Stannard Rock Fishing — Tackle and Methods

Vertical Jigging

6.0-6.5 Foot Spinning rod with medium to heavy power and fast action tip.
We use the G.L. Loomis GL-3 Rods
Medium to high quality open faced spinning reel
At least 150 yds. capacity of 10 lb.
diameter line. No Stretch Line. We use 14lb. Fireline (8) lb. dia. Make sure you back fill the spool with some mono first. A 12lb. monofilament leader about 6 feet long. Tie to Jig with a Palomar knot.
We use the Shimano “Sahara” 4000 Spinning Reel

White (it’s the only color you need) lead headed jigs of 1.5 and 2 ounces and strong hook.

White Mr. Twister Grub Tails of at least 3.5 inches. Berkley Gulp works well too

Chunk of Fresh ( Fresh is best) cut sucker meat. About 1”x2” Hide the hook(Make sure its sharp)
.
Find fish on your depth finer on a bank or structure first
Remember 90% of the fish are in 10% of the lake
“Let’s go Jigging”
See how we emphasize the word vertical above. The key to vertical jigging is staying vertical. This is why it’s hard to fish in seas over 2 feet. You just can’t stay vertical. It’s the only way to feel a bite. You cannot feel a bite if your line is bowed as it becomes when drifting.
Drop your line until you feel bottom. Crank up about 1 foot and either snap jig or slowly lift the jig. They will usually bite on the fall back of the jig. After a few jigs then slowly start cranking the jig up. Vary your speed. Do Not drag the jig on the bottom like you are Walleye fishing. You’ll get hung up and loose valuable fishing time. The fish will strike the jig all the way up the water column. Often you will see several follow it up to the boat. Make sure your hooks are sharp and set the hook good when you feel a bite.
Jigging is an excellent method in water over 30 feet deep. Above 30 feet we recommend casting as you get the lure further away from the boat and do not spook the fish as easily.

Casting
Spoons and Spinners
In water under 30 feet deep, namely the 18 foot reef west of the lighthouse, near the lighthouse and near Stannard Rock to the south of the lighthouse the water is under 30 feet deep. In these areas casting works better than jigging as you are getting the lure away from the boat. Long casts are important as are countdowns to let the lure sink down near the bottom. The best place to be is near an edge or drop-off so you can cast into the deeper water and retrieve the lure up the slope. Vary your retrieval rates. Use methods recommended by the manufacturer of the lure to obtain its best action. We use the same rods for casting as for jigging generally but if you have a 7 foot spinning rod
Such as you might use for smallmouth that would be excellent here. Especially if you are going for fish in the under 10 lbs.range which are the excellent table fare fish. If you want bigger fish casting then a Muskie Size Rig works well. Big Daredevil Spoons up to 3 ounces and bucktail type spinners work well as so do Suick type plug lures.
We like to use the below listed casting lures.
Shallow Water
K.O. Wobbler ¾ Ounce /Nickel and Blue
Yakima Bait Co. Rooster Tail Spinner 1 ounce/ Pink or White
For Deeper Water
Daredevil Spoons 3 ounce/ 5 of Diamonds/Yellow or White/ Plain Gold

Remember if casting watch where your lure and hooks are at all times. There are no doctors closeby

Trolling
We never go to Stannard Rock to troll over the other methods of fishing but sometimes d in a few cases it is an excellent way to catch fish out there. If you have limited out on Lake Trout, for instance, trolling high lines may catch some Steelhead or Salmon. We often throw a roostertail or wobbler out the back when slowly moving back to a spot we have drifted off of. But if you want to troll in the Stannard Rock area be advised that there are vertical pinnacles so if using downriggers keep them high. Especially around the lighthouse or Stannard Rock. Dipsy Divers work well. There is a gentle sloping back northeast of the lighthouse that can be trolled very easily. It extends out about 3 miles to water around 140 feet deep.