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Daily Postings
This page will grow as time goes on and I compile past fishing data.
Wednesday, April 17
Went fishing at Riverfront Park (Billings) today on my lunch hour and caught two LMB. One measured 16" & weighed 2 1/2 lb. while the other was below keeper size. Both were caught on a soft minnow type bait.
Temperature was 50deg. with a slight wind out of the NW.
Water clarity was clear.
-Steve Ostermiller, Billings
Monday, April 29th
Well we had our first tournament on April 27th & 28th at Coeur d' Alene Lake. The days were about as nice as we could have expected for that time of year, mid 30's in the morning with highs of about 45 to 50 deg. in the afternoon. The fishing was pretty tough with water temps in the high 40's & low 50's. On day one I had a really tough day with only 1 fish boated @ 1.41lbs. Needless to say I didn't end up very high in the standings, a dismal 30th place. The one fish I did catch came on a Zoom Super Fluke. My partner ( Tim Johnston) was able to boat a full limit somewhere in the 10lb. range by mostly pitching into brush & weeds along the bank. I had a few good bites there but couldn't hook up.
On day 2 I had a much better day. We fished the same area of the lake but used a different approach which was more condusive to my style of fishing. Both my partner (Jimmy Blair) and I were able to boat full limits. I weighed in at 10.2lbs. and Jimmy weighed in somewhere around 11.5lb. This second day weight jumped me all the way to 13th place which made me very happy.
We spent the whole day drop shotting in about 3 to 5 feet of water. The bite was slow, but proved to be enough.
The top three finishers were, Jim Conlin, Jim Armstrong and Jimmy Blair. Looks like you had to have the right name to place well. Congrats to these three for a job well done!!
-Steve Ostermiller, Billings
Saturday, May 4
Went to Tongue Reservior today. Water level was up 3-5ft. since Oct. of last year. Water surface temp went from 47deg. early morning to 57deg. late afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day that topped out at about 76degrees, however this was after a nasty cold front went through. Needless to say fishing was very slow. My wife caught 2 SMB, both weighed about 3 1/2lb. so even though it was slow the fish we caught were worth the trip. Both fish were caught on tube baits.
-Steve Ostermiller, Billings
Monday, May 13, 2002
Went to Riverfront Park this evening (Billings) and caught 5LMB all keeper size. All fish were caught on soft minnow type bait including one that I lost which would have pushed 4 pounds.
-Steve Ostermiller, Billings
Wednesday, May 15, 2002
Fished Riverfront Park (Billings) today. Caught 3LMB all keeper size. Fish were caught on soft minnow type bait in 1-2ft of water. Water level is coming up quick!
Wind was blowing out of SE, conditions were slightly stained.
-Steve Ostermiller, Billings
Thursday, May 16, 2002
Went to Riverfront Park at lunch today. Caught 0 fish. Very windy, water was up about a foot and slightly stained.
-Steve Ostermiller, Billings
Monday, May 20
Went fishing at Riverfront Park (Billings) today on my lunch hour and caught 2 lmb. One was below keeper size, other was about 14" & 2lbs. both caught on Zoom Super Flukes.
The lake looks to have stabilized on water level but is still off color due to wind.
-Steve Ostermiller, Billings
Thursday, May 23, 2002
Leaving for Tongue Reservoir tonight. Mainly fishing for Crappie this weekend but will fish a little for bass. Will report on Monday when I get home.
-Steve Ostermiller, Billings
Date: 5/26/02
Location: Tongue Reservoir
Water Conditions: clear
Weather: Right after cold front. Weather was partly cloudy w/ temps in
65-75 degree range.
Fish Caught: Caught very few bass, all small. Crappie fishing was
great but couldn't find much size.
Bait Used: Tried tubes, crankbaits & wormin for bass. Crappie was on
small tubes and jigs & grubs.
Technique:
additional comments:
Name: Steve Ostermiller
Date: 9-9-02
Location: Echo Lake
Water Conditions: clear
Weather: cloudy
Fish Caught: couple 10 inch largemouths, 14 inch trout
Bait Used: grubs, tubeworms
Technique: jiggin'
additional comments: If there's some bass fisherman in the northwest
email me! moto_xer125@yahoo.com
Name: Justin Bryer
Are you one of those guys that never loses a lure, well I'm not. Here are some great tips from the Bassmaster website on retrieving those snagged lures.
For more articles like this become a member of B.A.S.S. and they will be delivered to your door every month!!
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Retrieving snagged lures
Fishing tip of the month
By Tim Tucker
B.A.S.S. TIMES
You do it. I do it. The pros do it. Lures become snagged. In fact, the pros get snagged considerably more than you might expect. That's because they make a point of putting lures into the toughest places possible. As a result, they've developed an array of ingenious tricks for getting baits unhung.
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Hitting the high points |
B.A.S.S. Times
A unique method to retrieve lures with a fishing rod.
Neat tricks every angler needs to know.
Even a trolling motor can be used to get back lures. | The rod toss
While pitching jigs to shallow cover, Shaw Grigsby occasionally finds himself snagged. More often than not, the terrain is too shallow for him to maneuver his Triton boat close enough to reach the problem. When conventional techniques don't work, the Florida pro throws his rod at the jig.
No, Grigsby isn't angry and simply giving up. He's utilizing a clever trick that can free the jig from most obstacles. "It's something I learned from (Georgia pro) Kim Carver that really works," Grigsby said. "It's a great way to let the weight and force of the rod free up a jig or whatever kind of lure you're using."
It works like this: With the reel engaged, the angler reaches to the first guide on the rod and pulls off a length of line similar to the amount of line traditionally removed while flipping. While holding the line, the rod is pointed toward its target and then propelled with some force. The rod slides down the line and usually knocks the lure free, usually on the first try. As soon as the rod makes contact, the fisherman pulls back with the line still in his hand to retrieve the rod and reel.
This lure-freeing technique is not limited to shallow situations. Grigsby has retrieved lures as deep as 7 to 10 feet below the surface with this tactic. But he cautions not to practice this maneuver too vigorously because it can shatter a rod tip.
Rod maneuvers
When he encounters a snag, North Carolina crankbait expert Gerald Beck immediately tightens the line and shakes his rod sharply several times in an attempt to create enough momentum to vibrate the lure off the cover. His next step is to jerk the rod slightly harder "to see if it is going to pop loose or not."
Beck then tightens his line as much as possible, pulls a small length of line away from the rod between the reel and the bottom guide and snaps line back into place. This bowlike tactic will often pop the lure free, he said.
Lost crankbaits
Arkansas pro Ken Adamson has a novel way of recovering a crankbait that has broken off in shallow water.
"This will work most of the time when you're fishing riprap or any rock structure 4 feet deep or shallower after your line breaks as you pull on your crankbait trying to get it loose," he said.
"When that happens, get right over top of the crankbait, turn your trolling motor around backwards and run it on high for a few seconds so that it makes a swirl in the water near your bait.
"The force of the water and the turbulence I create with my 65-pound-thrust motor will usually knock the bait loose from the rocks, and it will float up to the surface. But sometimes you have to fan your trolling motor back and forth to create enough turbulence to do the trick."
Tim Tucker's Pro Angling Insider: Your Guide to the Business Side of Fishing is a new bi-monthly newsletter with an annual subscription rate of $39.95. It can be ordered by calling toll-free 800-252-FISH. A sample issue can by seen on his Bass Sessions 2001 web site, www.timtuckeroutdoors.com.
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