some of you cherish ice fishin....no ice round these parts....60 degrees yesterday, sunny, gorgeous day to be on the water..

this is lake pardee...big fish of day ~2.5 pounds...yum yum

Very nice! And I'm sitting here not having had a lunch. That's lookin' mighty good.

... and here's the other end of the weather spectrum for a little adventuresome trout fishing:
Dog Team, Trout Teem article
Dogsled Trout Fishing Photos

It is supposed to reach a balmy -44 degrees in Ely tonight.

It's two degrees in northeastern Indiana today at 6:47 P.M. and the wind has finally died down to 20 mph. Supposed to get down to five below zero tonight. Wish I had time to icefish. I'm kicking butt to make the mortgage again. Ah the joys of being self employed and investing all your extra money in the next business venture. It should pay off handsomely though -- eventually!

Never got over 0 today. Sittin' at -10 at 6:00 pm CST.

Nice pictures, DIED. You're making me hungry.

High was near 80 here today. Culled 16 LMB and 4 were full of eggs!

The aluminum boat got so warm sitting in the sun that I contemplated a nice quick dip in the water. Maybe next time.

dang that looks cold cat..
today we burned a ton of down pine, was not only 60 here but standing near bonfire was sweatin my a$$ off.

davatsa, we like to place thin lemon wedges and thin pats of butter all over and inside of trout, then bake/poach in sealed alum. foil in oven.......425 for about 20-25 minutes......delicious...works great this way on bbq as well...serve and spoon out the cookin juices on the servings.

another nice day on water....
been doing alot of field work the last few weeks, so not checking forum much..but did get to play hookey yesterday, and i see we have a new guy from shasta area.....welcome to PB if ya read this.

fished a lake relatively close to me (camanche) for the first time and i think we did awlright...fish werent jumpin in the boat but

6 fish caught, one really nice spotted bass (~2.5 lb fish-released), 5 scrappy rainbows………4 in the boat and one “short distance” release, biggest ~1.5 lbs.

my friend had never done the boating/fishing thing before, so it was good practice pretending to be a guideservice ....thank goodness we didnt get skunked...enjoy the pics

That was a first class spotted bass. Love the markings on those fish. Aren't they usually located over more "open water"?

thanks bruce, i wanted to bring him home and introduce him to some new friends , but didnt being that its illegal and all

i think i'm beginning to be able to tell the spots from trout on the fishfinder. trout seem to school horizontally in pods with fish of similar size and within a narrow depth range. i liken the spots to gangs, they school more loosely, mulitple sized fish positioned kind of vertically under bait or near structure at wider range of depths plus they seem to move around alot...hunting.....causing trouble... you can find them suspended in open water but i think they also like shore structer as well as any bass. this guy was caught off a point containing tree stumps in about 30 feet of water off a big jointed rapala.

I'm so jealous. This long, cold winter is beginning to drag on me.

It's a balmy 18 degrees here, with nary a chance to catch a rainbow or a spotted bass.

Great photos Dave, you're a fishing machine!



What is illegal - to relocate a live Spotted Bass? Are Spotted Bass only catch and release?

jeff, i think it is illegal to use the livewell to transport ANY fish from one body of water to another in CA....i may be wrong but i have heard this many times...never looked it up though. the regs for spots are the same as for lmb or smb...12-inch length limit and 5 per day for folks who keep them.

i got out yesterday and tried another local lake that has had a reported tough bite the last week....and it was, although we had another great day just being on the water, several strikes, but only caught and landed one.....a drag strippin, 23-inch, 4.5 pound tank....a cutthroat/rainbow hybrid locally known as an amador cutbow...



he filleted out a hearty two dinners for two.....and was a blast to catch

Nice fish, we still have 12 inches of ice on. I can't wait to wet a line.

thanks fishtech, my pond only iced up once in 12 years.....last year for about 2 weeks...

a fella that fished the same lake today caught two of those cutbows each over 5 pounds....i hope some of you like seeing pics of what northern CA has to offer, because after i figured my taxes, fishin is about the only thing i have left here

jhap, when the heck are u up here fulltime....need a new client?

sigh.....

Dave,

First off great fish!



Didn't know this but since I've never owned a pond before I've never though about bringing home a lunker.

As soon as I can my friend, as soon as I can. And yes I'll always have room for ya.

The city life is getting very old. As I sit here preparing tax returns I find my self humming and then breaking out in to full singing....

Greeeeen Acres is the place for meeeeee,
Farrrrm liven is where I'd like to beeeeeeee

Kinda freaks the clients out that I'm meeting with thou.

Try singing Eddie Albert's parts, instead of Eva Gabor's using a falsetto.

i had a fisherman's classic on 3/17. nutshell.....went almost all day before figuring out the fish, then had a blast. we started out on a bluebird day



coincidentally, the DFG (dept. fish and game) was stocking the marina area, so we stopped to watch:


we left the marina area to go hunt some "established" trout, and spent the next four hours trying nearly everything in the tackle box, at different depths, different setbacks, for nothin....we were getting a little worried, but it was an awesome day on water:


up the main river arm, we took a lunch break, i fumbled through the tackle box some more and came up with the last color combo we hadnt yet tried. i rigged up a couple poles, we pulled out of cove, let out some line ......................and FISH ON!!


we went on to nail 8 fish in about 2 hrs and had our first double on the boat.....chinese fire drill..."fish on!, another fish on!, dont cross lines!, go over here!, go under me!, check yer drag!, let him fight!, get the net!, i need the net!, no i need the net!", what a blast.







i cant compete w/ n8's girls, but all were nice scrappy bows ranging to 17-inches, and they were great table fare. my wife's niece visiting all the way from NEW YORK CITY brought us some good luck and had a great time...her first time fishin.


its days like this i think.....somebody slap me, wake me up, i have such a great life.

Good job, Dave!

I always look forward to "nice day on the water" updates.

thanks davatsa, i always look forward to yer comments!

in the pic below the "fish netting" my wife has one on the line near the boat, you can just see it over outboard (hers swam right to boat before fighting) and you can see the fish ring in distant background just after my fish did some aerial acrobatics....its tough to get a pic of a double...

DIED if they were stocking RT I would have stayed there and fished for big LMB with a RT swimbait.

i was so fixated on catching "good" trout or kokes that day, but yeah i had revelation hineysight on that as well. though i do have the rest of this spring and three different RT swimbaits in the tackle box....

minor issue is pardee doesnt allow fishing within a couple hundred foot radius of the launch ramp, its all marked w/ buoys so you'd have to camp out a while on the outside of buoy line til the trout made it out that far.

its been too long since the last one, but yup, i just have to share another nice day on water....

been buried in work the last few weeks, so not checking forum much..but did get to play hookey last friday, on beautiful Lake Tahoe....

We met our guide (Gene) at Cave Rock on Friday for an afternoon trip. Talk about a blue bird day. No wind, 80+ degree weather, it was perfect for one of my objectives, which was to give my Mom a celebratory mothers day “cruise” on the lake, her first time on the water in over 50 years of going up to Tahoe, and of course my other objective, scratching the itch for some deep water Tahoe Macks……..

We loaded into the PT-109 and headed off to one of Gene’s favorite spots. Gene reported the bite had been REALLY tough the last few days. If you dont know how to fish Tahoe (which i dont......yet) you'l likely never see fish. these macks lurk in water to depths of over 300 feet, and you need to go after them w/ some pretty specialized stuff. I learned a bunch and really respected how hard our guide worked to get us on fish. i'm happy to plug Blue Ribbon Charters for any of you who might get to Tahoe one day.

Here are some pics to share the rest of the story, enjoy……..

I forgot how stunning the blue water is:


This pic is not altered…….it was really this blue……”lake of the sky”


Evidence that my Mom had fun


The gracious Cap’n makin sure his crew don’t get sunburned……


Riggin up…..


Poles out……..


Fish on……


Unfortunately it didn’t happen quite that fast……it was a tough bite, but no skunks here.

Fish in and in the box…….a nice eatin size ~17”



We were marking a lot of fish, we had several other hits but really no takers, none were committing, just barely nipping. It was a “reaction nip” type of bite My wife did have a good one on at one point, but it ended up being “the one that got away………” it would have been big fish of day. We stayed a while longer at the first spot, then moved south to another spot and again marked a ton of fish, but no one was hungry. We went down from 4 to 2 rods……..maybe all that flash w/ 4 rods was a bit much for them.

At least took advantage of slim action and took a few nice pics:


First time ever captured on film……..Gene St. Denis puttin the mojo on………


Watchin and waitin…


The water was like glass all day……


Just before we were deciding to call it a day, we got hit. A very decent fish (~25-inches....~6-7 lbs)


The fishes stomachs were absolutely crammed w/ shrimp…..part of the reason for such a tough bite. when the macks go on the feed again, one could get into 30 fish days w/ hogs over 10 pounds. the lake record is north of 40 lbs.

Besides the stomach full of shrimp, can anybody guess what's goin on w/ that fishes abdomen?

We kept our two keepers on ice until we got home Sunday night, filleted, a little lowrys marinade ..baked in foil………AWESOME tasting fish…..yum yum.

Hope y’all enjoyed the story…I know my Mom and wife had a great time, one to remember even if the fish werent jumpin the boat.

For those as lost as I was wrt Inner-Left Coast fishing:
The Lake Trout or Mackinaw

DIED - Thanks for my first ever glimpse of Lake Tahoe and of a Laker that swallowed a volleyball. Amazing - can't believe you got any strikes with forage as abundant as those shrimp must be.

PS: How did you summon Papa Hemmingway from the grave to guide your trip?

TJ

You brought him up from deep water and the pressure differential made his air bladder fill up?

thanks theo, here i just assumed everyone knew what a "mack" was. great link. i've heard true what it says about the macks dominating the fishery and wiping out the rest of the "indigenous" cutthroats back around 1900. the cutthroats first suffered uncontrolled fishing combined with impacts from clear cutting the region in the late 1800's, then came the macks and mysis shrimp which changed the whole ecosystem. its a heck of a lake trout fishery now though, and rainbows and browns are in there as well. bows and browns well over 10 lbs are occassionally caught by the few anglers that now how.

teehjaeh57, yer welcome...it was only my second time to fish tahoe. i have a ways to go before i could be productive by myself up there. the color and clarity of that water is truly stunning. the light bites translate into a very distinct almost undetectable motion on the rod. all the bites we had were mere nibbles, VERY TOUGH to identify over the motion translated by the large dodgers, occassional bottom bumping, and kicker motor vibration.

mr. hemmingway is a tahoe native and has been running guide service for nearly 30 years, and he is a REAL character. the type of guy that straps on snow shoes, hikes 10 miles back into remote high country lakes just to go ice fishin for an afternoon. sleeps overnight in a snow shelter and hikes back out the next day.

you got it bruce.

the limit on macks is 2/day. from what i've heard, in the past when doing C&R, the guides would puncture the air sack w/ a needle prior to releasing figuring it would heal and fish were fine, but some recent studies showed high morts as a result of this. some new methods use the downrigger to slowly put the fish back down to depth w/out the pithing. so i guess its good i only caught 2 cause i prefer to eat em anyways

Everybody else probably knew, but I didn't know squawt.

Condello, OTOH, probably has the Lake Tahoe light tackle Mack record.

My, you certainly run into the celebs out there in Sunny California - Ernest Hemingway, Tom Cruise, Santa Claus. I seem to recall (from tree topping pictures) that your nephews are Eddie & Alex Van Halen. I expect to see the likes of Bette Midler or Zsa Zsa in your future posts.

Looks like you had a great time Dave. Tahoe is a beautiful lake. Does the scenery look much different since the fires?

Theo, when you're on a first name basis with Santa, everyone wants to be your friend, even celebrities.

this has gone too far......hey, i am tryin to downplay the whole santa thing, can you guys please put a lid on it? i had to run the papparazzi out of here this morning, they were trying to sneak pics of me in my undershorts drinkin a cup of coffee in my front yard.

jeff, you can see the tahoe (angora) fire scars, but its greening up pretty well.....the sierras heal fast. the overall view from the lake is still breathtaking.

Did ya see this DIED?

On July 26, 2008, Dave's Tahoe guide caught two monster Mackinaw Trout - - one weighed 29 pounds 8 ounces.



Here's the story:


Monster trout caught at Lake Tahoe

10-4 good buddy. he's also gotten into a couple double digit browns this season. i beleive one was 14 lbs. as i said, anybody who visits tahoe and wants to fish it should look gene up, they will have a great day.

these were posted up on my other forum to follow up on JHAPs story....capped off w/ the BIG BEAUTIFUL BROWN........man now THAT GUY knows how to fish........

enjoy:

Sheesh!

Lordy what are those fish feeding on, small children? Flop-eared rabbits?

Sooner or later my idea of using flop-eared rabbits as a forage base will catch on. Then you guys will be sorry for doubting me.

Well, now I know why those Cal bass get so durn big. Those suckers are a mouthful.

once the macks reach a certain size, their preferred diet consists of kokanee salmon (landlocked cohos (or silvers as they are also known)).

to my (limited) knowledge, round here, there are no substantial bass populations in the same waters as macks. if there were, its pretty clear who'd win that one. for all practical purposes, those big macks are freshwater sharks.

i'd put this is in the fishin 2010 thread, but its not from my pond unfortunately, so for you homeys in fly over country and back east, here are some Lassen strain RT shots from camanche lake, plus some bonus bald eagle shots all from yesterday.

DIED did you guys have some earth action today ?

Something is rumbling up there, I read there has been 3 above 5.0 since Thursday.

DIED may have lost his power hence why he is not responding.

6.5 quake strikes off California coast

There are reports of power outages and damage Saturday in the aftermath of a 6.5-magnitude earthquake that struck off California's northern coast.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/01/09/california.earthquake/index.html

Several smaller events nearer DIED in the last couple days. If he was up by Lassen (Lassen RT) he may have been closer. Lassen is a volcano and IIRC is still classified as active

Steamed trout anyone?

A real pressure cooker.

Hey DIED looks like some amazing Fishing. I am just taking a guess but is that a Hewes Craft boat in some of the pictures?

Looks like a great trip DIED. How about more details?

yes CA did, as it does everyday, but we are really far away from that area of the san andreas system and idnt feel a thing.

here's an index map, the color and size of the squares relate to the time and magnitude of the events, the most recent large one being off the coast from eureka.





hi blair, no its a 16 ft crestliner, and a nice little boat to fish out of. hewescrafts are sweet boats but $$$$$. theres a pic or two of my little fishin boat on page 1 of this rag.



details?
lake camanche CA. stocked with trout originating and grown out in the lassen hatchery up north

best lures = jointed raps, grubs, spoons w/ worm trailers
best color = orangish
best speed = 1.5 - 2.0 mph
best depth = topline
setbacks = 150 - 250 ft
locations =

the fishing has been really consistent at this lake over the last month. hope to get a few more trips in . hopefully i can treat you to a day out jhap.

I hear you can catch a trout at Yellowstone and steam cook it nearby.

BTW I saw the guy with the brown trout hanging around my trout pond about the time he caught it.

my brother and i fished a local lake yesterday (lake amador), had a fun day but not too many fish to the boat for our efforts. we went to target trout, but water temps are still too high (66-68 degrees at surface)

we caught a couple small bass (lmb) early, managed one fat rainbow cutthroat hybrid (cutbow) at the end of day, but the highlight for me was a stunning RES..... an 11-incher....caught mid-day. thought you might like to see them.....

Nice fish Dave and I really like how you change your wardrobe to make the photos more interesting.

sunny, cloudy, calm, windy.....a hat for every season

JHAP you don't understand. You can't sneak up on a RES with a baseball cap on - you have to have a real hat.

Nice fish DIED. I can see you knew better than to stick your fingers anywhere near that RES mouth.

There is so much to learn about fishing. I don't think I'll ever get it right.

Just keep wearing clothes, JHAP, please.

I find your request both unreasonable and burdensome and, accordingly, regret to inform you that I may be unwilling to comply.

JHAP take heed - Sunil is trying to protect you. If you put on a real hat and take off your clothes and try to sneak up on a RES -- well you can imagine what that fully aware and angry RES will do (see your prior RES pic which I call thumb-less) but it won't be fingers that are targeted. Forewarned is forearmed.

Why did you have to say that, Sunil? Now he's going to talk about that doggone codpiece again!

That's one mean looking RES. I wouldn't put my fingers anywhere near its mouth.

Ewest, I do believe that this is the first time that you have caused me to respond...


OH SNAP!!!

Let the record reflect that I was not the first to mention my Brazilian Cut Neoprene Codpiece.

Actually, yes you were. If you will take note of Exhibit A, my post, you will see that I made mention only of the generic term, "codpiece."

Turn your attention now to Exhibit B, YOUR post. In that exhibit, displayed above, once clearly sees the phrase "Brazilian Cut Neoprene Codpiece."

Note how the full terminology, so uniformly associated with JHAP is used. Note how each word in that descriptive phrase is capitalized, making it a formal designation. Notice the fully descriptive terminology, especially the part about the frightening Brazilian Cut style. This is no generic mention of a piece of "attire," but rather the formal and detailed description of a true aficionado of such casual wear.

Now, I ask you, WHO, if not JHAP, was the first to mention a Brzilian Cut Neoprene Codpiece?"

I rest my case!

Sheesh, looks like I'm gonna have to bribe a judge.


Note to self:
Put Todd on retainer.

on sunday DWIED and i managed a few hours out on lake pardee....we had been hearing reports of a hot kokanee bite.

kokanee are stocked freshwater landlocked sockeye salmon. anything 14-inches and over is considered good size.....above 18-inches is trophy class for fresh water....ours were all around 14"

we kept 4 nice fish including a tubby rainbow. didnt get very good pics, but it certainly was a nice albeit short day on the water.


14-inch kok


chunky rainbow


as table fare, if you have never tasted fresh kokanee, you have missed out!!

you have to see what a kok fillet looks like. i did not photograph mine, but stole this pic from a fishin acquaintence, same lake, same day....this guy is a real pro and he caught a bunch!

Congrats, looks like fun.

Awesome, Dave! Great looking plate of fillets - makes my mouth water!

Wow, great looking fish DIED!

Hopefully, we'll see you Sunday!

Beautiful looking fillets, Dave. How's the pond - full or not so???

thanks guys. all i can think about is getting back on the water for some more of those kokes...

its gonna stay cold here this weekend jhap, we're looking forward to seeing you guys tomorrow, rain possible...yer pond temps are probably still pretty cold.....hope we can help you catch something....anything...on the travelling lures.

randy, my pond is only down about a foot....this time last year was down 2 to 3 feet, so my fishies should have no problem making it through the summer. i measured 50-inches in the rain guage for this wet season......last year was only 34-inches. jhap said his spillway is still flowing about as big as he's ever seen it.

mowing and weedwhack today...oh boy....