BreakingBass

Java - thanks for the tip on Windfinder. I have not used that before and it has a more refined wind speed than the NOAA-NWS Marine forecast I usually use (which has <10, 5-10 mph, etc. ratings). Of course, a forecast is a guess, no matter who is giving it, but nice to have another tool. I always look at the Forest Lawn Beach webcam via WeatherBug and I see that is linked on the Windfinder site for Webster.

Hey Chinook, I too am a new meat rig user as of a month ago. I also fish solo most of the time with 2 downriggers running a spin doctor/fly on one and a spin doctor/meat rig on the other. I sometimes put a dipsey with a spoon out there too if the conditions are not too bad. I find that the meat rig takes hits 2:1 over anything else I have out at the time. All my meat rigs are A-Tom-Mik and have the UV glow on them. I use Familiar Bite herring cut bait strips and they sure seem to last on the line. Even after taking a fish they can be reused sometimes. A long leader on the meat rig on a 8.5' rigger rod can be a problem when landing a fish alone, so I've shortened the leaders to about 48". It helps me a little when trying to handle the net and rod at the same time. I run the meat rig 18-20' back from the DR weight. I think one of the challenges in fishing solo is that you have less "flash" in the water than a boat with 2 or 3 people. I know you can load up with sliders, etc. but my goal is to not lose the fish I hook, and too much hardware to deal with when a fish is hooked is not good for me. Good luck with the meat rigs this season. I really enjoy fishing with them.

Thanks guys. It seems that 150-200 fow range has been decent lately N or NE of I-Bay.

My brother came up from Jamestown to squeeze some fishing in between forecasted rain this week. Went out NE of I-Bay late afternoon on Sunday the 16th from 4:30 to 8 PM. Nice water conditions and temp was at 80'. Trolled 150 to 360 fow for a little over 3 hours covering about 11 miles and marked 4 fish the entire time. Never moved a rod. The smoke was moving back in and the lake looked eerie on the ride back to the bay. Monday morning the 17th the lake was not ideal with 2' chop and some big rollers. Temp was 75' down and we covered 180 to 260 fow, not wanting to get too far out because the ride back in wouldn't be fun. Didn't hit anything until the troll back toward the bay around 10:30 when the area directly N of the bay outlet was productive. Took 2 nice Kings 70'/143' and 80'/150', 9.6 and 15.4 lbs, on a meat rig and SD/fly. We had 2 other knock-offs in the same area, making 4 round trips all together. Marked many more fish in the morning than in the previous afternoon. Maybe the storm on Sunday AM pushed them out deep. Glad to see him be able to boat a couple and go home with some fish.

Beautiful fish Tip-Sea! I had a similar experience out of I-Bay yesterday, fishing solo. Large king, diving deep then coming back up, around the boat then under the boat. Managed to get it along side and when I reached for the net - POP! - it was gone. I look down and the hook from the meat head is hanging on the downrigger ball. You fared much better than me.

Took a short trip this morning just NE of I-Bay from 120 to 250 fow. The waves were barely tolerable on the northern troll out and not tolerable on the return trip south, back to the bay. Managed one small Atlantic 70' over 220' on a Dreamweaver magnum monkeypuke spoon. Had knockoff around 200' on the same spoon. Was surprised anything hit today, and the fish I did catch was hooked in the gill, most likely from the bouncing of the lure. The 3' waves and westerly wind made a 4.5 lb fish feel like 15 lbs when reeling it in. Happy when I got back to the dock.

HB2, you get the hard core trophy for today!!

Fished from 170 to 300 fow, marked fish mainly in the 180 to 220 area. Caught 2 kings 7 and 8 lbs and a small Steelhead that was about 5 lbs. Kings were taken 65/190 and 55/220, and the Steelhead at 65/170. Kings on FF and the Steelie on a light green/gold mag UV spoon. Temp was at 75' in the 180 range and 65' at the 300' range.

Thanks for the reports guys.

That's a nice fish!

Trolled 130 to 250 fow north of Webster Park and worked my way back west toward the bay. Because the forecast had rain and possible thunderstorms after 10:00 I didn't want to get too far out. The weather (and forecast) improved through the morning and I stayed out for 3.5 hours. I didn't mark more than a dozen fish the whole time, most of them in the 150-180' range. Temp was shallow at 50' down. Used a meat rig for the first time and it did get 2 good hits, but no takers for the day. I was using a Familiar Bite herring strip and was surprised that the meat stayed in the meat head even after getting chomped on twice. Does anyone have a cheaper alternative to those store bought meat strips? They're kinda pricey.

Thanks for the report Bad. Things are gradually looking better for I-Bay. The inside bait and water > 200' producing are consistent with what I saw on my last outing. You had a good day.

You know how to have a birthday party.

Those pics show what it's all about. Nice!

I had some decent luck myself out there yesterday on a short trip. Went 3 for 3 on small kings, 2 at 240 fow and 1 at 130. All 70' down and all on a hulk UV spin doctor with green/black fly. Fish were 8-10 lbs and full of fire when they hit. The one at 130 fow hit just when I was trolling back toward I-Bay to hang it up for the morning. I decided to troll back and pull the lines at 130' and as I went back to the downrigger to pull the line it hit. A nice surprise. Hope all had a nice Father's Day.

That's a beautiful king! Maybe you guys hit the beginning of the start of the action near I-Bay. Let's hope so.

Nice!