Struck By Lightning Trout

12-29-21

Over the past couple of weeks, and at least after the 12th of December the time I posted my last blog, I was probably excited about ending this year.  Wow, I must say we have been through a lot of challenges throughout this year, and we still have endured.

Fishing this year has come as a blast.  I mean, I caught so many fish this year that I honestly could have never imagined.  Yes, it’s been that good.  A year filled with Largemouth Bass catch after Largemouth Bass catch to Striped Bass catch, Catfish, Crappie, and Trout strikes.  Yep, the only fish I didn’t catch this year was a Carp.  I’ve seen the down side of what a year can bring too.  But what a year it has been, especially for fishing in general.

Silverwood Lake Marina

One chilly night at Silverwood Lake Marina area, I was able to land two Sripers off of a good old Rat L Trap Lure.  At first, I thought maybe I was going to have just one lucky bite, but no, the next strike I experienced solidified the fishing technique I have been using.  It took about twenty casts each time I caught one to get one Striper interested.

Trying for Trout was a different story, I was able to land four small Trout all well under a pound in about ten casts.  It started to make me rethink where I want to fish for the remainder of the year, especially for Trout.  I was sold on catching a Lightning Trout right when I heard the local lakes (Hesperia Lake, and Mojave Narrows Regional Park) would be stocking with that species of Trout. The Trout at Silverwood Lake have been all relatively small, and the ones I have caught have weighed in under one pound. Below, is a quick 15 second YouTube Short video I have shared to show what is working for Striper right now.

Mojave Narrows Regional Park (Horseshoe and Pelican Lake).

Traveling to Mojave Narrows to try and catch larger Trout helped me realize a thing or two.  I do not know half of what it takes to slay big Trout, as I witnessed that day of fishing with other anglers.  At first, I had caught one fish while fishing in a creek that day, but I was just messing around when it happened.  Next, I ran into another angler who showed me some minnows, and who also provided me with some.  Obviously, this angler knew what he was talking about as each Trout caught by him that day ended up being over three pounds.  What are the odds of that happening?  I was curious, so I asked him “Do you by chance have any minnows I could try?”  He gave me two different types, but all of the minnows looked about the same.

I grabbed a minnow and used a jig head to hook the minnow through.  Several casts produced not a thing, but helped me produce a steady slow retrieve.  As I pondered whether the minnow would work, this easily had my mind thinking maybe, maybe not..  Then, wham, there was a Lightning Trout on the end of my rod.  Oh, so the Trout wanted the minnow and had not even thought of swimming around it!

Ten casts later, my next strike produced a six pound Trout.  The two pound test line was strong in landing the big Trout, but held both of the Trout steadily.  I learned about the minnow that day, and how to fish it to be successful.  Meeting up another time a few days later at Mojave Narrows, I was able to fish and land another small Trout on a minnow at Pelican Lake.

Hesperia Lake

So far, my quest to catch larger Trout came true by fishing at Mojave Narrows.  It had been a fun experience thus far, so on another day, I decided to try another local lake, Hesperia Lake.  Man, this year, everytime I mentioned this lake or was around it just brought back all kinds of memories of when I fished it growing up.

There’s so many memories that I have of this lake.  One time in 1999, I won first place in a Trout Derby fishing with a Banjo Minnow Jig.  To make a long story short, on this day of fishing (December 22, 2021) I thought I was unstoppable at catching Trout. I was just trying to psych myself out. When I casted out a few times, I caught what no angler wants to happen.  I foul hooked some kind of Carp, and it seemed a lethargic one at best.  It didn’t put up any fight either, kind of like reeling in an old plastic bag.

Soon after though, surprisingly my rod or should I say my reel was peeling drag super hard on a drop shot power worm.  Honestly, it has been a long drought on my ability to catch Trout over five pounds.  Those two Trout, definitely helped me realize that I can catch larger Trout, but to do that I must fish where lakes are stocking larger Trout.

Final Thoughts from Reel Time With Timm

I met an angler who had caught an eleven pound Trout.  He let me know he watched my videos, and he basically just loves fishing.  I was surprisingly happy to learn he’s catching very nice Trout.  It felt good to know that I can have a positive impact on others.

The minnow jigs and their ability to slay was put on a display.  At the end of the day, the minnows were key in landing some quality Trout.  The Power worms proved to be key as well.  Remember, always keep your options open and be willing to try drop shot, or jigging when you are trying to figure out what the fish want.  You just never know what you’re going to get.

I take away with me into the new year something I learned on YouTube.  One of my followers mentioned seeing a cleaner release on Trout because of their inability to survive when not taking proper precaution to properly catch and release them.  He was so right in that I need to work on it.  As I thought about it, I realized that I can do more and rise to a high expectation of helping the future of fishing.

This year started off one particular way, and really changed for me.  One thing I will always remember and hold true to is helping others, but learning along the way as well.  I helped a friend get back on the lake when something so unimaginable was going on in his personal life, it could have ruined him. By him having a friend to share with, I know it helped him turn his life around in the end.  I fished with many people and made many friends, shared a moment or two with them, and possibly made a YouTube video out of one or some of those experiences. All to just somehow influenced someone to try something new in this thing we all call fishing because they subscribed to me/followed me on my fishing journey.

To all my fishing friends, and to my YouTube Subscribers, thank you so much for all the support and understanding you gave even when we didn’t see eye to eye.  I know I have put myself out there by standing there for my channel.  It’s easy to judge someone, especially someone who puts what they’re all about in videos for others to critique, or maybe to just inspire them to always try.  Good luck to all of you out there in what the New Year brings. Have fun on your fishing adventures!

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