By Don Quilici
-
A delighted fisherwoman trying to bring in her trout. Photo by Don Quilici -
Trolling with two downriggers for Mackinaw (Lake) Trout along the west shoreline of Lake Tahoe. Photo by Don Quilici -
Gene St. Denis of Blue Ribbon Charters at South Lake Tahoe. -
In the net! Photo by Don Quilici -
Stephanie Parker of Carson City with her first-ever Mackinaw Trout caught at a depth of about 140 feet near Homewood. -
George Parker of Phoenix enjoys his first-ever Mackinaw Trout fishing trip at Lake Tahoe. Photo by Don Quilici -
The biggest fish of the day! Photo by Don Quilici -
Fishing at high altitude can be very tiring for some. Photo by Don Quilici
Sunday, May 20 was a memorable day for two of our friends. The two friends are Stephanie Parker (our neighbor) and her brother George, who was visiting our area from Phoenix, Ariz.
Stephanie is fairly new to Carson City and to our neighborhood, having moved here from Las Vegas, where she lived and worked for many years.
When I first discovered that George would be visiting and that he is an ardent fisherman, I asked Stephanie (who also fishes) if the two of them would like to try Mackinaw (Lake) Trout fishing at Lake Tahoe.
Without hesitation, she said, “You bet. Yes, we would!”
Neither one of them has ever fished at Lake Tahoe.
I contacted longtime friend, Gene St. Denis, a Lake Tahoe sport fishing guide, who is the owner and operator of Blue Ribbon Charters at South Lake Tahoe, Calif., and we set up our fishing date for May 20.
Early that morning, the three of us arrived at Cave Rock Landing and met Gene (Gino) with his sport fishing boat, “The PT-109.”
Gino launched his boat, and we jumped on board with extra jackets, morning coffee and fresh pastries from “Donuts To Go” in Carson City, lunches, drinks, cameras, and were ready for a day of Mackinaw fishing.
It was an absolutely gorgeous morning at Tahoe, no wind, no clouds, bright sunshine and not a ripple on the mirror-image of the water.
Incredibly, the weather remained that way for the entire day.
It was a rare, windless day at Tahoe and a welcome change from all of the wind that we have been experiencing down in Carson City.
As we traveled across the width of Lake Tahoe from the Cave Rock Landing on the Nevada side to the west shore near Homewood on the California side, Gino got acquainted with Stephanie and George, while the four of us enjoyed coffee and doughnuts, including a big chocolate pasty bar for me.
Once we reached our fishing destination, Gino rigged up two fishing poles with large, silver-colored flasher blades and live minnows, attached their lines to two downriggers (one on each side at the back of the boat), lowered the downriggers to a depth of 120 feet and we were fishing.
We fished that day from about 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and as usual, Gino had us trolling deep, all the way from 120 feet down to 240 feet.
He trolls at varying speeds in “figure eight” patterns and constantly adjusts the depth of the two downriggers to compensate for the changing depths of the bottom in that area.
Shortly after we began trolling, we had our first strike of the day, and Stephanie had the honors of trying to bring in that first fish.
It was her first-ever “Mac” and she performed almost like a seasoned trooper, successfully bringing in a very nice 5-6 pound Mackinaw.
I say, “she performed almost like a seasoned trooper,” because once the fish was on board, she had a huge grin from ear to ear and all she could say was, “Oh My God, Oh My God,” over and over.
It was the largest fish of any kind that she has ever caught, and boy oh boy, was she ever excited!
However, later that morning, the warm sunshine, the movement of the boat and the throbbing noise of the trolling motor put Stephanie sound asleep.
Our “almost seasoned trooper” was perhaps, not quite so seasoned.
I got a couple of great photos of her sleeping, and intend to blackmail her about her “alert” approach to fishing deep water at Lake Tahoe.
For the day, the three of us caught and kept five Mackinaw, weighing up to 8 pounds, plus I lost one and George and Stephanie each lost two.
I can not begin to describe the grins on both of their faces when they were busy trying to reel in a fish. They had a ton of fun at Tahoe!
When we returned home, George and Stephanie kept one of the Macks for their dinner, and we gave the remaining four to the good folks at Donuts To Go, as they dearly love to eat any trout that we can share with them.
If you, too, would like to fish for Mackinaw Trout at Lake Tahoe with Gino, call Gene St. Denis of Blue Ribbons Charters (530-544-6552) or go to the website www.blueribbonfishing.com.
I guarantee it will be a great, fun-filled, memorable fishing trip.
Don’t forget your camera, so you are prepared for some great action shots or to photograph someone in your fishing party, also sound asleep.
Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can’t tell you what is the bag limit for Mackinaw trout at Lake Tahoe.
If he grins, and says, “ The limit for Mackinaw Trout is two of any size,” he has probably fished at Lake Tahoe sometime in the past.
— Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now and www.SouthTahoeNow.com. He can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com.
