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Free fishing day to bring out the best of times for all ages
June 01, 2003
Thom Gabrukiewicz, Redding Record Searchlight
BIG BEND — Nothing can prepare you to witness a respected fishing partner punch a rainbow trout in the head.
More than once.
But there he was, my best-man and best friend Jason going 12-rounds, Joe Palooka-like, with a trout recently at Iron Canyon Reservoir. As horrific as it sounds (or looked), there was a perfectly logical explanation.
I had forgotten the stringer. In the car. Which was about two football fields away from the action.
And we were standing on water-covered stumps 20 feet out from shore to fish an old stream bed where the trout were holding.
"I want to keep some fish for dinner, where's the stringer?" Jason asked after that all-important first bite. "These fish look mighty tasty."
I have planters in the freezer, so I was strictly a catch-and-release man. Sure, I brought the cooler and stringer, but had other motivation.
I conned Jason into driving to Iron Canyon (with a cup of Starbucks house coffee, no less) so we could stop at the Kosk Creek hot springs on the way back to "take the waters," smoke cigars and basically waste time on an idyllic Monday away from work. The wife was worried that I wasn't getting enough "guy time" and urged me to "do a little male-bonding and talk about whatever you guys talk about."
Fair enough, but little did I know that Iron Canyon would be so hot for trout.
The PG&E-owned reservoir sits about six miles north of Big Bend off U.S. Forest Service Road 38N11. The 2,700-foot-elevation lake is a good bet for rainbow and German brown trout (try the Deadlum Creek inlet for browns, I caught my first-ever brown — 18-inches of golden-spotted glory — there). There's even two PG&E fee campgrounds, one at Hawkins Landing (there's a boat ramp) and one at Deadlum Creek.
There's no reason not to check this place out.
Anyway, lest I get Jason in the hots with the fine folks with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, here's the other good reason he slugged the fish:
"I forgot my knife, too," he said while trying to stun it on the mushy stump. "All I want is dinner."
No stringer, no knife, no cooler, nothing to stun the fish (other than his mitts), Jason finally resorted to wade back to shore with his catch and stunned the fish there. On a more solid stump.
Trust me, it beats having the fish flop around and asphyxiate on their own (or manage to waggle back into the lake). And when the fish are biting, you can't stop. Ever. Not even if nature calls.
Of course, all the action had the resident osprey in a tizzy, two adults and two young birds screaming, darting and diving high above the water.
"I'm really hoping they find your trout," I said. "Just take off with them. That'll teach you to smack around a trout."
"Dude, no way," he said.
"You're lucky those aren't bald eagles," I said. "Your fish would already be gone."
"Actually, that would be kinda cool," he said. "Maybe I should make them wiggle a little."
Being guys, we managed to turn the morning into a race, with Jason sinking a golden beadhead bird's nest with a slow retrieve with his fly rod, while I was slinging lures in gold tones (a quarter-ounce Kastmaster and a Crippelure with shiny red flashes, hint-hint).
I was three fish ahead when I finally let him in on the secret to fish Iron Canyon with a fly rod (it's all in the slow retrieval). Although it was mighty fun watching him whip that fly back and forth. Pleasantly hypnotic. We ended the day tied with seven fish apiece, with five in the cooler. Cigars were enjoyed; sore muscles were soothed in the geothermal springs.
There was guy talk.
And there is an actual point to all this. Today begins National Fish and Boating Week, which ends Saturday with free fishing day across California. No license is required to fish the state's abundant waters.
And it's the perfect chance to get out on the water, waste some time, have some fun and rekindle old friendships.
Thom Gabrukiewicz's Outside column appears every Sunday in the Record Searchlight. He can be reached at 225-8230 or at tgabrukiewicz@redding.com.
June 01, 2003
Thom Gabrukiewicz, Redding Record Searchlight
BIG BEND — Nothing can prepare you to witness a respected fishing partner punch a rainbow trout in the head.
More than once.
But there he was, my best-man and best friend Jason going 12-rounds, Joe Palooka-like, with a trout recently at Iron Canyon Reservoir. As horrific as it sounds (or looked), there was a perfectly logical explanation.
I had forgotten the stringer. In the car. Which was about two football fields away from the action.
And we were standing on water-covered stumps 20 feet out from shore to fish an old stream bed where the trout were holding.
"I want to keep some fish for dinner, where's the stringer?" Jason asked after that all-important first bite. "These fish look mighty tasty."
I have planters in the freezer, so I was strictly a catch-and-release man. Sure, I brought the cooler and stringer, but had other motivation.
I conned Jason into driving to Iron Canyon (with a cup of Starbucks house coffee, no less) so we could stop at the Kosk Creek hot springs on the way back to "take the waters," smoke cigars and basically waste time on an idyllic Monday away from work. The wife was worried that I wasn't getting enough "guy time" and urged me to "do a little male-bonding and talk about whatever you guys talk about."
Fair enough, but little did I know that Iron Canyon would be so hot for trout.
The PG&E-owned reservoir sits about six miles north of Big Bend off U.S. Forest Service Road 38N11. The 2,700-foot-elevation lake is a good bet for rainbow and German brown trout (try the Deadlum Creek inlet for browns, I caught my first-ever brown — 18-inches of golden-spotted glory — there). There's even two PG&E fee campgrounds, one at Hawkins Landing (there's a boat ramp) and one at Deadlum Creek.
There's no reason not to check this place out.
Anyway, lest I get Jason in the hots with the fine folks with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, here's the other good reason he slugged the fish:
"I forgot my knife, too," he said while trying to stun it on the mushy stump. "All I want is dinner."
No stringer, no knife, no cooler, nothing to stun the fish (other than his mitts), Jason finally resorted to wade back to shore with his catch and stunned the fish there. On a more solid stump.
Trust me, it beats having the fish flop around and asphyxiate on their own (or manage to waggle back into the lake). And when the fish are biting, you can't stop. Ever. Not even if nature calls.
Of course, all the action had the resident osprey in a tizzy, two adults and two young birds screaming, darting and diving high above the water.
"I'm really hoping they find your trout," I said. "Just take off with them. That'll teach you to smack around a trout."
"Dude, no way," he said.
"You're lucky those aren't bald eagles," I said. "Your fish would already be gone."
"Actually, that would be kinda cool," he said. "Maybe I should make them wiggle a little."
Being guys, we managed to turn the morning into a race, with Jason sinking a golden beadhead bird's nest with a slow retrieve with his fly rod, while I was slinging lures in gold tones (a quarter-ounce Kastmaster and a Crippelure with shiny red flashes, hint-hint).
I was three fish ahead when I finally let him in on the secret to fish Iron Canyon with a fly rod (it's all in the slow retrieval). Although it was mighty fun watching him whip that fly back and forth. Pleasantly hypnotic. We ended the day tied with seven fish apiece, with five in the cooler. Cigars were enjoyed; sore muscles were soothed in the geothermal springs.
There was guy talk.
And there is an actual point to all this. Today begins National Fish and Boating Week, which ends Saturday with free fishing day across California. No license is required to fish the state's abundant waters.
And it's the perfect chance to get out on the water, waste some time, have some fun and rekindle old friendships.
Thom Gabrukiewicz's Outside column appears every Sunday in the Record Searchlight. He can be reached at 225-8230 or at tgabrukiewicz@redding.com.
