Rainy Sunday Morning...

[Troutski]

The rain fell for most of the morning but the fishing was wonderful. Spent the day with one of our newer members chasing the wily Rainbows at Hills Creek, met tranpa at the ramp around 6:am and launched the magic carpet, you have to love the inventor of Gortex...that stuff is made for Oregon.
We spent the morning trolling small gold spoons, his first attempt at trolling using my method. Very nice day of catching and releasing to be sure, the water is beginning to warm up and looks like the lake will make it to full pool. More people learning this lake, nice to see so many people using this resource; plenty of room for all and plenty of fish to go around.
Water temp was in the mid 50's where the fish were being more active, once we located the fish and found what they were targeting it was a blast.
Found myself giggling on more than one occasion, why does catching a fish bring the youngster out in us.
It seems like the pollen is rather heavy this spring, tons floating on the surface and starting to form floating pockets...the fish were suspended just above the bottom and feeding on the surface. Great day and nice to spend the day with a member........here are a few pictures of day.


Chuck

 

[FishSchooler]

Ah yes, to Hills Creek again.
I was doin' a little trout fishing myself at Henry Hagg Lake, but we had a sunny day with air temps in the 60s. Caught myself some fine trout. I too get very hyper when I see the tip of the rod bump up and down. I get so hyper that I reel so fast that the fish just gets left behind...
Good fishin'

 

[Hawk]

Beautiful Views Bro..........................................

 

[GrillMaster]

Bridge fisher

Bridge fisher

I was on the bridge fishing with my wife, you guys were killing them. What were you using if you don't mind? You released more than we caught, guess I am going to have to buy a boat after all.

GM

 

[Troutski]

Bridge bound...

Bridge bound...

I was on the bridge fishing with my wife, you guys were killing them. What were you using if you don't mind? You released more than we caught, guess I am going to have to buy a boat after all.

GM

We were trolling small gold spoons and doing very well I must say. Were you the ones floating bobbers from the bridge? Looked rather tough on the fish dragging them up to the top of the bridge, what happens if you catch a Native or worse a protected fish? Rather difficult to release it unharmed from twenty feet up. I would recommend landing the fish from shore after you hook them from atop the bridge, not sure about the legality of releasing a fish back into the water from the top of the bridge. I guess you could ask the game warden the next time you see him, a lot of people use that bridge to fish from and do very well, just wouldn't want you or the fish to get hurt. Just my opinion...

Chuck

 

[FishSchooler]

We were trolling small gold spoons and doing very well I must say. Were you the ones floating bobbers from the bridge? Looked rather tough on the fish dragging them up to the top of the bridge, what happens if you catch a Native or worse a protected fish? Rather difficult to release it unharmed from twenty feet up. I would recommend landing the fish from shore after you hook them from atop the bridge, not sure about the legality of releasing a fish back into the water from the top of the bridge. I guess you could ask the game warden the next time you see him, a lot of people use that bridge to fish from and do very well, just wouldn't want you or the fish to get hurt. Just my opinion...

Chuck

Its just like "the wall" up here on the willy, except not as bad. People will pull sturgeon up 70 feet up above the water. If its a shaker/undersize, they just toss it overboard... :shock: Poor fishies...

 

[GrillMaster]

Skunked

Skunked

We were trolling small gold spoons and doing very well I must say. Were you the ones floating bobbers from the bridge? Looked rather tough on the fish dragging them up to the top of the bridge, what happens if you catch a Native or worse a protected fish? Rather difficult to release it unharmed from twenty feet up. I would recommend landing the fish from shore after you hook them from atop the bridge, not sure about the legality of releasing a fish back into the water from the top of the bridge. I guess you could ask the game warden the next time you see him, a lot of people use that bridge to fish from and do very well, just wouldn't want you or the fish to get hurt. Just my opinion...

Chuck

Well I must admit we didn't catch any fish that day but we have before, wasn't aware there were fish in the lake that we couldn't keep. Most of the fish are Koke's and Rainbows, what protected fish are there in the lake?
Am willing to learn - honestly I never thought about what would happen if we caught something we weren't suppose to keep. Now I feel like such an @#% &*($ man, know wonder you were looking at us with those bino's.
Maybe you could educate us beginners on what to look for on a fish to tell if it is a fish to be released. The pictures in the fishing book just don't look like any of the fish we normally catch.

GM

 

[Troutski]

Endangered fish...

Endangered fish...

This lake has a population of Bull Trout, these fish are listed on the Endangered Species List. If you catch one you are not even suppose to remove it from the water let along hall it up 20 feet and then releasing from the same distance. There are also Native Rainbow Trout in the lake that if caught need to be released unharmed, the Koke's you spoke about are really Land Locked Chinook and unless they are fin clipped (adipose fin) they also must be released unharmed.
Fish identification is paramount as an angler, you must be able to ID the fish prior to removing it from the water. I understand that those pictures in the fishing synopsis are not the best likeness but in the field it is the only reference available. Experience is the best guide for fish ID, angling from the bridge may be a very good way to position yourself to maximize your chances of catching your limit but it does put you in a position of being in violation of the ODFW fishing regs.
I would recommend fishing from the bank, if you feel you must use the bridge then when you catch a fish work your way back to the shore and then land the fish and ID it and decide whether it is a legal catch. The days of catching and keeping every thing that takes your bait are over, due to over fishing and other factors...my advise is to visit your local ODFW location and have a in depth chat with the biologist on duty and discus fish ID and the local angling regs. They are there for you and take pride in helping and guiding each angler to a long and prosperous angling experience. Hopefully this helps and I don't come off to preachy.
Tight lines and be safe on the water.

Chuck

 

[Thuggin4Life]

This lake has a population of Bull Trout, these fish are listed on the Endangered Species List. If you catch one you are not even suppose to remove it from the water let along hall it up 20 feet and then releasing from the same distance. There are also Native Rainbow Trout in the lake that if caught need to be released unharmed, the Koke's you spoke about are really Land Locked Chinook and unless they are fin clipped (adipose fin) they also must be released unharmed.
Fish identification is paramount as an angler, you must be able to ID the fish prior to removing it from the water. I understand that those pictures in the fishing synopsis are not the best likeness but in the field it is the only reference available. Experience is the best guide for fish ID, angling from the bridge may be a very good way to position yourself to maximize your chances of catching your limit but it does put you in a position of being in violation of the ODFW fishing regs.
I would recommend fishing from the bank, if you feel you must use the bridge then when you catch a fish work your way back to the shore and then land the fish and ID it and decide whether it is a legal catch. The days of catching and keeping every thing that takes your bait are over, due to over fishing and other factors...my advise is to visit your local ODFW location and have a in depth chat with the biologist on duty and discus fish ID and the local angling regs. They are there for you and take pride in helping and guiding each angler to a long and prosperous angling experience. Hopefully this helps and I don't come off to preachy.
Tight lines and be safe on the water.

Chuck

Very well said. There are a lot of fish up there you can't keep. Always check the book before a trip. And always try to fish near the water. You don't see people fishing from helicopters for a reason. Did you do any bass fishing up there?

 

[fishinagain]

Bridge fishing

Bridge fishing

I apologize in advance for sounding contrary in my first post here. But since you asked Troutski your post did come off as quite preachy to me and my wife who are among the many bridge fishers being condemned in your post as irresponsible or careless fisherman ignorant of the regs. rotest: It is VERY easy for almost any angler armed with only the color pictures posted on either side of the bridge to identify native, stocked, or different species of trout from the bridge before banking them or not banking them in the case of native fish. Hint: the keepers are missing an adipose fin on their back. Which probably makes them self conscious in front of the other fish Of course if you can't see all that well maybe you should not fish from the bridge. If you pay attention to whats on the end of your line bridge fishing can be a real good time without breaking any regs. I also think some peoples enormous bold font might explain their aversion to bridge fishing. :think: But in any case I figured since the pics on this site motivated me to wet a line again I should at least share pics of our ill gotten gains while bridge fishing. For the record all the natives caught during these bridge fishing trips were released unharmed and the rest were baked or pan fried and were delicious

 

[Troutski]

Welcome anyway...

Welcome anyway...

Well you are welcome to the site regardless if you disagree with my post post or not. Nice to see another angler using the resource available to us. Those are some very nice fish for sure...congratulations on a fine catch. Again welcome to the site.

Chuck

 

[Chromatose]

Troutski, Looks like a great day was had by you guy`s. Thanks for the post...

 

[dude young]

I apologize in advance for sounding contrary in my first post here. But since you asked Troutski your post did come off as quite preachy to me and my wife who are among the many bridge fishers being condemned in your post as irresponsible or careless fisherman ignorant of the regs. rotest: It is VERY easy for almost any angler armed with only the color pictures posted on either side of the bridge to identify native, stocked, or different species of trout from the bridge before banking them or not banking them in the case of native fish. Hint: the keepers are missing an adipose fin on their back. Which probably makes them self conscious in front of the other fish Of course if you can't see all that well maybe you should not fish from the bridge. If you pay attention to whats on the end of your line bridge fishing can be a real good time without breaking any regs. I also think some peoples enormous bold font might explain their aversion to bridge fishing. :think: But in any case I figured since the pics on this site motivated me to wet a line again I should at least share pics of our ill gotten gains while bridge fishing. For the record all the natives caught during these bridge fishing trips were released unharmed and the rest were baked or pan fried and were delicious

I have a couple of questions. Things that I would like cleared up for our members that, after reading this thread and seeing your success, would like to try bridge fishing.

1. Can you clearly determine the difference between a native and a stocked rainbow from twenty feet up while the fish is thrashing the surface?
2. When you release them unharmed, how is that done? Do you bounce them off the surface of the water until they spit the hook? Or do you just cut the line and send them off trailing 20 feet of mono from their mouths?
3. How, exactly does the size of one's font correlate to their fishing prowess? I mean, if that's the case I better start paying attention to how I type.

Listen, I get that we don't all have the privilege of owning a boat and being able to fish from where we want on a water body, but there are plenty of better alternatives to hauling fish up out of the water like that. As mentioned before, land it on the bank, fish from the bank, or, better yet, make a friend that has a boat and you've struck pure gold.

If you really think you are capable of staying 100% within the rukes and not harming any fish the way you are doing it, "I've got a bridge to sell ya":lol:

Oh, and, Troutski, you've been speaking so highly of the pond in some of your other posts, that it has rocketed it straight to the top of me "2+ hour drive from home" list. Seems like a nice bit of water with some good variety. Hope to meet you down there when I make it. You think I'll be okay out there? I've got a 12' littlejon with a 3 horse. How's the wind a boat traffic out there?

 

[fishinagain]

Lmao

Lmao

I sound stupidest when I try to be funny. But I thought I was pretty clear in my first post that I do not nor would I recommend anyone haul a fish up to the bridge on the end of their line. :shock: I have yet to superman one of my fish up to the bridge thank you very much! That was the whole point of my post actually. :think: To me it seems your twice as likely to lose your fish that way besides playing roulette on the stock vs native issue and of course dropping one off a bridge isn't a proper way to release a fish :naughty: Who would even say that? Makes as much sense as comparing bridge fishing to fishing from a helicopter? Anyways I am suprised you didn't notice that my original remarks covered questions 1, 2, and 3 quite clearly. To summarize I said unless you need granny font to see the text on your screen :lol: (joke) it is quite easy to identify your fish from the bridge and decide if you are going to keep it before crawling down on the bank to release the fish still in the water (since in that case you dont care if it comes off and gets away) or bank it (slide the fish up on the bank) so the wiley little trout doesn't come off before you can get down there and secure your fish on a stringer in a bucket or whatever. I hope putting it in crayon like this makes it clear I was agreeing with troutski about not hauling fish up the bridge just not on how difficult it is to identify fish from the bridge. At this time its no superhuman feat I assure you. Im also sure it will be more difficult when the water is low but its near the bottom of the bridge right now making it entirely possible to identify your catch from the bridge once you get your fish close to the bank and tuckered out. In any case we hit the bridge again today and it was slow for everyone we talked to. Wife caught 1 15" keeper and I hooked 1 little 6-8" cutthroat but I didn't recognize it having never hooked one before and released it unharmed without it leaving the water since even from the bridge it was obviously a different flavor of trout and not ready for the frying pan yet. I only realized it was a cutthroat after coming back up from the bank and looking at the color sign at the end of the bridge. Those signs work but like they say if you dont know let it go. The keeper turned out real nice in butter, lime and chile powder. Kinda Bud Lime style Included a couple pics of the wifey's fish in spite of all the "confusion" over my last post. I hate it when she outfishes me :lol:

 

[Bfishin]

I sound stupidest when I try to be funny. But I thought I was pretty clear in my first post that I do not nor would I recommend anyone haul a fish up to the bridge on the end of their line. :shock: I have yet to superman one of my fish up to the bridge thank you very much! That was the whole point of my post actually. :think: To me it seems your twice as likely to lose your fish that way besides playing roulette on the stock vs native issue and of course dropping one off a bridge isn't a proper way to release a fish :naughty: Who would even say that? Makes as much sense as comparing bridge fishing to fishing from a helicopter? Anyways I am suprised you didn't notice that my original remarks covered questions 1, 2, and 3 quite clearly. To summarize I said unless you need granny font to see the text on your screen :lol: (joke) it is quite easy to identify your fish from the bridge and decide if you are going to keep it before crawling down on the bank to release the fish still in the water (since in that case you dont care if it comes off and gets away) or bank it (slide the fish up on the bank) so the wiley little trout doesn't come off before you can get down there and secure your fish on a stringer in a bucket or whatever. I hope putting it in crayon like this makes it clear I was agreeing with troutski about not hauling fish up the bridge just not on how difficult it is to identify fish from the bridge. At this time its no superhuman feat I assure you. Im also sure it will be more difficult when the water is low but its near the bottom of the bridge right now making it entirely possible to identify your catch from the bridge once you get your fish close to the bank and tuckered out. In any case we hit the bridge again today and it was slow for everyone we talked to. Wife caught 1 15" keeper and I hooked 1 little 6-8" cutthroat but I didn't recognize it having never hooked one before and released it unharmed without it leaving the water since even from the bridge it was obviously a different flavor of trout and not ready for the frying pan yet. I only realized it was a cutthroat after coming back up from the bank and looking at the color sign at the end of the bridge. Those signs work but like they say if you dont know let it go. The keeper turned out real nice in butter, lime and chile powder. Kinda Bud Lime style Included a couple pics of the wifey's fish in spite of all the "confusion" over my last post. I hate it when she outfishes me :lol:

What's up with the preparation style of that fish? It looks skinned or something. Looks really good too.

 

[fishinagain]

fish prep

fish prep

It was new to me until a few weeks ago but its real easy to skin a trout just like husking an ear of corn. Just clean it like normal, remove all the fins and pull its head all the way back to its tail and the skin comes with it. Most of the time all in one piece.

Here is a 2min video showing how.
YouTube - How to clean and skin trout (gut a fish)

 

[Bfishin]

It was new to me until a few weeks ago but its real easy to skin a trout just like husking an ear of corn. Just clean it like normal, remove all the fins and pull its head all the way back to its tail and the skin comes with it. Most of the time all in one piece.

Here is a 2min video showing how.
YouTube - How to clean and skin trout (gut a fish)

Cool...Thanks for the link. I'm going to try that with my next Trout. Do you prefer skinning them now? Does the meat seem to hold more flavor?

 

[Bass Man]

Quick and easy

Quick and easy

It was new to me until a few weeks ago but its real easy to skin a trout just like husking an ear of corn. Just clean it like normal, remove all the fins and pull its head all the way back to its tail and the skin comes with it. Most of the time all in one piece.

Here is a 2min video showing how.
YouTube - How to clean and skin trout (gut a fish)

Wow! So easy a caveman can do it. Thanks for the video link fishinagain

 

[fishinagain]

tasty fish

tasty fish

I definitely prefer skinning them now unless I am going to pan fry them. We have been skinning them and adding butter lemon and or lime slices and assorted seasoning salts and baking them at 350 for 25-35min after covering the pan in tinfoil. The meat comes off the bones easily and they taste great. The butter salts and lemon juice in the pan makes a nice sauce as well. Just so you know if you try and pour out the sauce the pan will likely be very hot I keep learning that the hard way again and again :lol: Hope this helps. There are also some interesting youtube clips out there on how to BBQ a skinned trout after a marinade. Have to try that next time I can convince one or two to follow me home. Good Luck