What I Learned Today at Lake Chabot 03-17-2011

[TroutGhost]

1. Lake Chabot Trout are Suckers for Firetiger Lures
When they don't want to bite anything else, toss out a firetiger lure. I already knew this but wanted to experiment with other colors just for kicks. Today was a tough bite and the only thing I had success with was a firetiger lure.

2. I Need a Bigger Net
So I caught a piggy. Actually, he was Hog Trout. Looked about eight pounds. I tried to scoop him out with my girly Sports Authority normal net and Trout Hog spread out into full recline like it was a hammock. It didn't fit into my net.

3. Trout Hog Loves the Belly Hook
I never caught a trout with the belly hook, always with the tail hook. I was thinking the belly hooks were just for looks... Hog Trout hit my lure Jaws-style, striking the belly from below.

4. A Good Idea to Upgrade Stock Hooks
Dad Gummit! I added a sweet Mustad green feather dressed treble to the firetiger lure this morning but neglected to swap out the stock belly trebles for some badass Owner hooks. As you may guess, Hog Trout bent the hell out of the stock hooks and shook it off after he finished enjoying a margarita on my net/hammock.

[shadbuster]

Dang sorry to hear about that loss, it seems like it was a perfect storm of everything going wrong! The only thing left was for a osprey to come and snatch the fish away as you were landing it.

[dapainter]

Hilarious,I hate it when they kick-it on my hammock and drink margaritas L.O.L thanks for the laugh and the info:beer_2:

[Jester83]

Its that time of year......

Last year, I got a big one on a tiny fire tiger rapala, j5 I think. When I cleaned it he had an acorn in his belly.

Firetigers are the way to go, I just change sizes and speed till they start banging.

From now till mid May, Bring your big net. The ones the sell in the marina should do the trick. I took me a lost monster too, till I got a new net.

[TroutGhost]

Ha! Yeah, fish looked relaxed and confident on my net, like he knew the net wasn't strong enough to hold him. LOL

I just swapped out the bent stock belly hook for an Owner Stinger Cutting Point. Hopefully that will hold the next one. :)

Next time I hit the water (once the rains go away) and if I haven't upgraded my net yet I'm going to try scooping up the hog head first, maybe this way it will swim deeper into the net and be less likely to get away. Anyone think this will work? Or is this the way I should have been landing them in the first place?

[brillfish]

Firetiger J5 all the way. I like to troll a little faster than most. But the trick is to let out about 40 ft of line on 2 rods and use a sharp, constant "zig-zag" pattern. This has worked for me @ Chabot, S.P. and Lafayette. GOOD FISHING!