Fish the West

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Fishing at Mt. Hood, Oregon



Thanks to Jay T for his photos and his comments about fishing Oregon...

"MT Hood as seen from Laurence lake Sunday...wide open for 9 inch stockers, one real nice 16" fat bow, one cut bow and a small bull trout. The baetis hatch didn't appear and it was windy the second day so almost perfect"...Jay T.

If you have stories and photos of your recent or past fishing adventures - be sure to send them our way at info@fishthewest.com.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Adventure Number 1,011: Knott Creek Reservoir and the Pine Forest

After just getting back from our six day road trip to the most eastern part of Nevada, and having had seen more wildlife and places to visit, we decided to plan for one more excursion to the Pine Forest and specifically to Knott Creek Reservoir.



Now you can get to Knott Creek several different ways, but we always opt for the off-road experience... which if you're leaving Reno/Sparks head north to Gerlach, through the Black Rock Desert, too Soldier Meadows, past Summit Lake, through the Sheldon and right up to the turn-off to Knott Creek, Onion and Blue Lakes. All in all the total drive time took about five hours.

Please be advised that the roads are rough and can be steep at times and only high clearance 4X4 vehicles should be driven into the Reservoir. All large campers, trailers and RV's will not be able to make it in, so if you do plan on visiting, be sure to plan on camping more primitively: tent, sleeping bag, cots...etc.

OK...so we started out with every intention on landing what we've heard referred too as 'Old Moe', the largest Trout living in Knott Creek Reservoir, but soon learned that normal Nevada fly patterns at this Reservoir just don't work as easily as they do in other Nevada Reservoirs. Sure the Department of Wildlife says that Emergers, Wooly Buggers and Leeach Patterns work best, but I'm here to say these fish have everything to pick from for breakfast, lunch, and dinner whether it be the fresh water shrimp, over abundance of mayflies, leeches or whatever else their heart desires.



After hours upon hours of fishing and dozens of once barbed now barb less hooks...All I can say is getting skunked at fishing is better than any day at the office.



Thankfully we met a few fellow fishermen that put our woes to rest by telling us that they too had been to the reservoir every year since back in 1964 and had the experience of being skunked but skunked for the entire five days. Lucky for us, we only experienced one day.

TRIP PHOTOS
Be sure to check out the recent photos of the Knott Creek Reservoir trip or send us some of your fishing adventures or fishing tips for Knott Creek: info@fishthewest.com.

Regulations
Regulations and seasons at the reservoir are as follows: Angling season is open from the second Saturday in June through November 15 and only artificial lures and single barb less hooks can be used. If you are so lucky as to wrangle up one of these large trout, you can only keep one in your possession a day so long that he's over 18 inches in length.



"You gotta be tough to be old"

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Adventure # 1,010: Great Basin National Park, Lehman Caves, Comins Lake, Cave Lake, Elko and Unionville

What better way to see Nevada than to take a 6 day road trip that begins on one side of the state and leads you to the far other side and then back around again?



We began our journey early Sunday morning with our first intentions on taking Highway 50 East bound towards Baker, Nevada and the Great Basin National Park. We drove through Fernley, Fallon and headed up to Austin, Nevada to fill up the truck. Little did we know that Austin was being invaded with thousands upon thousands of Mormon Crickets. The roads where literally colored red with the moving crickets and left a solid blood red color in every path that a car had traveled over them. Even the bikers at the gas station said that they had a hard time driving without slipping from side to side on the bug guts.



After leaving Austin and driving through the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and Eureka, we continued on our way east towards Baker making a few quick stops along the way. Illipah Reservoir was just one stop before driving into Ely, Nevada. Illipah is a great place to fish, but like any Nevada Reservoir, you have to get to fishing early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid the wind. There are several places to camp around the Reservoir as well as campgrounds that are setup a little further out from the Reservoir itself.

Leaving Illipah we headed past Ely and made a quick stop by Comins Lake which is located directly to the right of Highway 50/93. There were only a few folks camping and fishing on the lake that afternoon, probably due to the amount of wind that was causing some white caps on the top of the water.

With 6 hours behind us, we finally arrived to our first destination of Baker, Nevada. Baker is located right at the foot of Wheeler Peak and the Great Basin National Park and has a few amenities as well as a place to fill up if you need to. Although we had arrived at the Park, our next three days where scheduled to stay with a family run ranch called Hidden Canyon Ranch. I would recommend this ranch to anyone who enjoys the great outdoors as well as several hidden and secret amenities that they offer.



We were able to stay at their 10,000 square foot log cabin and use all of the amenities that they had been feverishly working on: Fishing Ponds with Bonneville Cutthroat Trout, Pheasant Hunting (not offered till season opens), camping, barbeques, horseshoes, swimming, ATV trips, breakfast and dinner. Not only did we enjoy all of the amentias, but we also encountered and enjoyed several wildlife opportunities: wild turkeys with young turkeys, pheasants, does, bucks and fawns, wild and tamed horses, llamas, chickens, chukar, quail and goats...etc.

Having had a great time at the ranch we headed back to Baker and stopped by the Lehman Caves for an hour and a half tour. The tour is something else to consider doing if you travel to the Great Basin National Park. It's an amazing and almost claustrophobic experience to walk underground several hundred feet. You feel the difference in temperature and humidity the minute that you first take a step inside. The park has done a great job of being able to give you the history of the caves as well as an understanding of how the cave was formed throughout time. Leaving the park was hard; however our third day was planned for camping at Cave Lake as well as driving around Success Loop to find the herds of Elk.

Cave Lake is located just outside of Ely, Nevada and takes about 15 minutes to get to on a well paved road. The lake is another must see for either fishing or camping. We had no time for fishing since a storm had just passed through and we needed to setup camp before heading out to spot the Elk. BINGO! There they were...bedded down with their young in an opening at the bottom of some quakies. Like anything, once you spot one thing, your eyes quickly become tuned into to being able to spot several others. They were all over the side hills slowly grazing back and forth. We must have spent the next hour just glassing all of them and enjoying having had seen as much wildlife that we had.

The fourth day was planned for staying in Elko, getting cleaned up and heading to what is one of the BEST of the BEST Basque steakhouses around: The Star. With an hour and a half wait on a Wednesday evening, we were ecstatic to finally have sat down and ordered up some of the largest cuts of meat that no other steakhouse could offer in Nevada.

Once out of Elko we had intended on heading to Wildhorse Reservoir for the last night of camping but plans soon changed when we realized that driving so much could become exhausting especially driving on a paved road. So we had decided to head back on Interstate 80 West towards home and make one more stop in a place that we know and love: Unionville, Nevada.

Unionville is located in Pershing County and is considered to be an old Ghost Town that was once most popular during the 1870's through the 1880's when it produced about $3,000,000 dollars in what was mostly silver. There are still several old homes and relics around to look at as well as a Bed and Breakfast. There is a park that is located further in the canyon and is well maintained for travelers or campers. I do want to note that there are dozens of peacocks running around the streets throughout the day and if you have never encountered peacocks and you are a light sleeper, you might find it difficult to get a restful sleep throughout the evening. They are loud and obnoxious birds but great alarm systems for predators.



Once we finished setting up camp, we headed out to do a little skeet shooting. I think the score was 21/33 vs. 32/43 and then took a drive to spot some deer. We didn't have to go too far since the deer side step the two canyon walls throughout Unionville. If you want to see wildlife just pull up a chair, grab a beer and wait. They come to you.

So all in all, this trip was one of the best trips that we have ever planned for and taken. Basically we experienced and saw more places and wildlife in six days than in the last year. If you want any more information on this trip or would like some recommendations on where to stay, simply send us an email and we'll help you out! Have some great outdoor adventures and get off road and fish Nevada!

For more photos of the trip Click Here.




Monday, June 19, 2006

Bass Fishin' at Sand Hollow, Utah

Sand Hollow is one of Utah's newest State Parks and has hopes to be one of the most popular state parks offering all kinds of recreation from fishing, to boating, biking, equistrian riding and off-roading.

Thanks goes out to Chris and his family for letting us know about this "Hot Spot" that he recommended to everyone to try out. Seems that he and the family had a blast catching some nice size Blue Gill and Bass using jiggs for the most part as well as a few worms here and there. Be sure to check out the photos he sent in.

A Little Information About Sand Hollow, Utah
Sand Hollow Reservoir is the newest of Washington County's largemouth bass waters, located just a stone's throw south from Quail Creek and even closer to Hurricane. A state park entrance fee of $7 per vehicle is required to enter the park...Sand Hollow began filling in 2002 and will be more than 600 surface acres when full. It opened to fishing in 2004. Eight- to 16-inch bass are extremely abundant and a surprising number of larger bass, ranging up to more than five pounds, are also caught.

For more information on Sand Hollow please visit the links below:
Sand Hollow State Park
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources




Monday, June 05, 2006

Remember Kids Fish FREE at the Sparks Marina, June 10


The Nevada Department of Wildlife with cooperation from the City of Sparks, the Recreation Department and the Sparks Rotary are sponsoring a day of FREE fishing at Sparks Marina geared towards providing opportunities for kids to enjoy a day of successful fishing.

Click here to learn more.
Click here to see photos of the Sparks Marina.

Memorial Day Weekend at Eagle Lake, California


Fishing Memorial Day Weekend at Eagle Lake, California
Thanks goes out to Marty and his family for sending us his Memorial Weekend Fishing photos from Eagle Lake, California. Looks like you got a little snow but that didn't let that stop you from having a successful fishing trip!

Click here to check out more photos of Eagle Lake.


Thursday, June 01, 2006

Fishing Baja, Mexico

Lots of fish and a whole lotta relaxation....Donna
Check out more photos of Baja!

Comins Lake May Be Slow But Well Worth Fishing this Summer

Thanks goes out again to another FTW Reader...Chris C. Seems he and his family where just recently out at Comins Lake located in beautiful Ely Nevada.

"Yes we have been up to Cumings Lake in Ely. We had a blast! It took us 3 days to catch 5 fish but it was well worth it. One was a Pike at least 20" another was a 5lb German Brown and 3 pan Rainbow Trout. We used worms and marshmellows plus roostertails for the big ones. I don't have the pics of the big one of course (the proof is in the freezer).

I finally got the wife to get a season license (vs a 24hr license). She really enjoyed her time there as well.

Here are a few of the pics we did take. Hope you enjoy as well as your readers"

...Caz and Shannon



Comins Lake Information:

  1. Pike Now Causing Serious Problems for Comins Lake Sport Fishery - NDOW
  2. Comins Lake Regulations
  3. Comins Lake Photography