Today I went for an afternoon fish on Ten Mile and the lake did not disappoint. My lilacs are almost completely bloomed compared just over a week ago when they started. I’m noticing that there seems to be a correlation between when my lilacs bloom to Ten Mile Lake water clarity and kokanee production. I had an idea of where to start from our evening fish last night and the kokanee did not go far from where they were.
I chose to put two metal blades up against each other to see if either blade would outperform the other. The results, both the Gibbs bling blade and Paulina Peak Tackle blade produced equally.
When I arrived at the lake, the wind had picked up and the waves were flowing north west. I chose to use my electric motor to help keep the boat straight and keep it trolling at a slower speed. This “drifting with the wind” technique has been one of my favorite ways to fish in the wind. The process is painless and you do not have to fight to keep the boat straight when trolling or fighting fish. Today I even noticed a recognizable difference in speed variation. The storm that was pushing thru to the left of me (and not hitting the lake) was bringing with it gusts of wind. This was a “perfect storm” to help the kokanee fishing. It was actually relaxing to drift with the waves and I only almost fell over once (this has reminded me that I want to do a practice self rescue one day to learn how I would get back in my boat if I ever fell overboard).
Today was also a great example of why I always carry at least 2 spare release clips on my boat. I broke a release cable and so I simply replaced it and kept fishing.
I also played with speed variation today to see if I could get bit over 2mph. I had one hit at 2.5mph and another hit at 2.12mph. Now, the real question is, “does a higher speed reduce landing ratios?”
When I arrived home, I gutted my kokanee as usual. I like to “dissect” them at home so I can learn about what the food they are eating looks like and to learn if they are eating anything else in the lake other than zooplankton. These kokanee had been feeding on mainly zooplankton, but I noticed one chironomid in one so I separated it from the other stomach contents. This thing was still moving too. I then noticed another kokanee had eaten 4 chironomids. Next, I would see that most of them had what looked like some sort of worms in their stomach contents. I’m thinking these are the glass worms that some people talk about trout eating?
All in all, today was a great day on the water. I was fishing by 16:00 and had my limit by 17:30. What more could I ask for? Maybe next time, I’ll have a family member or two join me so that i can stay fishing a little longer and enjoy the great Outdoors that will forever have a special place in my heart.