Literary accounts of fishouts in the recent past,
to make you sorry you didn't go.
Lake Amador Fishout
By Don Wilcox
Lake Amador Fishout
By Don Wilcox
March 10th turned out to be the perfect day for trout fishing in the Sierra foothills. The beautiful spring day was warm and sunny without being hot. The rolling hills around the lake were lush with green grass. In addition to good fishing for hard fighting trophy trout, the giant bass in the lake were starting to become active. The question of the day was which line to use, sinking versus floating line, with many anglers switching back and forth. Streamers of every description were tried but most hook ups came on woolly buggers. Pete Purtscher caught his 19 inch trout on a Silver Spruce streamer. (Ed. Note: This is a variation on the Spruce streamer, which is tied with a silver badger hackle feather wing and throat, and peacock herl tail. Silver tinsel is substituted for the original's red wool and peacock body. The Spruce was originally tied to take summer and fall runs of Oregon cutthroat, before WW I.)
Elaine Cook had a four species trip, catching bluegill, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass along with a very large trout. Perry Ralston, Peter Purtscher, and Don Wilcox were just some of the fishermen hooking up to large trout. I've never seen anyone catch a lot of trout at Lake Amador. After fighting one of these fish, I'm always happy if I get just one.
Several members came up on Wednesday and turned the Thursday fishout into a two day event with a camp-over. It's the first time I've fished Amador two days in a row and I had a great time! Everyone I talked to did too!
Pyramid Lake Fishout
By Tim Loomis
Caravanned up to Pyramid Lake with Dougald Scott on Sunday morning (March 13th), my first ever club fishout there. The weather was warm and sunny with no wind. We stopped at the Costco in Reno to buy food for the week and I noticed a 4-step step ladder selling for $45.00 that I saw in OSH back in Santa Cruz selling for $89.00. Just a tip if you are looking for a new ladder. We arrived at the lake to find about 12 members already on the water. If my historical guesses about the club are correct, there were four generations of members attending. Of the first generation were Gil Santos, Ed Marcillac, John Steele, Jim Hall, Elaine Cook, Betty Rentz, and Tom McMillan (I could include Jim Livingston in that era as well but Jim hangs with a younger cabin crew). Of the second generation, Joe Bigas, Pat McGibben, Duwayne Norton, Paul Schraeder, Howard Power, and Lauren Kitamura were there. Of the third generation, Markus Lavenson, Jon Bowman, Kent Hull, Dougald Scott, Harry Petrakis and Richard Kline came. The fourth and newest generation was represented by Sam Bishop, Tom Bradley and me. I apologize for not listing members there whose names I can't recall, and for getting anyone in the wrong generation.
So let's get started with the action. Sunday evening Dougald and I found a pod of members (1st generation guys) at Betty's Beach and decided to start our fishing history there. (Ed. Note: Betty's Beach isn't marked on any map. I'd guess that it was so named after our Betty led some impressive fishing there.) Up and down the line fish were being brought to hand so the bite was on. Gil Santos was to my immediate left and showed me what was hot and how to rig up. The "beginner's luck" halo shone on me as I landed a 28" buck on my 3rd cast. That was to be my largest fish of the trip and the only fish for that day.
The evening meals were generous and hearty to complement a hard and cold day's worth of double hauling. Monday and Tuesday were a blur of casting and casting yet again, interrupted only by an occasional snarl. I was skunked on Monday after fishing Lone Tree and the Separator areas.
Sam Bishop and Tom Bradley had good fishing after driving clear across the lake to the Pyramid (the rock island which gave the lake the name). Each day I was awakened by the early dawn patrol guys, Markus, Jim Hall and Jon Bowman, as their engines served as the group alarm clock. Markus was trying his darnedest to be the 1st position ladder at the North nets. All week fish were tasting our flies (white beetle w/chartreuse sparkle belly and a variety of black woolly buggers and woolly worms.
Bobbicating was on when the wind picked up. (Ed. Note: the largest fish were mostly caught on small flies under indicator floats.) On Wednesday the weather turned to wind and clouds. Of course the fishing was hot. Just ask our club prez, Joe Bigas who went from, "Say it ain't so Joe," as he was on his way to being skunked, to "Way to go Joe," after landing THE HOG of the week. Joe's Hog measured 33.5" long! Photos of the fish will be posted all over Santa Cruz county if Joe has his way. Dougald had a healthy afternoon on Wednesday as he found "the Zone". Ask him what he was using and if he has any photos, and then run for cover. Joe Bigas and I left for the warm safety of Santa Cruz on Thursday morning. As of this writing a storm front is expected in the Sierras that could produce a foot of snow in Donner Pass. I hoped safe driving to all the members for their return.
(Ed. Note: the snow didn't materialize on Friday - at Donner Pass there was a little freezing mist that didn't stick to anything but the bald spot on hatless men, and rain hadn't gotten to Sacramento yet. Thursday, Dougald, John Steele, Elaine, Betty and the rest of the 'first generation' continued to catch fish after fish, Elaine's prize measuring at least 28". And ask Duwayne Norton what he discovered about waders, fleece and cold water on Thursday morning.)