Finally the trout season has begun at Lake Skinner. Trout were the main attraction at Lake Skinner since we got our first stock of 1500 lbs on the 12th and we are looking forward to our next stock later this coming week. Trout were hitting mostly near Ramp #2 off of power bait, spoons, spinner baits, night crawlers and troutmallows. While the trout may have been the big attraction, they were by no means the biggest news. The past two weeks larger striper have been coming in and this past week is the same as a 25 pound striper was landed. Many smaller striper were caught as well, most still in the pound or more range, but increasing numbers of 4-6 pound striper have been reported. Inlet and Ramp #2 area are the hot spots this past week. Chicken liver and anchovies working the best for bait, but the bigger fish are still coming in off of artificial lures. Catfish also remain strong in the mix of fish as the cats seem to be hitting near the Dam and the Inlet off of chicken liver and mackerel fished off the bottom. Bass and bluegill reports have become more rare this past week, but fewer people have been fishing for them since the striper action has improved. Look for the bass to begin to move into deeper water off points in the East End and South Shore, drop shot plastics still best bet.

These are the following fish ratings:

Bass: Fair
Bluegill: Fair
Carp: Poor
Catfish: Good
Crappie: Poor
Striper: Excellent
Trout: Excellent