Wind can’t deter Trout hunter
Waves
on Silver Lake
Wind kicked up some major waves on
Silver Lake last week. ledger dispatch photo by mark kautz
Posted on October 10, 2013
By Mark Kautz
ledger dispatch contributor
Since I was feeling ill last week, I
didn’t have a chance to get out fishing until Friday, the 4th. The local
weather guessers said that the wind was going to blow 15 to 30 miles per hour,
with gusts up to 40 on the east side of the mountain. With that in mind, I
decided to take a shot at Red Lake first and then if that didn’t work out, go
over to Lower Blue Lake and give it a try, since I’d never fished it.
I got to Silver Lake — after a stop
for coffee at Cook’s Station — and found the wind was blowing hard. I hadn’t
seen waves like that since Hurricane Donna, down in Florida, in 1960. Up the
road a piece, at Caples Lake, it was the same thing, just not quite as hard.
With this much wind, the outlook was not good.
However, I managed to get over
Carson Pass and down to Red Lake. The wind was a lot less and there was nobody
there. My hopes were high. I put one rod out with rainbow Power Bait and a
silver Kastmaster on my little Okuma.
An hour later, with nothing to show
for my troubles, I packed up and headed to Lower Blue Lake. As I drove through
the campground, I couldn’t find a good spot to park without paying Day Use
fees, so I just kept going until I hit Upper Blue Lake.
Of course, I stopped in my usual
parking place and, with gear in hand, walked down to the usual spot. I put out
both rods with rainbow Power Bait and set up my red camping chair.
The wind was blowing, but nothing
like Silver or Caples lakes. It did produce a nice ripple on the surface, which
is good. When the surface is disrupted, the fish feel safer, because the
predators have more trouble seeing them.
I started with just my black hoodie,
but it wasn’t many minutes before I went back up to the truck and put on my
parka. I also picked up a couple of chemical hand warmers from the glove box
and a pair of gloves from my backpack. The parka did a lot to reduce my body
being cold, but nothing could help my hands. You can’t put on Power Bait with
gloves on. You can’t take fish off the hook with gloves on. Once you wash the
fish smell off your hands, they are already cold and even the chemical hand
warmers don’t help much.
The first half hour was just sitting
there with my hands in my pockets, watching a couple of guys down the way catch
a few. Then there was a calm moment and I noticed a dark blue area (deep water)
just to the left of where I had my bait, so I reeled in and put both rods in
that area.
It wasn’t ten minutes and the rods
started bouncing. I must have found the “hole.” First one and then the next and
the next and the next. Within 20 minutes, I had five on the stringer and, as I
was reeling in the last rod, it had the sixth, which I released. They were all nice
stocker Rainbows in the 11- to 13-inch range.
As I was packing up, one of the guys
from “over there” walked over. They had two or three each and we chatted about
this and that, what bait we were using and so forth. He was well-enclosed in a
parka, with a warm hat and gloves. The temperature in Lake Tahoe (elevation
6225) that morning was 29 degrees. Upper Blue Lake is 2,000 feet higher and
much colder.
There is a moral to this story.
Winter (although it is still technically fall) is here in the high country.
There is snow here and there; the temperature is downright cold; and you need
to be prepared. Bring heavy coats, gloves, hats, hand warmers, and anything
else you can (maybe a flask of brandy) to keep you warm.
The high country is still producing
fish. Even though the Department of Fish and Wildlife has stopped planting, for
the most part, there are still a plant here (Ice House on the week of 9/29) and
a plant there (East and West Forks of the Carson the week of 9/29, as well),
but, unless you catch the East and West Forks of the Carson when they plant,
you can be assured that the “fish-to-extinction” crowd will clean it out before
you get there.
Tight Lines.
Nice down home report Mark. Do you do ice fishing reports as well?
ReplyDeleteDon't ice fish. See why here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfes9gs9qZg
DeleteI'm the guy who was talking to you on 10/4 at Upper Blue Lake. Enjoyed our little chat and now reading your blog. We fished for awhile and caught 22 fish (released 8 that were lip hooked0, Brought 14 home fired up the smoker and half eaten already. Three of went to Upper Twin Lake out of Bridgeport, CA on Thursday 10/10. Was a great fishing and catching day. Fishing didn't turn to catching until after a couple of hours when the wind turned the water from glass to chop. Caught 23 and released 10. Vacuum sealed them for the next smoke. Chuck
ReplyDeleteWow, couple of great days. Was good chatting with you. Hope to run into you again. Welcome aboard.
Delete