Stillhouse Fishing Guide Report – 13 Feb. 2010 – 30 Fish






I fished an 8 hour trip today and was glad to see things starting to turn around. We have a dry forecast which means no more dirty water flowing in. This week ahead we should see the water warming a bit, clearing, and dropping (which means it will be flowing). With some more favorable winds like we had today, the fishing should pick up.

Every single fish I caught today was suspended in the upper 2/3 of the water column from 33 feet up to 8 feet deep. I made use of the “sniping” technique all day using ice jigs.

2 of the 30 fish caught today. That’s the Dana Peak playground equipment standing in flood water in the background.

Start Time: 10:15a

End Time: 6:15p

Air Temp: 38F at trip’s start, warming to a high of 53 by mid-afternoon.

Water Surface Temp: ~48.3 to 48.8F

Wind: Winds were due S. at 7 at trip’s start, building to 15+ in the afternoon.

Skies: A freezing fog was beginning to lift as I launched with skies clearing to fair by midday.

Environmental Note: Stillhouse is 7′ high and is now dropping very slowly; the water is stained but clearing.


The key to success today was finding bait concentrations with sonar and then fishing in and around the bait for the gamefish that were lurking nearby. Birds, which are usually of great help this time of year, are few and far between and were simply patrolling and finding little.

I found one dense concentration of fish spread from Area 429 to Area 594, and 3 concentrations that were more scattered. These occurred at Areas 337, 254, and 102. Once the fish were found, they weren’t all that difficult to catch as the weather conditions were very favorable today. I could provoke a response from 1 in every 3-4 fish I got on sonar, and of those that responded, 3 out of every 4 would strike. I wound up catching 28 white bass of which 24 were keepers; I also caught 2 legal crappie.


TALLY = 30 FISH, all caught and released

***For a complete listing of gear and lures used, please go to the “About” tab, and click on the “About Your Guide” page on the drop-down menu.








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