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Hi all, it's been over a month since I've been out on the big lake, but I enjoy everyone's reports so thanks for the intel while I'm stuck working late.
My friend and I headed out of SJ at 6:30. We trolled the river water at the the pier heads for an hour or so with no luck, then decided to head out. We pointed straight west and dropped in 100', set up and trolled west. Nothing out to 130, made a U turn to head back east and before we got straight the 7 color with a steelie stomper took off, nice steelhead. While fighting that fish a 10 color with mag green dolfin went, laker. Got the first rod back in and it took off again, 11# steelie, and before it was half way in a rigger popped on a white spin doctor with green fly, 9# steelie. Two doubles in a row, no problem I thought, circle around and repeat the east troll. Nothing the second time through, but the sun had come out, then the wind died down. Worked that area over until 12:15 and found it to be 64.5F vs 66-67F around it. Marked fish on the bottom and a little bait but could not get a bite in the cold water again. I'm really glad we had the one good pass or I would have been bored! All in all it was a fun trip and we got some good fish that jumped like it was their job. Gotta love steelhead in the summer!

Good luck out there,
Adam

I forgot to mention, we had some water fleas on the lines as others had recently mentioned. The biggest two steelies had fleas in their belly. The other two fish were empty.

Nice work! Thanks for the report.

Awesome Steelie!!!

Thanks for the report. Funny how it happens when some boats have success somewhere while others don't. Talking about in close. Way to find some fish, its been tough out there lately but seems its finally starting to turn around.

I've always wondered that about the water fleas, and if the fish will learn to adapt and start eating them, just like they eat gobies now and other things we once considered invasive species? I know I've caught some perch with fleas in their stomachs I swear. Hopefully it's another options for the smaller/growing fish in the food chain to eat as well?

Whalerman wrote:

I've always wondered that about the water fleas, and if the fish will learn to adapt and start eating them, just like they eat gobies now and other things we once considered invasive species? I know I've caught some perch with fleas in their stomachs I swear. Hopefully it's another options for the smaller/growing fish in the food chain to eat as well?

Steelhead and cohos will eat the fleas. Perch eat a lot of them. Actually that can be a problem for young perch, one of the many reasons why perch populations are down. The "spine" on the spiny water flea is why you accumulate them on fishing line, and that spine makes it hard for young perch to eat them. Spiny water fleas prey upon the native zooplankton that larval perch depend upon to survive in the first few months after hatching. As a result of the spiny water flea invasion, there are way fewer zooplankton out there, the very small perch have issues because spiny waterfleas are so prevalant. They have to expend a lot more energy eating a spiny water flea compared to native zooplankton, and many of the larval perch just can't consume them very well. Which leads to much lower survival of larval perch

Does that go only for the spiny water flea (bythotrephes) or does it go for the fish hook fleas (cercopagis) as well. I don't really have much problem fishing where there are lots of spiny fleas. They pop right off the line and it's been years since I fished where they spiny fleas really piled on the lines. However, those fish hook fleas are evil creatures. I don't know if the perch eat them or not but I wish something would eat the last one.

They still weren't bad today, just a few on my lines but as I said in the past, they can go from barely noticeable to completely intolerable in just a couple days - and July is prime time for fish hook fleas here in the south end.

Yep same deal for fish hook fleas - they both have very long spine/tails that make it difficult for planktivorous fish to consume them (like larval perch, and alewives)

Thanks for sharing the report and pictures. It has been several years since I chased steelies out of St. Joe. Your post brings back lots of good memories.