10-22-2008, 01:56 PM
I headed up to Pineview yesterday at about 10:30 am with a bunch of new lures, hoping it would be overcast like it was in the SL Valley, but I was disappointed in that regard.
I concentrated my efforts in the narrows and spent a mind numbing 5 hours casting and reeling....casting and reeling....casting....and reeling....with no sign of a Tiger or even a bite. It was the worst time of the day, of course. I threw everything I had with many different types of presentations from delicate crankbaits to monster jerkbaits, to spinners, to jigs, and so on.
At 3:30 or so I decided I should move east a little where the narrows spread out into those shallower bay areas.
At about 4pm I found myself on a nice little windblown point that stretches out with deeper water on both sides. I put on a big Bluefox vibrax spinner and made a long cast down this point. As I was crankin it in, I saw something unusual behind my spinner and figured it was a tiger. Then, I switched to a #6 Mepps Black Fury, the bigger heavy kind with the rooster tail made for Pike.
That did it. I felt one hit.... two hits.... then on the third I was hooked up. Turned out to be a decent tiger, not big, but maybe 3 feet long and the charts put that at 12 pounds. It was a skinny guy though
About an hour later as the sun was getting lower in the sky I got another in the same area on the same spinner. This one was smaller but still had some weight to it. It put up a funner fight with some jumps. Funny how they don't really fight until they see you.
I don't use a wire leader cause they are stiff and the terminal rigging is too coarse with the ones you buy. I use two strands of 20 pound test instead. A split ring connects the leader section to the main line, and a small swivel connects the leader to the lure. When I can get some more braid I'll use that instead.
Attached are some pics, and I apologize about the quality, it's just me and the camera timer, and since they need to be released quickly I only have a couple chances. Unfortunately, the fish don't know this.
I was hoping the one in the water would turn out better, but a funky light trick is being played that makes it look incredibly hammer-handled, which it wasn't.
One major help this time was to bring along a special jaw grabber made for catch and release and easy handling of the fish. It is still desirable to support the fish's body with the other hand, which from that one picture I didn't do to well at, sorry. [:p] Wish I had it for the 42 incher I caught earlier this year.
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I concentrated my efforts in the narrows and spent a mind numbing 5 hours casting and reeling....casting and reeling....casting....and reeling....with no sign of a Tiger or even a bite. It was the worst time of the day, of course. I threw everything I had with many different types of presentations from delicate crankbaits to monster jerkbaits, to spinners, to jigs, and so on.
At 3:30 or so I decided I should move east a little where the narrows spread out into those shallower bay areas.
At about 4pm I found myself on a nice little windblown point that stretches out with deeper water on both sides. I put on a big Bluefox vibrax spinner and made a long cast down this point. As I was crankin it in, I saw something unusual behind my spinner and figured it was a tiger. Then, I switched to a #6 Mepps Black Fury, the bigger heavy kind with the rooster tail made for Pike.
That did it. I felt one hit.... two hits.... then on the third I was hooked up. Turned out to be a decent tiger, not big, but maybe 3 feet long and the charts put that at 12 pounds. It was a skinny guy though
About an hour later as the sun was getting lower in the sky I got another in the same area on the same spinner. This one was smaller but still had some weight to it. It put up a funner fight with some jumps. Funny how they don't really fight until they see you.
I don't use a wire leader cause they are stiff and the terminal rigging is too coarse with the ones you buy. I use two strands of 20 pound test instead. A split ring connects the leader section to the main line, and a small swivel connects the leader to the lure. When I can get some more braid I'll use that instead.
Attached are some pics, and I apologize about the quality, it's just me and the camera timer, and since they need to be released quickly I only have a couple chances. Unfortunately, the fish don't know this.
I was hoping the one in the water would turn out better, but a funky light trick is being played that makes it look incredibly hammer-handled, which it wasn't.
One major help this time was to bring along a special jaw grabber made for catch and release and easy handling of the fish. It is still desirable to support the fish's body with the other hand, which from that one picture I didn't do to well at, sorry. [:p] Wish I had it for the 42 incher I caught earlier this year.
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