When Jimmy Lewis called me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I would be interested in trying to get his boat onto Crescent Lake for New Years Day, I didn’t have to think about it for a moment. We made the plan despite the lack of cabin availability, and this would mean camping in some pretty extreme conditions. As the date grew closer, NOAA’s forecast called for some even tougher than expected weather for the first two days of the new year including sustaining winds over 20 mph with gusts to 38. This meant we would be facing some big water in Jimmy’s little 15 ft Smokercraft, but this was as big a boat as we could think about getting in, and more challenging – out of Crescent Lake. We proceeded with the realization that we were pushing the limits of safety and some careful decision making would need to be implemented once on the water.

We arrived at a bit after 11:00pm on New Years Eve. It was snowing steadily and the wind was already starting to blow. The lodge was bumping and we decided to go in for a celebratory drink or two before launching the boat in preparation for the next morning. We got to socializing a bit and the next thing we knew, we had had a few more than planned and it was after 2:00…. OOPS!!! We proceeded to go forward with the plan to get the boat in the water before bed and by 3:15 the boat was afloat and we were crawling into the back of my Tacoma to get a little rest before a long day on the water.

We woke to strong wind shaking my truck and it was already 7:00. I hadn’t set my alarm properly and we had overslept by an hour. The temperature had risen a few degrees and it was now above freezing with a light rain falling sideways in the wind. Oh boy! The lake was angry, with big waves crashing, and we knew that it would only get bigger if the forecast was correct. The only way to fish safely would be to carefully work our way into the wind and fish the whole day at the south end of the lake. As we trolled our way south the waves gradually got smaller and Jimmy face was beet red from being pelted by driving rain, sleet, and hail along with some major spray from waves crashing at the bow of the boat. We have all the right gear for these conditions and it was being put to the test- big time. The water was quite a bit better as we approached the island and suddenly my rod folded over with the first strike of the day. It was feeling solid, but after a few heavy tugs it was gone. We wrapped our way around the south shore and trolled into Tandy Bay. Again, my rod loaded up and this time a good fish was peeling line from my reel. The fight was on and I kept up the pressure while working the strong fish towards the boat. At about 50 feet out it came to the surface and was wallowing around. This gave us a decent look at the fish and from what I could see of the dorsal and tail it looked to be an easy 8 lb brown. The next thing I knew I saw my lure flying towards me and the fish was gone… That hurt… We got right back to the troll and in 10 minutes I was hooked up solid again! Another drag peeling fish and this one was staying deep. He was to the boat, but still a good ways down and I was wondering if this one was a laker by the way he was holding so deep. As I worked him to the surface a gold color flashed and I knew it was a good brown. Suddenly he was on the surface right next to the boat and I thought he was mine. The big buck made a couple of wild maneuvers and once again I saw my lure come free of his mouth and fly over my head. He paused for a moment before powering back into the depths. He was an easy 7 lbs. I was so disappointed after losing three good fish in less than a half hour, but jazzed at the same time because the big browns seemed to be biting.

As the day continued, the wind blew harder and harder. Luckily we were at the right end of the lake and reasonably sheltered. The rain and sleet was steady and I was slowly getting wet through my armor as the wind drove it into every opening. By noon I was pretty uncomfortable, but we knew that if we headed in to get warm there would be no coming back out through the huge waves that would be crashing at the north end of the lake where the lodge was located. The hopes of a continuous big fish bite slowly dwindled as the hours passed with no more healthy tugs. We picked up a smaller brown here and there to keep us interested and mid afternoon Jimmy caught a nice hen that was 3 or 4 lbs. We called it a day with just enough light to see our way and Jimmy handled the boat like an old pro as we surfed our way back in.  The nice folks at the lodge were glad to see us and we learned that they were pretty concerned about us with the huge waves that had been crashing on their shoreline all day. They had even put in a preliminary call to Klamath County Search and Rescue! We put our wet gear in their dryer and enjoyed a big hot meal before crawling back into the cold sleeping bags for another night of rest. The wind howled all night long.

The next morning we were up dark and early, only to find the boat was almost full of water and nearly sunk from the huge waves! Luckily the bilge pump was working and it was soon empty and we were on our way. The wind had died down a little, but was still to strong to fish my favorite run on the north end – Simax. It was off to Tandy Bay again. The temps had dropped and it was now snowing pretty heavily. The morning passed with less action then the day before and no big fish hooked. At least we were staying dry, and it was much more comfortable than the wet day before. Did I just say it was comfortable? Scratch that…

By early afternoon, the wind had died quite a bit and we were ready to fish some new water. Simax was calling our names and I was really pumped for my favorite run on the lake. The first pass down and back didn’t produce a strike. On the second pass, just as we rounded the main point, my rod got slammed and it was all headshakes and screaming drag. This fish was strong and he meant business! We were hooting as the fight continued and I slowly worked this mean machine towards the boat. We had been dealing with a variety of issues with our fishing reels due to the cold and ice throughout this day and my reel suddenly decided to act up again. I wanted to scream as I fought to keep the line feeding onto my reel correctly and it was by the grace of God that I was able to get the fish to the boat. Jimmy slipped the net under the tired old hookjaw brown and a feeling of intense relief came over me as I realized that I had just landed my first trophy brown of the year. Once aboard, I saw that he had completely inhaled my lure and was bleeding badly from the gills. It was tough to get the deep rear hook out, and in the end I knew that this killer trophy would not survive. It hurt me to bonk such a beautiful fish and at a little over 7 lbs, this made for the biggest brown trout I have ever killed. Fortunately this is a rare event, and I know that it is going to happen once in a while. He will be eaten and honored at my table. 

This was my last fish of the day, but Jimmy went on to catch a sweet rainbow of near 4 lbs and a brown of around 20 inches. We warmed up in the lodge and went to bed hoping that the forecast would continue to hold true which would make for little wind and clear skies the next day.

NOAA hit it right on. The downside was that it was a cool 8 degrees when we crawled out of our frozen cave. BRRRR!! Our reels were really hurting in this cold and a small propane heater was passed back and forth all morning to keep them functioning. We had done the Simax run a few times with nothing and had just started to head south when my rod was practically jerked out of my hands by a hard strike but it didn’t stick. We trolled on to the south and Jimmy picked up a nice male brown around 20 inches down at Tandy. That was the only fish landed of the day which left me with a skunk. I took that skunk along with my killer brown from the day before and ended the trip with a big grin on my face.

We knew it would be a big challenge to get the boat back up the hill without the help of a snowmobile. Huge thanks to Tom of Crescent Lake Resort for helping us out with a tow and a smile. Check out this video clip. I extend those thanks to his lovely wife Lori and the rest of the staff for taking such good care of a couple of winter fishing fools. This will definitely be a new New Years tradition for this pair of trophy trout hunters.

Happy New Year!