Quick trip for trout, Wheatley Lake, 4/4

[ictalurus]

Kevin and I hit Wheatley Lake Wednesday afternoon to see if we could scare up any of the recently stocked trout and maybe some crappie. I picked up a small crappie right off the bat, which is almost as bad (as it turns out) as catching a fish on your first cast. It hit my firetiger Rapala as I reeled it over a submerged brush pile:



I cruised up to the spot where I started catching them last time we hit the lake. Trout were jumping everywhere. I cast the Rapala, various spinners, and a Tiny Torpedo, but only managed to pick up two trout. Here's the biggest:



Both trout hit the Rapala. I had two blow-ups on the Torpedo, but both were short strikes. I think it was a bass that struck at it because I picked up a little bass in the same spot on a white Rooster Tail.

I trolled the Rapala a bit and missed several hits. I picked up a few more small bass casting into brush piles and missed a couple strikes on a curly tail grub I jigged over the piles. There were lots of fish around, but they seemed reluctant to commit. There was a hatch of some sort going on, midges, I think, and the fish were more interested in them than anything we had to offer. I wish I brought a fly rod because I think I could've cleaned up.

Kevin had similar luck, but I'm not sure what he caught his fish on. My fish finder wasn't working, and I wish I could've seen what was going on under my yak. I've really enjoyed the freshwater fishing I've done this year, and this trip was no exception.

[kevinfry]

I had the misfortune of catching a trout on my second cast. Which of course meant long dry run after that! an hour of senseless casting at least!

Did get a big bluegill to hit my roostertail and trolled up a nice crappie that I gladly ate when i got home. Funny but all the crappie I have caught at Wheatly have been caught trolling---weird.

Trout were keyed on a hatch of some sort and picky eaters Wednesday.

Fun. Beautiful. Ditto Bill's feelings about freshwater season.

[jsnyd86]

awesome! a few years ago I fished from shore there(before the yak days). I hit it a little late in the season though. That little lake kicked my ass. I even rented a boat a few times. I never caught anything there besides a fry on the north side. Im glad you caught a few there. I've been plotting my revenge, but dont think Ill get there anytime soon. nice trout!

[msjcl]

Thanks for sharing. Nice fish! Going to put Wheatley Lake on my short list. Near La Plata right?

Kevin and I hit Wheatley Lake Wednesday afternoon to see if we could scare up any of the recently stocked trout and maybe some crappie. I picked up a small crappie right off the bat, which is almost as bad (as it turns out) as catching a fish on your first cast. It hit my firetiger Rapala as I reeled it over a submerged brush pile:



I cruised up to the spot where I started catching them last time we hit the lake. Trout were jumping everywhere. I cast the Rapala, various spinners, and a Tiny Torpedo, but only managed to pick up two trout. Here's the biggest:



Both trout hit the Rapala. I had two blow-ups on the Torpedo, but both were short strikes. I think it was a bass that struck at it because I picked up a little bass in the same spot on a white Rooster Tail.

I trolled the Rapala a bit and missed several hits. I picked up a few more small bass casting into brush piles and missed a couple strikes on a curly tail grub I jigged over the piles. There were lots of fish around, but they seemed reluctant to commit. There was a hatch of some sort going on, midges, I think, and the fish were more interested in them than anything we had to offer. I wish I brought a fly rod because I think I could've cleaned up.

Kevin had similar luck, but I'm not sure what he caught his fish on. My fish finder wasn't working, and I wish I could've seen what was going on under my yak. I've really enjoyed the freshwater fishing I've done this year, and this trip was no exception.

[Shady]

I trout fished in a local stream that was stocked this week with rainbows and browns on tuesday and yesterday after work and witnessed the exact same thing. There was some sort of hatch going on and most of the trout were more interested in taking little bugs off the surface than what I had to offer. I was still able to catch three rainbows on tuesday and two rainbows and two browns yesterday. I had the most luck on pink berkley trout worms, but I dont know how those would be in a lake.

Great work on getting a few fish to bite on the lake!