5/4-5/5 Niagara Bar Shake-Down Trip

[Finders Keepers]

After pulling an all-nighter getting all the gear back on the Jimmy Rigger (after being totally stripped for the wrap), we splashed down around 6:30 in Wilson. We headed west out of the chute and set-down about halfway to the Red Can. Before we could get a wire line in the water we were hooked into our first king of the year! Tipped the scales to 17 lbs. We would go on to have a steady bite, but nothing hot and heavy for us. We were running a mix of spin docs/flies, echips/flies, stinger spoons, and new Savage Gear stickbaits. Our spread consisted of two riggers, two wires, a short copper, and a 5-color leadcore. We worked from 80 to 160 fow with our spread from the surface down to 100'. Took fish at most depths with 50-60 ft being best. Only boards to take fish were echips, no spin doc hits. Lures that produced included:

white/green dot echip with hypnotist fly

blue dolphin echip with aqua hammer fly

nuclear green echip with crazy b*%ch fly

wonderbread echip with blue glow hammer fly

UV tuxedo Stinger spoons (all sizes)

UV Dolphin Stinger spoon

UV Gator Stinger spoon

Savage Gear Jointed Prey stickbaits

 

Sunday we started east of Wilson for the first hour from 60 fow out to 220 fow with a very poor screen, so we picked up and headed back to just west of the Red Can and set-down outside of the pack of boats over 220 fow. There were a few slicks out there where we could see schools of fish feeding on huge schools of minnows as they broke the surface. So, no sooner had we put out the Savage Gear stickbaits, they got nailed over and over again! Mostly steelhead with a few kings mixed in. We tied into a large steelhead on the 350 ft wire but the hook pulled free about halfway back! That was our LOC fish for the weekend, but that's the way fishing goes sometimes! After a couple hours of playing with the steelhead, a huge freighter came through and scattered everything, so we decided to go in closer and target the bar with the pack to see if the king bite was on yet. We marked a ton, but only got one king and one laker to go before we had to call it quits and head back. Pretty much the same lures produced, with the Savage Gear stickbaits and Stinger UV Tuxedos doing most the damage with the steelhead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

With one more round of installs this week (rest of the sound system and new Humminbird FF), our ride will finally be complete and ready for the season. Good luck to everyone fishing the LOC this week - what a great week to be on the water!! See everyone fishing the WHI this weekend!!

 

 

[kylew]

Nice report! Those savage gear stick baits are sweet!

[KIGI]

Only my second year salmon fishing out of olcott. I use spin doctors but I'm not sure what you mean by echip. I looked at their website and I'm guessing you're referring to a flasher but which model do you use? Thanks.

[Finders Keepers]

Yes, they are flashers. Here are some of them from Stinger: http://www.mistinger.com/flashers

[KIGI]

Thanks! Thats what I thought, but wanted to make sure. I'm going to order a few of the 8" models and try them this spring.

[Finders Keepers]

The Green Bikini Dots, Blue Dolphin, and Carmel Dolphin were some of our best producers last year...