18 June 11 , 2021 VOL . 40 • ISS . 11

Brian Garcia of Alta with a 9 ½ pound Cutthroat that had a 13 inch Tui Chub in its belly ! Photo by Paul Kneeland , Fish Sniffer staff

they would stay on ! We ended the day with 17 lahontan to the boat , and at least that many lost . We had 4 fish that were all 28 inches and 9 ½ pounds , and I think the average size was between 6 and 7 pounds . One of the larger trout was bleeding badly from the gills , so we kept him . When Brian cut him open to clean him , he looked in his belly and pulled out a half digested 13 inch Tui Chub ! My goodness , how big a fish can a 20 pounder eat ?? We were joined in late afternoon at Pyramid Lake Lodge by Gary Caruso , John Brassfield and Helen Rowell from Auburn . We rented a large mobile home from the lodge that was definitely an older model , but very clean and comfortable , with plenty of beds for everyone . We ate dinner at the lodge and then walked back to the mobile for an after dinner drink and to plan for the coming day . The weather

Mark Kalinowski weighs John ’ s 12 ½ pound trout caught on a “ Dill Pickle ” Lyman at Pyramid Lake .

Photo by Hellen Rowell

was perfect , cool in the evening with just a gentle breeze . Saturday morning , we headed north and started fishing the very north west corner of the lake near the “ Needles ”. Gary joined Brian and I in the Coastal , and John and Helen rode with Mark in his boat . The wind was up a little in the morning , blowing around 15 mph or so , but by 9 am it lay down and the rest of the day was just gorgeous , with an occasional nice “ trolling breeze ” to keep the heat down . The bite was again slow in the morning , although you couldn ’ t convince Helen of that when she landed a fat 9 pound cutthroat just after 8 in the morning ! After catching a few smaller trout – only about 3 or 4 pounds ? – we again headed over to the “ Kitchen ”. We didn ’ t find the fish north where they were yesterday – funny how that happens in most fishing ! However , again around visit

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2 pm , the bite came on and we started catching some nice fish . The same lures as yesterday , but the Lyman ’ s were doing a little better than the GVF Dragon today . Most fish again at 20 to 40 feet deep , with several on the top lined Mag Lip . Brian and I had several in the 7 to 9 pound range , but nothing over 10 . John in Marks boat landed his personal best of 12.5 pounds on a “ Dill Pickle ” Lyman . Then the big drama of the weekend . John called us on the VHF and said Mark had on what might be his personal best ! I knew Mark had landed one last year about 17 pounds , so this must be a doozy !! They were stopped at the north end of the Kitchen and we were a half mile south . I kept an eye on them with binoculars , and could see Mark standing at the stern of the boat with a very bent rod . 15 minutes later I called John , asking if they had landed the trout . “ Not yet ” he said , saying that the light rod Mark was using just about couldn ’ t move the fish . We turned and started trolling north and after another 15 minutes , could see Mark still fighting the heavy cutthroat . Wow ! This must be a monster . Finally , a few minutes later , Mark landed a nice 10 ½ pounder . A little anticlimactic for us , until John told us

Hellen was long overdue . A 3rd grade school teacher is a busy woman but that ’ s no reason to spend an entire life without that joy of landing a great fish . I was going to change all that . A trip to the legendary Pyramid Lake was a day away and I was leaving nothing to chance . A stop by Will Fish Tackle in Auburn was in order to line up the right equipment . I grabbed the new Okuma Convector low profile line counter reel spooled up with fresh 10 lb . P-Line and a 4 ” Lyman in “ Stairway to Heaven ” pattern . Once home , I paired it all up with a ML 8 ’ graphite St . Croix casting rod . Now she has the tools but will she have the talent ? The next morning on Pyramid Lake was textbook beautiful . We were trolling at the north end of the lake near the pinnacles in the beautiful 24 ’ Rogue Jet Fastwater piloted by our friend Mark Kalinowski . I gave Hellen a quick demo on using the new reel and she picked it up right away , drag here , clicker there , watch for backlash etc . etc . I suggested she put out about 150 ’ of line on the top-lined Lyman , and 150 ’ was exactly what she did . We checked the drag together and activated the clicker , and told her she ’ d know it when she got a bite . She was finally fishing and the suspense was killing her . Not ten minutes went by when the rod bent sharply and the clicker began screaming ! I could tell instantly that this was a big cutthroat ! Hellen leapt up from her comfy seat , grabbed the rod from the holder and began cranking the reel for all she was worth ! After a short explanation about the necessary “ give and take ” when fighting a big fish , the real fight began .

Hellen was a natural . The feisty fish would make a big run and she ’ d give it the room it needed . Then she ’ d reel like a woman possessed ! I was asking her every thirty seconds or so to tell give me a line counter reading . “ 176 , 142 , 189 oh man ” she yelled . Six or seven minutes of this and the fish was getting it was on a Kokanee rod with 6 lb . test ! About 2:30 pm , we decided it was time to head in . Just then my topline with the MagLip went off and I was into a good fish . I had Gary clear the other line on my side and move the downrigger out of the way . As the fish got closer , he seemed heavier than anything I had caught this trip . When I saw him , I said “ that ’ s a good one !” He must have heard me , because he burned off about 40 feet of line , heading straight down . Finally , he was getting close to the boat and suddenly zoomed to the starboard , and caught the other downrigger . I was slowly pulling and not getting him to move , so I had Brian bring the downrigger cable up . As it reached the surface , the trout made a huge splash , broke the line , took my Maglip , and also took the downrigger cable release right off the wire ! I ’ m still not quite sure how he did that ! We finished the day with another 17 cutthroat landed , and not near as many lost as yesterday . So , for 2 days of fishing , 34 to the boat , many lost , average about 6 pounds , and the largest “ only ” 9 ½ pounds . Were we disappointed ??? Not even a little bit !

Helen Rowell of Auburn with her first Lahontan Cutthroat trout – 9 pounds from Pyramid Lake .

Photo by John Brassfield

close . The long , limber rod really helped her control the racing trout . Suddenly I yelled , “ look ! I see color !” and we both gasped ! Her first fish was almost a reality and looked like she ’ d be setting the bar pretty high . Mark jumped to the rear deck and extended the net . We all held our breath as the fish ran one last time . “ Darn it , all that work ” she yelled as she lost another 35 feet of line , but that was all for this beast . She turned the fish around and brought it close enough for Mark to expertly scoop it up .

Whoops of joy rang out and we quickly grabbed a scale . It read a solid 9 pounds – not bad for your first trout ! After a quick photo , Hellen was beaming as we slid the fish back in the water . “ Let ’ s get our poles back in the water ” she yelled . “ That was fun !” Yes , it was fun I thought to myself . The excitement and joy of being there when a loved one gets their first fish is better than catching the fish yourself . I think I ’ ve got a fishing partner for life ...