Boil fishing!?

[KYKevin]

My best boil trip was at Hite in August, it was raining and we got chased off from a storm and were setting in the truck waiting for it to stop when we saw them boiling, we fished them from 5 til dark and caught 105 on top water with Zara spook's, we were in 30 ft of water, and the fish were from top to bottom. I could not tell you what year it was. But I have had many more close to that. Three year's ago on Sept 5th my son in law and I caught 87 in an hour and a half in Bullfrog bouy field, we had fished all day and hadnt seen a boil until 6:30 that evening. They had been boiling every day, that's just boil fishing.

My first trip going down just for boil's was in 2001, Wayne had a post and guaranteed if you went to Striper city that you would see boil's. He was good on his guarantee. We took a 16 ft alluminum boat with a borrowed 8 hp Honda motor and chased boil's all day. There were 6 to 8 boil's up at a time all day. I was hooked for sure. We got checked by Fish and game, and ended up talking them into selling us a Zara spook, we had lost all of our's.

 

[jdhoppes]

My best boil trip was long ago when I was in Good Hope Bay by myself (not sure why). Big striper boils came up for more than 2 hours and I just kept casting and catching one fish after another. It was a real workout. I did break off a bunch of topwater lures to these super strong fish. Finally, I got down to my last Zara Spook. I had already lost one hook off that lure so I was just fishing with one hook but still catching them every cast. I was going to be uplake for a couple more days and did not want to lose my last topwater lure. So I got the pliers, took off the only hook remaining and started casting again. They hit the lure like crazy but with no hook-ups we just enjoyed each others company before I finally had to leave. They kept boiling to wave good-bye to me. Great Day! (might have something to do with my striper addiction?)

I like to use braided line for topwater. Less break offs and it seems to keep the lure on top better. I tie it directly to the line.

 

[Brent R]

Here is two cents from me. Been fishing lake for long time. We hardly caught anything the first few years and like anything else its a skill that comes with a little time. Personally I like September and late August the best. We are going in September this year. We have found the most boils early in the morning or in evening, but have learned they can appear anywhere at anytime so good to always keep eyes open and scanning the water. We have had them boil right off the houseboat when we least expect it. We often just get up and cruise in the morning for a bit to see if we come across the boils. My favorite lure by far for boils is a Luhr Jensen 1oz chrome spoon. Being able to cast some distance is big advantage when coming up on boil so I personally like a bait caster with the 1oz spoon because its weight seems to get it way out there. As Wayne says it can be good to cast over the boil if possible and retrieve through it. However, when they are in a frenzy they will often hit the lure right when it hits the water. We have also had a little luck letting the lures sink a bit if we think the boil is ending and the fish are going back down. The boils are definitely worth the effort. Can't wait to hear your report from August. Good luck.

 

[cfulton]

I got into a big boil (about 5 acres in size) at the upper end of Cha in the San Juan. It stayed up from 4 pm until dark...and maybe beyond. I had a fairly new angler with me. His first fish came in the boat with treble hooks in the fish, the net, the carpet and him--took forever to get it all straightened out. I loaded him with a 1oz bucktail jig and he caught a fish on every cast with no more tangles. We had to quit when both live well were full and you could not stand on the floor without a fish on your foot. Had to filet the fish after dark...thanks to headlamp. Single hooks in a boil are just as effective and sure save time and tangles. Chuck