Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3823 Oct 25-Nov 8 | Page 18

16
Oct 25 - Nov 8, 2019
MAP FEATURE
VOL.38 • ISS. 23
During 2-1/2 weeks in September and early October, scenic Emerald Bay featured top-notch kokanee fishing.
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.
Tahoe: A Lake of Superlatives and State Fish Records
L
egendary Lake Tahoe, straddling the
state line between California and
Nevada at an elevation of 6,225 feet, is a
lake of superlatives and California state
gamefish records.
It is the largest alpine lake in North
America, holding 122,160,280 acre-feet
of water when full. Its depth is 1,645
feet, making it the second deepest in the
United States after Crater Lake in Oregon
(1,949 feet). And even though it reached
its lowest average clarity of 59.7 feet in
2017, the Big Lake is still the clearest
lake in the world for its size.
But in addition to these statistics,
Tahoe features some of the best
mountain lake fishing in
California, with mackinaw
trout, kokanee salmon,
brown trout and rainbow
trout all available for
anglers. It is the home
of the state mackinaw
trout record, a 37-pound,
6-ounce trophy caught by
Robert Aronsen on June 21,
1974.
Not only is Tahoe the home
of the state record mackinaw
trout, but it’s also the home of
the state record kokanee.
On July 20, 2013, William
Brush landed a new state
record weighing 5
pounds, 2 ounces, and
measuring 24.75
inches in length
and 15.75
inches in girth
while fishing
with Scott
Carey
of
Tahoe Sportfishing.
In addition to being recognized as the
new California state record, the fish was
also recognized as
a new Nevada
state record. It
was caught on
a Wedding
Ring spinner,
tipped with
white corn,
behind Al
Wilson
blades.
This
year has
The Lahontan National Fish Hatchery stocked 5,000 Pilot Peak-strain Lahontan cutthroat
trout in Tahoe on October 5, 6 and 7.
Photo courtesy of CDFW, Sacramento.
featured one of the best kokanee
salmon seasons in recent years,
and the great fishing continued
into early October. Normally,
the kokanee fishing is done by
the end of September
On October 6, I made an
afternoon trip aboard the
Hopper I with Captain Donny
Readinger of Tahoe Sport-
fishing that shows the top-notch
fishing angling opportunities that
Tahoe offers. Fishing with me were
Michael Romero and Dixie Romero of
Monterey and another angler.
As we left the docks at Ski Run Marina
in Lake Tahoe, Captain Readinger said
we would be fishing iconic Emerald Bay
for kokanee, since the wind was starting
to blow on the rest of the lake.
He showed everybody how to work the
rods and reel the fish in. “You’re doing
well if you lose only 50 percent of the
kokanee we hook,” he said.
He started letting the set ups go into
the water – Wedding Rings, tipped with
Now that the kokanee season is over this year,
captains and anglers will be focusing on mackinaw
fishing at Tahoe.
Photo courtesy of TAHOE SPORTFISHING, South
Lake Tahoe.
white corn, behind Al Wilson blades – on
line counter reels on rods both with and
without downriggers. “We’ll be fishing at
50 to 60 feet deep,” Readinger said.
“In addition to the kokanee, we’ve
caught a number of browns and rainbows
on the kokanee gear this summer and
fall,” he stated
In the first few minutes, we put the first
two kokanee in the boat. We had constant
action, releasing some smaller fish and
keeping those in the 12 to 14 inch range.
The fish were a mixture of fish that were
developing their fall spawning colors and
those that were still bright and shiny.
For 2-1/2 hours, with the exception of
a couple lulls, we had constant action,
ending up with full limits of kokanee
by 4:30 a.m. – 20 fish total – along with
releasing just as many smaller fish. After
limiting out, Readinger pulled behind the
bay’s island and cleaned the fish before
we went back to the docks.
It was a great day out on the water and
a lot of fun.
Every time that Readinger and other
skippers from Tahoe Sportfishing and
other operations on the lake go out
fishing, they wonder if they will surpass
the state record kokanee that was caught
on one of their boats.