Memorial Day Strawberry

[UT-Lund]

I launched at 6am under a heavy fog that stuck around until about noon. The morning was cold and slow. Not a single bite the first hour on the water. Around 8am the sun started to poke through the fog and the bite started. Had the best success with silver trout killers behind a silver dodger. Mostly slot sized cuts and a few small bows. We caught one real nice bow that I thought was cool, but my kids were hoping to see a tag and were disappointed. Guess we'll have to go back up next weekend :-) The wind picked up at about 12:30 and we called it a day.
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[flygoddess]

Oh wow, that was crazy thick fog. This was a view of the lake this morning around 7.
Three Green Tags were taken from shore this weekend while we were there.

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[MasterDaad]

We hit the Soldier Creek side, launching at about 6:30. The fishing was slow (we caught 6) before 8-ish. Then between 8 and 9 we caught 20 with several doubles and a triple.

The rest the morning netted a dozen more and we ended with a 38 count.

For us it was mostly bows in the 14-16in range. But we did land a three 18-19in bows, 3 browns, and about 1/3 were cuts.

We had the best luck early with rapalas and orange needle fish. Later in the day it was dodgers and squids for us as well.
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[Kent]

[quote MasterDaad]

... 3 browns ...

[/quote]

Are you sure?
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[up2nogood]

[quote MasterDaad]We hit the Soldier Creek side, launching at about 6:30. The fishing was slow (we caught 6) before 8-ish. Then between 8 and 9 we caught 20 with several doubles and a triple.

The rest the morning netted a dozen more and we ended with a 38 count.

For us it was mostly bows in the 14-16in range. But we did land a three 18-19in bows, 3 browns, and about 1/3 were cuts.

We had the best luck early with rapalas and orange needle fish. Later in the day it was dodgers and squids for us as well.[/quote]


Sounds like the fishing has improved up there, pretty slow last week, thinking the lake was turning over .
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[Flyfishinglover]

[crazy] Never seen or caught a brown ever out of that lake. I'd love to see a picture of the brown with the view of the reservoir from masterdaad for sure.
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[dubob]

[quote Flyfishinglover][crazy] Never seen or caught a brown ever out of that lake. I'd love to see a picture of the brown with the view of the reservoir from masterdaad for sure.[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]So from the emoticon and the words, can we assume you're calling MD a liar? Just wanted to be sure about what you were saying.[/size][size 3] And before you jump me for giving Kent some slack, he was just asking for verification with a simple question. [/size][/#800000][/font] []
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[flygoddess]

Nothing surprises me anymore. Did you get any pictures of those brown? I have never seen one out of SC. But, again, anything is possible.
We were there from Fri. Till Mon. Morning. Catching was steady between storms. My creation killed, again.
That and Travelocity[]

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[MasterDaad]

Nope, no pictures. They were quickly released.

I'd never caught Browns at Strawberry either and I was not sure of the ID... but they were definitely not like the cutts or bows I'm used to catching. My dad has been fishing there for 50 years and he said back in the day they'd catch more than a few.

He was sure that's what they were. If someone has a problem with it, argue with him.
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[MasterDaad]

The fish were a larger version (15"-ish) of the fish pictured at the beginning of this thread.

http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...ost=803849

This is exactly what they looked like -- particularly the spot shape and pattern.

Which is why I went with the "brown" determination.

Maybe they were CuttBowBrowns.

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[]
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[kapitlist]

Haha, this is comical, in my first post to BFT kentofnsl and I discussed browns in The Berry/SC, I received a similar response when I said that there were browns there, perhaps some are just being supercilious. When i realized his position within the community I was reassured how unacquainted some experienced fisherman really are. Since then, I have eluded to observing rather than participating. Some folks really should absorb the many apothegms that illustrate this very scenario.
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[Kent]

I have no doubt there are a few browns in Strawberry, although, I have never had the pleasure of catching one, nor have I seen anyone else catch one (and this is after seeing a few thousand fish caught at Strawberry, during the last few years). With catching and seeing that many fish caught out of Strawberry I have my doubts that someone caught 3 of them in one day, but hey almost anything is possible.
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[MasterDaad]

I don't mind the questions... seriously.

Over the past four years I've had 1500 fish go in and out of my boat and toon at Strawberry.

I had not seen a "Brown" since Saturday either.

Then again I had not caught a brown up at Deer Creek in several years and this spring we caught a few there -- all in one day.
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[Kent]

That is great news. It would be great to add a few browns to the mix up there. Now if they would also plant some lake trout. Notice I said plant, not moved by bucket biologists.
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[flygoddess]

Kent, I feel the same as you. I am amazed that out of these posts of Browns in Strawberry, not a single picture[] If nothing else but to shove it in doubting minds faces[laugh]
I know the first time I caught a Koke many years ago up there and I had no idea what it was, I took all sorts of pictures[]

Hey there were doubting minds on the Tiger Trout being in there.
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[MasterDaad]

Had I known it was such a topic of controversy I would have snapped a photo. []

My father made it sound like they were once a very common catch on the Berry and we probably finally hit a day they were biting.

It's also not uncommon for our techniques not to get Browns in waters I know they frequent. For example, I've also caught 800+ fish at Scofield over the past several years. Not a single Brown. But I know people do catch them there.

The fish weren't anything special 14-15", and we were catching like crazy, so I didn't bother with the camera.

If we catch another like it, I will snap a pic.
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[Kent]

I just got a reply from Alan Ward, the Project Leader for Strawberry, in response to me asking him if he had seen any browns come out of Strawberry:

"Not many. In the 14 years I have been here I have seen one about 12 years ago, and had one other picture of a brown through the ice (I can only assume it was caught here). Probably escapees from the hatchery in years past. Don't think we have any browns in the hatcheries we currently get fish from in recent years. Doubt that we would want to actively promote or stock browns in Strawberry due to negative interactions with cutthroat, particularly with spawning activity in the streams. Browns like streams, and they push out the cutthroat. I have had many unverifiable reports of browns being caught that often end up being male cutthroat in spawning colors (which is often a very brown shading). Sounds like someone reported catching one? Take care."
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[duckdog1us]

I to have never hooked into a brown in the berry more then a few of these
[inline "10327211_883733771653313_444924664_n[2].jpg"]and even a ton for these we got these Monday


[inline "10417025_893982270628463_983680289_n[1].jpg"] even a small mouth years ago but never a brown[inline "962959_657883527571673_329951340_n[1].jpg"]
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[fishman]

I caught 1 and only 1 brown on the sc side at iceoff 10 or more years ago. I know there was 1 in there at least that day. I released it and dont have pics.
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[flygoddess]

We caught way too many of those Middle picture species this last weekend.
People may want to let the bigger guys go to help correct this. Just a thought.
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