Strawberry Is “Coming On”

Due to a very busy schedule this past month, I haven’t been able to break away and fish Strawberry yet this fall.  But, that will change this week.  In the meantime, some of my buddies have reported that the fish are coming shallow and the giant cutthroats are beginning to bite.  Let’s review what happens to the fish in Strawberry as the weather cools the fall progresses.

One of the best reasons for targeting Strawberry in the fall is the plethora of baitfish and aquatic insects available to the cutthroats and rainbows.  Strawberry has always been known for its fertility: huge grass beds, a lot of algae, and a consistent lake “turnover” in both fall and spring that rejuvenates the reservoir and stimulates the fish.

At some point in the early fall, the larger fish make a specific move from targeting crayfish and aquatic insects to minnows.  The first time I witnessed this transition was close to 20 years ago when while crossing the reservoir from Strawberry Bay Marina to the Narrows, I caught a whiff of a licorice-like scent in the air.  As I slowed the boat, I realized it wasn’t really the smell of licorice but rather the odor of fish oil in a slick covering the surface in a small cove just off the channel.

There, in the midst of the slick, were hundreds of trout that had trapped a large school of minnows (I never really noticed which species but most likely chub) and the frenzied trout hit the surface like the striper boils of Lake Powell. So decimated was the school of minnows that pieces and parts of them slowly sunk to the bottom thus creating the slick of fish oil I smelled from a far.

This one experience taught me more about what the fish want to do in the fall on Strawberry than any other single event.  From then on (in October) I put away my other lures, tied on a jerkbait and proceeded to catch the size of fish on Strawberry that I had never thought possible.

Since that time, I have written about fishing minnow-type lures several times each fall and have received hundreds of positive reports as many of you have learned the techniques. There are several ways to target trout this time of year with minnow-type lures.  Let’s review two of them.

1. Cast And Retrieve. By far my favorite technique is to find small coves or bays and work the rocky edges of points and cuts with a 3- to 5-inch Rapala-style jerkbait as I’ve written about many times.  The lure should suspend and reach 5 to 8 feet in depth when retrieved.  You must wear polarized sunglasses and watch each cast from start to finish.  The fish will either smash your lure, follow it, or surround it and slowly circle.  Then, when you know the fish sees your presentation, twitch it, stop it, and twitch it again.  Once the fish thinks your lure is real it will hit.  Be prepared for thundering strikes even as you lift your lure from the water.
2. Shallow Trolling. Many of you enjoy trolling this time of year and once you learn this particular technique it will open many other opportunity doors in the spring and summer too.  In the identical areas mentioned in the “Cast and Retrieve” section, tie on a Pointer 78 or 100 LuckyCraft lure in brown, rainbow or ghost.  Cast your line behind or to the side of the boat and slowly troll around the shoreline keeping the boat in 10 to 15 feet of water.  Don’t put any weights on the line nor use leaded line.  Fluorocarbon or even monofilament line will work much better. Vary the trolling speed until the strikes become consistent.

There is really no better way to describe these techniques than to witness them yourselves.  In time, either of these methods of catching trout on Strawberry will be as easy as using Powerbait.  Good Luck, and maybe I’ll see you on the water.

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