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[Oops Snagged]

Hello Everyone,

First time posting! I've been hitting the tidal Fraser very hard recently in search of big Bulls, and I've noticed something... 95% of the fish I've caught have struck when the lure was retrieved at an angle to the shoreline. I didn't notice the first few fish but after a week of highly successful outings i decided to experiment. Last week on a clear sunny day I walked the dyke looking for the spot where i know fish lie, I spotted a decent sized bull and just sat and watched him for a few minutes. After planning a good approach i went below him and cast upstream so that my lure would waltz right over his head, I thought for sure this would illicit a strike but it didn't. After a few more attempts at the same fish I was completely puzzled, how could it be possible that this fish didn't want to get hooked?! Remembering the strikes of the previous day, i cast out at an angle and retrieved; low and behold on that first cast I saw the telltale flash of silver and the impact of the strike which is so characteristic of bull trout. Has anyone else had an experience similar to this? I'm not entirely sure why the angle mattered so much or if it did at all. Any thoughts are appreciated!

[Rodney]

Probably because it wasn't hungry...

The angle idea works most likely due to bull trout's behaviour. I find that they have a tendency to come from the side of the lure suddenly rather than following the lure from behind when committing for a strike.

Welcome to the forum.

[Oops Snagged]

Definitely an ambush predator, I'll try to find a way to capitalize on this as much as possible... Thanks!

[Rodney]

How's the water clarity? Must be pretty good if you are able to spot fish in the water. Have you seen many big splashes/signs of predation on the surface?

[Oops Snagged]

It's very good right now, crossing my fingers that it won't colour up for another 10 days at least. I've seen salmon fry being harassed and pushed to the surface and shore with a few bull trout swirling but no splashes as such.

[cohoaaron]

did you actually see the fish in the water? whereabouts have you been fishing? (if you dont mind me asking)........have you been hooking them pretty much every time you go out?

[Noahs Arc]

Ya tell us what rock we need to be standing on

[noobfisher]

What lure you using?  I've been tryin for years and don't think I've seen visibility ever like you've described

I've also never caught a bull trout either yet on the tidal Fraser.

[Oops Snagged]

He was right close to shore, not willing to give away this location yet but maybe one day... This past week I've hooked at least one per day in the two hours before high tide. Small silver spoons or spinners have been producing, all of the fish in the last 4 days that I've caught have fallen for a silver spoon with scale indents. I'm sure any old rock will do Noah 

[troutbreath]

Do you mean"bullhead".

[Oops Snagged]

No I do not, sir. Straight from Wikipedia: The bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus, is a char of the family Salmonidae native to northwestern North America.[2] Historically, S. confluentus has been known as the "Dolly Varden" (S. malma), but was re-classified as a separate species in 1980.

[Rodney]

I have had bull trout swimming by me casually in the Tidal Fraser River when I stood in the water up to my ankles. I've also seen bull trout (as well as salmon and trout) sitting idly in the shallow water. It rarely happens, but it does happen at times.

[Oops Snagged]

Update: Water clarity has degraded a lot, hope it gets better before freshet.