Mackinaw Trout Fishing, Lake Tahoe, Aug. 9, 2022

[El Pescador]

Finally, we get a trip to fish for Lake Trout or Mackinaw as they are called here in Northern California.

Early start, Dominick and Linda are up at 3:15 AM, I'm up a few minutes later.

At the docks at 4:30 AM, met our guide, Capt. Bob and boat driver, Stan.



We are using freshly caught minnows from a minnow trip near the boat launch.

There are 4 species of minnows in this bucket, I'll need to check my list on what is in the bucket.



Before sunrise, we have 3 Mackinaw trout in the boat.



Linda is up first, then Dominick.











Capt. Bob like to use ANY attractor to bring the fish to the hook.  Here using a bright flashlight to power up a Glow in the Dark lure.



He also likes to use color beads and small spinners on his leader.



Do you see on the distant horizon???  God Lights??  We called them God Lights as kids, the term stuck.





UN...Believable amount of fish below us at 160'



When we left the marina just north of Tahoe City, we followed the contour (Highlighted in RED) at 160' for our fishing.  Going back and forth, trying not to snag any tackle on the rocky underwater cliffs.



Great cloud action all morning long.



Without a USGS 7.5' Topo map, I can't ID the mountain here, BUTT west of Lake Tahoe, a good chance I stood on it and ran the ridge during my earlier years.



Good electronics on the boat.



and like most boat captains they like to set up their boat for their needs.  here are treble hooks with leaders attached for quick install, then back to fishing.





Linda is up again.  Then Dominick...





And after the sun came out, here is the color of Lake Tahoe, some of the cleanest water on planet earth.



Some interesting facts about Lake Tahoe!!!

      https://www.tahoeresorthotel.com/blog/fun-facts-about-lake-tahoe/#:~:text=The%20water%20in%20Lake%20Tahoe,the%20federal%20Clean%20Water%20Act.

I stumbled on a fish!!!



here is our boat driver, Stan, he is a big fan of San Diego Long Range trips and fishing in Cabo.  A REELY great guy.



And as fate would have it, Linda catches the largest Mack of the day,  A great-sized fish.





Capt. Bob was starting to process fish, we are done at 11 AM.



Linda enjoyed a fresh bite.



All the fish we caught HAD NOTHING IN THEIR STOMACH's NOTHING.

Our smalled fish had this crawdad in its belly.



Next day on the way home, I left a packet of fresh Lake Trout for Lifelong Buddy, Jerry and his wife, Doreen to enjoy.  Side garage door was left open for me.



A great trip, early for sure, done at noon back at the boat, heading back to Truckee for a bite to eat.

BIG THANKS to Dominick and Linda for hosting us at their Truckee home.  Beautiful location for sure.

Stay tuned, fishing with Ted "MAXED OUT" and Ron Jones with Alan Sept. 6-9 - it is coming up.

Wayne

[foakes]

Thanks for the excellent report, Wayne —-

Good to see all of you out on the water.

Tahoe has some great fishing opportunities.

Best, Fred

[Gfish]

Ooooh, that Laker meat looks good!
Thanks Wayne. Another great photo Odyssey. Love those "God Lights".
The Wife & I went out from S. Tahoe years ago, but it was Nov., cold as a blankety-blank, and the fish were down there but weren't move to our bait.
Retirement sounds great for ya!

[Dominick]

We had fun. Thanks for posting. It was a pleasure hosting Jueno and his wife Jennifer.  We had home made pizza the first night they were here.  Both Jennifer and I use the same dough recipe and cultivate it in the refrigerator for at least 3 days.  I'm at the cabin so I had to use a pizza stone.  At home we both, Jueno and I, use a pizza steel.  The crust crisps up instantly on the steel.  The stone is adequate.  We also went to a local bistro in downtown Truckee for dinner one night.  Town is loaded with tourists. Linda and I planned to stay at the cabin through the end of the month but something came up so we traveled back to San Mateo for 2 days.  It gave me the opportunity to bring one of the Macks to our Chinese restaurant for Jim the owner to do his magic in the wok. Living large.  Dominick

[Hardy Boy]

Nice job and nice fish. They really get barrotrauma it looks like. I hope they taste as good as they look.

Cheers

Todd

[Brewcrafter]

Thanks for sharing that looked like a GREAT trip! - john

[El Pescador]

Here is what got Dominick and me thinking about a MACK fishing trip!!!!

Neighbor Gil in mid-June Donner Lake (about 10 miles NW of the Northshore of Lake Tahoe) with his son, landing this MONSTER 15 minutes after the fishing day began!!!   21 LBS Lake Trout or Mackinaw as we call them.



A chilly day for them, a cold fishing day and midmorning snow fell on them while fishing.

Gil's son then lands his big fish of the day, 16 lbs.



Both Gil and his son releasted the two big fish, only keeping smaller than 20" for their consumption.

Gil used local guide, Shaun's Guide Service for his fishing day, very happy with their results.



Gil back home fired up his Traeger BBQ smoker, and when he did, from my neighborly vantage point, for several minutes it looked like a new Pope was elected!!!



The next day, he brings a slab of his catch for me to enjoy, and here is how I enjoy Salmon & Trout, cooked and still translucent inside. 



Dinner is served.



Wayne

[Dominick]

Hey Jueno, thanks again for posting and keeping the thread alive. I was starting to get jealous of Benni getting all the action.     Dominick

[thorhammer]

Nice trip, gents!!!!

[Gfish]

Cool. Donner lake. I float-tube flyfished that'n twice in the Summer. A few mid-sized Rainbows and another COLD experience. Tahoe & Donner, 2 blue jewels near the Bay Area.

[Bill B]

Good to see you guys getting out.  Retirement agrees with both of you.  Bill

[Maxed Out]

 Wow Wayne, good times, good eats and fantastic report !! Thanks for sharing your adventure with us