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18 - Lake Roosevelt South End to Spokane Confluence Report
Washington

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Details

11/13/2011
Trolling
Rainbow Trout
Worms
Other
Morning
11/14/2011
3
1650

Day 2 of our weekend trip to Roosevelt. After a slow day on Saturday, we decided to change location and try for better results.

We made a run to Whitestone to fish the area near the 25 mile marker. As with the day before, it was slow. I picked up one 2lb, 15oz 'bow there then nothing more. I decided it was time to move so we headed back to Sterling Point. This turned out to be a good decision, as I nailed another sub 3lb 'bow, followed by a 3lb, 6oz 'bow that took me almost 15 minutes to get to the net. Every time it got close to the boat, it would make a run and pull 30' or more as it did so.

Two of the 'bows were caught on an orange/black Frisky Jenny fly called "Trick or Treat" so I switched out the perch pattern fly on the second leaded line outfit to the same. Not 10 minutes later, Debbie pulled in a nice native 'bow.

By this time, the winds had really picked up, and I was fighting some rough water and challenging boat control. We decided it was time to head for the launch, and good thing we did. I have never seen such rough water at Roosevelt, and there were white capped waves inside the marina at Seven Bays!

Before literally being blown off the lake, we were trolling leaded line rigs out 150' and mono rigs out 195' with flies on the lead line and plugs on the mono. All but one fish was caught on a fly, but it was the biggest of the weekend and it was caught on a Rip'n Minnow. As with the day prior, flies were tipped with worm, trolling speed was slower at 2.5 - 2.8mph, and water surface temp was still 57.6°.

All the 'bows caught over the weekend were real fighters. so despite the short days and lighter creels, we had better quality fish that gave a nice fight getting to the net. That's why we like fishing Roosevelt this time of year! :-)


Comments

MotoBoat
11/15/2011 8:50:00 AM
Not familiar with Roosevelt. What is the theory behind the long drop back from rod to lure? I understand the boat/motors spook fish. But 150 to 200ft back? I am wondering if this is common practice for this lake or larger lakes or a theory of an Author and is written in a book? I find the concept interesting.
allanwalker
11/15/2011 8:56:00 AM
Great reports and outstanding pic's great job and good catchin.
nvan
11/15/2011 9:55:00 AM
I think long-lining on Roosevelt is effective is because the fish are shallow this time of year and the boats will spook the fish. Even with leaded line, at 3mph, you are not fishing very deep. When fish are deeper, the lure can be closer in especially using a downrigger.
CDR
11/15/2011 11:31:00 AM
I admit, 200 feet sounds like a long way. When you see your lure at 150 to 200 feet behind the boat, its surprising how it is really not all that far. IMO, reels with a line counters on them are an absolute must when you're long line fishing. Check hewsfishers other posts, he uses line counter reels. Ten years ago when I first started fishing Rosie', a guide told me to use streamer files on mono 300 to 350 feet back at 5mph. I thought that sounded crazy, but I tried it and it worked.
DannyP
11/15/2011 2:45:00 PM
Nice report Hewes...sounds like the fishing I have experianced out there as well as of late. I am just waiting for the wind to die down some and will get out there again.
charlie h.
11/15/2011 6:31:00 PM
Good to see that you and the wife were back on Rosie , nice catch on the Rainbows ! I fished out of Keller Friday , it was slow , but managed to catch 4 bows and one nice silver on a Rapala . I hope the fishing will get better when they draw down the lake more and water temps drop . Thanks for the report !

Charlie H.
hewesfisher
11/15/2011 9:13:00 PM
The whole concept behind the long drop back is specifically due to the fact the trout are in the top 10' of the water column and spread out when a boat passes by. Trolling a long distance behind the boat, and using frequent turns, helps mitigate the scatter effect. I've been using this technique at Roosevelt for about about 5 years now, and it works. Here's another one for you, I can catch fish all day and never mark a single one, Why? Because the cone of my sonar is so tiny at 10' water depth, the only way I'd ever see a trout is if it is directly under the txdcr at the instant it passes over. And that won't happen when the trout are at 10', they scatter before I ever have a chance to mark them. As to linecounter reels, I most certainly do use them and wouldn't fish Roosevelt (for winter time trout anyway) without them. ;-)
gdrees
11/16/2011 9:06:00 AM
Great report. Thanks for all the helpful tips.
blufin loui
11/20/2011 10:56:00 AM
Nice Chunky fish Phil. Thanks for the pics and reports. You and debbie are yankin them in. As always, it is good to see the great and informative reports. Take care and stay well and safe
buc
11/21/2011 8:40:00 PM
I roll w/ 300' back works well!
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Available Guide

Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Darrell & Dads Family Guide Service

Phone: (509) 687-0709