RV bows 7/15

[cmoran719]

Went out last night (9:30pm to 4am) at Round Valley with Zach. Anchored up in 43 feet of water (which apparently was a bit too shallow?) and the bite started immediately. First fish in the boat was a rainbow, then a bunch of rock bass and bluegills with no more bows for a while. Then I set the hook on something big. Thought it was a big bow with how much drag it was peeling, was so excited until I saw it was an eel, ugh. Oh well he'll be dinner some night this week. Then no more bites for a while until we got another rainbow in the boat, this time a keeper at least. After that we finished off the night with a few more rock bass and slob bluegills. End tally: 2 bows, 1 eel, over 8 rock bass and at least 4 bluegills (including the biggest bluegill I've ever seen). Even though we didn't get a bow frenzy I'm happy with anything. Next time will be better!

Questions for you all: I was told the bows are holding in the 50ft range now, not 40s, that right? And if you aren't getting action for a while in a spot do you usually switch spots to find the fish or stay put and wait for them to come to you? I always have a hard time deciding which to do.

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[Jigman13]

pretty hardcore... I need me some nighttime RVR action! Nice 'bows for the smoker!

[Fish n Jeep]

Nice fishies, Chris!

[AndyS]

Keep a log book. Anchor over weed beds, and yes, it seems 10 feet of water can make a difference. I'll pick my spot and hold there, sometimes you get em' sometimes you don't. I still like Velveeta cheese for bait up there at night. Best eating freshwater fish in NJ, thanx for posting !!!

[Skunk City]

Doing work in the inflatable dinghy, nice! My buddy has one that we throw a 5hp outboard on and she moves pretty well.

[Fish n Jeep]

My first boat was an inflatable, gotta start somewhere.

[15FOOTER]

Nice fish! Hey I'm not trying to get all high and mighty on ya and 2 fish nights aren't gonna hurt too bad but ya gotta watch the night time rainbow thing. Water temps are in the mid 80's and while I don't think all fish caught will die like people say I think a good amount will. So if the bite does heat up be modest and shut it down after a few if ya could. Only allowed 2 keepers over 15 so why catch 40 and kill a bunch. Ive seen many nights lately where there are 20-40 boats out from 3 different states and the rainbows are taking an absolute beating and I have watched that fish population dwindle since this got blown up with 50-100 fish nights years ago. Imagine what 20-40 boats can do if 15 of em find them and have 50 fish nights and kill 25% of them all summer long (and 25% is a conservative estimate). I used to do the night time thing all the time and I still want to now. Trust me I do everything I can to restrain myself from getting back into it LOL. Just my opinion..Good luck buddy!

[jimmythegreek]

Totally agree 15footer, anything you plan on keeping do what u wish, but ANY fish u are throwing back DO NOT take out of the water, if you have to photo do it in the net, they will not make it, we lost one sat morn and it was cold and rainy and he wouldnt make it. And for what its worth I marked LOTS of fish in 48 FOW to the left of the launch halfway down the rock retention wall towards the tower, quite a few big schools most fish at 18-20 feet down and then a few small groups right at 29-30

[Super]

Nice fish! Hey I'm not trying to get all high and mighty on ya and 2 fish nights aren't gonna hurt too bad but ya gotta watch the night time rainbow thing. Water temps are in the mid 80's and while I don't think all fish caught will die like people say I think a good amount will. So if the bite does heat up be modest and shut it down after a few if ya could. Only allowed 2 keepers over 15 so why catch 40 and kill a bunch. Ive seen many nights lately where there are 20-40 boats out from 3 different states and the rainbows are taking an absolute beating and I have watched that fish population dwindle since this got blown up with 50-100 fish nights years ago. Imagine what 20-40 boats can do if 15 of em find them and have 50 fish nights and kill 25% of them all summer long (and 25% is a conservative estimate). I used to do the night time thing all the time and I still want to now. Trust me I do everything I can to restrain myself from getting back into it LOL. Just my opinion..Good luck buddy!

%100 true. Could not have written it better.

[cmoran719]

thanks for the advice everyone. and 15footer, I've heard all about that on here. I don't plan on slaughtering em all summer long I know how delicate they are coming up through the warm water. I just want a couple nice nights with a few more than 2 fish lol

[GetANet]

Some guys seem to like the sit and wait them out theory, I generally sit at least 45min to give it some time to settle down and the bite to get going.
Sometimes I don't think the anchor hit the bottom and they're biting other times you couldn't buy a fish. I will move several times to try and find them if I need to. Everybody thinks this is a no brainer and any one can just anchor up drop your bait over and bail them. IMO that's not really the case. Yes some times but not always, I talk to a lot of fisherman and a lot catch 1 or 2 or none. I fish there quite a lot and my best night was 26 rainbows last year NEVER been close since then! I have learned as well DO NOT remove the fish from the water unless you plan to keep it otherwise IT WILL DIE FOR SURE!
I either quickly remove the hook if in the lip or clip it off asap and I would say 98% of my fish rocket off to the bottom
I do on a rare occasion will have a floater but if you do the correct thing most if not all will survive. That's why you NEVER see pics of the fish unless I keep them for dinner. USE COMMON SENSE !!!
As far as water depth I have caught them in 60ft and as shallow as 30ft.
Nothing is a given or etched in stone just keep at it and you'll find em.
Like ANDY said A logbook is actually the MOST important piece of equipment you can have. The longer you keep them the better the info gets!!! You think you can remember it all, You can't LOL but the Log will !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FASTEDDIE29]

I'm not here to critic your catch. But to say nice job. You'll get em next time!!!

[AndyS]

You can do like I do, use a very small #8 Mustad 3906 light wire fly tying hook. The fish comes up and you don't see the hook cut the line as close to the mouth as you can, see the hook and it's a quick ally-oop with the forceps. Also the 3906 does not have bait holder barbs.
Take it one step further and press down the barb if you like. I swam in the middle of the lake at night (kids, don't try this at home) and you would swim down about 10 or so feet and you could feel the water get very cool, semed like the top 10 feet of water was the warmest.

[cmoran719]

thanks Dale and Eddie. And Andy I too have swam down there and noticed the water gets way colder for sure. I'll look for those hooks and try it out

[jimmythegreek]

great advice guys, good thread with info. When Getanet and I were out sat morn I picked up stratification at 18 FOW, not a real thermocline but definitely a density change, enough to see the haze on the sonar returns. In my experience (I know my electronics well lol) there has to be a 15 degree +/- for it to show up solid and thick, and this was a haze so I would guess about 10 degrees difference, and I marked surface temps at 78-79 so the fish have a great zone to live in with water 68-69 and cooler as they go deeper. theres no reason why any would not make it if handled quickly and correctly