Fishing Report 2-2-06

After a little arm twisting and a promise of lunch at Mazatlan Mexican restaurant, I finally persuaded my wife to join me on a half day outing at Lake Billy Chinook, here in Central Oregon. I have been on the outdoor show circuit since the beginning of January and have not been on the water once this year. It was the best looking day in the short run according to the weather forecast.

We got there after lunch around 1:00 p.m. and my initial thoughts were not that encouraging as we dropped down the hill toward the lake. It looked really "blown out" in color from what I was used to seeing on earlier trips in late fall. Obviously all the rains and runoff had affected the whole Crooked Arm of the lake and it looked like a diluted, chocolate mixture.

I decided to work the confluence of the Deschutes and Crooked Arms, as that area had been good to me on previous trips. We did mark some fish, but didn't get a bite. Hearing that the boundary line area, separating the Metolius Arm from the rest of the lake, had produced some bulls, we gave it a shot. I did a little trick that I haven't employed on the bull trout much. Several of my trophy trout buddies and I will work a rod in a sweeping motion while going at trolling speed. We call this rip-jigging or rippin'. This causes the lure to speed up and dart and then settle back like it is a dying baitfish. It has proved deadly on large brown trout over the years.

I was in an experimenting mood and put out the leadcore rig to 8 colors and worked the boat toward some kokanee that had been popping the top. I had only made a couple of sweeps of the rod when I felt the hard strike and the drag started giving. I told my wife to take the rod while I cleared the rigger and other rod. I watched as she struggled to keep the rod tip up. She is a little thing, just 5 feet, and the leadcore and the seemingly nice sized bull were giving her quite a workout. Finally she managed to get the bull boatside and we both could see the 30 in. fish was probably over 10 LB. I slid the net under a nice male bull that actually tipped my gripper scale at 10 LB. 8 oz. A nice bull in anybody's book.

It was 3:30 and I made note of the time. The bite was on! Next bull came at 4:15 and this time, I subdued a bull of the same length but a little skinnier. This hen went 8.5 Lb. We followed up with 3 more bulls in the next hour that went 6.5, 6, and 4.5 LB. It turned out to be an exciting day with a total of 5 bulls in 2 hours. Just as quickly as it came on it was over. Sometimes it seems like someone can just reach up and turn the switch on and then just as easily turn it off. That is often how a trout bite will go.

The hot lures were the Yo-Zuri TX Minnow and a fairly new Japanese invention called a Mikey (3-jointed) that really resembles the smaller kokanee in Lake Billy Chinook. All the fish were caught at depths of 20-30 on riggers and leadcore at speeds of 2.5 to 3 m.p.h. I was also using some Pro-Cure Trophy Trout Gel. I have come and gone with scents over the years but am back to applying them again.

Look for the bull trout fishing to only get better when the Metolius Arm opens March 1.

Regards, Rick