11-27-2006, 03:43 AM
Hey all,
Been away for a while, fishing tons!!! Fall/Winter is the prime troutin' time around here, so I've been busy. I tried my luck on some Sacramento area salmon this week and ended up skunked. But really I wanted to post about a first for me.
Here's the story:
So I have been fishing quite a bit this week, caught tons of little planters, all around the usual 10-13" range (one nice 15" tossed in). I have mentioned before that they had started this "trophy trout" planting program on Kings River, about 45 minutes from my house, so I've been trying there quite a bit. I have really wanted to cut my teeth on a nice 20+" fish. I wasn't planning on fishing today, but wanted to clean house instead. That didn't take very long so I decided to head out to fish the afternoon bite. Having no luck and getting pretty tired of the crowds, I opted to head to the closer river (San Joaquin River, 20 min. away) for some on-the-water practice. They usually stock it once a week with small planters, which provides some good practice and maybe dinner[
].
When I got there I ran into another guy FFing and struck up a conversation with him (you know the usual "what are you using?", etc.). I was usuing a #12 Prince Nymph with a 4lb leader and 3lb tippet. This is more than enough for the trout in this river. So I was there for about 10 minutes when I landed a pretty little 12"er. About 5 min. later I hooked into another that popped off, I didn't keep proper tension on the line. I tried another small hole and then it happened, I had a hard bite. I caught a glimpse of it, it was big, and thought "a carp?", I have never seen a carp in here. Then I saw the bright red strip down the side, FISH ON!!! I then realized I only had 3 lb. tippet on so I loosened my drag and prepared for a fight with about an 18" trout. For about 15 min. I followed that fish about 100' up and down the river before it tired enough for me to get it close. I tried to net it, but it was too big for my net, bigger than the 18" I initially thought. So I plunged my arm in the cold water and grabbed it.
All said and done, it was a beautiful 23" rainbow weighing about 6lbs. My first 20+ trout, and on a fly. It made up for getting skunked with the salmon. I was lucky too,it had bent my hook almost 90 degrees. And to top it off, I forgot my camera, so I took it home to a friends house and he took pics with his camera phone.I'll post them as soon as I get them.
I think I smell BBQ.
I'm still a little shaky.
[signature]
Been away for a while, fishing tons!!! Fall/Winter is the prime troutin' time around here, so I've been busy. I tried my luck on some Sacramento area salmon this week and ended up skunked. But really I wanted to post about a first for me.
Here's the story:
So I have been fishing quite a bit this week, caught tons of little planters, all around the usual 10-13" range (one nice 15" tossed in). I have mentioned before that they had started this "trophy trout" planting program on Kings River, about 45 minutes from my house, so I've been trying there quite a bit. I have really wanted to cut my teeth on a nice 20+" fish. I wasn't planning on fishing today, but wanted to clean house instead. That didn't take very long so I decided to head out to fish the afternoon bite. Having no luck and getting pretty tired of the crowds, I opted to head to the closer river (San Joaquin River, 20 min. away) for some on-the-water practice. They usually stock it once a week with small planters, which provides some good practice and maybe dinner[
]. When I got there I ran into another guy FFing and struck up a conversation with him (you know the usual "what are you using?", etc.). I was usuing a #12 Prince Nymph with a 4lb leader and 3lb tippet. This is more than enough for the trout in this river. So I was there for about 10 minutes when I landed a pretty little 12"er. About 5 min. later I hooked into another that popped off, I didn't keep proper tension on the line. I tried another small hole and then it happened, I had a hard bite. I caught a glimpse of it, it was big, and thought "a carp?", I have never seen a carp in here. Then I saw the bright red strip down the side, FISH ON!!! I then realized I only had 3 lb. tippet on so I loosened my drag and prepared for a fight with about an 18" trout. For about 15 min. I followed that fish about 100' up and down the river before it tired enough for me to get it close. I tried to net it, but it was too big for my net, bigger than the 18" I initially thought. So I plunged my arm in the cold water and grabbed it.
All said and done, it was a beautiful 23" rainbow weighing about 6lbs. My first 20+ trout, and on a fly. It made up for getting skunked with the salmon. I was lucky too,it had bent my hook almost 90 degrees. And to top it off, I forgot my camera, so I took it home to a friends house and he took pics with his camera phone.I'll post them as soon as I get them.
I think I smell BBQ.
I'm still a little shaky.
[signature]