9-27-20
As soon as I arrive at my fishing destination and park my car, the anticipation of fishing sets in for me. I can’t wait to get my line in the water, but first I must make sure preparations are made for a successful trip (batteries, head lamp, fishing gear, bug spray, etc.) There’s nothing like being on a trail with a flickering flashlight offering just enough light to navigate the landscape. The moon light this week, helped me to balance my needs of a new flashlight/batteries. So with some additional light in the night sky my fishing trips went well.
By fishing four different locations at Silverwood Lake last week, I was left wondering should I have focused more on just a few locations that produced the most fish, or continued to search for new places to fish in general? In the Vista Point locations, I spent one night fishing the Vista Point #1 Turnout & one-night session fishing the Vista Point #2 Turnout. For these two locations combined, I landed a total of 8 Stripers. 6/8 of those Stripers preferred to strike the jerkbait, as the other two Stripers preferred to strike a fluke.
The back side of the dam location I choose to fish was on a very windy night. Just by positioning my back to the wind, I seemed to provide myself with one advantage. That was using the wind to guide my casts into potential pockets of fish further out than I can normally cast. As the wind died down, the strikes began to pick up almost immediately. Selecting a jerkbait to cast, I was able to land some nice 1 & ½ lb. Stripers. This night of fishing ended with a total of 6 Striper all caught within a two hour time frame.
At first in my mind, I thought the bite was so good on this night because there’s usually less traffic (people) in this area. But then, I thought the bite was on because the fish were just hungry at that time of night. My final thought on why it was such a good fishing night was the erratic motion of my jerkbait triggering all those shallow water strikes. Somehow, I wished all my fishing journeys were jam packed with non-stop action.
The Marina is where I ended off my week of fishing. The action has relatively died off for me in this location, but a buddy of mine had some good luck on his side as he landed two Stripers off the dock. I’d rather call it “skill,” or “unlocking fishing potential,” than luck on his side. As I neared the end of the session with not a bite to count for, I didn’t panic, but knew switching locations might bring on a bite.
Locating small fry has its benefits as I tend to think and question, “How can these small fish be loaded altogether in a particular cove?” Many thoughts begin to cross my mind, but nothing more than Stripers looking for a 10 PM snack. Within 5 casts after switching to a new location, I was connected with a small Striper on my rod. The fish was landed on a cast relatively close to shore (10 ft. out) probably targeting some small fry.
As my hope of avoiding a “skunk” vanished within seconds as my rod tip was lowered by the presence of a fish, I was reminded of a time when my buddy asked, “To switch locations,” and I was reluctant at first, but was happy that we had this time. This time was better because I was not reluctant, but intent on trying the new location out. Shortly before the night fishing session came to a close, a coyote in the distance let out several howls. A super, creepy feeling could be felt as I pondered about the creepy sound, and the distance of the mammal from me.
The fluke action died out for me this week ,as I landed only a couple Striper on it. I also only had a few strikes to show for it, as I relied on it much this week. The jerkbait seemed to be the lure of preference for the other 13 Stripers that I landed this week. I want to say a special thanks to all anglers who came out to fish with me this week. See you out there!
