Foster on Wed

[Tyler Holm]

It's suppose to be 63 degrees and sunny tomorrow. Guess what I'm doing....

I'd like to hit Foster's and give that power bait / dough balls a try. I've never done it, but heard good things about it. Anybody care to join? I'll probably be there around 5:30 till dark. If it's nice, I think the fiance will tag along.

[smg04]

those powerbait trout nuggets work petty good out there, i caught a 15" rainbow on the blaze orange nuggets b4 ice out, would love 2 join u guys but im taking the daughter 2 quarry hill after work

[Crickschop04]

I was thinking of trying out there too Tyler. Maybe I'll see you out there. I smoked a couple of trout from Fosters last year and I'd like to get some and smoke a batch before too long.

[Rugbyguy]

You can always count me in for an evening of fishing!!

[DEADhead]

Ice-out trout at Foster's was always a good time! I always did well after ice-out fishing off of the playground beach. My other go to spot was fishing the break off of the hole there by the rocks.

Tyler, I've always done well with the Fl. Orange, Chartreuse, and Fl. Red turbo dough. The ones without sparkles always seemed to work better down there, but that stuff is hard to find; I don't know if they make chartreuse w/o sparkles anymore. The last time I found it in the store I bought a dozen jars. Still have a few left...

Good luck down there, I'm eager to hear how you guys did.

[Stelz]

Fished from 3-8 yesterday and got my butt Kicked...

one bite on orange dough, and i missed him...

hope they turn on.. maybe today...

[Tyler Holm]

I plan on giving the blaze orange dough a try tonight. That's the only color I have.

[Stelz]

guys using minnows had about the same luck i did, so i think they were just slow.. this front should help, hopefully,

I will be heading down over lunch to wet a line for an hour or so, and will report back..

[DEADhead]

I've always done better on fosters during day break and early morning. once 10 am hit, it always seemed to get SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW.

[Tyler Holm]

1 trout was taken. 15"er but fat, thick, and really good lookin. Big red stripe. It was taken by a buddy (FM name Tulibee) using a small hunk of crawler.

We saw a few others caught as well, but it was pretty slow for the most part.

[Crickschop04]

I was there from 2 till almost 4 and didn't see a fish caught. Beautiful day to be out for sure though!!!

[Stelz]

Went out early today,

had one on and lost it at the bank..

and had a few bites but it was still slow.. maybe tonight if it isn;t pouring rain it will be good??

I was just using powerbait floating about 3' off the bottom..

I know very little about the tactics out there. how do you guys fish it mostly.. and many guys say they use PB below a bobber.. how do you rigg that up.. I mean, if you put a sinker below the bobber, the line doubles back up as the PB floats??

any info would be much appreciated..

[hanson1287]

Stelz,

You actually have the tactic down perfect from my experiences. I always bring out my lightest gear with me cause it makes their bites all that easier to see and feel. All i do is roll a ball of powerbait up and throw it on the hook. Set your sinkers 2-3" above the hook and heave it as far as you can. I don't think I have had a single time out there where i couldnt't have taken home my limit.

[Tyler Holm]

I had my rod rigged up with blaze orange PB floating 1' off the bottom and the fiance's rod 2' off the bottom. Never had a bite.

I need to get out and see your tactics hanson!

[hanson1287]

Sounds good tyler. Is fosters completely open now or is it just the shorelines. I haven't been able to make it there in the daylight in a while now.

[Stelz]

Is one spot just as good as the next?? or is there a few better spots. I hav eno idea what the lay of that lake is other than deep...

Is all open, been that way for about 6 days

[DEADhead]

Good ways to improve your luck at Fosters using powerbait are:

Use 4 lb. test line; I wouldn't go any larger than 6. Trout get line shy. Use a size 10 or 12 hook (octopus style works well). Ball the powerdough into a teardrop shape covering the entire hook. If any part of the hook is showing, put a new ball of dough on. Trout get real finicky and a shown hook can put them in a negative biting mood. Put a split shot about 1 to 2 feet above the hook. Cast out on areas where there is a break along the shore line. Keep your bail open and let the weight hit the bottom. Slowly reel in your line until there is just a hint of slack; keep your bail open. Place your rod in a Y-shaped stick (or those willow branches everyone uses down there). Wait patiently. Look for any tightness or sudden slack in your line. Close the bail, reel in slowly any slack in the line, then set the hook!

When the trout are really aggressive, they'll slam your bait and your line will start screaming. This is often the exception. Usually they'll mouth the bait and start taking line slowly. Be patient and let them take the bait, or they will spit it out. Often times, when they are coming up from the deeper basins, you'll notice slack in your line.

Good spots on Fosters for this technique are:

The beach on the north shore. This area is good when there are minimal weeds. During mid-summer, high weeds make fishing with this technique next to impossible.

The rocks on the west side of the lake. There is a really good break along shore and a drop-off that leads to the deepest part of the lake. This was my go-to spot; I can't tell you how many trout I've caught there.

Off of the public beach on the east side all along the shore to the northeast corner. When the trout are in the shallows (especially in early spring), this is a good spot to fish.

The dock area is a little harder to fish due to the weed growth. I've caught some fish there, but it is usually too crowded, and not as productive an area.

I've seen anglers use all sorts of techniques on Fosters; minnows, rapalas, spinners... Powerbait seems to be the most effective way of catching trout. I've always done the best fishing at sunrise. Fishing gets real slow after 10am on Fosters.

Good Luck, and Tight Lines!

[Dan Thiem]

Now that's what I call some solid infromative posting. Good job Deadhead!

[hanson1287]

DEADhead has alot of what i do. The only difference is that some of you are saying your putting your split shots up 1-2 feet from the hook? From what i have always done it has only been 2-3 inches. Thats where i find most of my luck. Last year was my first year fishing there, so maybe it changes from ice out to mid summer, but I have always only had the 2-3 inches up. My favorite spot is in the back corner on the west side i beleive it is. It's about 3 or 4 bays over from the rock outlet. It has a steeper drop off i have found. It is about 10 feet deep in as little as 15 feet off the bank.

[DEADhead]

hanson,

as you can attest to, trout fishing is a lot about adapting to the conditions. While my post above is a good general guideline for catching trout with powerbait, you have to be willing to adjust your setup to catch fish. Don't get caught up using the same tactics if they are not working; this applies to all methods of fishing.

I think with a rocky substrate in the west side of Fosters, a split shot of 2-3" above the hook will work well. Probably the main reason I have my weight 1-2 feet above the hook is that a lot of the trout lakes I fish have sandy or mud bottoms. The extra height of the bait in the water column is usually enough to get above the weedline. When fish are in a negative biting mood, I'll have to try moving my split shot down to hug the bottom closer. I noticed when sight fishing trout this winter, that when they were in a negative biting mood they tended to hug the bottom really close. Thanks for the tip hanson!

[Tyler Holm]

DEADHead,

It's posts like yours above that get my attention and make us all better anglers. I truly appreciate the information you've shared. Great Post. Top notch in my books.

Feel free to keep up the great posting in the Rochester area. How long ago did you leave Roch? How long were you here? Did you trout fish streams much, or mostly resevoirs?

I also agree with your tactics approach. All too often anglers get caught up in what "should" work, or what has worked for them in the past. Don't be afraid to try something new, even if it's out of the ordinary. I've caught fish on the silliest looking contraptions using presentations that get laughed at by most. There is no "best way" when it comes to fishing. Change is good, and often times, its the only way to find/catch fish.

[DEADhead]

Thanks for the kind words Tyler, although I'm just passing along techniques that I've found work for me.

I have to admit that I've not from the Rochester area, or ever was. I use to live in the South Metro and would drive down to Rochester to fish, and in earlier years, goose hunt.

I have not spent any time any the streams down there, although I wish I had. My uncle has fished the area quite a bit though. I'll probably be making a trip dwon to Lanesboro sometime this summer with the in-laws and my family. They'll be riding bike, I'll be off wading some trout stream. Unfortunately I don't know any of the streams down there, so I don't plan on much success. I'll have to call on you guys when I make the trip down for some good spots to hit. All I know is that Pink Squirrels are the hot fly down there, so I just tied up a dozen tonight, and have about two dozen in my fly box now.

[Tyler Holm]

You bet. You know how to get ahold of us. I'm always game to sling a pink squirrels at some trout (even though I have no clue what I am talking about nor have I ever heard of a pink squirrel).

[Stelz]

WOW

Thanks a ton for that info.. I have been using 6# but will prolly have to spool up some 4# before my next trip out there.. Thanks for the help!!!!

[DEADhead]

Here's a picture of a pink squirrel

[WxGuy]

JP, have you tied up any scuds yet?

I've tied up some squirrels too, but have been having great luck on orange/tan scuds. Also, the baetis are about to pop, and I've had luck on size 18 olive pheasant tails.

[Tyler Holm]

I've got a question on the dough bait.

The other day when I was out, I was using 4# test line and had my split shots about 2' from the hook. I was using a #6 Gamu Glow Chartruese hook. I did notice that the weight of the hook and 2' of line would sink some of the dough balls I was throwing. I was using the pre-built dough balls as opposed to having the stuff where you have to mold them yourself.

Should I use #8 hooks instead, and maybe mold on a bit larger chunk of dough bait so it definately floats? I suppose I should have...

PS. I now know what a pink squirrel is. Thanks.

[hanson1287]

Tyler

I would suggest using the smalles amount possible of the dough bait. I have notice that alot of times they dont take the whole thing for quite a while. Often times i would reel up my line after a bite just to find they had taken a chunk of the dough.

[Down to Earth]

This is probably one of the best threads I've ever seen on Fosters. You guys have provided great information for others to take and use. Darn near have me convinced to go buy a trout stamp and head down to the pond some time.

[Stelz]

I saw a few older fellas tearing it up out there using

steak(crawlers) yesterday.. Might have to break down and go old school...