Hard fighter!!

I got an invite to fish with a bud out of his 18'Lund boat on Lake Almanor today, our local lake just out of town. In this pic, you can see Mt Lassen in the background and Chester, where i live, is just below in front of that on the other side of the lake.


Anyway, this 3 1/2+ German Brown Trout like to tear my stuff up! I used a 7' 1-4 pound rated rod with 4 pound test B.Vanish. Again and again i'd get it next to the boat and off it would go shaking it's head and dogging it hard. We caught others but this one made my day!

Really, too bad i'm near out of fish in the freezer. This guy earned the right to be put back!

Joey

Nice catch! Were you guys top lining Rapala's ?



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LAST EDITED ON May-01-09 AT 09:37AM (MST)[p]Thanks! Yes, We tried that, several colors, we used them and a couple Rebels top lining and with downriggers as well, a lot of different ways, a whole bunch of different lure combi's, spoons, minnow baits, and a swim bait or two. I caught the one pictured, way over on the other side of the lake Trolling in 10' of water along the "island" using a old time stamped metal lure called a Phoebe

We don't use lead-core or flashers of any kind so once you have a fish on using ultra lite stuff, it can be/get interesting. The downriggers can take a some of the fun out of the strike, especially, if you like to hold your rod. They do allow excellent control of the depth of your lure though.

Once you see the fish strike, the rigger part "goes away" and it's just you and the fish at the other end. I was slow to come around to them myself. Now, i see how if you want to fish kinda deep, or at precise depths, in Almanor typically 10-50', they are a great tool and in harmony with a good fish finder, Me, are hard to beat. lol

Joey

Joey-
Nice fish..... beautiful lake and view.
I bet when the weather kicks up, the lake is ocean like.



Tom
A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.

I know what you mean about the down riggers ...I like feeling the strike also but like you said it alows you to go deep without using lead core or extra weight..Much more fun to fight the fish than a bunch of metal..As far as top lining my go to bait is a J-5 or J-7 jointed Rapala in rainbow trout pattern..100-150' back at about 3MPH..

Oh yeah I hear Almanor has some good smalley fishing also..







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The poster does not take any responsibility for any hurt or bad feelings. Reading threads poses inherent risks. The poster would like to remind readers to make sure they have a functional sense of humor before they visit any discussion board.

That's a beauty Joey. The water level looks fairly high?

Eel

Tom, Thanks!! For Calif. it ain't a bad place to live. The winters do get rough though, can get lots of snow 1-3' a day and it seems to go on and on, and on. The lake does get rough but not as bad as some. I crossed that sucker with another big guy in a 10' boat with a small outboard, while the whitcaps were washing over the side, not too many years ago, never again! A decent fiberglass or quality aluminum fishing boat can handle it, most of the time anyways.

BuckSnort, I like the 5's and 7's as well, know, have, and use just what you're talking of. Some guys like to go bigger, 9's and 11's, but not me, at least not usually. Because of the time of year, we could have top-lined everything. Never did fish deep water all day. Later, as the lake warms, unless just at daylight or dark, you must go down deer.

The Smallie fishing can be fantastic. 3-5 pound fish are common. I expect it to bust wide open on the next full moon. Though i consider myself as more a trout guy, I get my share of them within 300yds of my little cabin. I release most but try to bring home a couple every time out. Best eating fish in the lake IMO.

Eel, I looked at the picture again and it is somewhat deceiving. The shore you see to the far left is a ways away and a fairly steep one but if you were over by the airport or Westshore, you would see the lake shore is out a 60-80yds or so from normal. That's only maybe 5-8 ft of elevation but it's noticeable. With only less than normal runoff expected this year, gonna be tough for the lake to "top off". No biggie to me but some that own lakefronts like it higher the better.

Thanks again guys! That fish in this lake is by no means considered a big one. They are nice though and occationally you can catch them up a notch or two in size. I moved here 25 years ago for the fishing...glad i did!

Joey

Joey, you make it sound easy and I know it's not. There's a learning curve to that lake, damn frustrating at times. Do those jumbo Sacramento perch ever show up anymore? King Salmon? A buddy of mine took 2nd place in a team tourney there recently. Do you know Almanor Al?

Murphy, Back in the early 60's, my Dad was considered one of the "old timers"around the lake. We'd come up here and stay a month with the Lafountains, owners of Chester Boat Landing now North Shore CG. Dad loved to fish the channel at the mouth of the Feather River. If Dad went fishing, i was with him. If he wasn't fishing, i generally was up the River or out on the Causeway fishing someplace by myself. So you see, i've been at it near 50 years, still, i get blanked once in awhile.

Those perch you speak of are tricky to catch at best. I've noticed that they come about, or are able to catch, every 3-4 years or so. They must be here in the other years, but we only get into them like that. Last one i caught was near 4 lbs, outstanding fish.

The King Salmon are not in high numbers at this time. They are available to the guys that are persistent and have patience to search them out. If last years holdovers survived, sometimes they just die out, there should be some in the 5-8 lb range and might be the fish to target in this years 5th annual "Make A Wish Foundation Trout Tourney", of which i've been lucky enough to be a winner of.

You must be speaking of a bass tourney? I know some of the guys that fish those and a couple Al's in general but Almanor Al does not ring a bell. Big Al?

Joey

Joey, I sent you a PM....



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The poster does not take any responsibility for any hurt or bad feelings. Reading threads poses inherent risks. The poster would like to remind readers to make sure they have a functional sense of humor before they visit any discussion board.

It was a bass tourney.He works at the plant by Westwood.He has a board he displays his catch on that says "Almanor Al's".

BSnort, returned in kind! Thanks!

Murphy, Naw, doesn't ring and bell. I'll bet i'd recognize him if i knew who it was you mean. Like i said, i know a few Al's and a bunch of the guides and serious fisherman from up here, well enough to chat with anyway, maybe he's one of them.

Joey

Joey, That lake's come way up since your post??

Lovely spring!!! To me the winter's (cold) drag out too long but I love the spring/summer rains and we got our share this year.

Yeah but it's not gonna fill near to normal lake levels. Yesterday as i was coming across the causeway, i noticed some fence posts that are plenty high and dry. Remembering back, on good wet years, those same posts were nearly completely under water.

Shouldn't hurt the fishing though. No reports of how it's been lately...

We've been having pretty nice days really. The afternoon showers and thunderstorms are a welcome change. I love the smell of this area after a rain shower, plus, it settles the dust and keeps things vivid green. The other night though, i thought the hail was going to about beat down my roof...about as loud and violent a storm as i've seen.

Joey

More forecast for this weekend, bring it on!!!!!!!!!