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Posted by ursus21 (Member # 3556) on March 21, 2014, 06:39 AM:
 
I've been cooped up for a month with a nasty flu bug. Finally this week I started feeling semi-human again. Combine that with a tougher than usual winter, and I have Cabin Fever something terrible. So I did the only thing I could do. I went fishing. It's still winter time here, but Wednesday was a pretty nice day, and the only day snow wasn't predicted. Fishing conditions weren't ideal, but I just had to get out. I'm glad I did as it was suprisingly decent fishing. In and hour and a half after work I was able to hook 10 fish, of which, I landed 8. I only caught one rainbow and the rest were browns. Even though it's not a real big creek I like the fact the fish are fairly good sized. Most of them averaged between 15"-18". To me that's real solid fish from a small creek. Anyway, I thought I'd share a pic or three. Oh, and while none of my problems went away, I sure didn't think about them for an hour and a half. Funny how that works.


The lonely rainbow.




Ah heck, one more just for fun.

 

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Posted by Lone Howl (Member # 29) on March 21, 2014, 06:44 AM:
 
NIce!
 

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Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on March 21, 2014, 07:12 AM:
 
As far as I can see, Troy. You have a trout fishing paradise equivalent to those exotic locations like New Zealand or Patagonia.

I see you like my son's favorite, Panther Martin's? It sure don't get any better, I truly envy you! Thanks for sharing.

Good hunting. El Bee
 

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Posted by ursus21 (Member # 3556) on March 21, 2014, 07:44 AM:
 
Leonard, in a lot of ways I have to agree with you. The trout fishing often borders on the unreal around here. I'm spoiled but I sure don't take it for granted. Within 20-30 minutes of my front door I have 5-6 really good trout streams. Only one of them is open to fishing year round and that is where the fish in the recent pics came from. The others are only open for fishing from the 3rd week in May to the last day of November. So basically they sit around with zero fishing pressure for 6 months of the year. That equates to exceptionally good fishing when the season is open. The 3rd week in May can't get here quick enough!
 

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Posted by TundraWookie (Member # 1044) on March 21, 2014, 08:25 AM:
 
Looks like a great way to beat those cabin blues Troy. Panther's are a good spinner. Do you ever use the Vibrax #3's? The Gold color used to slay trout for me in most of the lower 48. That #3 is heavy and can be slow trolled through deep holes if needed. Silver works better up here, but Gold was a real meat hauling piece of hardware in Montana when I fished down there eons ago. Nice photos.
 

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Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on March 21, 2014, 08:59 AM:
 
In the Sierra's, Thomas Buoyant rules. Gold/Blood Red. Hard to go wrong with just about any Mepps spinner. Kast Masters, etc. The Vibrax spinners seem to run too deep in most streams, lose a lot of them; better for impounds and lakes.

I'm getting the itch, myself!

Good hunting. El Bee
 

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Posted by TundraWookie (Member # 1044) on March 21, 2014, 09:13 AM:
 
I'm always a fan of being able to run the heavier spinners a bit faster over a lighter spinner that limits my casting distance (and accuracy). My other favorite was the small Rapala's with a couple splitshot 24 inches up. Toss those into a hole and start chugging the line...then hold on, because it's usually the big boy of a hole that comes out first for that meal. Of course if we're just talking about catching....go with a crawler.
 

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Posted by knockemdown (Member # 3588) on March 21, 2014, 10:13 AM:
 
Beautiful, dude!!!
Trout season opens April 1st, here. My lure of choice for nailing the resident browns is a 1/8oz. gold Phoebe spoon, tossedfrom a 4lb. test spinning rig. Always have a couple Rooster tails & Pathers in the box, too. Not quite fly fishing, but close!
Some of the best sections of the Ostelic River in my AO have steep/eroded banks, making flycasting an impossibility. But a buttslide down the bank and some underhanded flipping into the deeper pools can result in some good action. My trusty trout netter...


Doggie paddling does put a damper on the action, though!

 

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Posted by ursus21 (Member # 3556) on March 21, 2014, 10:18 AM:
 
Tundra Wookie...
Great minds must think alike.

A Rapala is my other favorite trout lure for around here.


[ March 21, 2014, 10:21 AM: Message edited by: ursus21 ]
 

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Posted by ursus21 (Member # 3556) on March 21, 2014, 10:22 AM:
 
Knockemdown, LOVE the dog pics! I've never heard of a gold Phoebe spoon. I might have to look it up on the net and see what I'm missing.
 

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Posted by knockemdown (Member # 3588) on March 21, 2014, 11:07 AM:
 
Thanks!
This is an older pic, Phoebe in the face!!!


The dog is a pisser at the river, can't get too mad at him...


I only started trying to fly fish a couple years ago, this was my first one on a junker combo I got from Dick's.


Need to add that, these are likely stockers, you can see they lack the brilliant pigment of naturally spawned browns. Every now & then, we'll catch a wild brown or brookie though, they are gorgeous!!!

Thanks for the pics, I'm now motivated to get up to the river next month!
 

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Posted by ursus21 (Member # 3556) on March 21, 2014, 11:59 AM:
 
Knockemdown, I just ordered my first fly combo last weekend from LL Bean. It hasn't arrived yet. I'm hoping it will be here today or tomorrow at the latest. I'm determined to figure that fly fishing bidness out. I've got the spinning thing down pretty good so another option would be fun to try.

In regards to natural spawning, none of the streams around here are stocked. Everything is natural reproduction now. At one time they had to have been stocked. I don't know excatly how many years ago they quit, but it's been a long time. It's really nice catching fish with all their fins and vibrant colors.
 

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Posted by TundraWookie (Member # 1044) on March 21, 2014, 12:58 PM:
 
Troy,
I flyfished Montana quite a bit and absolutely loved it. I had great luck tossing big leechy flies when they weren't hitting on the surface. Conehead Zuddler's in black or brown worked especially good. If you need some, shoot me an email, I think I have a bunch.
 

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Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on March 21, 2014, 01:51 PM:
 

quote:

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Everything is natural reproduction now. At one time they had to have been stocked.

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quote:

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However, consider this. There are very remote lakes, some fed by glacier, some just by melting snow. We know Rainbows aren't native but a big portion of those alpine lakes have trout and assuredly, they weren't planted. I don't know for sure, but some have goldens and brook trout, as well?

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I don't know about California, but in Utah those remote alpine lakes have been getting planted since who flung the chunk. Used to be done on horseback, way back in the day. Now a days they drop them into the lakes from airplanes.

- DAA
 

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Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on March 23, 2014, 09:07 AM:
 
I should have mentioned that, Dave. I know that (for instance) every fall, they use aircraft to drop something like a half a million fingerlings in Lake Crowley. I think there are something like four strains of rainbows in that lake, plus browns and Sacramento perch. The most numerous, the ones dropped from airplanes, are kind of unique. They look a lot like a steelhead and have bright orange flesh. Opening day on Crowley is a major event, they shoot a flare to announce the official 30 minutes before sunrise start time. There is some kind of contest to see who's first back to the dock with a limit, usually within 20 minutes, or so?

However, in my defense, I don't think they plant frogs by horseback, maybe they do? Some have this cute little frog, the damned things are about the size of a nickel, speckled and easy to overlook. Anyway, I'm pretty sure there could be accidental plantings by birds.

Good hunting. El Bee
 

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Posted by Paul Melching (Member # 885) on March 23, 2014, 09:46 AM:
 
The alpine lakes of the eastern Sierra in Calif. that I have fished held only brookies. At least that's all I ever pulled out using flies or casting equip.
 

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Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on March 23, 2014, 10:22 AM:
 
That's kind of interesting, Paul. I promise, I have snagged rainbow, goldens and some browns, although they try to keep the browns out of the higher reaches of the Kern River tributaries where most of the Golden trout are. Come to think of it, those are probably the Tehachapees, not Sierra's. And, no I can't figure out how to spell that? Lake Sabrina and Intake Two, which I have fished many times is supposed to be loaded with Brook trout, but I have never caught one?

Good hunting. El Bee
 

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Posted by Paul Melching (Member # 885) on March 23, 2014, 11:53 AM:
 
North lake ,South lake, Sabrina And intake two I can pick my fish by the tackle I use, pisses my wife off whn I say hey I got another brown and she says how can you tell and I just laugh. I have hauled browns, rainbows by the dozens when I refer to alpine lakes I mean hike in only very remote and most above 10,000 ft. I can fish all day and see no one , just the way I like it.Most people wont hike 3 to 5 miles just to fish when they can drive in.
 

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Posted by DAA (Member # 11) on March 26, 2014, 06:29 PM:
 
Leonard, you mentioning the frogs... You would not believe some of the desert places I have seen them. How they originally got there? Beats me!

This is a good example:



Just a rain water puddle on solid rock. Probably not wet like that more than three weeks out of the year. Nothing even resembling permanent water anywhere for miles around. Very dry environment. What the kids are pointing at and I am explaining to them are the tad poles it was loaded with.

I've seen the adult frogs in similar situations too.

Saw one when I scouted out this pothole for drinking water:



Again, that's just rain water, filled a pocket in the rock and I'm sure it's dry 49 weeks of the year. But I saw a pretty good sized frog, near as big as my hand, when I first walked up to it.

From what I read, the frogs burrow into mud and lay dormant, for as much as a couple years at a time. Wait until the time is right, come out, complete their life cycle and start it all over.

But, again, how did they get there? I dunno...

Along similar lines... I have seen flowing springs in the desert. Water seeping out from between layers of sandstone, collecting in a pothole directly underneath - no inlet, no outlet. And undoubtedly dry some years. That have thousands of minnows in them! Fish! Now, how the hell??

And, about those minnows, in those desert springs, I wouldn't want the wrong people to find out about them. Would not be surprised to find out it's a species that only exists right there in that one puddle and next thing you know a thousand square miles is blocked off from public access to "protect" them.

- DAA
 

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Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on March 26, 2014, 08:43 PM:
 
Dave, I have always marveled at the frogs in southern Arizona that only appear during a heavy rain, what they call monsoons. I have seen them so thick on the highway you HAVE TO slow down, running over frogs is slippery as snot-and I mean it literally!

Next day, you may see a few that got hung up in a puddle, but 99.9% of them have dug into the sand until next year or as long as it takes. It's amazing. Rain in the desert is already amazing, I love it!

Oh, and these are not little frogs, they are big, fat toads. (I guess?) Big as your hand.

Good hunting. El Bee
 

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Posted by ursus21 (Member # 3556) on March 27, 2014, 07:32 AM:
 
DAA, I've seen that same thing in arid desert country in regards to minnows. Makes me scratch my head every time I come across something like that. Just a question in regards to the frogs, are you sure they weren't some type of toad? I've run into lots of toads and toad-tad poles in the desert but not many froggy-frogs. Speaking of frogs though, I was high up the mountains on the edge of the Bob Marshall Wilderness last summer. Just before dark at night frogs were all over the roads. I've spent a lifetime running around in the mountains and I've never seen anything like this before. They were little buggers, I suspect leopard frogs or something closely related. Sure as weird to hear wolves howling, keep an eye out for grizzlies, and be surrounded by frogs everywhere all at the same time.
 

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Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on March 27, 2014, 07:51 AM:
 
El Bee;
You're supposed to lick those toads that your find here in Az. for good luck.


 

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Posted by DAA (Member # 11) on March 27, 2014, 07:54 AM:
 
Troy, I have to admit I don't know a toad from a frog. Unless it's a bull frog, pretty hard to get them wrong.

Which, by the way, last time I saw a bull frog was in some high desert country, outside of Caliente at Beaver Dam.

- DAA
 

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Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on March 27, 2014, 08:27 AM:
 
I grew up in Minneesota, so please don't hold it against me! Lots of lakes and many times, a swamp close by. I know what a leopard frog is and I have seen fat toads in virtually the same situations. Sometimes, they are both on dry land, but one thing I do notice is that toads seem a lot more nocturnal?

So, are those desert frogs or toads? To me they are kinda in-between, hard to classify. For one thing, burying in sand for a year after a whole night of wild sex is uncommon, but it is what it is.

Good hunting. El Bee
 

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Posted by TundraWookie (Member # 1044) on March 27, 2014, 10:19 AM:
 
I couldn't believe that Fairabanks Alaska has frogs. The little Wood frog's go into a near death freeze.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/08/21/how-the-alaska-wood-frog-survives-being-frozen/

Dave,
How do you like those Sawyer water bladders? I have some for my sheep hunt, but have heard mention that they can develop holes pretty easy. I've run Platypus forever, so going to the Sawyer is just a little bit of a weight savings strategy.
 

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Posted by TundraWookie (Member # 1044) on March 27, 2014, 10:25 AM:
 
I couldn't believe that Fairabanks Alaska has frogs. The little Wood frog's go into a near death freeze.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/08/21/how-the-alaska-wood-frog-survives-being-frozen/

Dave,
How do you like those Sawyer water bladders? I have some for my sheep hunt, but have heard mention that they can develop holes pretty easy. I've run Platypus forever, so going to the Sawyer is just a little bit of a weight savings strategy.
 

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Posted by DAA (Member # 11) on March 27, 2014, 10:34 AM:
 
The Sawyer is pretty good. The older bladders that came with them are weak - tend to split. The newer ones, as of last year, are a good bit stronger. I carry a spare, just in case.

I take it and use it where I'm expecting stained, muddy type water. Stuff that has lots of visible material I'd just as soon filter out. Desert and canyon type stuff.

For mountain trips where clear water is easy to find, I use a Steripen and like it a lot better.

- DAA
 

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Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on March 27, 2014, 10:37 AM:
 
I don't know? Yes, it's remarkable frogs freeze and don't die, but.

I remember when I was just a little boy, too young for the rigors of ice fishing. My dad brought home a mess of fish and threw them in the bathtub and ran water. They all started flopping around, and swimming when there was enough water for them to turn upright.

Maybe we should all look into cryogenic freezing of our amputated noggins? Let's wait until we almost expire, first. Hey, how is Ted Williams doing?

Good hunting. El Bee
 

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Posted by Paul Melching (Member # 885) on March 27, 2014, 05:03 PM:
 
Teds a little cold other than that hes doin fine...
 

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Posted by TundraWookie (Member # 1044) on March 28, 2014, 06:44 AM:
 
Thanks Dave. In the mountains, I'll use the Sawyer mini filter and when I get high enough up, I'll typically drink the water without filtering. Works well, and that cold water coming out of the sides of the mountains is better than anything bottled I've ever had for sure.
 

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