Lots of guys like me like to fish trout this time of year, and trolling can be especially effective. When the fishing is good, the fish will eat just about anything, but there are times when the trusty firetiger Rapala has been seen one too many times by the fish. It is these times that I like to troll, or cast, something completely different. Japan has a lot of stocked lakes (Like and Irvine lake set up), and has developed a myriad of lures to take these fish. Here are a few that the fish at Irvine, LMV or Poway probably have not seem much of.
Many of the lakes here only allow single and single barbless hooks. This 2.5 gram "spoon" is made out of a pipe like material, and flattened at both ends.
As you can see, the water flows right through the lure. Sexy curves.
This spoon has varying thickness-- and is much different on each side. This is the top view.
This is the bottom view, with an eye like thing in the center. Very small, weighing in at only 2 grams. Wicked sauntering action.
These are little frog crankbaits that only dive about a foot or so. I have trolled this deep with leadcore line, and the huge wobble action of this crankbait has scored me some fine fish.
A collection of micro mini spoons (compare to the size of the little frogs above) and a tiny crankbait not much bigger than your thumbnail.
This is a great little trick that you can use with the lures you have in your own box. Take a crankbait, and remove the rear hook. Tie an 18 inch of 3 lb. line, and attach a small spoon, or even a fly such as a wooly bugger.
The crankbait not only takes your tiny offering down deeper, but it also give the spoon an erratic wobble due to the action of the crankbait. Sometimes you get lucky, and get a bigger model on the crankbait.
This is a pic of a custom key chain that I made for Saluki.
Some of the Japanese stocker rainbows and brook trout; the discoloration is from the ice chest.
When all else fails, try something different. I caught this fish on a small plastic worm on a 1/4 oz. jig head on bass tackle. My limit (5) for the day at Lake Poway weighted 62.5 pounds.
Linear Mode
