Toplining for Elusive Lake Tahoe
Brown Trout
(continued)
Driving In:
Our adventure started early morning on the 24th, as we got up early
to head to the South Lake Tahoe/Nevada border, the drive from TackleTour
headquarters in the Bay Area is a short 4 hour trip when the conditions are
good, unfortunately for us on this particular morning we encountered heavy snow
showers on the pass going into Tahoe. Visibility was poor, traction was even
worse, and the sudden snow dump had caught many motorists without 4-wheel drive
off guard.
Rather than use live bait we used
AC Plug "Stickbait" lures
The result was a very slow
crawl through the mountains and some hairy spinouts and stranded cars. As we
made our way down the hill we witnessed numerous crashes including a near miss
with one car that whipped around a corner and slid right past us, up a snow bank
where it was finally stopped by a tree. By the time we reached the final climb,
checkpoint stations were set up and chains were mandatory for all vehicles
without 4-wheel drive and snow tires.
Mark of AC Plugs takes a moment to
check and tune every AC Stickbait bait
Though the snow slowed us
down we wanted to make sure that we made it to the dock on time and pressed
onward. As we drove into South Lake Tahoe the snow shower continued to
intensify. “Remind me why we are doing this?” Cal asked. I had a bad feeling this
was going to be a tough day fishing, and certainly among the coldest. These
conditions were a huge contrast to the warm sunny days we had recently enjoyed
when fishing Clear Lake for bass. “Well, this is going to be different, that’s
for sure,” I replied.
Mark and Zander jerk Stickbait baits
while Captain Mike puts us on the honey holes
We pulled into the marina and
stepped outside to change into our all-weather fishing gear and as we waited on
the dock for Mark from AC Plugs to arrive, the weather took a dramatic shift. In
the span of ten minutes the snowfall completely stopped and the clouds parted to
reveal blue-bird skies. It was almost like we had stepped into another day but
even though it was clear blue skies and the sun was shining the air was still
cold and registering at only 28 degrees. I was starting to feel pretty lucky,
first we had avoided a crash on highway 50 and now the snowstorm that we thought
we would be fishing in had completely vanished just in time for our 5 hour
window. With fingers crossed I hoped that our luck would hold.
Because Browns are so spooky we
run our lines 200-300 feet behind the boat and use 10-12lb line
About Brown Trout:
Before we get to fishing, let’s take a moment to reflect on our target for the
day. The Brown Trout is considered to be native to Europe and Asia but was
planted throughout California back in the late 1800’s, and since then the
species has thrived in many lakes and rivers, Tahoe being one of them. They are
among the most prized fish among anglers as they are
harder to catch than most trout due
to their wary nature. This wariness is one of the
reasons why Brownies can survive long enough to grow to become trophy sized
fish, and much like how some swimbait anglers pursue giant largemouth bass there
are some anglers that do nothing else but passionately hunt for giant Browns.
To target bigger Browns we also
run AC Plug Skinny
Let the fishing Begin:
We loaded our gear into Mike’s new Starcraft boat which was outfitted with an
enclosed canopy area to help shield anglers from the cold while fishing on
wintry days like this particular morning. It was so cold that we started up the
propane heaters right away and just as it was feeling nice and toasty inside, we
began to set up our lines. “Check these guys out,” Mark said as he pulled out
some new custom color AC Stickbait baits. The Stickbait was designed specifically for
big trout, especially browns. It has a single joint and the new baits we were
fishing had more realistic finishes with multiple layers of clear coat. They
come armed with Owner Hooks and HyperWire split rings.
Mark
has fished Lake Tahoe for Browns many times and brought a number of custom
patterned baits made specifically to target Browns
We decided to run a 4 rod
spread, with four different patterns of the AC Stickbait baits, two rods on
outriggers and two jerked rapidly by hand inside the spread of the outrigger
lines. “The water here at Tahoe is so clear that the Browns get really spooky,
so we are going to let out a lot of line,” Mike explained. “Let’s start with
about 200 to 300 feet of line behind the boat and we will work the shallow
water.” We fished with a number of different baitcasting and spinning rigs
spooled with 12lb. mono. As we prepped the rods Mark took the time to tie on
each of his four chosen AC Stickbait lures and dragged them behind the boat to
check and make sure they were running perfectly.
In the deeper water we mark Lake
Trout on the bottom, anglers use leadcore lines to get to the fish, but today we
are going to fish shallow for Browns
To kick the trip off, Mike
took us to one of his prime spots alongside a bank and we started trolling in
only 10-12 feet of water. As the outriggers dragged the lures fifteen feet away
from the boat Cal and I jerked the Stickbait Minnows through openings in the vinyl
cabin.
Zander holds up one of the
Stickbait
plugs we are trolling for Browns
Next
Section: A double hookup and some nice fish