Conference wahoo::fishing

    Jeff, with these recent cold nights (and more in the forcast) I too 
    have been thinking about trolling the surface for trout.  As mentioned
    in another topic, I tried a little trolling on top up at Moore a couple
    of weeks ago with no luck.  My guess will be that with these cool nights
    the fall turnover will soon begin and the trout will be spending more
    time on the surface.  I'm considering finding a lake with smallies and
    rainbows this weekend.  This time of year has potential to supply the 
    best of both worlds, trout (that are not frsh from the hatchery) on top 
    and lunker smallies...
    
    Anyone else give it a shot yet?
    
    donmac- who'll be trolling small rapalas real soon

    I was out last saturday at around 4:00 pm in Team Starcraft
    trolling 2 Rapalas. 1 gold/black and 1 blue/silver. My favorite
    one (perch color) seemed to have made it into my wifes tackle
    box. My 90 Johnson will idle between 2.5 and 3mph, favoring the
    latter side. This is just a tad to fast for this time of the year.
    While trolling that day I occasionally shifted into nuetural and
    revved up the motor to clear it out, and as the speed dropped
    down to about 1.5mph a descent white perch attacked my gold/-
    black Rapala. Next time out I will also be trolling a 10 gallon
    bucket. Hmmmmm, I can taste'em now.
                                               Jeff (Captain)
                                               Team Starcraft

    I was on the Quab on Sunday with a friend. We trolled all day long and
    only caught 2 shorts @ about 20'. We had 2 downriggers(kept adjusting
    the depth) but generally not above 20' and then we had to flat lines
    with a couple ounces of weight. We tried every color and action we
    could muster but ...  
    
    But ... this Sunday is another day !!

    The trout are up on top now. The water (surface) is cooling off.
    I went out last night for a couple of hours. A 10 gallon bucket
    with a 3 inch hole cut in the bottom slowed Team Starcraft to
    an almost ideal 1.7 mph. I saw many a trout come at least 2-3
    feet out of the water. They wouldn't touch the infamous Rapala
    but did pick up one on a small black/silver spinner. It was a 
    Rainbow about 14 inches. It was very tasty, cooked in foil in
    the oven, stuffed with onions, tarragon, garlic powder, pepper
    and butter. Try it you'll like it!
    
    
                                   Jeff (Captain)
                                   Team Starcraft

    Have any of you guys tried using shiners with a shiner rig ?

    Just curious.

    Jim

    Hi Jim, we did try using a shiner & rig at the Quabbin last Sunday but
    even they didn't work. I think things will start picking up quickly
    though.
    
    Don

    RE:6
    What gate are you going out of Don ?
    
    Again, just curious.
    
    Thanks
    Jim

    Jim, note 1497.5... What exactly is a "shiner rig"?
    
    Just curious.
    
                                        Jeff (Captain)
                                        Team Starcraft

    The last 2 times I went it was out of gate 8 (route 202), that is know
    for its deepest water.

>    Jim, note 1497.5... What exactly is a "shiner rig"?
>    
>    Just curious.
>    
>                                        Jeff (Captain)
> 
  
    Uhmm......Jeff! 

    I've tried three times to write down an explanation and failed. 
    Basically the shiner is impaled on a wire running through it's mouth
    and out it's butt hole. Double hooks are attached to the end sticking 
    out his butt hole and the end sticking out of it's mouth is attached 
    to your leader.
    
    Best bet is to ask for one at the tackle store.]

    Jim

    I tried fishing Saturday afternoon in the rain up on Lake Sunapee.
    I trolled a grey ghost up on top, and a silver mooselock wobbler
    at 5.5 colors of leadcore down. I caught 5 keeper salmon in an
    hour and a half (released 3), but no trout....I couldn't get my line
    back out for more than 5 minutes without another strike....this was my best
    day salmon fishing on Sunapee ever....
    
    Marty  

    You did good Marty! Real good! I was going to write in about
    the Rainbow I caught yesterday afternoon on top but never
    mind now. 5.5 colors, what's that, about 35 feet?
    
                                        Jeff (Captain)
                                        Team Starcraft

    I'm not really sure on the depth...I was in my dad's boat (no
    downriggers or fish finder hence the lead core), but guess it to
    be more like 25 ft down over 80 ft of water....Has anyone caught
    any rainbows in Sunapee or any other large NH lakes ? I heard
    last spring that they were going to stock trout in the big lakes
    as they would not compete for the same food supply as salmon, but
    I haven't heard of anyone catching any....
    
    Marty

    I have heard of the same thing, rainbows, good sized rainbows
    being stocked in the spring in the bigger lakes. My wife and I
    fished the Winni Derby last spring and we got there a full week 
    before it started. We caught nothing but Salmon and Lakers. Also,
    I/we never heard mention of anything alse being caught. I will be 
    going to Winni sunday for a last try at those Salmonoids. My new 
    boat has no downriggers as of yet...I was hoping to get them on
    the top, but after reading your note, my confidence level dropped!
    How about some input from you other fisher-people out there.
    Do I have a chance? Should I go out and pick up some lead-core 
    line and a reel to accommodate it? Aren't they supposed to be
    up top this time of year? In the springtime we were getting them 
    between 10-20 feet deep. Are they ever really "on top"?
    
    
                                      Jeff (Captain)
                                      Team Starcraft

    Tis true.  You should be able to start picking them up soon on top,
    last fall I did well with the rainbows on top.  Also, your right, NH is
    increasing the rainbow stocking.  If I think of it, I'll try and locate
    one of my back issues of the NH F&G Highlights that discusses the
    program. The basic reasoning is that increasing the rainbow fishery
    will improve the fishing because rainbows are better suited to more 
    water, are easier to catch and they are fun to catch.  donmac
    
    

     Re: .14 - Forget the lead core and buy a "Dipsy Diver" for $6-8. No
    respooling onto a reel, no kinks, no dragging a line that feels like a
    load of wash through the water. Zyla's should have 'em, and they're
    discussed in previous notes. It's kind of a down planer you hook
    running line to one end of, and leader/lure to the other.
    
    --The Skoal Bandit (former lead core "vet" for stripers...)

    As mentioned the weather is not bad enough yet. I went for
    a swim on saturday to remove the dock for the winter and it
    wasn't to cold yet, somewhere in the 60's i'd guess....I believe
    the ideal temp for salmon is 54 dgs.. When the water gets in that
    range on the surface the fish will come up...Of course you never
    know. Sometimes early in the morning before the sun is to strong
    they'll be up on top evan though the water temp is not ideal, but
    it has to be fairly close...
    
    The dipsy diver is a good idea...We just happen to have a couple
    of poles laying around with lead core on them from the days before
    I had downriggers.             
    
    Marty
    
    

    Yo Donmac, I sure would be interested in seeing that
    issue of N.H. F&G Highlights. To everybody in this note:
    Donmac, Skoal Bandit, Jim, Marty, Don, you guys are great!
    
    
                                    Jeff (Captain)
                                    Team Starcraft

 "Are they ever really on top?"

 Yes, but only on cloudy days or early morning/late evening. Remember that one
of the driving forces in a trout's behavior is the need for security. Clear
days with lots of sunshine bring airborne predators, so they stay down farther.

 The Doctah (who has actually done horrible for trout this year) :-(

    I know, everybody is wondering if I went to Winni P last
    Sunday, or if I ended up buying one of those Dipsy Divers,
    or if I caught anything...Well here's the scoop!
    I did go to Zyla's to check out the Dipsy Diver. They looked
    pretty good...until I picked one up. All I can say is, HEAVY!
    These things weighed a ton! I would have had to get a new rod,
    reel and at least 12 lb test. All my reels are spooled with
    2 or 4 lb test...so I said forget it. I decided that since it 
    was Fall I would just work the surface. I got out on the lake
    at about 5:00 am, it was still dark. I started out going to 
    Alton Bay and found a nice launch right away. I almost put
    in until I read the sign at the launch and it said that boat
    trailer parking was .8 miles away, or a $25 penalty. I then 
    headed for Wolfeboro. I saw a Wolfeboro cop hiding off the 
    side of the road and stopped to ask him where I could put in.
    He said, Winnipesaukee? I said no the Atlantic Ocean, just
    kidding. He told me of a "FREE" launch right next to the train
    station and I could park my car about 150 ft. away. After I
    put in I checked out my map and my destination was just around
    the corner. I blasted over to Rattlesnake and started working
    the shoreline. I was picking up alot of small bass on my
    Rapala, almost to the point where they were a hinderance. After
    a couple of hours of changing lures to find the one that was
    going to work I put on a black 1/4 ounce Sonic spinner with
    a gold blade. After about 25 minutes the drag was screaming,
    I look back and see the end of a nice splash. The fight was on!
    It was giving me a nice aerial show. Must have jumped 6 times
    and ran once to a pretty fair depth. This was no trophy, but
    after I had it in the net, I must have awakened half of Rattle-
    snake Island with all the hootin and hollering I was doing.
    It was a 18 in., 2lb Salmon. It sure did make my day. Didn't
    get any more but I'll be back...Opening Day!!!

    I was on the Quabbin a week ago, we flatlined with 2 rods and didn't
    get any hits on top. We also tried different depths/lures using our
    down-riggers and I only caught 1 16" salmon at about 55' on an orange
    broken back rapala. We also went smallie fishing during the middle part
    of the day and thats what we caught SMALL smallies. So we concluded
    that the worst day of fishing ...
    
    Don

    I thought the Quabbin was just trout and warm water species. 
    Didn't know it held Salmon. Is this something new or have they 
    always been there? I am also surprised that at this time of year
    they are that deep. You must have thought you had a laker, huh?
    I am half-daying it today. Will be hitting a local pond in search
    of some trout "on the surface"! Will let you know how we did.
    
    
                                   Jeff (Captain)
                                   Taem Starcraft

    Gee, as far as I know the Q has always held salmon and I used to live
    about 3 miles from it. I really don't know when they introduced them
    into the lake. Actually we weren't sure what it could be because we talked 
    to the gate attendant and he said that they were still catching "everthing"
    at about 20' so we tried that for hours and then on a lark I went deep and
    got a hit within a few minutes but it was the first and last ! It
    didn't give much of a fight and for a while swam in with the line, I was
    beginning to think I had lost it.

    Went to Big Island Pond yesterday and couldn't pick up anything
    but weeds. They seem to have put off dropping the level of the
    lake this year. The damn is usually opened on the first of Oct.
    There were a couple of trout caught right at the high side of the 
    damn by a couple of guys fishing worms on the bottom. Saturday
    I caught 2 nice rainbows at Beaver Lake on spinners. I talked to
    2 guys fishing the shallow part of the lake. They were casting
    from a boat and picked up 2 Rainbows in 4 feet of water on Wooly
    Worms (some kind of spinner I think). 
    
                                 Jeff (Captain)
                                 Team Starcraft

A wooly worm is a fly (wet).  Very simple brown fuzzy patterns, with red 
highlights are my favorites.

    Have you tried trolling "hot-orange" flies (usually shrimp imitations)
    on top? Sometimes even hot-orange mixed with red goes well.
    
    Eki
    

    Can't say that I have. I have tried the "hot-orange" Mooeslooks
    on Salmon last spring on a downrigger with very good results. 
    Where would I be able to pick up one of these ? I don't recall
    ever seeing one. Do you use spinning or fly rods to troll with?
    I troll usually with 2lb test when using flies/streamers, 4lb
    test when using a dodger.
    
                                     Jeff (Captain)
                                     Team starcraft

    Tie my own... But at least you should be able to find flies like
    General Practitioner on sale.
    
    I use soft 7 - 8ft spinning rods for them. For wider surface coverage
    even 11 - 12ft match-rods. (Now I have to take cover!)  ;^)   Flies
    combined with small Rapalas can prove deadly too.
    
    Eki
    Starcraft MR180
        

    JEFF, TRY 3INCH OR LARGER SHINERS TROLLED IN YOUR WAKE 15 TO 35FT
    BEHIND THE BOAT, WITH A FAIR SIZE SLPIT SHOT 4FT ABOVE THE HOOK.
    HOOK THE SHINER THRU BOTH LIPS POINT UP. 
    THE WARDEN
    

    1497.28  I was following you fine until you mentioned
    combining "flies with small Rapalas".  Are you tying on a 
    Rapala and then attaching a fly, trailing it??? Sounds 
    like it would work.
    
                                Jeff (Captain)
                                Team Starcraft  

Actually, it's better to attach the stream about 6-12" AHEAD of the lure.  
This gives the impression that the fly is being chased by the larger bait.  
For some reason, it seems to excite trout/salmonoids more than a single 
offering.  I've even picked-up doubles with this setup...one fish on each 
lure.

heading off tomorrow up north for some trout fishing.  Too bad the water is 
still warm.  I suspect that we'll have to break out the downriggers as they 
were still 40' down a week or so ago when surface temps were at 58-60 
degrees.

-HSJ-

    Well, actually I attach the flies in front of the Rapalas. Try to
    imitate fish chasing shrimp or something. Like:
    							   /
    							  /
    							 /
    				       	       FLY------/
    						       /
    						      /
    						     /
    						    /
    						   /
    						  /		      				
                                                 /
    					RAPALA  /
    
    Eki
    

    After a shut out last weekend I made it out yesterday. I got on
    the lake around 10:30 am. There were lots of bassboats out there and
    not much catching going on. I started the day with a rapala on one
    pole and a super-duper on the other. I never changed lures all day.
    I was working a drop-off and my first fish was a brown trout which
    I think was a stocker @ about a foot plus. Trolling along the edge
    of the drop-off that same pole really exploded this time. Picked myself
    up what looked like a holdover Rainbow at just a little better than
    17 inches with quite a girth. By the end of the day (actually around
    2:00 pm) I had my 7 fish limit. The anticipation that was built up in
    me since last October had subsided. Spring fishing is here finally.
    
    
                              Jeff (Captain)
                              Team Starcraft

    Do you want to give us any clues as to where you caught these fish??
    
    
    Kumar

                 Big Island Pond....

    What do you fisher-people out there think of this?
    
    What would you say (or do) to someone that goes out in their
    canoe without a license and brings back 14 keeper size trout?
    The limit here in New Hampshire (with a license) is 7 fish
    or 5 pounds whatever comes first. What do you think Fish & Game
    would do with this person if they were caught? Is there a
    standard fine (per fish) over the limit? Would the canoe be impounded?
    All comments welcome and accepted. Also, what are the rules abroad
    for this type of situation?
    
                                    Jeff (Captain)
                                    Team Starcraft 

 It is poaching. Call 1-800-344-4262 with the following facts:

 Date, Time, Violation, Road/Route, Vehicle Description, License #, Travel
Direction, Description of person(s) and any other pertinent information you
can think of.

 That # was for "Operation Game Thief."

 This # is for NH F&G Law Enforcement Division: (603) 271-3127

 The Doctah

       I agree!  Turn them in!  Numbers on the canoe, if any.  Registration
    of car, or address.  Any info you can supply.
    
    				B.C.

    
    
       I would definatly agree with the last 2 replies, Remember you bought
    a license YOU helped to pay for those fish, The people that dont buy a 
    license didnt. 
       Personally I would of gotten the appropriate info vehicle license #
    or number of the boat, description of the 2 people then went to the 
    closest phone and called fish & game so maybe they could catch them
    with the fish. 
    
       I dont know what the fine is in NH I do believe its a certain amount
    for each fish plus the fine for not holding a license, plus they wont
    be able to purchase a license for a few years (maybe thats why they
    didnt have a license this time)
    
        I was talking to a game warden in oswego NY last fall and he said
    they caught 2 guys last year that were   30 brown trout over their
    limit, now the limit here is 10 per person. these two guys had 50
    browns in their boat. the fine was 4 figures for each(he wouldnt tell
    me the exact amount) so it really doesnt pay.
    
    
         I would definatly call Fish & Game and talk to a warden, most of 
    them will investigate it. I was on hot hole pond in concord NH last may
    and there was 4 people in there 20's in a 16 ft sea nymph tearing
    around the pond, we almost got flipped once so I pulled the boat out
    and went and called scott ( local warden ) he was there within 15
    minutes. these guys wont be on the water with that boat for awhile.
         There was almost a case worth of bud cans in the bottom of the
    boat. and that only made it worse for them.
    
          I always carry a pen/pencil and a small note book in every tackle
    box to record info like this when an incident happens. 
    
           Good luck, if we dont help protect our sport it  wont be around
    long.
    
    
                                                          Lee