[black]Like I said earlier it was nice to meet everyone. If we can work our schedules out again I wouldn’t mind fishing with any of you in the future. I’m sure all of us could learn a few new tricks. [
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I’ve been too busy the last few days to report the details that I have wanted to. To clarify what I wrote above, five of the fish I caught were in the 18”-20” range and five were in the 16.5”-18” range. I only put a tape on a couple of fish I caught as well as a few fish other fishermen caught. Most of the lengths are based on what they looked like to me. Just like all fishermen I think I can do a good job of eyeing fish so I think the measurements are fairly close. [
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Ten fish might seem like the fishing was pretty good but keep in mind that I was there from 7:30am - 5:45pm (over 10 hours) and had 5 poles out. That means that each of my poles only averaged one fish every 5 hours. [unsure]. I put in a long day so I could hopefully catch a big fish (25"+) but that didn't happen. As far as I know there were no fish that were much larger than 20" iced in the area I fished Saturday.[unsure]
I also had a slight advantage over the other fishermen out there because I was fishing the boat ramp, which is the only major structure in the area.
I thought I was on to something with a 3” white tub jig when it caught 2 out of 3 on Friday and 2 out of 5 the first half of Saturday. I didn’t catch any more fish on it Saturday. I still think it is a good lure and will continue to use it but I don’t think it is as superior as I first thought. I did catch 6 out of 10 fish on one pole Saturday. I think it was just a hot hole. For those interested it had a 1/16 oz ice fly that I tied with an orange painted head, white rubber legs, white & chartreuse marabou and silver flashabou. Other ice flies or tube jigs caught just as many or more on other days that I have fished American Falls recently. I do think that night crawlers have been a better bait than meal worms. Minnows might be better but they seemed about as good as far as I could tell. I don’t think smearing the power bait on the jig has made as much of a difference at American Falls as it has other places but it doesn’t seem to hurt so I’ll keep doing it.
On Friday (3rd) I averaged about 6 bites per hour. It seemed to slow down a little on Tuesday (7th) and a little more on Friday (10th). On Saturday the 11th I averaged about 1.5 bites per hour. I should have done much better Saturday considering that I have learned more about where I was fishing that I was able to hooked and landing most of the fish that I had bites from.
I’m not sure why fishing wasn’t as good Saturday (11th) as it was Friday (3rd) but I have a few ideas. If any of you have some other ideas or disagree with what I have written below it would be nice to hear what you have to say.
1) The moon may have affected the fishing. A big orange moon disappeared behind the horizon at about 7:40am when the sun was just starting to come up. I always blame the moon if fishing isn't good.[
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2) On Friday (2/3/06) the ice hadn’t covered the area I have been fishing for very long. Oxygen levels or something else may have been better for the fish. The fish may have moved and/or become less active.
3) At 11am on Thursday (9th) only 380 cfs had been coming out of American Falls since mid October. By early afternoon on Friday (10th) it had been increased to about 3000 cfs. I doubt this affected fishing much but the reservoir hasn’t been filling as fast.
4) The wind was almost no existent on Friday the 3rd and it was much warmer. I don’t believe the wind and cold made the fish less active but it did make me less active. The lack of wind may have made it easier for me spot/hear a couple extra bites. Not having to wear a coat and gloves also makes me a more effective fishermen. I didn't need a coat or gloves on the 3rd or 7th. On Friday (10th) and Saturday (11th) there were several times that I was hoping I wouldn’t get a bite so I wouldn’t have to deal with another fish until I could feel my hands again. Believe it or not the water is ice cold.[shocked]Once my wet hands were exposed to the wind they would get cold. [shocked]
5) Fishing pressure has increased. On Friday the 3rd the ice was about 3” thick and you needed at least a 10’ board to get on the ice. I was the only one fishing this area.[crazy]A few days later the edge ice improved and a lot of fisherman have been fishing this area even on weekdays. Most fishermen that fish this area are going to keep every fish they catch. American Falls is just too big of a Reservoir to be fished out even if there are 25 guys keeping a limit of fish every day. I could be wrong but IMO enough fish move in and out of the area from other parts of the reservoir to off set the few fish that fishermen have kept.
I do think the noise the fishermen are making on the ice may be affecting the number of bites I have been getting. The peak times for me on Saturday seemed to be from 12:30pm to 2:30pm (4 fish, 6? bites) and the first 30 minutes I was there (1 fish, 3 bites, but only 2-3 poles out). During these times I didn't have anyone fishing close to me. Most of the day it was 30 minutes to 1 hour between bites. After about 4:30 pm there was very little disturbance on the ice around me from other fishermen but I didn't get any more bites but the guys next to me did catch one around 5pm.
The one thing I can’t explain is the ratio of fish over 20”. On Friday the 3rd, four of the five fish I caught were about 20” or better. A couple of the fish that I caught a week earlier were much fatter. Since then all of the fish that I have put on the ice have been 16.5”-20” and most of them haven't been very fat. It may have been the moon but I'm guessing that the conditions have become more favorable in other areas so many of the bigger and fatter fish may have moved out.
I thought some of you might find it interesting to see what the F&G have planted in American Falls Reservoir the last few years so I copy and pasted this from my database. It is based on what the F&G have on their website.
American Falls is normally planted in the spring and the fall. Most of the rainbows the F&G planter are combinations of the troutlodge, hayspur or kamaloop variety. All of the rainbows the F&G have planted in American Falls are Triploids. If condtions continue to be favorable I think American Falls has the potential to kick out some 30" rainbows during the next couple years.[
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112,336 Catchable Rainbows were planted in 2005
558,864 Fingerling Rainbows were planted in 2005
88,529 Catchable Rainbows were planted in 2004
463,475 Fingerling Rainbows were planted in 2004
44,888 Catchable Rainbows were planted in 2003
22,827 Catchable Henry’s Lake Cutthroat were planted in 2003
43,143 Catchable Rainbows were planted in 2002
104,105 Fingerling Rainbows were planted in 2002
75,500 Rainbow Fry were planted in 2002
If you send me a PM I could send you a copy I have in Excel with more info about what the F&G has stocked in American Falls. You can also check out the F&G website to see what has been planted.
With all of that said I might fish the same spot again sometime before the ice comes off but I think the fishing will be better on the upper end of the reservoir. From what I saw Saturday it looked like the entire reservoir was frozen over. I will probably be one of the few fishermen that has ice fished the upper end of the reservoir in years. In past years I’ve spent much more time on the upper end of the reservoir than the lower end of the reservoir. Send me a PM if you would like some ideas of where to fish the upper end of the reservoir.
It looks like I wasted a couple hours typing this [crazy]. I guess it doesn't hurt to reflect back about success and failure. It helped me realize a few things that I would have not thought of. [
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] I didn't ice any fish over 20" but 5 of the fish I caught were over 18". I ended up loosing one nice one at the hole but they are always bigger when they get away.[mad]