Trinity Lake Day 1 4/17

 Met up with Allen/otobepelagic, Adam/FisHunter, and Patrick/Allens' son, in Redding and then headed up to Trinity Lake to hunt bass. After inquiring with the locals at Trinity Center about a launch and camp area right at waters edge, we found a road that took us to the water, well almost. As I followed Allen toward the water, we came to a sandy area so I kicked in my 4WD, no problem... well almost. Who can guess what happened next?

 50 yards short of the water, Allens' truck (no 4WD) loaded to the gills and sporting 3 yaks on the rack, decides to dig holes with the rear tires and gets stuck ( If you guessed correctly congrats, you win a cookie )No big thing, Adam multi-tasks his paddle as a shovel, Patrick does the same with a large stick in a couple attempts to dig out. 10 feet stuck again/repeat

 We then decide to work smarter, not harder by employing my 4X4 as tow truck---brilliant! 
Do you have a rope? I ask. Allen produces a 10 ft long piece of 1/2 in. nylon flat webbing that has seen better days. We tie the trucks together,give it a try and it snaps, just like Jaws on 10 pound test
I find a piece of 1/2 in. poly rope and we try again, SNAP Allen then produces a 10 ft. length of 3/8 in. vinyl coated cable with loops on both ends that I think he uses to lock his yaks to the rack. We tie the trucks up again and I tow him back to solid ground, third times a charm

 I scout out a path that takes us to waters edge without sand issues and Allen follows with no problems :smt00
It's a glorious day at the lake with views of the snow covered Trinity Alps and at 11:00 am I call out BEER-Thirty and we pound a cold one while we rig the yaks 

 We hit the water at 11:30 am and cross the lake to some rocky areas and start marking fish suspended at 10-15 ft. I toss diving crank baits and plastic worms, while the others use live minnows. Patrick gets a nice
smallie after about 40 min on the water. (see pic.) Then nothing for a couple hours until Patrick hauls in another one. We then all split up for a few hours and the radio chatter has it that Adam and Allen each got at least one and Patrick added a trout. I finally got a 15 in. SMB to take a plastic worm rigged wacky on my way back to the truck at about 5:00pm  (I couldn't stay the weekend, The wife has a birthday tomorrow )
The others planned to fish till dusk so I said goodbye over the radio, wished them luck the rest of the weekend,
loaded up the truck and hit the road Jack.

It was great meeting fellow NCKAers, Thanks Guys! Hope you don't freeze your A$$es off, the nights are cold up there and the down-slope wind was starting as I was leaving Let us know how Sat. and Sun. went.

oh ya, don't get stuck on yer way out!

BANJO/TAD


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Skunks got booted out of the box for all - nice work.  Those guys'll be hunting trophies now.  Thanks for the report, Tad!   

Man the lake looks like the end of summer, not the beginning of spring.... Do the cell phones work up there on the lake? I was tempted to call em.

Skunks got booted out of the box for all - nice work.  Those guys'll be hunting trophies now.  Thanks for the report, Tad!  
No skunks, but I almost did, next time I'll try minnows also!

Man the lake looks like the end of summer, not the beginning of spring.... Do the cell phones work up there on the lake? I was tempted to call em.
It's down 91 ft. even worse than Shasta lake which is down 60 ft.
You might get them on the cell, my wife got me!

That story sounds all too familiar... Good thing that there were multiple vehicles. That would've really sucked if... Let's say Allen was alone... with no other soul in sight. Yeah... that would suck. Good job getting them out of the mud on on the water. I didn't think that place could get any lower than it was last year... I guessed wrong. That place must be a puddle right now. Looks like Patrick is on da kine... With the rest of the weekend to fish, I'm sure the rest of the boys will be getting theirs.

Freddie

Great report.  Next time work smarter not harder,  Let some air out of the tire down to about 10 psi and you can drive out.  Keep an electric tire pump in the car or drive slow.

I have a feeling someone is going to land a fattie smallie on this trip...
I used to carry a high-lift jack and used it and a piece of chain as a 5 feet-at-a-time winch, worked like a charm.

Great report - always fun to hear about a crisis averted!
I saw Trinity lake during the 70's drought (I must've only been 1 or 2 yrs old  ) - it was practically empty & you could see foundations & roads from the old town and even some old cars on the bottom. It's interesting & a bit creepy to see that stuff.

If Tad had not been there, WE might still be! Thanks for the pull-out and it was good to meet a new NCKA face....It was also my first Stuck in The Sand experience too, so i did what they do on T.V.

It was the longest ,6.5hrs, I've ever been in a vehilcle. If it were anybody else, other than Pa and Patrick? I would have probably declined the offer. These guys travel in class and are the Real_Deal in fun and adventure.....not to mention, the most important factor "nothing is serious" if there is no blood showing. When you travel across NorthernCal, targeting a specific spiecies, that you normally don't fish, you gotta have a real good sense of humor.....even the ability to laugh at yourself and wonder? WTF am I doing here?!, as we laughed, poked fun and had a blast!!
The Fridays 5pm wind, held off til we were on the way back to camp. Patrick got a good one, but Papa Allen was the first to hook a smallie.

pic1~ Looking north to the Alps

pic2~  Earth Swirls from deep down below

pic3~ Fridays evening wind held back all day
 

I didn't get a shot of BanjoT, I saw him on the otherside and yelled we're off to the rock piles, but that was the last I seen or heard of him, til he radioed that he got a fish and was heading in. I wondered&asked what he caught his on? 

Adam. that last shot is just awesome.

Sounds like a great adventure.  Glad you all had a good time.  Thanks for the report and awsome underwater picture!

Nice looking day guys great job on the fish.

You know my dad lives 15 mins from there in lewiston I been on that lake Manny times just not on a kayak
do you guys know where the gun range is it's a little fireroad to the left after the first camp at lewiston lake
it's free and you can shoot whatever kind of guns that you want and not get in trouble  

Adam & O2B,

I hear that Trinity mud is some tough stuff that swallows up vehicles out of no where.



Here's an NCKA member's truck (last year) on a mission for a biggee smallie.  AOTY=Madness!!!!

Stuart

Sounds like a great trip guys!  Nice pics FH.  How about some more pics of all those smallies you guys caught?