STUMP LAKE
fishing reports
Stump Lake is producing kokanee in the one to two pound range as well as some big rainbow trout. Read more about Stump Lake
ICE UPDATE
January 12, 2025
The south end has sealed up but it is still not safe to walk on, while the majority of the lake remains open water. The forecasts for the next two weeks have been fairly different depending on which weather site you are looking at. I am hoping that AccuWeather is the most accurate because they are predicting that it will get fairly cold over the next two weeks.
REPORTS FROM READERS
October 23, 2024
I met Don and Laurie out on the water when I was at Stump Lake on the 23rd. Glad to see you hooked into some beauties- thank you for sharing your fishing report!
Don and Laurie write: "Just read your fishing report for Oct 23, we were the 2 old guys you bumped into at the end of day. Really appreciate the lures, bait and tips - worked well! We ended up landing 4 nice ones just under 2 lbs, lost one and released one. Rainbow was just shy of 3 lbs. We fished where you mentioned and they were a bit tough to see on the finder, so I tried using the side-scan mode and worked much better (maybe due to them not holding too deep). Chilly start to the day but nice to get some afternoon sun and flat water! Appreciate all the great info on your site and your open promotion of the sport. I have purchased some gear off your site before, prices are very good and the gear is well targeted for this area."
Thanks for the report, Don and Laurie! I'm always happy to help a fellow fisher out on the water. Hope you enjoy those nice chrome fish.
October 23, 2024
Today was the final outing for the boat before winter storage. Fortunately, Stump Lake was calm, but it was also quite chilly—I had to remove some ice from the back of the boat before heading out. I arrived around 9:30 a.m. and set off north from the highway launch to a spot where I had success earlier this month.
I equipped my rods with a chrome slim swing tail dodger and a gold wiggle hoochie on the first rod, and a pink holo bendable dodger with a pink wiggle hoochie on the second.
When I arrived at my target location, I began marking fish in the 15 to 25 foot range. I put my gear down to 20 feet with a 75 foot setback and set the bow mount to 1.2 mph. It was a little slow to begin with but finally a nice kokanee took the gold wiggle hoochie. I reset my line and reeled in the second rod to swap out the pink wiggle hoochie for a pink Chrome's single spinner tipped with pink scented shoepeg and Berkley's synthetic maggots.
Shortly after getting the spinner down it enticed kokanee number two! I then changed out the gold wiggle hoochie for a pink Chrome's double spinner. Once I was running spinners with bait the action picked up! Over the next hour I caught four more kokanee and got a few more bites on the spinners. I was able to release one of them, a small 7 incher.
While on the water, I chatted with a couple fellow kokanee anglers who hadn’t had any luck yet. I hooked them up with a couple Chrome’s single spinners and some shoepeg corn. I hope you guys managed to catch some!
Throughout the morning I tried a few different depths and trolling speeds. Twenty feet deep at 1.2 mph seemed best. When I was loading up my boat I casted some floating power bait in so that it was 2.5 feet off the bottom and put the rod into a shore holder. Twice I had to run over to the rod while I was packing up. I landed two nice rainbows, one about 3.5 pounds and the other 4.5 pounds! It was a great way to end the day!
the Strategy
rod one: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink single spinner
rod two: A pink holo bendable dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink double spinner
The bait: pink scented shoe peg and pink Berkley sythetic maggots
THE CATCH
It was all about the Chrome's pink spinners today and shoepeg corn.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 2
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
October 3, 2024
Finally! After a long break from kokanee fishing due to a hand injury, I finally felt recovered enough to get back out on the water. How I've missed it!
I had a hunch that the fishing would still be solid for some chrome kokanee at Stump Lake, especially since most of the adult fish there are triploids—and I was right!
When I arrived I made my way directly from the highway launch and began scanning for signs of fish on the Garmin. After five minutes without a single mark, I decided to venture out to a spot where I’ve been landing plenty of kokanee this year.
I began marking the occasional fish at around 20 feet. I trolled in a northward direction, equipping my rods with slim swing tail dodgers—one with an orange wiggle hoochie and the other with a pink wiggle hoochie. I set the pink hoochie to 22 feet and the orange to 5 feet, hoping that the sparse marks were simply due to the fish being near the surface. I got my first bite on the pink wiggle hoochie about 15 minutes later, but it was just that—a bite.
It was pretty slow going and nothing was happing on the surface rod so I put it down to 20 feet as well. I had trolled a fair way down the lake when I finally started marking more fish in the 20 to 30 foot range. Shortly after marking the fish I caught a nice kokanee on the orange wiggle hoochie. I decided to stay in this general area, but I was only marking lots of fish and not landing any.
I switched out the pink wiggle hoochie for a gold one, which proved to be a smart move. Just five minutes after sending it down, I caught another beautiful kokanee, followed closely by a nice rainbow!
Since the gold hoochie was working so well, I switched out the orange hoochie on my second rod for a gold one. As I was putting the line out I hooked another kokanee on the first rod. With both rods now running gold wiggle hoochies, the action picked up considerably. I kept the rods at 22 feet and quickly filled my limit of kokanee, also catching and releasing three more rainbows along the way.
One of the kokanees I caught today had a very yellow tinted belly and yellow fins, as seen in the photo gallery. I’ve never seen one like that before. If you have any insights on why this might be, send me a message!
It seemed like the fish were concentrated in a relatively small area today. The spot where I was catching them can be found in the photo gallery. I was using a 75-foot setback and trolling at speeds between 1.2 and 1.4 MPH
the Strategy
rod one: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's gold wiggle hoochie
rod two: Same as rod one
THE CATCH
Another great day for the gold wiggle hoochie!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 4
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
August 20, 2024
I have been looking forward to getting back out on Stump Lake, and today a friend was able to join me!
We got a bit of a late start but we were determined to find some kokanee anyways. When we arrived the first thing I noticed was that the spot that had been producing for me had the most boats close to it, and the water clarity was not as good as my last time out.
We first scanned an area that had produced for me in the past but there were very few marks, so we headed over to the same spot I was catching last time. We were marking quite a few fish in the 30 to 45 foot range. After a quick tutorial on the electric downrigger my friend got his line down to 35 feet using a custom bendable dodger and a pink wiggle hoochie. I geared up with a slim swing tail dodger and an orange wiggle hoochie.
It didn't take too long to get our first kokanee on the orange wiggle hoochie, a small 10 inch kokanee. I was unable to release this fish so it went into the cooler on ice. The second fish (a better-sized fish) also came in on my orange wiggle hoochie. My friend, not to be outdone, changed to an orange wiggle hoochie and over the next 30 minutes he put two much bigger kokanee in the boat. The fishing was pretty steady from about 9:45 a.m. until 10:45 a.m., and then there was a long lull in the action. I tried a gold wiggle hoochie but that didn't seem to work. I then switched a Chrome's double spinner with shoepeg and managed to bring in a kokanee at around 11:45, and my friend got another good one on the orange hoochie. I had one more on the hook that I lost by the boat which was good because it was another 10 incher. At 12:30 p.m. we pulled up the gear and headed for home.
Today we were using 15 to 25 foot setbacks and fishing around 35 feet in the same spot I had so much success last time (see the previous report). The usual 1.2 to 1.4 MPH seemed to work well. We also had a handful of bites between catches.
It was a good day! A total of six kokanee caught between the two of us, a few lost and a few bites in 2 hours and 45 minutes. The orange wiggle hoochie was getting it done again today.
the Strategy
rod one: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's orange wiggle hoochie
rod two: A 4.5 inch bendable dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink wiggle hoochie
THE CATCH
Another great day for the orange wiggle hoochie!
kokanee: 6
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
August 6, 2024
The kokanee fishing at Stump Lake has been nothing short of awesome as of late and today was no different.
I arrived at Stump Lake at around 8:30 a.m. and headed over a little north of the highway launch. I was just south of where I was my last time out.
When I turned the fish finder on there were big schools right below me at about 45 feet. My first rod was set up with a 4.5 inch Chromes bendable dodger with an orange wiggle hoochie, and the other rod with a custom slim swing tail dodger and a pink wiggle hoochie. (See gear in the photo gallery.)
I put the gear down to 45 feet and was trolling by about 9 a.m. It was only a matter of minutes before I got into the first kokanee of the day on the orange wiggle hoochie. Shortly after resetting, the orange wiggle hoochie caught kokanee number 2. While I was reeling it in the pink wiggle hoochie also got a hit.
As I trolled north the marks seemed to become less so I doubled back. I changed out the pink wiggle hoochie for a pink and purple hoochie. Almost immediately after getting down to 45 feet I got a bite on the pink and purple, followed by a few more. Something didn't seem right- there were too many small bites without getting the fish hooked. I reeled it up and sure enough, a tiny 5 inch kokanee was on the end. Luckily I was able to set it free while keeping it in the water and it took off quickly. I put the pink and purple wiggle hoochie back down and again was getting tiny, barely noticeable tugs every so often. I reeled it in again and this time I had a tiny 5 inch rainbow trout on the end. I was able to release it as well without taking it out of the water. I took the pink and purple hoochie off because it seemed to attract the tiny fish and put the pink wiggle hoochie back on.
As I neared the location where I had started fishing I got kokanee number 3 on the pink wiggle hoochie and before I could get the gear back down kokanee number 4 took the orange wiggle hoochie. With how busy it was, I decided I would run only one rod for my limit fish. I put away the orange hoochie and ran just the pink one. It didn't take too long to finish up the limit but not before losing a nice one by the boat. All five kokanee were caught in less than an hour!
All the action today was from 40 to 50 feet deep, and a slow troll worked best. Many times the inside rod was getting action while turning. I was fishing just south of where I fished last time and a little closer to the middle. Some of the fish in the lake are just starting to show their spawning colours, but all the ones I caught today were chrome. It may have been a coincidence, but the orange wiggle hoochie caught the three biggest fish while the pink caught the 4th and 5th largest and the pink and purple caught those two tiny little fish that I released.
the Strategy
rod one: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink wiggle hoochie
rod two: A 4.5 inch bendable dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's orange wiggle hoochie
THE CATCH
A quick limit today and released two tiny 5 inchers.
kokanee: 6
rainbows: 1
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
July 23, 2024
I found myself with another day off work today and decided to make the best of it! I was finally able to co-ordinate with a friend who I have been trying to take fishing for some time now.
We arrived at Stump Lake at about 7:40 a.m. and were at the fishing grounds right around 8 a.m.
The fishing ground that we chose was the same place I had done well my last time out. See the overhead picture of Stump Lake below to see the precise location (circled in green) where we were marking lots of fish and catching lots too!
I had my rods rigged up with Chrome's slim swing tail custom dodgers with 14 inches of leader to pink wiggle hoochies (set-ups can be seen in the photo gallery). These hoochies were on fire!
We got into our first kokanee of the day within minutes, at about 40 feet deep. It was smaller than the ones I had caught previously at Stump, and proved be the smallest of the day, but still a nice clean 1lb kokanee. Moments later we caught another, this time much bigger.
We trolled a little ways north but it proved to be a little slower out that direction, and we went 30 minutes with only one bite. As we returned to our starting location we got right back into them, pulling two more kokanee into the boat one right after the other with no time to reset rods in between. We stayed close to this area and the rods just kept going off! By 9:50 a.m. we had our 10 kokanee in the boat! We landed 10 of 11 fish that we had on, one of the better landing ratios I have had!
We were marking lots of fish from 30 to 50 feet today. We trolled from 1.2 to 1.5 MPH and got hits at all speeds. Our depth was 35 to 45 feet with most of the fish hitting at 45 feet, even though we were seeing more marks at 35 feet. The fish size ranged from 1 pound to 2.6 pounds.
Many anglers find the kokanee out of Stump Lake to be muddy tasting this time of year. I found they tasted amazing and were some of the most mild tasting kokanee I have caught this year.
the Strategy
rod one: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink wiggle hoochie
rod two: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink wiggle hoochie
THE CATCH
Two limits in 1hour and 50 minutes! What a great day!
kokanee: 10
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
July 19, 2024
I got home from work in the early a.m. and my boat looked so lonely in the driveway I figured I'd better just hook it up and head out fishing. It doesn't take much to twist my rubber arm.
I arrived at Stump Lake at 8 a.m. and there were 8 boats out in the deepest part of the lake in front of the highway launch. I watched them as I was getting the boat unloaded but wasn't seeing anyone go for their net.
I also saw two boats a little to the north where I had done well last time I was out, but I opted for the less busy area and was rewarded!
I first went out towards the busier area just to scan the water for marks. There were a few marks at 25 feet but not many. I then headed north to the location I wanted to fish. Here there were far more fish marking. Some at 25 to 30 feet, but most were at 45 to 50 feet.
I set up with my slim swing tail dodgers and wiggle hoochies- one gold and one pink.
I sent the gear down to 45 feet and within seconds I got a bite on the pink wiggle hoochie. A short while later I landed a nice kokanee and lost another, both on the pink wiggle hoochie. I decided it was time to change up the gold hoochie and put on a pink Chrome's double spinner tipped with scented shoepeg corn. I managed to get one bite on it, but not before catching another on the pink wiggle hoochie along with two more bites. The next thing I tried was a pink and purple spinner hoochie but with no success. Finally I broke down and geared up both rods with pink wiggle hoochies. The next 45 minutes were busy: I caught three and lost three. A couple of times I was netting a fish as the other rod was bouncing.
I trolled at 1.2 mph, and because I was fishing fairly deep (45 to 50 feet) I used a short 25 foot set back. All in all I caught my limit of five fish, lost four others, and had a few bites all on the pink wiggle hoochie, with the exception of one bite that came on the double spinner with shoepeg. The gold wiggle hoochie has been working so well for me recently but not today! I fished kokanee from 8:30 a.m. to 10: 30 a.m. and once my limit of kokanee was filled I tried jigging chironomids in 30 feet of water for rainbows. They chased it lots, but I only managed one small one along with two bites.
the Strategy
rod one: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink wiggle hoochie
rod two: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's gold wiggle hoochie
THE CATCH
Pink wiggle hoochies getting it done. 5 laned, 4 lost and a few bites.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 1
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
July 3, 2024
I arrived at Stump Lake just before 10 a.m. and headed straight out from the highway boat launch.
After going to Monte Lake yesterday I wanted to start off with jigging today. I sent down the chironomid gear as I was setting up the downriggers. I could get the kokanee to chase the gear from 35 feet up to around 20 feet but I couldn't get them to bite.
I switched to the pink wiggle hoochie and Chrome's double spinner tipped with scented shoepeg corn. Both were paired with Chrome's custom 4.5 inch bendable dodgers. I trolled in front of the boat launch for about an hour where I was marking fish at depths of 25 and 45 feet. I couldn't seem to get a bite! I then cruised over just north of the campground on the east side of the lake. Here I marked more fish than I had been near the boat launch. Most of the marks were at 25 feet with the odd mark near the bottom. I put my gear down to 25 feet and began trolling. It didn't take very long for the double Chrome's spinner to catch the first kokanee of the day, and a second shortly after that!
I still hadn't caught anything on the pink wiggle hoochie so I changed it out to a pink Chrome's single spinner. Still, though, the double spinner was getting all the action. I had another bite and lost two on the double spinner before it caught my third kokanee of the day. A short while later I lost two kokanee by the boat on the double spinner, caught one kokanee on the Chrome's single spinner, and a good sized rainbow that I released. Just after that, the double spinner finally caught the limit kokanee.
the Strategy
rod one: A custom bendable 4-inch flasher with 14 inches of leader to a pink wiggle hoochie
rod two: A custom bendable 4-inch flasher with 14 inches of leader to a pink double Chrome's spinner tipped with scented shoepeg
THE CATCH
It was a fun day! Double Chrome's spinner for the win!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 1
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
A slow 1.1 mph trolling speed seemed to work best. All kokanee were caught at 25 feet deep.
June 5, 2024
The kokanee fishing is finally on!
I was out a couple times in mid-May and the fishing was very slow for kokanee. With these cooler temperatures, the fishing is taking longer to get good. There's an old wives' tale that kokanee fishing gets good when the lilacs are blooming but that time had already come and gone with no major success on the lakes.
I arrived at Stump Lake at about 9 a.m. and headed over to the houses on Planet Mine road.
I wasn't marking much but this was no surprise because I expected the fish would be near the surface. I began trolling in a northward direction using a custom flasher and pink wiggle hoochie on one rod and a custom flasher with a pink smile spinner tipped with shoepeg on the other. I set both lines to ten feet deep and used 100 foot setbacks.
I trolled along the houses with no bites but when I got to where I could almost see the campsites the rod with the wiggle hoochie started dancing! I caught a nice kokanee that weighed about 1.5 lbs.
As I unhooked the fish my second rod started bouncing and I reeled in an almost identical kokanee on the smile spinner. I quickly got the rods back out and shortly after I had another kokanee on the wiggle hoochie, which I lost. This was followed by two more bites on the wiggle hoochie. Since the wiggle hoochie seemed more productive then the smile spinner, I changed out the smile spinner for a pink kokanee wobbler and almost immediately caught a nice kokanee. A short while later I lost one on the wobbler but then caught kokanee number four on it. Kokanee number five took a little while (as the limit fish so often does) but the wiggle hoochie got the job done to fill my limit by 11 a.m.
Most of the bites and fish were caught in the middle of the lake between the highway launch and the campsites trolling at 1.3 MPH and 10 feet deep.
As I was packing up I chatted with a fellow fisher who was loading up his boat. He is a fly fisher but was trying to get into kokanee fishing. I tossed him some gear that was working for me and gave him some info on what I was doing and where. He will be out giving it a try tomorrow. Good luck Mickey!
the Strategy
rod one: A custom bendable 4inch flasher with 16 inches of leader to a pink wiggle hoochie
rod two: A custom bendable 4inch flasher with 16 inches of leader to a pink smile spinner tipped with scented shoepeg
THE CATCH
Five caught, a few lost, and several bites! It was a great day.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
SHORT REPORT
April 12, 2024
It was a beautiful day out on Stump Lake today, perfectly calm! Unfortunately the fish were not as excited to bite as I was to be out on the water. I marked only singles and doubles all day at 20 feet and at 60 feet . I started in front of the boat launch and trolled my way northward but nothing was taking my lures. Finally I tried pulling my pink wobbler to the surface to about 5 feet deep and shortly after I caught a small 13 inch kokanee! I thought the surface was going to be the ticket to success, but I was wrong. Over the next two hours I got one more bite and that's it. I tried jigging for the last hour in front of the boat launch where I was marking fish but again no success. I could get them to chase my gear but no takers.
ICE OFF UPDATE
March 27, 2024
I went out to Stump today after checking out Monte Lake to scope out the ice situation. The northern end is opening up nicely and one person was out in a small car topper boat. The southern end has about 150 to 200 feet of open water, and a random spot in the middle has a good sized open area. I tried a few casts off shore in the open area but caught no fish, just ticks :/
worst case
ICE OFF UPDATE
March 21, 2024
I took a drive out to Stump to check out the ice situation and also to try to jig up some rainbows from the rec site fishing dock. The lake is still 99% ice covered (see note below). The northern and southern ends have some open water, as well as a few feet of open water around the edges of the lake. It won't be long now!
However- the ice would definitely not hold a person's weight today. It was thick but very soft and in some places it was breaking up vertically in crystal-like shards ("candle ice")- check out the videos. It was so soft in spots around the dock I could push my ice auger right through it without drilling.
Fishing off the dock in the morning was pretty awesome! I caught 9 rainbows and lost 3 others. Nothing too big today, but it was super fun. They were taking pink-dyed cured shrimp, and also an orange grub tail. They were quite aggressive, I think most baits would have worked.
March 8, 2024
It was a nice warm day on Stump Lake today and I was happy to find close to nine inches of ice where I set up.
I set up about 200 yards off the highway boat launch and a little north of it. The water depth was 80 feet. There were many fishers on the ice today including someone who was set up close to me who had forgotten his rod. Luckily I bring several rods with me so I was able to lend him a rod for the day.
I set up my camera just above 40 feet deep, mostly because any deeper was getting a little dark and hard to see.
I began marking fish in ones, twos, and threes and at all depths. It took a little trial and error to figure out that the fish seemed to like a meal worm jigged horizontally best. Once I figured this out I put two kokanee on the ice pretty quickly, both coaxed up from 50 feet into view of my camera where they took the bait. Unfortunately I had a little trouble keeping the fish on today. I would have had my limit by 10:30 a.m. if I didn't lose three kokanee in a row, two of them right by the hole.
The fish that were coming in a 20 feet and shallower seemed to have no interest in my jigs, but the deeper marks would occasionally chase my gear. Over the next two hours I got a few bites, put one more kokanee on the ice and lost another three. Between 12:30 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. the bite seemed to drop right off. I couldn't get anything to even look at my bait.
Finally I put kokanee number four on the ice just before 3 p.m. and lost another. At 3:30 p.m. I finally put my limit fish on the ice! In case you weren't counting that was seven kokanee lost, five caught and a few bites. It was fun chatting and sharing fishing knowledge with some of the fishers on the ice today.
the Strategy
Ice rod: A blue and silver Williams wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a tungsten weighted chironomid (size 10) tipped with meal worms.
The bait: meal worms for the win today!
THE CATCH
It was hard to keep them on. seven kokanee lost and five caught.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
REPORTS FROM READERS
March 2, 2024
Randy writes, "Another great day on Stump, Sunday, March 2nd. Ice was a solid 5 inches and no slush or water. Fish schools were slow and mostly singles. I easily caught my 5 and my partner caught two. Missed many. My depth was 40 feet. I was in 76 feet of water west of the parking area. It was amazing to see schools of kokanee 2 feet below the ice from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00. Pink CC flies with chartreuse head and a white wing was my killer."
Thanks for the report, Randy! Hope you enjoy those beauties.
Randy got a free pack of lures from the Chrome Catchers' shop for sharing his report from Stump Lake!
February 23, 2024
It was a beauty of a day to be out on the ice this morning! I arrived at Stump Lake around 9:10 a.m. and was all set up about 200 yards offshore by 9:30.
There was about 7 inches of ice and lots of fishers out chasing some great tasting kokanee.
I was set up over 82 feet of water and the fish were marking fairly consistently at 45 to 65 feet. I tried jigging with my pink tungsten jigs with shoepeg and was able to generate a few bites, but the fish were only mildly interested.
At 10:30 a.m. I tried a tungsten weighted chrome and red striped chironomid, but to no avail. I then slid a meal worm over the body of the chironomid and this was clearly the way to go: I began getting bites right away, and I quickly put a kokanee on the ice. I followed this up with two rainbows caught and released.
At around 11:30 a.m. a big school came in at 55 feet. I got my meal worm in the middle and quickly hooked a really nice kokanee. Unfortunately I watched this massive kokanee get off the hook at the top of the hole. I quickly lunged to pull it out but all I got was soaked as I watched the fish swim away. Imagine my frustration when this happened two more times in a row with two more kokanee! At 12:30 p.m. another school came through and this time I managed to put two on the ice before the school disappeared.
At around 1:30 p.m. I got another good kokanee, and like all the rest it was caught at 55 feet. Only one to go to fill the limit- but it never happened. I had several bites and lost two more, but just couldn't get the last one. Throughout the day a few schools came in at 20 feet but I couldn't get them to bite. The vast majority of fish came in at depth, about 45 to 65 feet.
the Strategy
Ice rod: A blue and silver Williams wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a tungsten weighted hook (size 10).
The bait: meal worms for the win today!
THE CATCH
It was a great day catching kokanee at 55 feet deep!
kokanee: 4
rainbows: 2
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
February 15, 2024
You've got to love a blue bird day out on the ice, and today was exactly that! I arrived at the lake at 9:15 a.m. and there were already 22 other tents on the ice. You can't blame them- fishing on Stump has been good! Today was also good but I had to work for my limit. With the cold weather and the 22 tents I wasn't as concerned about testing the ice, but I still wore a PFD and carried ice picks out because it's easy enough to do and you never know who might have chainsawed a surprise hole in the ice.
I went straight out from the Highway boat launch about 125 yards and set up where I wasn't too close to the other fishers. I did this mostly because fish finders will run interference with one another if they are running too close together.
It was 70 feet deep where I set up and not much was marking on the finder, but eventually the fish showed up at 12 feet deep.
The bad news is that they showed up only every 20 to 30 minutes and only a few at a time. The good news is that they were very interested in my pink big head tungsten jig. Every time they came in they would at least take a strike at my jig. I put a fish on the ice about every 30 minutes or so. I also lost a couple and had a few bites as well. By 11:30 a.m. I had four nice kokanee on the ice.
I figured I was going to get my limit soon and get home early to write this report, but I was wrong. Once again that limit fish was ridiculously hard to catch.
At noon the fish were coming in less often, and when they did they had lost interest for the most part, although I did get a couple of light bites. At 2:30 p.m. four fish came in that were much more aggressive. I got a solid bite followed by a beauty kokanee that stayed on to fill my limit.
I used a small piece of scented shoepeg on my jigs. I don't always use bait, but when they are coming in so infrequently I like to increase my odds.
I caught the first four at 12 feet deep, but by afternoon they were coming in at 22 feet which is where I caught my limit fish. I also marked fish in the 40 to 60 feet range today, but while chasing the deep marks, I only coaxed one of fish a depth to bite at my jig.
I had a friendly visit from the CO today. This was my third time being checked this year. Remember to have your fishing license and ID on you when fishing. It sounded like someone on the ice today had forgotten to bring their license, which is not a position you want to be in.
I met some great people on the ice today and was able to give them some tips and a couple of jigs that were working for me. Best of luck to you boys next time out!
the Strategy
Ice rod: A gold and silver 4 inch wobbler with 14 inches of leader to a hand tied big head pink tungsten jig fly (size 10).
The bait: Scented shoepeg corn
THE CATCH
It took three hours to find the limit fish, but I found it!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
February 7, 2024
I got what I thought was an early start today, but when I arrived at the lake and saw 13 tents already set up it didn't feel so early.
I headed out to the same spot as last time, about 75 to 100 yards off shore and just south of the highway launch. The water was 75 feet deep and I planned on focusing my jigging in the top 20 feet of water.
I caught one kokanee at 15 feet shortly after starting to jig, but then things seemed to slow. I saw very little on the finder over the next two hours, only singles and doubles. Most of the fish were around 10 to 20 feet with the odd one at a depth of 40+ feet. I lost two over the two hours but no other bites.
I changed up my lure to a small pink spoon with a small hook tied with pink marabou. This got them fairly excited, but they seemed to be hitting every part of my lure except the hook. I ended up putting my usual kokanee ice setup back on.
It was about noon when I decided to make a move out towards the center of the lake. This proved to be a bit of a time waster. I spent an hour at this location and marked even fewer fish than I had before. At around 1:30 p.m. I headed back to my original location with plans to give it one more hour. I still marked only the the odd fish at 10 to 20 feet but finally I caught my second kokanee. I followed this up with two straight losses, but then I caught the biggest one of the day down at 40 feet. It took me 6 hours to put three kokanee on the ice! I would have had my limit if I hadn't lost four, but hey- that's fishing! Most of the ice fishers I talked to were experiencing the same kind of slow fishing, however I heard a few had left with their limits. Hats off to those guys!
