Sweet Summer Day at the Berry

[Old_Coot]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4]Had the opportunity to fish Strawberry with a friend of a friend yesterday. I met up with Dan and his son Kade at 3:30 AM to make the long drive to the Berry. Dan was spending a whole day with each of his kids this week. Today was his day with son Kade. What a cool thing for a father to do![/size][/#800000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4]We prepped the boat during first light, launched at dawn, and was fishing by sun up.[/size][/#800000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4]Our target fish today was cutthroats. Our technique was vertical jigging tube jigs tipped with chub.[/size][/#800000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4]After a little tutoring, Kade landed his first ever Berry cutthroat. It was only about 16 inches but you would think he had landed a shark how happy he was. Kade and his dad couldn't believe how big that fish was. I told them that it was "just a baby" but they didn't believe me. It was the first fish of the day and the smallest of the day but they were thrilled![/size][/#800000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4][inline "Kade's-1st-444.jpg"][/size][/#800000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4]As we caught more, the fish size just seemed to get bigger and bigger.[/size][/#800000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4][inline "Kade's-19---444.jpg"][/size][/#800000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4]Kade was determined to catch a bigger fish than his dad. But when Dan landed a 22 incher, Kade was beginning to think that he wasn't going to come even close to beating ole Dad.[/size][/#800000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4][inline "Dan's-22---444.jpg"][/size][/#800000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4]At noon, even though the fishing had only slowed a little, we decided to call it a day. As we were bringing in our lines from the last drop of the day, Kade yells, "I got one … and it's a monster!". Sure enough, last drop of the day, on the way up no less, Kade nails this beautiful 23 incher to put ole Dad to shame.[/size][/#800000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4][inline "Kade's-23-444.jpg"][/size][/#800000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4]The final count for the day was 31 fish, three over the slot: Dan-22", Kade-23", and Coot-24". All fish were released to swim another day.[/size][/#800000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4]No, the fish count wasn't the 20-30-40 fish per person per day like it can be in the fall, but it was still one of my more memorable fishing trips. It just tickles me to watch rookies get so excited about these blue-ribbon fish. The weather was fantastic, the fishing very good, and the company and conversations was wonderful. Makes me wonder … is it possible for a father-son outing to get much better than this?[/size][/#800000][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4] [/size][/#800000][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4]--- Coot ---[/size][/#800000][/font]
[signature]

[fishinfool]

Looks like My spot is still producing some bigguns.[fishon]

Good on you for getting them out and your right there is nothing like putting new people on the jigging technique and they catch some fish.

We need to get out again my friend. We have a whole bunch of catching up to do.

fnf[cool]
[signature]

[chinook]

Nice of you to pass along your skills to a youngster. He will be hooked for life.
Nice Job!!!
[signature]

[LOAH]

What a great trip! So cool to be able to get them into the fish. Way to go.
[signature]

[N.E.T.O.]

That is a great report! 30+ fish for the boat is outstanding! I'll bet there were plenty of bites that were missed also!
[signature]

[Piscophilic]

Great report! I also enjoy it a lot when I have rookies along catching fish. Keep up the good work!
[signature]

[WET1]

Great story buddy, and Good On Ya for helping make that a great memory day for the father/son team. I also want to say Good On Ya for teaching that boy the proper way to handle those fish. It's great seeing lots of pictures with people properly handling fish before release!
[signature]

[SkunkedAgain]

Nice job coot, sounds like a great day off.... sounds like a lot of fun.... Later J
[signature]

[Kent]

Congrats Ralph on a fine outing. Always great to see the kids catch some nice fish.
[signature]

[Old_Coot]

[quote N.E.T.O.]I'll bet there were plenty of bites that were missed also![/quote]

You got that right Randy! However, LOTS of them were crawfish. Just to test it, we would slowly bring that "bite" up and often it would be a crawfish.
[signature]

[gmwahl]

Really nice report. It's good to see the s!

If you don't mind me asking.......where is a decent place to fish with jigs there that will produce fast cutt fishing? Or just a general area and depth if you're more comfortable with that? I just got last minute wrangled into going there tonight through Sunday and it's been MANY years since I fished it for cutts. I would like a fair shot at busting the slot so that I can have a fish BBQ dinner while there. We will have a boat and be able to access the entire lake. We used to troll it and did well that way, but we never jig fished it. Funny, because jig fishing is how I fish for them mostly up here at Bear Lake.

Also, do you know what the odds of getting a campsite up there is without reservations?

Mike
[signature]

[Old_Coot]

Sorry gmwahl, I just read your reply this morning so you are probably already up there camping and won't read this until you get back.

As for the camping, I have no clue. I always just drive up the morning of.

I wouldn't dare to give out over the internet the really good spots. If I did, they wouldn't be "good" much longer. However, I have attached a couple of documents to this reply that I have shared with others in the past. The locations described in the document have produced some decent fish over the years. In the documents, I share some locations, the tackle that I use, and I describe the technique. Yea, I've changed a few things over the years, but in general, its good enough info to get one started jigging for trout at the berry.

The document focuses most on "fall fishing". It talks a lot about casting crank baits. Just ignore that part. Go straight to page 8 where I describe "vertical Jigging" as that is applicable year round.

As for locations, in the hot summer months, the spots on the map are good. You just have to go deeper (35-45 feet of water) to find them. I prefer the "points" the best.

Now, having said that, I have to admit that I have only fished the berry 3 times this year … all since I retired 3 weeks ago. The first time we only caught 4 fish all day. The second time, only 8 fish for the day. Then this last time, 30+ for the day. So it ain't a slam dunk every time.

--- Coot ---
[signature]

[fishinfool]

Great write-up's Coot. [fishon]

That is a lot of knowledge that will go a long way on getting this you on some fish.

I would like to say this also. Over the years I have found some great spots that I won't give out to the masses either. One thing you do need to know is once you find a spot it will usually produce year after year. And there is some great info in these articles.

Also a good fishfinder is so important in jig fishing and finding stacked up fish on the bottom. Probably #1 most important thing to know how to use. If you rely on the little fish icons rolling across your screen chance are your going to be chasing for good spots for a long time. Learn to use your fishfinder in manual mode adjust gain as needed to see fish through clutter on the screen and understand when stationary your not going to see arch's your going to see constant lines above the bottom. Yes those are fish right below your boat.

One thing I would also add and I think it is why when you say drop the rod down when you get a hit works so well for you(coot). I would say 85% of the fish I catch jigging, grab the jig on the fall.

No matter if it is when I am dropping the jig down after re-baiting or if I am using my favorite technique the slow high lift ,tight line drop. This is how it works. I lift the rod slowly about three 3-4 feet off the bottom then drop the rod slowly giving it just a bit off slack, but chasing the jig down with my rod tip. If the jig stops I lift softly to feel if the fish has actually grabbed the jig and if there is weight, set the hook quickly. You have a very short time to do all this if the fish has grabbed the bait. But they usually don't let go because of the tasty chub meat they are tasting.

Anyway! Good Luck. You have a lot of good information and exact baits to use.

fnf[cool]
[signature]

[gmwahl]

Thanks for the info guys. I wouldn't dare ask or expect a personal spot on an open forum, so the info you gave is very appreciated. I'll report on the fishing when I get back.

Mike
[signature]