I fished the Winni Derby for the first time this year. Our boat was on the water by sunrise with more rods than anglers. We rode to our hunting grounds at high speed. An hour later, the engine unexpectedly stopped running and refused to start. The captain pulled out his TowBoatUS membership card and called for a tow via mobile phone. I give him our location (LAT / LONG) from my DeLorme InReach. The good news is that we got towed in safely. The bad news is that we were without a boat.

No boat? No problem! We got on our smart phones and searched the Internet. We found a marina with one boat to rent. Trip saved! We transferred all our gear and started trolling. Trolling using lead core lines and sinking fly lines for lake trout and salmon in 50 to 90 feet depths is vastly different from casting to structure. I learned a lot about this method. The lures of choice are metals (Mooselook Wobbler spoons, DB Smelt spoons) and flies. We used conventional reels with lead core lines and L.L. Bean 9’6″ 7 wt trolling fly rods with sinking lines and 6 ft 8 lb test leaders. Some anglers use cooper line!

While we trolled four rods at back of the boat at 1 mile per hour, I went to the front of the boat and casted ahead of the boat. This allowed me to retrieve my presentation until the boat caught up to the lure. Sounds complicated, but the physics are actually simple.

While casting towards boulders the size of Volkswagons in 20+ feet of water, I worked an Ozzie Jig with a pink/white Lefty Deceiver pattern that I tied on a 3/0 Owner Aki hook. A small mouth bass of loc ness proportions emerged from the deep and tail slapped my jig! OMG! The profile on that fish was HUGE! The captain stopped the boat. I fan castted that whole area, multiple times, for the next hour. But, Wally was no where to be found. Yes. I named the fish Wally.

We trolled for salmon and trout and castted for bass for two days with a 2D map and no electronics or downriggers. We fished hard. But we got schooled! 🙁

After returning the boat to the marina, I grabbed my 9′ surf rod and Plano box of metals dressed with flies and walked down to our dock. I fan castted the whole area with the Ozzie Jig and fly that got Wally’s attention. Nothing! Not even a bump!! I switched to a 3/8 oz chrome/blue Kastmaster dressed with a blue/white Lefty Deceiver pattern that I tied on a 3/0 Owner Aki hook. BANG!! A small mouth full of attitude hit my presentation with a vengeance! It was Wally, Jr. 😉

I never trolled for trout and salmon. I learned a lot. The captain never fished Lake Winnipesauki. He learned a lot. And we both learned: Always have a plan B! 😉

I finally had the opportunity to fish the Waschusset Reservoir for the first time. Wow! What an amazing fishery. Unlike other freshwater fisheries, there is overwhelming shoreline access.

The 7 square miles of the reservoir is home to a multitude of species:

1. Lake trout
2. Rainbow trout
3. Landlocked salmon
4. Smallmouth bass
5. Largemouth bass
6. Sunfish
7. Yellow perch

I brought a wide range of presentations. My strategy was to cover as much water as possible and fish the entire water column.

The first lure out of Plano boxes was a 3/8 oz blue/silver Acme Kastmaster with a blue/white Lefty Deceiver pattern that I tied on a 3/0 Owner Aki hook. Why?

I fished this presentation though the entire water column by adjusting the speed of my retrieve, the position of my rod tip, and the frequency and length of pauses during my retrieve. A long cast with a steady retrieve while pointing the tip of my rod toward my feed with periodic jerks and pauses produced the best result.

While dragging my Kastmaster along the bottom, I hooked something. It did not pull, but it had some resistance to it. It was someone’s fishing line. But, there was no one near me! I eventually pulled the entire line in. I kept the old fishing line in my AquaSkinz Cobra bag until I got back to the gate.

I am already planning my next trip to the Wachusset Reservior. If you have not fished it yet, I hope this article inspires you to go fish it! Just keep in mind that this is a shore only fishery: no boats and no ice fishing. Fishing is only allowed during daylight hours at the designated areas. Dogs are also not allowed. When you go, practice C.P.R.; leave only foot prints behind; and post your fishy pics to Wachussets Addicts, a great online community.