Yankee's Labor Day Weekend

[Yankee Troller]

We were finally able to get out on the water after watching the wind blow for 2 days straight. I knew there were some fish on the wall at the Oak especially since the rain on Saturday night was COLD. I told my brother to have the customers on the boat by 5:30. Well, they show up close to 6am and off we went.

I doubted a few passes at the wall because I watched a ton of boats give it a shot, but we were there, and we were rigged for it, so we said what the heck. We ran a simple 3 rod spread. Loaded up with a #136 back 100’, a #158 back 125’, and a #149 down the chute back 75’. All size 4’s by the way. We trolled out of the river with lines set and took a turn left out of the West side of the mouth. We trolled a ¼ mile West and turned to shoot down the front wall. As we were ending our first pass of the wall heading East I went over to the #158 and slid it back to 125’ from 100’. As I was closing the clicker I hear the splash of a fish and the zing from our Daiwa Salist on the opposite side of the boat. I look over to see a fish splashing and our rod doubled over. I run over and grab it and we are into our first fish of the day. I quickly cleared the other lines and we put the boat into neutral. This fish didn’t take much line, but he just wouldn’t come in. Finally we got him close to the back of the boat, and I saw the size of it. I jacked the guys up about it, and we spent the next minute trying to position him into the net. Finally the fish hit the deck of the boat and we all jumped and hollered as this beast lay there flopping around. Both hooks in our #136 Lyman were torn to shreds. The boney mouths on these Fall stagers are brutal to hooks! I go to put it on the scale, and it’s broke! At the end of the day we would weigh the fish at the dock to be a tad less than 29lbs.

We made a few more passes and then decided that fish might have been a gift, so we picked rods and headed for the staging grounds. We set down in 100’ and the fish finder loaded up with fish just lying in the mud. Out came the 20lb weights and some paddle/fly combos. We were surprised to see 65 degree water all the way down to 130’. Our first rip would come over 130’ on a wire set on a 1 out 350’. That fish took a few good runs, but eventually found its way back to the mud. When our metallic purple Deeper Diver pulling a White Smart Fish/A-TOM-MIK UV Dolphin got back to the boat I could see where the fish turned the two hooks against each other to get back to freedom. At this point we were 1 for 2, and in talking with many boats that was GOOD! It was just a tough day out there for EVERYONE!

We trolled around for a little bit and finally slid into 100’ of water for the last few hours of the trip. AS I adjusted everything for this depth the screen just kept showing us the Salmon stuck in the mud. Not long into our 100’ track the wire on the other side of the boat starts to throb. This fish was hooked for the same amount of time as the previous one, and we were back to wondering just how big it could have been. This one took a Froggy glow Deep Diver pulling a Wonderbread Smart Fish/A-TOM-MIK Shredded Hammer fly back 300’ on a 1 setting. That would be the last fish of the day for us.

We pulled rods at 2pm, and headed back to the wall for a couple of passes. We didn’t hook up with anything, but we saw a few splashes around. The fish are there, but Mother Nature really messed the water up this weekend. If we can get any stable weather the fishing should get real good in the next few weeks.

[Priority1]

Rich, Thanks for the report. A day or two of stable weather will help.

[Adam Bomb]

Great report and a damned nice fish!

[GLF]

Nice looking feesh.

[Yankee Troller]

Thanks guys! Sorry about the blood! I tried to wash it away, but it was pouring out. Not a fan of blood shots, but it's all I had. About one more weekend of trolling for us. Sad to see it go away.

[JWheeler]

That's a brute by my standards Rich! Nice job.

[Yankee Troller]

That fish is a true "BRUTE," however I want to break that 30lb mark. We have had 2 -29's and 2 - 27's this year, but nothing over 30. Call me greedy, but we are used to at least one over 30 every year :-(

[A-Fishy-Anado]

Nice Rich....you are getting greedy! This year is the first in a while i didn't break 20#

[Yankee Troller]

I think the 29lb'r back in May jinx'd us!

[Side JOB]

Thats a great looking fish!!!\

[Just Hook'n]

That is a BEAST. Nice fish.

One for the wall (at least on this side of the mitten it would be).