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| We Got No Snow in Frederick |
Tackle: The norm for Trout fishing: Trout Magnets on an UL tackle setup.
Summary: Frank Bentz Memorial Lake is doing good, but after about a week, the fish will be just about gone.
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| All Bundled Up |
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Blizzard Up in Thurmont
Tackle: The norm for Trout fishing: Trout Magnets on an UL tackle setup.
Summary: Frank Bentz Memorial Lake is doing good, but after about a week, the fish will be just about gone.
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I know what you mean. I was at Cunningham Falls Lake on Sat.
ReplyDeleteOh yea, but hey, I still caught a couple during that 15 minute time period, how'd you do?
DeleteI left around 1 PM so I missed the worst part. It did snow steady all morning but without "blizzard" conditions. No fish for me but a couple of bites. It's tough fishing that lake without a boat. I figured I'd see you up there in your new 'yak. There was one guy up there in one.
DeleteWell, I have a little cold so I really didn't feel like going out there. I have fished there a ton, especially last Spring Stocking. If you park in the park and go to the lake and cast out as far as you can, you might be able to catch a few. This is directly across from the boat ramp. Also this place is great for Crappie around Oct/Nov, they are right around the Boat Dock. But you cannot fish off of it, so just cast under and around it. The Largemouths are highly pressured. There is this one older gentlemen who fishes the lake almost every day during the Sep-Dec Crappie period. i have seen him reel in around 30 Crappie in a couple of hours from the shore. He claims he caught a nine pounder (Bass) out of here back in 1999. You can be the judge of whether you believe it or not. Also, a neat thing is that you will see the Trout rising to insect hatches after the Stocking and just in Winter, over in between the beaches. Although there are no swimmers here now, you're Not allowed to fish here. There are No Fishing signs and what if a kid steps on that hook that maybe you got snagged out there, that would hurt. :( Another great method of fishing here is on about 6 lb test, cast out a dropper rig. The rig will consist of a size 12 Woolybugger on the bottom, and a Size 10 on the top. About six feet up from the business end use a 1" bobber or something along those lines. Cast it out as far as you can and reel it in slowly, no erratic jerking, just slowly. Hope this helps, and catch 'em good.
DeleteThanks for the tips! What's the best for crappie, live minnows?
ReplyDeleteHave you ever fished from that rock point straight across from the main beach for trout? I guess the more days after stocking the trout get spread out more and are harder to locate.
Reubj.
Well for me, I use Crappie Magnet for when the Crappie are a little farther out. You can fish this the same way as the Dropper Rig I said above. Or you can just cast it out and twitch it while it's coming in. That is kind of like a "go-to" lure. My #1 Crappie lure has to be the Marabou Jigs in 1/16 oz. I like to fish the chartreuse color, because I think it just gets their attention. And yes I have before, it is right next to the beaches and it receives a tad more pressure. If I'm fishing for Bass here from the shore, I like to park at the little parking lot by the dam (this is b/f you enter the park). I walk up the shoreline towards the boat dock. I have to say, that this is not the best Bass lake in Frederick County. It has some larger ones, hopefully, but I have never caught anything above 2 lbs or so. If you want some Largemouth action, Greenbrier Lake is the place to go. You do not get many big ones, in fact the Fisheries Service did an electrofishing outing there a couple years ago and removed 100 Bass under 12 inches, they were relocated to places in need of LM Bass. I will attach the link to the Angler's Log which gives more info on what I was mentioning. And look at the lunkers. You can catch a lot here, but I caution you, if you do not get any joy out of small ones, then you will be disappointed. My most fish in a day here was 29 Largemouths, all from the shore. Ther are a couple key sections in the lake that you will remember after fish it. Some locations can give out five in five minutes. Just walk around the lake and fish it thoroughly. I use the Yum Dingers in Junegug and Green Flake. They are two bucks at Walmart. You may want to add some Yum F2 Attractant, as this really does work. Caution yourself, there are some "great lookin" spots on the side opposite of the beach. But I have fished here repeatedly and have never caught more than one out of here. Just walk around the whole lake, at sunrise preferably, and cast everywhere. In the morning you will see Bass a scattering on the opposite side of the lake. Cast to 'em, even if you are pitching in the middle of two bushes and might get stuck. I have landed tons of fish this way. This is really a summer location, as the fish are harder to find in the Winter, if you do not have a yak or boat. The way you fish the Dinger is, (well, for me)wacky rigging it with a 3/0 or 2/0 circle hook. Cast it out, let it sink to the bottom, and twitch it just a tad. I learned from Youtube vids. The link for the Bass post is...
Deletehttp://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fishingreport/log.asp?menuAmnt=%3Fq%3Dgreenbrier%26amnt%3D10&q=greenbriar
Hope this helps, even though I just took up 10 minutes of your time. :)
Lovely to hear that someone can fly fish successfully during winter. Unfortunately it's impossible here where I live in Sweden since everything is frozen. Sounds interesting the flies you mention, the Trout Magnet and Purple Haze. I have newer heard of them here in Sweden. Would be nice to see them on a picture if they aren't secret weapons of course.
ReplyDeleteHave fun fly fishing in the snow,
M.O.
Oh yes, I was not fly fishing, but fishing with a 9' UL fishing rod from Trout Magnet. Trout Magnet is a lure company that produces the best Trout jigs. I tried fly fishing at first, and even "matched the hatch" with the Mayfly hatch and got nothing. You can see a pic of them at www.troutmagnet.com. Good Fishing.
DeleteAnd great blog.
DeleteWhat is the distance between your strike indicator and the trout magnet when you are fishing Frank Bentz and C'ham Falls Lake?
ReplyDeleteThanks.
reubj
Say about 2 and 1/2 feet at Frank Bentz when i am wading out in the middle. This pond is very shallow and has filled up with silt. I really don't think that there is a spot deeper than 4 or 5 feet here. The key is to fish it as close to the bottom, without touching the bottom. At Cunningham Lake, I really have never used it under a strike indicator. I have always used the Crappie Magnet (from Trout Magnet) and just cast it out as far as you can then slowly twitch it back in. My lure for Trout that I use here most has to be the 1/2 oz. Joe's Flies Super Striker. You can cast this thing like a mile if you have the right equipment. I use 6 lb Stren Mono filament when fishing it. A 6'6" or 7' foot rod would be perfect. I release all of my Trout, so I cut off the treble hook that that is behind the single hook. I have missed a ton of hits on this, but you can usually land a few. I guess if you keep the treble on, you might be able to have like a 75% or 85% hook up rate. Usually without the treble on, it's almost a 40% hook up rate. But these will not work in small bodies of water, like Bentz, a couple weeks after stocking. This is what all the Trout see first after they are stocked and they can come to recognize it. Like I said before, I didn't catch any on Joe's Flies spinners at Bentz. They will work fine right after stocking. I have also come to know that sometimes they are just in the mood for spinners. You can have a day where the Powerbaiters don't even catch anything. That is why I usually start off with a spinner. After 10 minutes of nothing, I switch it up, like to Trout Magnet. Good Fishing.
DeleteThanks Devin. I can't wait to try out your tips.
ReplyDeletereubj
No prob
Delete