas. Guides, bait shops and anglers around The Natural State pitch in to make the report as helpful as possible for anglers looking to learn more about fishing year round.
Saturday, November 13, 19 members of the Potato Creek Bassmaster’s fished our November tournament at Lake Oconee. After casting from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM, we brought in 32 14-inch keeper largemouth weighing about 53 pounds. There were two limits and 8 members did not catch a fish.
Sam Smith won with five weighing 9.25 pounds and my five weighing 8.46 pounds placed second. Donnie Willis had three weighing 5.84 pounds for third, fourth went to Tom Tanner with three weighing 5.81 pounds and Mitchell Cardell had big fish with a 3.55 pounder.
The cold front that came through Friday made the fish hard to find and catch. I went over Wednesday and camped at Lawrence Shoals, a Georgia Power facility that has camping, picnicking, hiking trails and a boat ramp. All Georgia Power facilities are neat and clean and great places to use.
I went out Thursday to look around and check out some different places. After about three hours I had caught one on a DT 6 crankbait about five feet deep, another on a spinnerbait about foot deep and a third one 29 feet deep on a rockpile I spotted on my Garmin Panopitx. I marked it on my GPS to fish during the tournament. Deep fish often stay in one place for days where shallow fish move constantly.
That was no pattern so Friday I spent a lot of time casting a weightless Trick worm to grass and docks and caught three keepers, so I felt like I had a way to catch some fish in the tournament.
I also rode around a lot looking at my electronics, marking rock piles in deep water. Oconee has many huge boulders on the lower lake, many you can see up on the bank but even more underwater. I found several places that had fish on them but all I caught was a big crappie that hit a spoon.
Buddy Laster came over to fish with me and we ran to the dam in the cold air where I wanted to fish. I quickly caught a good keeper on a spinnerbait off some grass, but two hours later all we had caught were some short bass and one pickerel.
At 9:00 I cast a weightless Trick worm by a dock but my line went over the corner of it. When I felt a tap I set the hook and a keeper came flying over the dock but I managed to land it.
For the next five hours we tried a lot of things but had only throwbacks to show for our efforts. At about 2:00 I saw some fish around a boulder I had marked in 27 feet of water, dropped my spoon down and caught a three-pound flathead catfish. My next drop produced anther tap and I landed a keeper largemouth. Then the third drop produced a seven-pound flat head.
No more fish hit there so I went to a shallow grassbed and a good keeper hit my Trick worm. That gave me four with 45 minutes left to fish. At 3:00 I went out to the rocks where I had caught a keeper Thursday and filled my limit with a keeper that hit a shaky head worm 29 feet deep.
Fall Inland Fishing Tips
Chuck Long Arkansas GFC Northeast Regional Educator, Jonesboro, AR
from The Fishing Wire
JONESBORO — As the temperatures drop and the leaves change color, the thoughts of most outdoors fans turn to the pursuit of deer, ducks, squirrels and other game. Fishing is put on the back burner, but the changing seasons and dropping temperatures will spur many fish into a feeding frenzy that can lead to some of the best angling days of the year.
As waters warm in the early months of the year, fish are spurred to the shallows looking to spawn. Initiated by water temperature, this move to the shallows can occur at different times for different species, thus providing target species at different times. But during the fall months, all these species are driven to congregate by the need to feed before winter sets in. This provides anglers with a possible mixed bag on any given day. Fall fish are there to feed and their voracious appetites make them great targets for a day on the water.
The fall feed occurs on lakes, rivers, streams and creeks and each one provides an angler with great opportunities. These fish will also fall for a wide variety of baits, thus allowing an angler to be successful with their favorite style of fishing.
Fish in large, clear-water upland impoundments often follow large schools of shad. These shad are also trying to feed before winter sets in and can be found on long points, drop-offs and brush piles. Small crankbaits can be good, but the fish might also hit spoons or even topwaters. Perhaps one of the most overlooked lures for fall fishing is a 3-inch paddletail grub. Fished on a ?-ounce jighead, a smoke or pearl grub will catch most any fish in the lake, including bass, crappie, white bass, stripers and even an occasional catfish.
All sorts of fish fall for a simple white grub. In smaller lowland lakes, the fish tend to venture toward shoreline cover. Cypress trees and brush piles, especially those that might be in a little deeper water are often used as ambush points by hungry fish. Smaller lakes provide a little more targeted fishing, so lures like a jig and pig and spinnerbaits can produce bass. Crappie in these lakes will fall for the standard crappie jigs in a color appropriate for the water. In clearer water, natural colors like smoke and pearl will produce, while dirtier water may call for a red or black with chartreuse. A 1/16-ounce jighead with a jig in the 2- to 3-inch range will be very appealing to a crappie trying to beef up for the winter.
Flowing waters offer their most interesting fishing of the year as the leaves change and begin to fall. Many species of fish that inhabit rivers and streams will begin to feed aggressively and often stack in large numbers in the same general locations in search of food. A very important tool in fishing a river is being able to read the river and its current flow. Falling leaves can provide a great clue of likely locations to cast a line. As the leaves fall and settle on the water’s surface, they will flow downstream with the current and these flowing leaves will tell an observant angler exactly where to cast. Eddies, backflows and current breaks will be evident by the actions of the leaves on the surface, thus indicating likely locations a fish could be using as an ambush point.
A white or white/chartreuse spinnerbait is a tried and true lure for river bass in the fall. Targeting eddies and backflows with a jig and pig or a creature bait can also be very effective. Once again, the traditional crappie jigs will catch papermouths and a variety of other species, but a step up to a slightly heavier jighead and a slightly larger profile jig can be very productive. A black-and-chartreuse jig fished slowly in an eddy or behind a current break can fill a cooler with river crappie.
Whether it be a river or lake, fall is a great time to be on the water. Not only are the fish actively feeding, the crowds have dwindled and the scenery can be spectacular.
For Arkansas fishing spots, check out agfc.com under the “Fishing” tab and also see the weekly fishing report.
How Can I Catch Salmon Plugging for the Chetco River’s Giant Salmon
By Buzz Ramsey for Yakima Bait
from The Fishing Wire
If you crave big fall chinook, one that might tip the scales at 50 pounds or more, now would be a good time to plan a trip to Oregon’s Chetco River. Located on Oregon’s southern coast (near Brookings) the Chetco hosts a run of fall chinook that peaks in early to mid November, making it a destination for anglers from throughout the Northwest and beyond.
According to professional-fishing-guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing, 206-388-8988, the majority of the salmon returning to the Chetco River consist of 4-year old chinook which average 20-to-25 pounds. However, twenty percent of each out-migrating year class of salmon return as 5-year old fish that average 35-to-40 pounds; with some bouncing the scale at 50 pounds or more. For example, while guiding clients on the Chetco River over the last dozen years Andy has netted at least one salmon at, approaching or above 50 pounds each and every season. His largest to date is a 65-pound monster taken during the later portion of the 2011 season.
Originating in the Siskiyou National Forest, the Chetco flows for 55 miles before reaching the Pacific Ocean. The Chetco is unlike many other Pacific Northwest rivers as there are no dams obstructing the salmons’ pathway to their spawning sanctuary.
The river hosts a strong, self-sustaining wild run of fall chinook that according to ODFW can number as high as 15,000 returning adults. In addition, the Department of Fish and Wildlife supplements the wild run with an additional 125,000 fingerling size chinook that are liberated in the lower river. Being of hatchery origin these fish are fin-clipped prior to release and tend to stage low in the river, where released, upon their return as adults.
The Chetco offers excellent access for bank anglers thanks to the City of Brookings and state of Oregon owning a large section of the lower river. Called Social Security Bar, this nearly two mile stretch offers free public access to bank-bound anglers that plunk Spin-N-Glo lures, sometimes in combination with bait, from shore when the river is running 3,500 CFS or higher, and drift and float fish for salmon when the water is lower.
In addition, the Chetco offers drift boat anglers’ excellent access with several put-in and take-out sites available. The most popular drift is from Lobe Park to Social Security Bar, a 5-to-6 mile float, which according to Andy Martin contains about 15 deep salmon holes. The next launch site is a private, pay-to-play launch called Ice Box. There are two launch sites above Ice Box that are located within the National Forest and go by the name of Miller Bar and Nook Bar. Nook Bar is the upper most launch and marks the upper deadline for the keeping of salmon.
The two fishing methods that dominate the drift boat fishery include back-bouncing bait and back-trolling plugs. Salmon egg clusters rigged in combination with a Corky Drifter are what the back bouncing crowd use. According to Andy Martin, the most popular Corky colors on the Chetco include rocket-red and green-chartreuse. When the water is on the high side those bouncing bait will switch out their Corky for a Spin-N-Glo threaded on their leader above a bearing bead and baited hook. A selection of 1-1/2 to 4 ounce sinkers is what’s needed if you are planning to back-bounce bait on the Chetco.
The other popular fishing technique is to back-troll salmon plugs. According to Andy Martin, salmon size plugs work especially well on the Chetco and account for the majority of the giant salmon taken in his boat. The plugs Andy employs most often are the 4.0 through 5.0 sizes Mag Lip, size M-2 FlatFish, and 5.5 Hawg Nose FlatFish. When it comes to determining what size plug to choose, it’s all about the water conditions.
The Chetco, like other rivers up and down the coast, is heavily influenced by rainfall. It’s the onslaught of storms originating over the Pacific and later hitting the coast that causes rivers to rise and subsequently drop when the rain subsides. Salmon, smelling the fresh water, migrate into rivers from the ocean each time the rivers come up and bite best as water levels drop and clear from each rain storm. A big rain event can make the Chetco River unfishable and not clear enough to fish for four or five days. When the water first drops and clears is when the catching is at its best.
According to Andy, the ideal height for the Chetco is 3,000 CFS (Cubic Feet per Second) and the river is considered low when it drops down to 1,200 CFS or less.
What Andy has learned over his many years of guiding is that he can catch salmon using plugs when the river is as high as 5,000 or at times even 6,000 CFS, providing the water is clear enough to see two feet or more into it. When the Chetco is dropping from a high water event, it’s the clarity of the water Andy closely watches.
This is a time when he employs the large salmon plugs that dive deep like the Hawg Nose or 5.0 size Mag Lip. The fast actions these plugs provide when back-trolled not only catch fish but their frantic action can shake the leaves off that strong winds can sometimes blow into the river. As the river continues to drop and clear, all the way down to 1,200 CFS, Andy reduces his plug sizes down to an M-2 size FlatFish and/or 4.0 size Mag Lip.
Although you can take your own drift boat, fully guided salmon fishing trips are available from guides should you decide to try your salmon luck from a boat. While the number of guides residing in Brooking is somewhat limited, this popular fishery draws professional guides from surrounding towns like Grants Pass, Medford and Gold Beach. There are several guides from California that work the Chetco too, so don’t limit your guide search to just the Brookings area.
The chinook limit on the Chetco is currently one salmon per day, and no more than five per year. Current regulations require you to stop fishing after catching your one adult salmon. And while your daily limit can include up to five jack salmon (salmon measuring between 15 and 24 inches) you must catch them prior to retaining an adult salmon.
Tackle, bait, shuttles, and fishing info can be obtained at Riverside Market, 541-661-3213, which is located along the lower Chetco near Social Security Bar.
