I find myself saying these words to my two boys very frequently during Christmas time. They never seem to stop asking about the gifts under the tree. Fortunately, I took a little of my own wannabe Jedi master advice this week.
It is common knowledge that the stocking of winter trout at our local SoCal lakes gets the fish active and keying on them. They put a bunch of trout in this week to go along with great weather. I was chomping at the bit to get out with friends, but family and Christmas came first.
Unfortunately, the forecast for today called for little wind, and this is the key to my success. But, the forecast for the next week has been calling for cooler and cooler temperatures without much wind. I knew that I had better make the best of my opportunities today because of the likely to be deteriorating conditions.
The only short period of wind this afternoon quickly produced a 6.2 pound fish, but it glassed off a few minutes later just as quickly, shutting off the bite. The water on DVL is crystal clear. A smart angler uses the glassy conditions to their advantage by looking for trout and big bass nearby because they are likely to be there when conditions improve. I spotted several groups of 5-10 pound fish that looked at me like they were waiting for wind also. They didn’t even move off when I got on top of them in shallow water. This is a good sign that they are just waiting for the trout to come by.
Sadly, the lake closes at sunset (4:30), and I only had a few minutes left. I started to head in to put my boat on the trailer because there was no wind in sight. My only hope was to wait for shade lines to develop on the steep canyon lake, but the shade hadn’t yet gotten to the only spot close to the ramp that I had left. Miraculously, I watched the shade line materialize just as a stray cloudbank brought what seemed like wind from the heavens. An algae line blew right on to the key stretch in front of me. It was 4:15. I knew that I had to make things happen quickly. My third cast on the algae-covered shade line produced a 6.6. Okay, maybe I do know what I am doing. My fifth cast a 6.4. My eighth cast a 6.5. Sometimes clones aren’t a bad thing! Lastly, this skinny big-headed 7 lb. fish finished my limit. It’s too bad that I didn’t even get to fish the entire stretch. I had to leave them biting. California really is heaven and hell!
Patience my little Padawan!
Patience my little Padawan!
Last edited by toddmc on Fri Dec 28, 2018 2:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Patience my little Padawan!
Geez; I’m trying to find the hell in that. Madness; seems like a dream to me.
Re: Patience my little Padawan!
It's hell when you have to get off the lake every time that you know that the fishing is only getting better. Most of our lakes are sunrise to sunset only. Most other places don't have this issue. It really forces you to fish thoughtfully and full of stress when you know that you need to make the most of the very short afternoon feeding window. I fish a lot more relaxed when in other areas of the country because I know that I can usually fish until I am convinced that it is time to leave.Polkfish1 wrote:Geez; I’m trying to find the hell in that. Madness; seems like a dream to me.
-
- Senior Angler
- Posts: 168
- Joined: Thu May 23, 2013 4:01 am
- Location: Florida
Re: Patience my little Padawan!
Looks like you guys had a good winter break also. Congrats!toddmc wrote:I find myself saying these words to my two boys very frequently during Christmas time. They never seem to stop asking about the gifts under the tree. Fortunately, I took a little of my own wannabe Jedi master advice this week.
It is common knowledge that the stocking of winter trout at our local SoCal lakes gets the fish active and keying on them. They put a bunch of trout in this week to go along with great weather. I was chomping at the bit to get out with friends, but family and Christmas came first.
Unfortunately, the forecast for today called for little wind, and this is the key to my success. But, the forecast for the next week has been calling for cooler and cooler temperatures without much wind. I knew that I had better make the best of my opportunities today because of the likely to be deteriorating conditions.
The only short period of wind this afternoon quickly produced a 6.2 pound fish, but it glassed off a few minutes later just as quickly, shutting off the bite. The water on DVL is crystal clear. A smart angler uses the glassy conditions to their advantage by looking for trout and big bass nearby because they are likely to be there when conditions improve. I spotted several groups of 5-10 pound fish that looked at me like they were waiting for wind also. They didn’t even move off when I got on top of them in shallow water. This is a good sign that they are just waiting for the trout to come by.
Sadly, the lake closes at sunset (4:30), and I only had a few minutes left. I started to head in to put my boat on the trailer because there was no wind in sight. My only hope was to wait for shade lines to develop on the steep canyon lake, but the shade hadn’t yet gotten to the only spot close to the ramp that I had left. Miraculously, I watched the shade line materialize just as a stray cloudbank brought what seemed like wind from the heavens. An algae line blew right on to the key stretch in front of me. It was 4:15. I knew that I had to make things happen quickly. My third cast on the algae-covered shade line produced a 6.6. Okay, maybe I do know what I am doing. My fifth cast a 6.4. My eighth cast a 6.5. Sometimes clones aren’t a bad thing! Lastly, this skinny big-headed 7 lb. fish finished my limit. It’s too bad that I didn’t even get to fish the entire stretch. I had to leave them biting. California really is heaven and hell!
DVL 7 lb. 12-26-18.JPG