Tag Archives: Largemouth

Round Valley Ice Fishing Report

My friend Chris and I headed out to Round Valley Reservoir on Saturday morning to do a little ice fishing. The main lake is not frozen over and hasn’t been for a handful of years but the smaller “swimming” side is, so that’s where we fished. We met some other friends and even the now-famous state record eel eating Vasily showed up!

2011 Round Valley Largemouth Bass Ice Fished
Nice size Round Valley Bucketmouth!

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The ice was 3 to 6 inches deep, however there was a layer of snow and slush on top of it which made a pit in my stomach every time I took a step and sank a little. The last year we were ice fishing at Round Valley, the ice was 12 to 18inches thick so this was a little hairy.

We started around 9am and by 10am had 20 holes drilled with about 10 tip-ups working and some guys jigging. Remember that you are allowed 5 working holes per person by law and your tip ups must have your name and address on them.

All our tip-ups were fished near the bottom (12 to 30 feet depending on which hole) with a live large shiner hooked just under the dorsal fin. We caught two Chain Pickerel and one Largemouth Bass with these tip-ups. The Pickerel were caught shallow and the bass was caught deep.

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Jigging everything we could think of produced nothing and at about noon we had enough and packed it in. We had a great time but be very careful out there if you go ice fishing at RV, the ice isn’t that great this year. The other side of the lake if you are curious is still open and I spotted two boats out there trolling.

Flat-Line Trolling for Bass and Trout

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Flat-Line trolling refers to trolling without a dowrigger. One can flat-line troll directly off the boat OR using planer boards to spread the coverage area.

Why would anyone flat-line troll you may ask? Well, I do it primarily because I’m not in a position to buy downrigger$ and all the special gear that entails (lead balls, line releases, trolling rods, trolling reels, etc…). Buy another great reason to flat-line troll is that it actually works to catch almost any fish in Round Valley.

In the Spring when the Lake Trout emerge from their wintery depths, they are feeding up high and downriggers are not needed. Lake Trout can be found in the top 10 feet of water (look for 48 to 52 degree water temps), skirting the shoreline, devouring anything that moves.

Tackle and Lures: Use the rod, reel, and lures you would normally use to TROLL for trout. Feed out at least 50yards of line to get the lures down and away from your boat. I’ve had success trolling big Daredevil spoons (shiny spoons when sunny, colored spoons when cloudy), Crippled Herring, and Kastmasters as well as live herring behind a 1oz barrel sinker. Be sure to use a fluorocarbon leader, the number of strikes you will get with vs without is high. Hook the herring under the chin and out a nostril. I use #6 Gamakatsu Octopus circle hooks for this setup.

In the Summer Lake Trout go deeper and the Browns and Rainbows hover above the thermocline. These areas require a downrigger to troll through effectively. Having said that, I’ve found that very early in the morning, right around the break of dawn, one can flat line troll live herring and catch Rainbow Trout (I’ve never caught a brown this way). At midday, this same technique can be used to catch Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass. Troll in 30 to 60 feet of water ANYWHERE on Round Valley and you will catch a Bass!

Tackle and Lures: Use the rod, reel, and lures you would normally use to DRIFT for trout. Feed out at least 50yards of line to get the lures down and away from your boat. I’ve had greatest success trolling live herring behind a 1oz barrel sinker. Be sure to use a fluorocarbon leader, the number of strikes you will get with vs without is high. Hook the herring under the chin and out a nostril. I use #6 Gamakatsu Octopus circle hooks for this setup.

Trolling Speed: If you are using your outboard, just throw it into gear and let it idle. If you are using your eletctric trolling motor, you’ll have to vary your speed depending on wind conditions. Do esses with the boat as you go. When you get into fish, circle around and do figure 8′s in the area.

-That’s it. Hope this helps!

Round Valley Fishing Report August 8, 2010

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RoundValleyFishing.com’s official boat, The Cougar Magnum, fished in the Round Valley Trout Association August 2010 trout tournament yesterday. It was a gorgeous day and my buddy Jay and I caught a lot of fish, None of which won the tournament!

I counted 12 boats in the water when the tournament directors signaled for us to start fishing at 5:30am, and more were being loaded at the two ramps as we motored away. Under way, everyone motored off to fish their favorite spot, The Cougar Magnum set up a slow 3 line troll along the north shore and then hooking in towards the middle of the lake. About half way there, we got into some Rainbow Trout, none of which were big enough to keep and one smallmouth bass… what was he doing out there?

After trolling for 2 hours and not catching a legal fish, we set up a drift in ~70 feet of water and just as the sun broke through the morning cloud cover, Jay hooked into and landed a nice lake trout. At weigh-in this trout was in first place… no one else had weighed in a Lake Trout yet, but by the time we left at noon, he was in 4th. Oh well there’s always next month.

Trolled the back end of the lake and caught nothing but largemouth and smallmouth bass. Saw a bald eagle around 11am, figure it is one the nesting pair which has been living in the Cushetunk Mountains for the last few years.

For complete tournament results, check out the Round Valley Trout Association website.