Tahoe 02AUG (Non Yak)

Non yak report, but might be helpful for the upcoming Salmon Slam...

Had a couple friends vacationing in South Lake for the week, and they wanted to see if they could catch some fish in Tahoe. I had a few solid days tolling Tahoe for kokanee last summer, and until Stampede shut down in mid June I had caught plenty of limits up there this spring. I figured it was a sure bet to at least bend a couple of rods, and the scenery alone is worth the price of admission.

It's a bit cramped to pile four people in my Hobie, so I brought the aluminum boat instead. We launched from Cave Rock at 0600 sharp, and headed right over to Camp Richardson to get things started. It was overcast, dead calm, with temps in the mid 60s, the kind of morning I pray for in spring or fall. I set out wedding rings behind flashers, and immediately started marking schools on the graph. It didn't take long, and we were surrounded by a small flotilla, including the Tahoe Sportfishing fleet. We trolled all morning, without a bump. I tried multiple different colors, scents, and depths, all to no avail. I'm not a great fisherman by any means, and certainly not a guide, but it was disappointing to get skunked with friends. I did my best to salvage the morning by running into Emerald Bay and anchoring up for a swim, and the 'weekend scenery' didn't disappoint. While I prefer the lake when the crowds die down, that's one aspect that I'll miss when summer passes.

The buddies had a lunch date set with their families, so after dropping them off, I headed back out to scrub the skunk out of the boat. Early afternoon is less than ideal in any water, but in Tahoe's gin clear water, in the dead of summer, I might as well troll through Black Rock Desert. Undeterred, I set a course for some holes that have produced for me in the past, and traditionally see much less pressure. Sure enough, the arches of mackinaw were blanketing the bottom as soon as the boat arrived on the waypoint. I set up a mooching rig with a live redside and dropped it down 150 feet to the bottom. With that rod set, I rigged up a crippled herring and started bouncing it about 5 feet off the bottom with a jigging rod. On the third bounce, it loaded up on the stroke. Fish on! Jigging for marks is by far my favorite way to catch them (besides toplining in the colder months). They actually put up a decent fight on light tackle, and usually don't bloat up if you can bring them up from less than 150 feet. As I got him unhooked, the clicker on the mooching rod started to make some noise, and it loaded up as well. Finished with my duties on the first fish, and after returning him back to the depths, I brought this second one to the surface. The fight isn't as sporting with heavier tackle, but it's still nice to get two fish within ten minutes. I snapped a quick photo and dropped this one in the cooler. Cooked correctly, Mackinaw can certainly defy the stereotype that they taste too fishy. Additionally, I got to inspect the contents of his stomach when I cut him open. He was filled with crawdads, two of which were almost certainly eaten that morning, which suggests that they're still venturing up into the shallows to feed.

Thanks for the report. I grew up 30 minutes from the lake and never managed to fish there. It is on my list for sure. Looks like you had a great day!

Great report! Thanks!

Very nice report! I am heading to Tahoe with family this weekend. Hope I may catch a fish or 2. 

Grat info, I will have to use some of the tips for the Salmon Slam.