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I look forward to this extended
weekend every year. Ryan
Daniels and I have been taking our father’s on this annual trip for 8
consecutive years. Make it #9 this year!
We decided during the winter that we’d hit Newberry Crater. We
really wanted to focus on getting a brown trout over 10#’s for the ol’
guys!! As our fishing has become increasingly limited by the joys and
busi-ness of life (i.e. kids), this is a cherished time. Also, we are
very, VERY focused when fish as we know our time is limited.
My dad and I arrived at
Paulina Lake late Thursday morning.
It was sleeting/snowing on us as I backed up my boat into the lake. This
was the maiden voyage for trophy trout for my new boat. I sold my 1998
15’ Sea Nymph earlier in the spring and purchased a 2015 Tracker Targa V18
Combo. Many great memories and fish came from the Sea Nymph.
But that chapter has ended and dad and I hoped to christen my new boat in
timely fashion.
Thursday is always a scouting
day anyway, trying various
techniques, water depths, lake locations, etc. We caught a few fish here
and there, but it wasn’t until early afternoon where dad got “popped” off the
downrigger on the South end of the lake! After a scrappy fight, we had 5
lber to the net!! This fish, unfortunately, engulfed my dad’s lure and
was bleeding like a stuck pig all over the boat. It happens so we ended
up keeping him for the frying pan.
| First brown over 5# for the trip for Gary Wildish |
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| Sadly, this one took the lure too deep so we had to keep him :-( |
Later that afternoon after we met up with RD and Kim, Dad caught
another 5 lb hookjaw. This time at the North End of the lake. He
was released to fight another day. It was very promising to know that the
fish were biting and spread out across the lake. That evening, we
were at 12 fish.
| Another 5 lber for Dad! He was on fire on Thurs! |
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| Released right after the photo! |
The next day was a blur…in a very good way. We didn’t catch
many monsters, but we caught several fish. Even for an hour we
decided to catch some eaters for the kiddos (Kokanee), so dad and I caught 10
kokes just wind drift jigging in about an hours time. Total # of fish we
caught were 26 browns and 1 rainbow. That rainbow was a scrapper, coming
in at 4.5#’s and 21”. RD, I don’t want to steal his thunder. Let’s
just say they annihilated the fish that day, with 63 browns and 6
rainbows. And one of those browns was a BIGGUN!!!
| PR Best Rainbow for Me! Beautiful Red-side!! |
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| 4.5 lbs and 21" long! He fought great and released just fine!! |
The next day was a little slower
but steady. We ended up catching
21 browns on Saturday and then 20 kokes in an hour (I got to play guide with
RD, Kim, and Dad in my boat to get some fish for the smoker). Our
best bite was that evening. In a 30 minute stretch, Dad got SLAMMED
with a big one. I saw the boil behind the boat and went “WHOA! THAT’S A
BIG ONE!” After a minute, it came unbuttoned…DAMMIT! Not 2 minutes later,
my rod goes off! After a 5 minute scrappy fight, I landed a 6 lber!
| I finally got a brown over 5 for the weekend! |
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| A beauty 6 lb hookjaw! This was the start of a great evening bite! |
I turned right around let out our
lines. Not 2 minutes into our
run, my dad get’s HAMMERED!! 5 minutes later of great fight, dad
has a 7 lber!!! WOOHOOO!!!
| Dad with an awesome 7 lb hookjaw!!! |
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| This was about 30 minute window where the bigger fish got on the feed!! |
I turn right back around and we get SLAMMED AGAIN!!!
Unfortunately, the fish came unbuttoned and crossed our lines. We were
about 10 minutes from legal so after we got the line situation untangled, we
decided to call it a night! We confided with RD and Kim. No big
ones for them that day, but they still caught 27 browns.
Sunday came and we didn’t fish very long (about 2 hours). We
ended with a 4.5 # brownie and 3 fish total. I know RD and Kim went out
and got a really nice brown and a few more to boot.
| Me with a nice little 4.5 lb brown!! |
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It was epic. We started adding up the # of fish we caught and
here is what I gathered from our stats:
Browns – 166 total for 3 days worth of fishing between our (2)
boats with (7) being over 5 lbs and RD getting a BIGGUN!!!
Rainbows – 7 total, with me catching a 4.5 lber.
Kokes – 40 caught between the (4) of us. And with a total of
2 hours of jigging (with ½ an hour of that trying to find them mixed in).
We caught a total of 213 fish in 3 days. Over
200
fish in 3 days of fishing!!!! If I hadn’t witnessed it or been a
part of that action, I personally would not have believed it. A lot of
those browns were in the 14” range, but I’d venture to say 30 to 40 of them
were in the 18 to 20” range (2 to 3 lbers). They were on the feed
something FIERCE!!! I don’t know if I’ll ever experience a bite like
that. All I can do is say “THANK YOU GOD!” for letting my dad and I (as
well as the Daniels) partake in something so special! My wrist and
forearms were getting very tired from fighting so many fish (a nice problem to
have!!!)
As for lures, Kokanee and Rainbow Patterns were working best (I
don’t think I got a single hit on Chub/Gold patterns). Luckycraft
Pointers (4 to 5” size) produced probably 2/3 of the catch, mostly in Am. Shad
and Aurora Black. Other lures that produced were Custom-Painted Bomber
15A, Megabass Ito Vision 110, Scatter Rap (4” size), and Trophysticks (4.5”
size). As for locations, I know this will sound vague, but we
literally caught fish in almost every corner of the lake. That is no
joke. I’ve never A) seen the fish so spread out and B) so active in so
many spots. It was crazy!!! I will say, the majority of the
fish were caught in the 10 to 25’ range.
Our accommodations were at the Lark Cabin! This is probably my
favorite mid-sized cabin at Paulina. With a huge wood burning stove that
is perfect for coming in after fishing in some colder weather.
Plenty of firewood provided by Todd and Karen and the of course, great company
as always provided by the Daniels. If you are planning a trip to go after
some trophy trout or even just relax, book at Paulina Lake Lodge!! Todd
and Karen will treat you right!!!
I hope you enjoy the report! I hope I’m lucky enough to be a
part of another trip just one more time in my life. This was a trip of a
lifetime that I’ll never forget!
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