Baum Lake

The wife, kids, and my folks all went up to Burney this past weekend to fish Baum Lake. We camped at Cassel so that we could walk to the canal and fish while the ladies stayed in the campsite if they wanted. We arrived on Friday, setup camp, and loaded the kayaks and headed down the dirt road to Baum Lake. This would be the first time my wife and kids would fish from a kayak. My folks had there aluminum boat so we were set.

There was quite a bit of grass in the lake and the water was moving swiftly towards the dam, but there was tons of trout to be seen. We paddled our kayaks over the grass, which acted as an anchor, and threw lures, salmon eggs, and night crawlers in the swift water. I ended up helping my wife and daughter out quite a bit. It was a blast watching them catch fish. I was so busy netting fish and tying on new hooks, I had little time to get my line wet. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The wife and kids had huge grins on their faces and the kayaks were a hit. My wife even mentioned buying a couple more sit on top kayaks for the kids to make it easier and more comfortable for them to fish. Of course that was music to my ears.

Our dog even came along and perched in the back of my kayak on my Plano box. He did great. He is really spoiled and even has his own camping chair. It was a hand me down from when the kids were smaller.

We had a scary Saturday evening when the lightning and thunder rolled over our campsite. I swore we were going to be hit as it cracked all around us. We ran to hide in the truck for a while until it passed. The wife and kids were really scared and kept telling them it would be OK. I was praying I wasn’t lying because I got a bit nervous myself a few times and I have been through this before while backpacking in the back country.

In conclusion, we will be back to fish and camp this area again and the MADNESS has struck three more poor souls.

Take Care,
Ray

And some more pictures!

More!

nicely done!  looks pretty and quiet up there!  hiding in a truck during a lightning storm? hmm, for whatever reason that doesnt sound right, but what do I know?

what a great trip ray, thanks for the pics, love the dog in its chair, cameron

Looks like a great trip!

Thanks guys. This was one of the best trips I have ever had because the whole family got into it and really enjoyed themselves. This one will be stored in the memory bank.

nicely done!  looks pretty and quiet up there!  hiding in a truck during a lightning storm? hmm, for whatever reason that doesnt sound right, but what do I know?

Not sure if the truck is the safest place, but my Dad swears by it and said this is what you are supposed to do. Makes sense with the rubber wheels, your not grounded.

Congrats on the great trip!!! Having your family with you is such a bonus! Catching is always more fun than fishing for the wife and kids!!!!!!!

Badog

I love burney, best trout fishing around! Can't wait to go back there.

Looks like great family fishing trip!  Thanks for the report and pictures Ray.

Cool those are very nice pics and looks like the kids had fun.  As I have gotten older I know why my dad never got to fish as he was always working on us kids lines.   Same for me now when I take my daughter and wife fishing but I love it.  I spent a lot of time on Baum Lake as a kid.   I grew up about a mile down Cassel Rd off of 299.   I still try and get back up to Burney to see my folks about every two months but plan to be up there almost every month this summer and fall.   I was living in the desert for six years and need to get caught back up on my hunting and fishing.   

This time of year it is nice to pull your kayak over to Crystal Lake where it feeds into Baum.   Never anyone on it and thousands of ducks and geese to look at.   It is a really nice paddle about sunset.   Some really big trout in Crystal too.  If you can find where the springs boil up and drop a night crawler down and then drift off sometimes you can get some really big ones there.   

WTMakeItHappen!!   i wish i could help peolple catch fish like you did for your family. That must have been a very happy time in your life......glad you could do it and then share it.