# Trout Limit Today



## LDUBS (Jul 24, 2018)

Went to Lake Berryessa again this morning. Got there early to avoid the heat. As I've mentioned in earlier posts this is a large lake. Last year I fished the area by the dam with decent results. This year I've been fishing a wide open area kind of in the middle of the lake about 6 to 8 miles from the dam. Main reason for the change is the ramp is free. 

Anyway, I've been catching rainbows in previous trips to this area but this morning I decided to try another area of the lake about a mile from my normal "spot". Nothing happening so I trolled back over to my normal spot and boated 5 rainbows by 9:35 am. I caught number 4 at about 9:05. Then I lost one about 10' from the boat. I was bound and determined to leave with a limit and managed to land number 5 shortly after. Good thing because it was already starting to get pretty warm. Surface temp was 77.5 deg. I was trolling 42' to 47' OTW at about 2.5 mph. Also caught a LMB at about 38' deep. The Rainbows were 12" to 17". Everything caught on darker colored Speedy Shiners or the gas station special (shown below).

Edit: tried to fix pic's.


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## ppine (Jul 25, 2018)

I fish Topaz Lake on the other side of the mountains this time of year. Best fishing is in deep water near the middle of the lake around 45 feet. By September the fishing starts to improve greatly. October is even better and sometimes we fish in the snow in November. Topaz closes in the fall, so I move to higher elevation lakes in the Sierras. A small group of people catch most of the fish.


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## handyandy (Jul 25, 2018)

wonder if that lake has any bass that have gotten fat enough to eat little trout.


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## LDUBS (Jul 26, 2018)

*"wonder if that lake has any bass that have gotten fat enough to eat little trout."*

Probably to some extent, but I think this lake also has a lot of bait fish, so the feed might be pretty good. There was a guy a while back who wanted to reduce the bass population so as to improve the trout & kokanee fishing. If I remember correctly, his idea was to get a lot of fisherman to target bass and waste whatever they caught. Kind of a crazy scheme & thankfully I don't think anyone took him seriously.


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## LDUBS (Jul 26, 2018)

PPine, most of my experience is with large foothill reservoirs like this one. I've never really spent any time fishing higher elevation lakes. Probably only because I have so many closer options in the foothills. 

Do you get a chance to chase Mac's at Lake Tahoe?


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## ppine (Jul 26, 2018)

LDUBS,
You ask a great queston regarding lake trout at Lake Tahoe. The lake is 40 minutes from my house. I bought a deep aluminum boat with a lot of freeboard with Tahoe and Pyramid in mind. In cold weather both of those lakes can be intimidating. They get plenty cold and rough. I just added a kicker motor as a measure of safety. 

The boat inspection at Tahoe is $85, plus the cost of launching. Finding macks is difficult and they can be in 100 feet of water. It is a specialized fishery that takes time to figure out. A better bet are the rainbows and brown trout at certain times of the year when they are near the surface. 

I had a sailboat at Tahoe Keys for 6 years. I got my ass kicked so many times I finally sold the boat.


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## LDUBS (Jul 26, 2018)

I avoid the SF Bay and Delta for the same reason (though I might venture out to the Delta for salmon if conditions are good). I see folks talking a lot about those Lahontan trout at Pyramid. Those and the Macs are some good sized fish.


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## Jim (Jul 27, 2018)

Awesome Report thanks! :beer:


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## richg99 (Jul 27, 2018)

Good report. I guess I missed it earlier.

Now then, this DEEP TROLLING. You mean something over ten feet? Fish live down there??? Ha Ha


rich


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## handyandy (Jul 31, 2018)

LDUBS said:


> *"wonder if that lake has any bass that have gotten fat enough to eat little trout."*
> 
> Probably to some extent, but I think this lake also has a lot of bait fish, so the feed might be pretty good. There was a guy a while back who wanted to reduce the bass population so as to improve the trout & kokanee fishing. If I remember correctly, his idea was to get a lot of fisherman to target bass and waste whatever they caught. Kind of a crazy scheme & thankfully I don't think anyone took him seriously.



It would be one thing to keep some bass to eat, but to just waste is stupid. I'm sure a lot small juvenile trout/kokenee may get preyed on by bass, but I doubt bass would be killing off enough to do any real harm to the trout fishing. I just asked cause I know some of the reservois out there in Cali have some massive bass that are also home to trout. Some big bass have been caught off glide/swim baits that imitate a little trout. I don't often but occasionally on some small lakes and ponds that have a ton of little bass over populating it I'll keep some bass (green trout). They fillet and eat just fine.


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## LDUBS (Jul 31, 2018)

Yep, these large foothill lakes have pretty good bass and trout fisheries. Keep in mind large trout plants happen every year at these places. 

You know Andy, what surprises me is way back when we were after LMB, we were tossing whatever up at the banks, around trunks, rocks, & whatever was considered "structure". We never went out in the deep water. Now days I troll for trout in the middle of a deep lake, and I consistently pick up LMB. I don't know if they are after the smaller trout. There seems to be plentiful bait fish out there. 

I guess the extent of my fisheries science knowledge is big fish eat little fish. Haha. 

BTW, I agree. Keep em if you want to cook em.


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## handyandy (Aug 1, 2018)

I wouldn't be surprised if the bass were after little trout or possibly the same baitfish. To me a little juvenile stocker trout is a pretty easy meal for a good bass to gulp down would be easier than a spiny bluegill.


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