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Elevenmile 7.9.05

2K views 25 replies 12 participants last post by  kokaneeking 
#1 ·
We made it to Eleven-mile yesterday and had to put in a marathon effort to make home it without the proverbial skunk. My partner and I hit the water at about 6:30 a.m. on a perfect morning. We launched and starting working with the usual hardware. We went without a bite through the morning hours while the flotilla of boats filled the lake by 12:00 p.m. Four p.m. approached quickly and we were still sparring with the skunk.

We decided to stick with it, in hopes of an evening bite and at 4:30 p.m. we started marking large clusters of fish in front of the main marina, when the fish became active over orange spoons and pink Tasmanian devils. We long and short distance released (failed to land) four Kokane and one trout; and landed two Kokane and two trout, all average size 1-2 lbs. The flurry lasted 90 minutes and ended as quickly as it began.

Here?s a photo of Terry?s trout, and an additional photo of one of the many smallmouth bass BigBrown caught during our Powell trip a month ago:

Pete



 
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#2 ·
Nice pictures.. YOu did better then my neighboor they left with the skunk, you threw overboard.
 
#7 ·
Thanks all. It all worked out in the end. Slayer, you're dead on with Elevenmile... the bite is either on or not, and if not you work your butt off trying to catch anything.

Although, I often wonder how overun the lake really is when it comes to Northerns. I rarely ever see anyone catching pike when it comes to watching all the other boats around me while they're fishing. Why is that I never see folks catching northerns as frequently as they catch trout or kokes? Just curoius.

Pete
 
#8 ·
I think its cause the "kill all northerns" rule has worked! We used to (4 -10 years ago) catch tons of pike both in the summer and ice fishin.Over the last 3 years or so the pike have slowly disapeared.Used to catch hammer handles all the time but not anymore.I think there are less pike but the average size is larger.Maybe the DOW made a positive action in this case?To a pro-trout person anyway.Unless you are a pike hunter? Then maybe not-
 
G
#11 ·
let us know how you do. I am hitting either 11M or P-lo on wednesday -- haven't decided which yet.
lynmack said:
Pete were you using leadcore or downriggers?I'm gonna hit it tommorow and any info can help.I know Mauser was cleaning up with leadcore and dipsy divers.Thanks

                                     lyn
 
#12 ·
Mauser,

No I didn't use leadcore line, and perhaps I should have. Another thing we never got around to trying was fishing bottom, and there were many many fish hugging structure.

Hooknline, no I haven't fished with Eric since our powell trip. I am planning to head up some time in the near future to hike and fish some of the back country lakes.

Pete
 
#13 ·
Mauser ,a little help with leadcore if you dont mind.How many feet of mono from the leadcore to the cowbells?How long of a leader to the lure?How many pound test?You seem like you got the leadcore thing down and this will be my first time using my new gear.Thanks

lyn
 
G
#14 ·
No prob. I only use about a foot of 20# mono to tie the lead core to the cowbells. I go heavy because I would rather snap off a $1.50 lure than a $10 set of cowbells. I then use 6# or 8# test from the bells to the lure. I like at least 4 feet of leader, but not more than 6ft as you will have a hard time landing the fish with 3 feet of cowbells and 6+ feet of leader -- unless you have a really long rod. I typically troll 3 - 4 colors out. which equates to 15 - 20 feet deep. If you targeting kokes don't be afraid to go with 6 colors if they are holding deep. If you are interested I can show the lures I tied up that seem to be working well for trout and kokes. and don't forget a 1.50 can of white shoe pegcorn for the kokes.

Leadcore is a beautiful thing and I have dkooser to thank for turning me on to it.
 
#15 ·
Thanks Mauser!!!Its hard to get alot of info on leadcore and the best way to rig it.Im going to it this year because i ran into a lot of people last year that were having GREAT results with it.The thing i really needed was the length from leadcore to luers(pop gear,gang troll etc.)The advice from Luhr Jensen was to use like 20 or 30 feet and that seemed like alot,like the lures would run higher than the leadcore,so im gonna use your advice and i'll let you know how it goes.If i dont have luck trolling i guess i can always use worm and bobber like Slayer,sounds like that was producing as well.Thanks for the help,first fish will be a salute to you.

lyn
 
G
#18 ·
The sink rate at average trolling speeds for lead core is 5 feet per color (i.e. 1 foot for every 2 yds). thus trolling 4 colors the lure will be 120 feet back -- but only 20 feet deep.




rip lip said:
Mauser,

one color of lead core equals 10 yards or approx 30 feet so if you are trolling 3 to 4 colors you should be down at around 90 feet.  I may be wrong, but that is my understanding.  Great to hear you were able to bend a rod though. 
 
G
#20 ·
1.5 mph  4 colors = 20 feet
18# test used

from cortland

According to Cortland, extensive testing by charter captains in the Northwest has lead (no pun intended) to the following rule of thumb. For 18# test and greater, at trolling speeds of .5 to 1.8 MPH, with a 10' mono leader and a light weight spoon, the line goes down 1 foot for every 6 let out. Put another way, the line drops 5 feet per color (Kerplunk changes color every 10 yards).

after 25 feet deep the calcualtions get fudged as thermocline plays a role
 
#23 ·
Mauser,

Thanks for sharing your technigues with us, I'll have to give the lead core line a try on my next trip, and your suggested rig. Do you ever run down riggers at Eleven mile, or do you find greater success with the weighed line?

Pete
 
#24 ·
I've aleways found that fishing weighted lines, wire line, planers, inline sinkers etc. is effective but it sure takes the fun out of the fishing. We used a lot (2 of 6 lines in the water) of deep stuff trolling saltwater on my charter boat in Florida and the Bahamas...it was effective but cranking up a bunch of hardware with a fish behind it, is not my thing. If I really need to fill the cooler that bad, I'd prefer the supermarket.
 
#25 ·
I'll have to say there was still a pretty good fight,even with the flashers.When i started my troll the other day i was wondering if i was going to be able to tell if i got a hit(i usually use 7' light action rods with 6lb line)on the thick rods and all the bend in them.The first hit pulled my little boat(10ft w/5hp)almost sideways.After that i had no doubts when a fish hit.I do miss the WAM of a fish hitting my lure,but the fight was good and i do feel this method is more productive at this time.IMHO

lyn
 
#26 ·
hit elevenmile today with my brother, he caught a kokanee from shore and i got the skunk , on the way back by cross creek there was a cove full of weeds i thought i saw some pike coming up at the surface i walked in a swamp and found a decent spot, i threw a zara spook i had three come up at it but i dident react fast enough then the wind came up missed it all up, owell , we also fished spinney i got skunked and my brother caught some northerns
 
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