KI Island Area

[slimshady]

Fished N and E of KI yesterday (10 til 3) trolling boards / bandits, tipsy / spoons, harnesses etc with no fish. mayflies on the surface everywhere....no boats either. Hot and lots of bugs....Tried various speeds, depths etc....surprised no fish at all.

That's crazy. That area is usually awesome about now. I had issues on Saturday on the MI side as well. Tons of marks, but only managed 4 keepers. Lost a few near the boat. Tons of mayfly husks everywhere. I think when there are some around it can be good, because it gets them feeding. But when there's too many, I think they have no reason to chase our stuff. That day, the guys that fished away from the slicks did better, that's for sure.

[DeBaited]

That's crazy. That area is usually awesome about now. I had issues on Saturday on the MI side as well. Tons of marks, but only managed 4 keepers. Lost a few near the boat. Tons of mayfly husks everywhere. I think when there are some around it can be good, because it gets them feeding. But when there's too many, I think they have no reason to chase our stuff. That day, the guys that fished away from the slicks did better, that's for sure.

I fished 3 miles north of west sister last Saturday & Sunday. Casting. 3 man limits both days. Fish are high feeding on the hatch. I was casting harnesses with smaller blades # 2 s. With only 2 beads for a smaller bait to better match the Mayfly’s. 5/8 oz sinkers on Saturday at 2 -3 count. Sunday 3/4 oz as there was more wind same count I typically use # 3 blades & 4-5 beads on my harnesses

[slimshady]

I fished 3 miles north of west sister last Saturday & Sunday. Casting. 3 man limits both days. Fish are high feeding on the hatch. I was casting harnesses with smaller blades # 2 s. With only 2 beads for a smaller bait to better match the Mayfly’s. 5/8 oz sinkers on Saturday at 2 -3 count. Sunday 3/4 oz as there was more wind same count I typically use # 3 blades & 4-5 beads on my harnesses

Sounds like fun. I love catching them casting. It makes sense with the smaller profile. We ended up getting quick 2-man limits on Friday and Sunday over in MI waters (near Fermi) pulling harnesses. I had newbies with me, so we trolled. But I would like to do some casting soon.

Regarding the biting flies, the only thing that I have found that consistently works on those light wind days is to wear light fishing pants that cover my ankles. I get mine from Bass Pro. They are light and airy, so they keep me cool, even on those super hot days. It also helps to keep the fish slime off the floor, if possible. I bring along an old cooler with the lid removed that we use as a "staging cooler". When we bring in a fish, it goes in that cooler while we remove the hooks, etc. Then I move it to the big cooler if we are going to keep it. When the staging cooler gets nasty, I just dip it in the lake to rinse it. That certainly helps keep them to a minimum, but the pants are the only way to keep them from biting you once they show up.