BY MIKE STEVENS
SUMMIT VALLEY – Big fish are starting to show up in the midst of Silverwood Lake’s continued solid mixed-bag fishing here in late summer. The bite has been decent across the board for weeks, but it was primarily a numbers game. Lately, the quality of all species showing up in the fish report has improved, and it includes at least one straight-up trophy fish.
Largemouth rarely lead the charge at Silverwood, and they don’t now, but there have been some quality models biting and the biggest one flirted with double digits. That bass was caught by Chris Bowman who stuck a bucketmouth that tipped the scale at 9.9 pounds prior to release.
News of that catch was relayed to Western Outdoor News just before this issue went to press, so details were thin beyond the photo, but that was definitely among the biggest bass caught at Silverwood this year if not beyond and if not the biggest.
More quality largemouth are being caught on jerkbaits, topwater (walking baits) in the early mornings and some wakebaits. When that reaction bite isn’t happening, 6-inch Roboworms on a drop-shot or shakey head are getting the job done.
Striped bass are also cooperating with anglers with numbers and quality. The numbers have been there for a while with cut baits picking them off around the dam, Marina Dock and throughout the main lake channel.
Lake regular and former Silverwood staffer Tanner Finn told WON that stripers are hitting small topwater stuff throughout Cleghorn Canyon, but he did manage to stick a nicer fish on one of his own Finnbait Customs (instagram.com/finnbait_customs) handcarved and hand painted topwater plugs.
Cut baiters are using anchovies, sardines and chicken livers to pile up limits or near limits of school size stripers to go along with respectable catfish to around 5 pounds. Both cats and linesides are biting day and night.
