Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3726 Dec 8-21 | Page 7

Dec 7 - 21, 2018
FRESHWATER
VOL.37 • ISS. 26
7
Spotlight On Kayak Fishing...
Sponsered by
Kayak City
in Citrus Heights, CA
Kayak City.Com
916.565.1400
Tahoe Mackinaw
Quest Pays Off!
By Thien Dang, Kayak City Fishing Team
Sharp teeth, intriguing patterns and voracious predators, the mackinaw,
or lake trout, is a fascinating fish!
I had heard that they can grow well beyond 20 lbs, and Lake Tahoe
was a prime destination to target mackinaw. Due to the 5 hour one-way
driving time, I had never attempted to fish for this particular species. In
addition, the triple digit depth and massive size of Lake Tahoe intimidated
me.
My family wanted to take a vacation to Lake Tahoe, so I decided to
kill two birds with one stone and load my Hobie Outback for a short few
hours of fishing. I had read that mackinaw tend to stay deep in 200 plus
feet of water this time of the year , so I brought relatively heavy jigging
gear:
A ML, 6’6 Shimano Trevala; and 2-3oz., chartreuse and silver P-Laser
Minnows. I carried a 201 Shimano Curado with 30lb. braid and a 40 lb.
mono leader, which was barely enough to reach the bottom. Note to self,
bring a larger reel!
I arrived at a launch near Camp Richardson in South Lake Tahoe to glassy
water and calm winds. The sunrise was a sight to behold. To mitigate any
disappointment, I set the bar fairly low. My goal was to catch my first
mackinaw irrespective of size. I told myself that even if I didn’t catch any fish,
the view itself
was worth
the angling
session.
When I
launched, I
turned on my
Lowrance fish
finder. Blank
screen. I knew
I charged my
battery, so I
was baffled.
After 30
minutes of
agonizing
unsuccessful
attempts with the sonar unit, I gave up. A fish finder is crucial to fishing Lake
Tahoe, especially because it was my first time.
I needed to accurately identify steep drop-offs, rocky structure, bait, and depth
in order to locate fish, which is the most challenging task of fishing. I was frus-
trated but refused to give up. So I pulled up my Navionics app on my iPhone,
which gives you a rough idea of depth and topography.
I headed west, arrived in what I suspected to be 200 feet of water near a
drop-off, deployed my lure, and jigged for an hour with no success. I was ready
to give up but decided to give my fish finder one more try. Success!
With my fish finder operating properly, I headed east and zig-zagged between
200-300 feet, searching for any structure and bait fish. I decided to fish
shallower. I drifted into in a small cove at 150 feet and my screen lit up. I found
a school of kokanee at 40 feet and a couple tiny arcs resting at the bottom.
Mackinaw?
I swiftly dropped my 2 oz. laser minnow and began making 2-3 short vertical
jerks with pauses in between to allow the lure to hit bottom. I felt that heart-
jumping tick after 30 seconds of working my lure, to which I set the hook. After
a short battle, I successfully land my first mackinaw. It was a fat fish and 27
inches long!
I dropped my lure again for another hit, but the fish promptly came off. Happy
with my fish, I peddled back to the launch site at 8 am in order to spend time
with my family. Not bad for two hours of fishing. Persistence pays off!
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ello Fish Sniffer Family! Cal
Kellogg here.
I’ll keep this short as I
don’t want to keep you
from reading all the hard
hitting fishing informa-
tion in this issue of the
Fish Sniffer Magazine,
but I wanted to highlight
the awesome subscription
special we are running right
now.
We’ve got a limited number of Vance’s Tackle rods and Diawa line counter reels.
To get outfitted with a new rod, reel or both for yourself or your fishing buddy you
can choose either a print or digital subscription to the magazine. If you take full
advantage of this special not only will have access to the Fish Sniffer for a full 3
years, you’ll also have an awesome rod and reel combo to put to work out on the
water.
I’m a huge fan of Vance’s Tackle rods and I used them almost exclusively when I’m
trolling for trout and landlocked salmon. The rods have the strength to land the big
fish I target, but they aren’t so powerful that they kill the fight of the pansize battlers I
hook along the way.
For all the details check out the advertisement in this issue of the Fish Sniffer. Have
a great Christmas and a fish filled New Year!
- Cal