Trout-Tuna-For.Me
07-03-2009, 09:00 PM
Just returned from a camping/fishing trip to Wishon and Courtright Resavoirs N/E of Fresno on the west side of the Sierras. Another great trip as usual since I go there just about every year. We camped at Wishon Village, a very nice and well maintained private campground for both tent and RV camping. They have regular bathrooms with showers and 110v outlets for the girls curling irons and hair dryers.
Weather conditions were great with daytime highs in the high 70s and night lows in the low 40s. We did get an hour of rain Sunday late afternoon and early Tuesday morning, those Sierra storms don't last long so it wasn't a problem.
Fishing at Wishon was great, knowing where and what the fish like to eat helps. Around the dam chartreuse/glitter and orange/glitter and inflated nightcrawlers worked well. I fished mostly where the Kings River enters the Res. since there's more natural rainbows, browns, and an occasional brookie can be caught.....all on more natural baits, flies, or lures. I used live crickets mostly (which I stopped and bought at Shaver Sports on my way to Wishon), catching the same number of browns as rainbows, all being 13 to 19 inches. Trollers at Wishon did well catching all rainbows on gold flashers and nightcrawlers down 3 colors on leadcore.
Courtright Res. fishing went well also. I trolled chrome flashers with a nightcrawler and had 16 fish in an hour. I was C&R all of them, just seeing what they would bite. Rainbows were caught down 2 colors to 4 colors on leadcore with flashers and crawlers. I was getting tired of putting a new crawler on the hook after every fish, so I starting using half of one, then every fish after on that same half I'd leave the inch of worm on the hook and they still bit the damn thing. THESE GUYS WERE HUNGRY OR WHAT?! The other fishing method that worked near the dam at Courtright was a slip bobber with a crawler giving it a slow sink or dangling it a few feet below the surface.
We took a drive up to Huntimgton Lake but didn't fish it, so we took Kaiser Pass to Portal Forebay. I fished there for just over an hour, ending up C&R 14 rainbows. Any bait will work there since the DFG plants it regularly. I mainly fish there because there are also browns and brookies secretly hiding and not many know about them.
All in all this was another great trip. Wishon Village has a site where you can see pics and make reservations for both tent and RV sites........www.wishonvillage.com
Anyone needing info about the area just ask, I've fished all the waters and have stayed at some of the campsites near the lakes. And, anyone who likes the Sierras should try this place.
I tried to upload pics but wasn't successful. I did put them in an album on this site so if you want to see them you'll have to go there.....sorry.
TTFM
Weather conditions were great with daytime highs in the high 70s and night lows in the low 40s. We did get an hour of rain Sunday late afternoon and early Tuesday morning, those Sierra storms don't last long so it wasn't a problem.
Fishing at Wishon was great, knowing where and what the fish like to eat helps. Around the dam chartreuse/glitter and orange/glitter and inflated nightcrawlers worked well. I fished mostly where the Kings River enters the Res. since there's more natural rainbows, browns, and an occasional brookie can be caught.....all on more natural baits, flies, or lures. I used live crickets mostly (which I stopped and bought at Shaver Sports on my way to Wishon), catching the same number of browns as rainbows, all being 13 to 19 inches. Trollers at Wishon did well catching all rainbows on gold flashers and nightcrawlers down 3 colors on leadcore.
Courtright Res. fishing went well also. I trolled chrome flashers with a nightcrawler and had 16 fish in an hour. I was C&R all of them, just seeing what they would bite. Rainbows were caught down 2 colors to 4 colors on leadcore with flashers and crawlers. I was getting tired of putting a new crawler on the hook after every fish, so I starting using half of one, then every fish after on that same half I'd leave the inch of worm on the hook and they still bit the damn thing. THESE GUYS WERE HUNGRY OR WHAT?! The other fishing method that worked near the dam at Courtright was a slip bobber with a crawler giving it a slow sink or dangling it a few feet below the surface.
We took a drive up to Huntimgton Lake but didn't fish it, so we took Kaiser Pass to Portal Forebay. I fished there for just over an hour, ending up C&R 14 rainbows. Any bait will work there since the DFG plants it regularly. I mainly fish there because there are also browns and brookies secretly hiding and not many know about them.
All in all this was another great trip. Wishon Village has a site where you can see pics and make reservations for both tent and RV sites........www.wishonvillage.com
Anyone needing info about the area just ask, I've fished all the waters and have stayed at some of the campsites near the lakes. And, anyone who likes the Sierras should try this place.
I tried to upload pics but wasn't successful. I did put them in an album on this site so if you want to see them you'll have to go there.....sorry.
TTFM