Lake Tahoe HELL!!!! 3-28-09

Great pics and report guys. Looks like a helluva time!

Hey Tote, question for you.  Does that Downrigger affect the handling of the Hobie?  I have found the Yellow Plastic Bait Buckets make it impossible to maneuver the Hobie, how about dragging a several pound lead ball?

Hey Tote, question for you.  Does that Downrigger affect the handling of the Hobie?  I have found the Yellow Plastic Bait Buckets make it impossible to maneuver the Hobie, how about dragging a several pound lead ball?

No problems handling the Hobie with the downrigger.
The yellow bait bucket goes in the tank well and gets a fresh dunk every so often.
No more than 2.5 lbs needed, if that much.

i was considering getting one of those little scotty downriggers, but could'nt figure out how i would mount it because the arm was so short, i ended up buying a cannon but yours looked like it works out awsomely

nice report and picks

Mike -

Nice report and pics.

Scott

tote how much line can you get on those riggers?  what pound braid are you using on it? 65, 130?

don't most tahoe guys troll around 200 foot deep?

Hey Tote, I think we need a complete report on how to mount the downrigger on the Hobie and how you use it.  There seems to be quite a bit of interest here on the Board.

tote how much line can you get on those riggers?  what pound braid are you using on it? 65, 130?

don't most tahoe guys troll around 200 foot deep?

It's no problem getting a lot of braid on the riggers.  I have 100 yards of either 65 or 80 and it barely puts a dent in the spool.

-Allen

   Arrived at the Lake after  driving through really strong winds all the way up I-80. I was going straight to my brother's house at Incline Village (more on that later) but knowing we had to pass a quarantine inspection I decided to stop a one of the local kayak shops to see what was entailed, even though I had called and got the info the day before which required driving to Cave Rock. I was looking to see if anywhere else in town was doing inspections. They were surprised to hear that inspections were mandatory and have been since November. Left there and saw two ladies launching so I thought to stop and as where they got inspections.....uh, what inspections? So off to Cave Rock where the local ranger asked about different places my kayak had been lately. My kayak passed with flying colors as I had spent a good hour last week scrubbing it inside and out...Jonesz would've been proud. Now it was around three and the water had calmed down a bit so I launched and spent about four hours cruising around checking depths looking for ledges  for tomorrows fishing.
   
     Around eight pm I was supposed to meet Tote at my brother's place and having never been there before got  thoroughly lost. A bit later I happened onto Tote who found the right street but couldn't find the house #. I finally got my brother on the line and he walked us through it. After stashing our gear it was off for some dinner, shop for some fishing food ...home and off to bed. In the morning  I was the first to go outside and when I walked about ten feet from the porch I looked down and saw wet BEAR prints on the path...I froze in place. After adjusting my headlamp and glancing back to see if it was behind me I spotted it about 10-12 feet from me sitting on it's hind end going through the neighbor's party trash. The bear looked back  and gave me the look like what are you gonna do...so I walked past to the truck and got my camera..by then he moved under a deck dragging it's quarry with him. Later that day the "party boys" had cleaned up all the the trash and placed the big black trash bags on their front porch
   
   Tote and I were met by the same ranger at the ramp entrance and he was asked a couple quick questions and we were on our way. It was cold to start out but warmed up as soon as the sun made it's rising. We deployed our minnow traps and headed out to do some down-riggering. We each had a good hit but neither stuck. Later switched to bottom bouncing minnows and that did the trick. As Tote posted we got off the water just in time as some pretty good wind waves came up suddenly and the temp was starting to drop.

   Sunday morning the bear redistributed the trash...hilarious!   The lake was real windy so I headed over the the Sunny Side of the lake to do a paddle sans fishing gear. I had promised my diveboard a  soaking so after driving a few miles past Sunny Side I launched wearing my farmer johns and spare clothes with the intentions of hitting SS for lunch for their awesome fish tacos. Upon arriving at SS a sign saying open at 4:00.....bummer! I made a leisurely paddle back to the launch after touring all the poor peoples homes from the water including some killer private docks. Then it was off to Donner Lake for a picnic lunch on a public pier while watching the fishing boats out on the water. Later I stopped and collected some prospecting materials from a local stream,  so after filling a small ziplock bag it was time to be headed  home. Thanks for hooking up Tote!
   
Another Great Day(s) On The Water!
 

   I learned this weekend don't bother using circle hooks with the intention of releasing fish in 200' of water. Even though the fish was gut hooked I don't think the descenders we brought would have done the trick in that depth.

First pic is of Tote braving the swells
Second picture is of a boat threading the needle between Tote and I ......he was pretty cool with the info though.
Third picture....guess where this shot was taken?

Wat to go guys! Looks nice and cold out there.

This next picture is dedicated to AbKing ....picture of a dried out critter
Then my diveboard getting a long deserved outing ...
Last shot..on the way home I was thinking I should have put a "pile of rocks" next to the the sticks..

I am guessin' FB???
Beautiful pic with the dive board!

I am guessin' FB???
Beautiful pic with the dive board!

Si, Wish I could sneak  a leader and hook over the rail. They used to have gum ball machines with fish food  that you could feed the fish.

Dude thats the spillway at Tahoe City.  Great photos as usual Allen. It looks as though you and Tote had some prime sun and water.Imagine the nerve of those pbers. When I was a teenager  some friends had a condo right next to the spillway on the south side. We snuck over there one night and didn't catch a thing. Trout don't feed at night. DOH! The smooth glass like surface of Tahoe in the early morning is one of the most beautiful things on the planet. Coupled with the snow in the background. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.