Fishing Report 3-16-06

I met Jeremy Buhr at the Redmond Show and he expressed a desire to learn about downriggers and fish for bull trout. This last Thurs. I met him and his friend Casey for a day on LBC and a shot at some bulls.

The wind was howling and we decided to use the Deschutes ramp to make it easier to get on and off the water. The prediction of winds from 10-20 m.p.h. had come true that morning and I wasn't that thrilled at the prospect of trying to steer with my top up (just like a sail) at the slow speeds we needed with the setups we would use. Oh well, you just make the best of it.

The bulls and the kokes seem to holding in the same area we had seen them for the past week. The island is not producing any bulls since the opening and they are where they are.....the graph tells all! We had a decent morning bite and then things slowed quite a bit in the afternoon. We had some rain come in around 1:00 and things never came back, as far a bite goes.

I think the count was 6 bulls landed out of 10 hits. It seems the bait rigs have a lower percentage of hookups than I get with plugs. With the colder water temps, the bulls have not been interested in plugs as much the bait rigs. Jeremy had the biggest bull at 8 LB. and Casey landed a 6 LB. fish. The other bulls were all 2-3 LB.

I think that the best bull fishing is still ahead of us. The water temps are colder than they are normally this time of year. Even though the bulls can tolerate colder temps than most trout, I think they may respond better and the plug bite will take off when the temps come up a bit.

Tight lines, Rick