11-23-20
While I was at Vista Point #2 Turnout last week, I caught a fish off the ‘good old’ Rat L Trap. Obviously, I hiked down from the turnout to the shore and realized that most of the shore was accessible as the water level has dropped further down from last week. Hiking along the shore for at least 1 ½ to 2 miles, I started the fishing session with a jerkbait. With this lure tied on, I was able to land some very small Stripers (3 total all CNR). A buddy of mine landed a nice ‘school sized’ Striper on a jerkbait, his first one from this area. Towards the end of the fishing session, I finally tied the Rat L Trap lure and somehow picked one off the bottom after missing a strike on it.
One night at the Marina, I was able to land my first limit of Stripers since catching nine just a little over a week ago. All of these fish were harvested (donated to people for food). The Rat L Trap lure really came through big producing eight Stripers on that night. I was able to land 2 Stripers on jerkbait lures to close off my fishing session, as I noticed the fish starting to boil near the Marina docks. I began to realize that I need to tie on the Rat L Trap lure more than I have been, it has been about a month since I caught a Striper on it (besides the one I caught @ Vista Point Turnout #2 location).
A few days later I met up with some fellow fisherman. What a nice fishing session we had as the break through occurred…. So, I noticed that scented baits were getting more strikes at some points during the night. My biggest Striper weighed in at 1.60. lbs. Between my friend and I, we had landed 15 Stripers. He started to claim that he was fire. I didn’t disagree, but I realized the scent he used to douse his Rat L Traps was rather putrid smelling (night crawler flavored sauce). I know that I caught 2 on the Rat L Trap lure before realizing he was putting scent on his lures, and when I tried it out my catches went from 2 fish to 6 more fish.
Managing to get out one more opportunity to fish last week, I realized that the jerkbait lures worked when the Rat L Trap lures weren’t. So, I continued switching back and forth on both rods trying to entice a fish to bite. I landed one Striper from the boat dock when my buddy suggested, “Let’s try the spot we hit last time.” My mind went back to that particular moment when the Stripers were biting off the weightless flukes rigged with a water bobber/swivel and leader line. Reluctantly at first, I began to realize that one fish landed in 3 hours was not the best situation and by moving for the last hour of the fishing session might just be a good idea.
Moving to that location with a jerkbait lure to start, I felt a small tug and landed a Largemouth Bass (2.13 lbs.) and continued to fish catching 2 Stripers in the 1 lb. range. My buddy also tied on a jerkbait, and he proceeded to land a Striper the first fish of his night to break ‘the skunk.’ Choosing to cast a few more times is when a nice sized Largemouth Bass (3.66 lbs.) surprised me by striking my jerkbait and jumping out of the water. I thought to myself in that moment, there’s something about the pull of a Largemouth Bass compared to the Stripers I was catching. The Largemouth Bass tap my lures ever so slightly and once hooked swim downward and that creates an awesome pull on my rod. Stripers, on the other hand put a good fight but once they’re hooked, they tend to swim in rather quickly.
After landing both Largemouth Bass, I felt extremely blessed to have caught 2 in one night. The last Largemouth I caught was approximately one month ago in the Vista Point Turnout #1 location, and I was honestly starting to think that the bite may be over for the year. I’m glad that it isn’t and that they are still biting.
In four fishing trips for the week, I landed a total of 27 fish (25 Stripers & 2 Largemouth Bass). 10/27 fish were landed on Jerkbaits, and 17/27 fish were landed on the Rat L Trap lures. Switching back and forth on the two types of lures, every couple of casts helped produce some fish for me. Adding scent to my lures helped me land more fish one of the nights. Jerkbait lures helped me bring in 2 Largemouth Bass even though it’s been over a month since I landed one. If you decide to go, have a good experience out there. Try out new lures because they just might hit, and switch locations when the bite is not what you expected it to be. Bye!
10 Striper Limit, Caught on Rat L Traps/Jerks 
Caught on a Rat L Trap 
Rat L Trappin’