Clearwater River B run steelhead numbers are starting to look decent coming over Lower Granite dam, believe I'll try to do some bobber fishing this weekend.
I have probably 18 or so hours in salmon and steelhead fishing so far. It has been very slow fishing. I have not even had a single hit, until yesterday after work that is. Picture perfect hit, bobber twitched a couple times so I had a warning and was ready, and then buried under the water. I set the hook while the bobber was still under and somehow missed hooking the fish. Painful when you wait so long for a hit and then miss the darn thing. Oh well, there will be more chances, it should only get better as more fish arrive.
Far more patient than me, my wife loves to tell the story of us bobber fishing trout during a tough bite much like you I missed on a fish, reeled in my line and proceeded to throw my g-loomis and Shimano Stella set up into the woods in a fit of anger. I am much more calmer now I keep an open beer when I fish.
Ha ha, I certainly felt like doing that after I set the hook and didn't get the reward of feeling weight on the other end. I fish in 2 to 3 hour increments, a day after work here, a weekend morning there. But still, add it all up and that's a lot of fishing with no hits.
Finally caught the first steelhead of the season. A very small A run, maybe 5lbs soaking wet. Caught on first drift Saturday morning, thought it was going to be hot fishing…then went another 2-1/2 hours without a single hit ha ha.
Pontoon is parked at the farm for the winter, dock is coming out today. My little sister wanted to bring her son up to fish the only option is kayak fishing and I had to say it is not safe for a 12 year old to kayak fish in cold water. Waiting for ice at this point.
Minnesota has legalized automatic hook setters for ice fishing and now you have to be within 200' of them. I don't need an ice castle I have a 4 bedroom 2 bath ice castle. My house is 50' from the water so I can put the tip ups 150' out in the deeper water.
Got home today and the lake is 100% froze shut, it never happens that fast usually you get a ring of ice 50' out before the rest freezes because the lake is 80' deep. Guess I will get the portable out of the storage unit and do an inventory. I want to get out and use my canvas dark house out and try spearing or just cut the big hole and jig with spoons with minnow parts on it, can also put a sucker minnow down on a rattle reel for some hand to hand combat with the pike.
Weather here in SE TN is rather mild compared to farther north. High today is the present temp at 43 degrees. There are a lot of diehards who fish for bass and trout this time of the year. I was raised on central Ohio. Used to see news reports of the ice fishing cities on Lake Erie near Port Clinton and Marblehead.
44 degrees when I got home and windy looked out and crap the ice has flooded or there is big open water. The springs where my dock goes and the entrance to the bay the ice is gray and has not flooded yet but that ice is going to flood. The community ice rink on the South Bay has not flooded and has 7-1/2" of ice. Really kinda screws over the ice fishing season. The lake is spring fed if the culvert is frozen the water has nowhere to go but up, chances are the lake will continue to flood as more snow falls and the snow on the lake will insulate the water on the lake. That being said there will not be a 100 ice castle village on the lake every weekend. Crappies will be bigger next summer.
I was talking to my neighbor John Gustafson (he is a putz) he told me the owner of the bait shop Rex is not doing well. The current ice conditions will only stress him more. We are concerned that he might sell or pass and an I Tallion Ristorante might move in.
