Skinny Water Beamsville Kings, July 12, 2008

John and I had the Saturday to search for fish to target for the next weeks Salmon Dance Tournament; it was a day to narrow down location and to test a number of things.

Firstly the flasher/fly has been a dud for us for sooooo long. Our program has been spoons since the early spring and it is a shock that we have had only the odd day (count on one hand) where flasher fly had a few fish. This season it is never out producing spoons in our boat. But everyone else is hitting fish on flasher/fly and every trip we try to make it go. Today was without exception. We dedicating time to experiment and make it work. All the hot colours in flasher and flies reported by others were put on riggers, core, wire deeper diver, and no stretch braid deeper diver. We varied fly leader lengths from 19 ¾” to 25” and most in the typically productive leader lengths of 23-24”. Not a single fish on it. Speed Over Ground (SOG) 2.3-2.4 mph. Four rod spread and two of the four we ran flasher/artificial bait on one and flasher/fly on the other. The other two were spoons.

Spoons on the other hand are doing it. We went 10 for 12 today and all but one rainbow came on spoons. Total breakdown two rainbows at 5 lbs each, two shakers, and the balance of our fish were mature Chinooks 18, 20, 21, 22, and the biggest was 23 lbs 11 oz. Nothing like the reports from TO and east, but our best for size this year on our shore. 50-80 FOW with all of the bait inside of 55 FOW and directly in front of the microwave tower just east of Beamsville’s, Ontario St. 7 of the 10 fish came on slide divers set on 3 with 65- 100 ft leads (behind the diver) and 85 and 90 feet from the rod to the diver. 6 out of 7 fish on the slide divers were caught on one lure, Silver Streak Blue tail. The other was caught on a Blue Veggie Michigan Stinger Stingray.

The 23 lbs 11 oz fish came on 7 colour leadcore down the shoot using Silver Streak Blue Tail, but I doctored it with a little bit of purple along the blue edge of the blade and glow eyes were added to the hook end of the spoon but avoiding to cover up the pink painted dot. Also one was taken on a five colour using the rigger at 20 feet. Estimated to be at the 45 foot level with that set while going a speed of 2.4 mph, and was likely the deepest fish we took all day.

Shane Thombs
www.FINtasticSportfishing.com