Tuesday, October 13, 2009

A Place That Should Never Be Called By Its Right Name

A beautiful high altitude volcanic cirque set alone high in the wilderness. Crystal clear aquamarine water teaming with golden trout and big lahontans. Sound too good to be true? It isn't.

The scenery:









The fish:









The fish populations are interesting. There are larger lahontans and all size classes of golden. I know the lake has been planted with both over the years, but the working hypothesis presented by my fishing partner for the trip, Eric (HTC #14), is that the goldens are managing to spawn and the lahontans just seem to be getting older and fewer. After fishing the lake, I agree with Eric. The amazing thing about this lake, though, is that there is only about 10 feet of outlet stream that must only flow in the spring and early summer. I guess that is all the fish need.

Unfortunately this place is not quite the secret I wish it was. I know a lot of folks know of it and a few have even named it. I am sure it can be located by those curious enough to search it out. The gear guys are on to it as well. Also unfortunately, many people that get up there neglect the rules altogether both in regard to bag limit and camping regulations. We saw another party kill some decent fish and then cook them. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but I wish the big lahontans were left alone at a minimum--I mean why not keep a few pan size goldens and leave the big fish so that this world class fishery continues to cough up the occasional 24 incher?