Last week I took a trip up to Ogopogo resort, just outside of Minden. The fishing was awesome! Largemouth, smallmouth, Lake trout, walleye and tons of rock bass were caught and released. A fellow OFF member came up as well, and we had many double headers. On multiple occasions, lake trout chased hooked bass we had right up to the boat. Our top lures were 3” Berkley tubes for smallmouth and Lakers, 3’’ Berkley minnows and 1/32oz bucktail jigs for walleye, 2” Berkley minnows for rock bass and weightless Senkos cut in half for largemouth. We also caught our fair share of bass on crankbaits, and found that smaller ones were working better. The water on the lake was so clear that we were able to sight fish for bass in 10-15 feet of water. The Berkley minnows rigged on jig heads worked best for this type of fishing because they dropped straight down on the fish, whereas the tubes would glide off to the side.
Most of our bass were caught on rocky points on the lake using a dragging motion with the tube. We also caught a few fishing the white water near a dam outflow. The fish in the fast water near the dam were more aggressive and willing to hit crankbaits. There was a slower area of outflow that held a lot of bass as well. All of our walleye were caught in a very deep pool in that same dammed up area. They seemed to travel in schools, and we would catch them two or three in a row, then not have any bites for a while. Any slower water near the shore by the dam, or any shallow, rocky shoreline on the lake would hold rock bass, and they were very easy to catch on pretty much anything, as long as it wasn’t moving too much. We only caught 2 largemouth, but they were still fun, especially from shore. The Lake trout fishing was actually pretty good, but we only landed one and lost quite a few others. The one we caught was sitting on a steep underwater slope right at the mouth of a bay. We had a few more good hits at that same spot, as well as on a 75 foot flat right beside the shoreline (the shoreline was a cliff that dropped vertically in the water). There were also a few bass suspended around 4-5 feet under the surface by the cliff. Jigging with the tubes was the best presentation, but many people were catching fish trolling as well. I don’t troll a lot, so I was more comfortable jigging.
Here are some pictures:
2 casts in.
This fish had a burst eyeball, a hole in its gill plate, a few gashes along it side and was very lethargic after the release. It took a crazy run when I hooked it though. I nicknamed it the salmon bass.
I had a snag, and when I popped it free this guy hit.
Dragged this guy in with a ton of weeds.
Looks so surprised.
Also looks fairly surprised. Cool looking orange fin as well.
The lake we were staying on.
If anyone knows what this insect is, let me know, I have seen some on my trout stream and want to tie some flies to imitate them.
