Unlike most years, there were plenty of places to fish on Winnipesaukee, nice for the first day of salmon season.
This one started off pretty weird!!
It was much colder than I had anticipated this moring, my launch spot had a big chunk of ice on it, but I was able to get around it and get on the water just before sunrise.
Normally I like to get on the lake while the ice floes are moving around, salmon seem to cruise the edges and it gives you something to work. I found one large chunk of ice right where I launched and the outside edge was on some deep water.
First cast on the edge of the ice with my 1/8 oz tin jig with a 2" tube and bam, a tiny salmon jumps, probably not even 15". It goes down after the jump then gets really heavy and screams the line off my tiny spinner with 4#. At the end of the run, the hook rips out and I'm left thinking about a giant laker that just ate my salmon!
Then I saw a couple good marks on the fishfinder and I always have the 6" hogy at the ready for those marks, dropped it down expecting a laker to eat it on the drop and get nailed. Power run, much faster than a laker, hmm, right away I think it isn't a laker. Sure enough, the fish jets across the surface and my tight drag causes it to skid up on to the ice!
Bam!
Another Winni striper! I hadn't seen one for a couple years and was starting to believe that they had gone back to being a myth. I suspect that I haven't caught them because over the last couple years, my launches have been too late in the morning, dark coves, just before sunrise seem to be the trick.
Now that is the way to start the salmon season!
Winni Weirdness
Standard View
