High Sierra Topix

Just another crappy day in paradise! After 5 hours of targeting bull trout gave up and started looking for some kokanee concentrations by trolling our way up lake from about a a mile w. of Chinook Island. No sooner did I have my little dodger and kokanee spinner out but before I had a chance to attach my line to the down rigger cable I had a fish on. Rig couldn't have been more than 5 feet deep and we were in the middle of the channel. The fish took the line down and the fight was on. I told my partner--"I've got a bull trout." Then I said, "A big bull trout!" It fought hard all the way until I had all but 30 feet of line in. Then it kept making runs and pulling out line. In all it took a good 15 minutes getting the fish to the net. Now 2 of the 3 largest freshwater fish I have caught were fishing for Kokes. So why bother to target the big guys? Oh yeah I wouldn't normally keep a bull trout that size but I needed to smoke some fish for an upcoming event.\

That's a very nice fish!!

Is that a small child's rod, or a three foot fish?! My boys have never seen a fish like that in the Sierra- they would be stunned!
Here are a few photos of them with very average brookies; do you recognize the lakes? Cheers, Harlen.

My boys have never seen a fish like that in the Sierra- they would be stunned!

Chinook Island is in Oregon. That is Painted Lady in the background.

OR, do you not keep 'em that size because they are brood stock or because they start tasting dirty?

Harlen, what's the limit for trout in that lake?

That's one big char....

balzaccom wrote:Harlen, what's the limit for trout in that lake?

It's sometimes 5 per day, 10 in possession. And sometimes people share stringers. I've fished in areas where an additional 5 brook are allowed - probably because they overpopulate so easily.

Of course, I've seen limits ignored before as well.

Holy smokes that is a big fish. So how big was that exactly?

AlmostThere wrote:

balzaccom wrote:Harlen, what's the limit for trout in that lake?

It's sometimes 5 per day, 10 in possession. And sometimes people share stringers. I've fished in areas where an additional 5 brook are allowed - probably because they overpopulate so easily.
Of course, I've seen limits ignored before as well.

Actually there is a bonus brook trout limit in the High Sierra (S of I80) (such as the place the kids are holding the fish). It's 10 fish under 10" in addition to the usual 5 fish limit (Sec. 7b(8B) District General Regulations, Sierra District.

GB

26" I think 6 0r 7 lbs. It fought much more than the 28" 11 pounder I caught last year. Lake Billy Chinook is about the only water in the northwest that you can keep a bull trout but it must be at least 24". The lake is specifically managed for bull trout so that is why the limit on kokanee is only 5. Most lakes in central oregon with natural reproduction of kokanee have a 30 kokanee limit. Most bull trout and the kokanee spawn in the Metolius river and its tributaries. The kokanee are one of just a few populations of landlocked salmon created by dams in Oregon. I wouldn't normally have kept a bull trout that small except I needed some fish to smoke for an event later in the month. The meat was a red as a salmon and I will be smoking it tomorrow.