Amid my prep for an upcoming trip to Trinity Lake, I was reminded that many of us
anglers struggle to effectively prepare for upcoming trips, especially regarding bodies of
water we are unfamiliar with. Over the course of my past few tournament seasons, I
have been able to travel to many bodies of water including quite a few I do not have
much experience with. I like to answer a few questions up front that help me establish a
game plan for what conditions to expect and what tackle I will need to bring.
Primary Questions
1. Where am I going?
2. What is the target species?
3. When am I going?
These three preliminary questions are the outline to all of my research that is going to
take place leading up to my trip. By knowing where you are going, you can do research
on the lake to find the answer to our second preliminary question which is, “What is my
target species”. Lastly, I need to know when my trip is taking place, the third preliminary
question. Knowing when the trip is taking place will help you gameplan for anticipated
season patterns and predicting the fish behavior.
In Depth
Where:
Gaining knowledge of the fishery is vital to success because it is the gateway for all
your preparation. Once I know where I am going, I tend to do quite a bit of internet-
based research. Typically, I begin with a quick Google search. Here I can find where
the lake is located. Is it a lake? Is it a river? Is it a reservoir that is in a river canyon?
How deep or flat is the lake.
In my current case, I know I am going to Trinity Lake. Trinity Lake is located in Northern
California about 1.5 hours northwest of Redding and is a large reservoir located along
the Trinity River. Since the lake is surrounded by pine trees, I assume the terrain is
mountainous and moderately steep to steep presenting rapidly deepening banks.
What is the target species:
Continuing with internet-based research, we can learn what species of fish live in the
lake. Trinity Lake is home to a variety of species including Largemouth and Smallmouth
Bass, Rainbow and Brown Trout, Kokanee and Chinook Salmon (Chinook are
landlocked), White Catfish and Brown Bullhead, as well as Sunfish. As a bass addict, I
now know I will now be dedicating my trip to targeting Largemouth and Smallmouth
Bass. Even though I am going to solely be fishing for bass, it is helpful to know what
else lives in the lake. Bass love to prey on anything that moves, especially trout,
salmon, and sunfish. Now this may not be all they use as forage, but it is a great place
to start.
When am I going:
Now that we know where we are going, what we are fishing for, & even a few bonus
forage fish we need to look at the time frame or season of when we will be visiting the
body of water. Knowing the time frame of the visit plays a vital role in understanding the
behavior of our target species, Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass.
In deep, high mountain lakes, bass will typically follow the same seasonal patterns year
after year. During the winter and summer months, bass living in deep reservoirs can be
found living deeper. Deeper water is warmer in the winter months and cooler in the
summer months and is therefore more comfortable for the bass and the forage they
prey on. Leading up to and during the spring, bass are concerned with spawning or the
process of reproduction. As a general rule, bass in the spring begin to move shallow in
anticipation of spawning and the act of spawning. Following the spawn the bass will
begin their migration back to their summer haunts. Lastly, during the fall months, bass
feed up in preparation for the long cold winter. Unfortunately, bass during the fall can
sometimes be unpredictable since their primary goal is to eat and will often just follow
the forage around. This can be shallow, deep, and anywhere in between.
Putting It All Together
Now that I have answered my three preliminary questions I like to start assessing my
tackle needs and finding areas I want to fish during my visit.
Finding Areas:
Finding areas to fish can be as easy as looking at satellite images of the lake. However,
I like to use the “One Boat Network App”. The One Boat Network app allows me to
peruse the lake and study the topographical contour lines. Additionally, the One Boat
Network app was created by Johnson Outdoors who is the same company who created
Humminbird, Minn Kota, and LakeMaster. As many of you know, LakeMaster is the top
of the line mapping card on the market.
The One Boat Network app allows to scroll through the entire lake and make note of or
even waypoint the areas you may view as hotspots. Since I have Humminbird units on
my boat, I am able to transfer the waypoints from my One Boat Network app directly to
my Humminbird units. By doing this all of the waypoints I created on the app will show
up on my Humminbird screens for me to use while fishing.
Don’t forget to visit www.rbbass.com for free lake reports from tournament anglers to
help you get ready for your next trip. To see how my trip goes, visit my social media
pages @ryanhallfishing!
Tackle:
Being that Trinity Lake is a deep mountain reservoir, with clean water, that I will be
visiting during the heart of Summer, I anticipate I will primarily be fishing deeper (20-40
foot) and will gear a majority of my tackle to fit those needs. Some tactics I anticipate
playing a factor are Jigs, Drop Shot, Shakey Head, Ned Rigs, & small swimbaits. Now
that I have my primary pattern forecasted, I will think of potential secondary tactics such
as Topwater, reaction baits, possibly swimbaits. I will list the specific tackle I plan on
taking to Trinity Lake at the bottom of the article.
Upon completion of my tackle forecasting I will take inventory and begin packing my
tackle. As I pack, I take note of products I do not have or that is running low. Once my
inventory has been completed and I have established what I need, I begin shopping.
Personally, I visit Fisherman's Warehouse both in person and online.
Ryan’s Tackle
One Boat Network App: https://humminbird.johnsonoutdoors.com/us/learn/one-boat-network-app
Jig: https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/product/picasso-tungsten-football-jig, https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/product/dobyns-champion-xp-series-casting-rods/123896, 12lb Fluorocarbon Line
Drop Shot: https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/product/gamakatsu-tgw-finesse-drop-shot-hook, https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/product/roboworm-straight-tail-worm,
https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/product/picasso-tungsten-tapered-cylinder-drop-shot-weights, Dobyns Sierra Series 702SF https://dobynsrods.com/the-dobyns-sierra-series/
Shakey Head: https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/product/gamakatsu-g-finesse-tricky-hd-hook, https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/product/roboworm-fat-straight-tail-worm,
Dobyns Champion XP Series – 703SF https://dobynsrods.com/the-dobyns-champion-xp-series/
Ned Rig: https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/product/picasso-rhino-ned-head, https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/product/yamamoto-ned-senko-floater, Dobyns Kaden
Series – 711SF https://dobynsrods.com/the-dobyns-kaden-series/
Small Swimbait: https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/product/picasso-smart-mouth-jig-head, https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/product/keitech-fat-swing-impact, Dobyns
Champion XP Series – 702SF https://dobynsrods.com/the-dobyns-champion-xp-series/
Line: Spinning – 10-15lb Braid to 8lb Fluoro Carbon Leader (Braid to Fluorocarbon
Knot) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoxzW-XoCOY
Sunglasses: Costa Del Mar® Sunglasses https://www.costadelmar.com/en-us?cid=PM-SBI_000000-1.US-Costa-EN-B-NA-BrandCoreExtended-Exact-Prs-Desktop-Ecom-NA_Extended-Core_costa+del+mar&ds_rl=1288388&cid=PM-SBI_000000-1.US-Costa-EN-B-NA-BrandCoreExtended-Exact-Prs-Desktop-Ecom-NA_Extended-Core_costa+del+mar&msclkid=781c77e67d8e1a86f37c116b8612ce63&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=1.US-Costa-EN-B-NA-BrandCoreExtended-Exact-Prs-Desktop-Ecom-NA&utm_term=costa%20del%20mar&utm_content=Extended-Core&ds_rl=1288388&gclid=781c77e67d8e1a86f37c116b8612ce63&gclsrc=3p.ds
Batteries: https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/product/bioenno-li-deep-cycle-battery/146101 (Trolling Motor), https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/product/bioenno-li-deep-cycle-battery/146098 (Electronics)
Facebook: Ryan Hall/ Ryan Hall Fishing/ RB Bass Outdoors
Instagram: @ryanhallfishing/ @rbbass
YouTube: Ryan Hall Fishing/ RB Bass Outdoors