Fishing was a little different this weekend. Strong winds, cold temps, and snow flurries were replaced by no wind, heat, and lots of sunshine! Morning water temps were around 55F, and by afternoon exceeded 60F.
Kokanee fishing was a little slower the both days we were out, but we still marked a lot of fish around Jarvies. I had some late rising fishermen in the boat with me, so I expect the fishing was better earlier in the morning. We still boated fish using Serpent spoons (rainbow, Carribean sunset, and Tequila sunrise) and Needlefish (pearl/red, and Flour. Green Hot Tiger), running between 15 and 40 ft. We were marking most of the fish between 15 and 30 ft, and had several hits/misses and a few more losses. Boat speed was 2-2.2mph.
Smallmouth fishing was hot! With the rising water temps, fish moved shallow and were slamming jerk baits (Husky Jerks), crank baits (Shad Raps), and jigs (grub on 3/8oz. jig head). They are really aggressive and it’s a great opportunity to get kids pumped about fishing. Once we hooked a fish, we made several other casts to the same area to pick-up a few more. We would cover a hundred yards or so of shoreline without a strike and then “bang” you would have 3 or 4 fish in just a short time. Overall the fish were in excellent shape, and we caught a few over 2lbs. We also picked up a few nice rainbows from 18-24 inches while casting for smallies. A few beds/nests are also starting to show-up around Mustang and Jarvies, about a week or two behind last year.
Hope it helps and enjoy, Ryno