exploratory hunt to PVR - BOB's backyard - a toad comes a knockin'

[gletemfeelsteelgary]

Hiro and I took the ride up the hill to Uncle Bob’s backyard, we had wanted to take this trip for some time.

After a quick stop at Bob’s to get a little intel about the lake we were on our way.

Our main target was browns, and of course we were looking for the big ones…

Never having been there we took EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING..

Looking back now and after the hike in TOO MUCH….TOO MUCH !

Gotta travel much much lighter next time !

I’m sorry for not taking more photos than we did but we were on a quest…… a serious quest for trophy trout !

Day 1:

Anyway’s thing’s got off to a good start and in no time we were catching our 1st Owen’s river /PVR fish.

It was a little strange, Hiro seemed to be banging’ the Rainbows and I was bangin’ the Browns.

Hiro did 1st damage on a Rainbow about 14-15 inches

I followed suit soon after in a different zone with a brown about 10’

Hiro landed another bow about 14”

I landed 5 more browns in the same size as before…

Hiro landed about a 13” rainbow and I landed a few more browns 2 of which were about 12”

Nothing huge as of yet but our trip was starting off well, BY SUNUP Hiro had landed about 5-6 Rainbows and I had landed 7-8 Browns..

We moved on….left biting fish…..

We hiked…..we walked…… we didn’t spare much time for talk….a quest….a quest….our mission to best a trophy trout !

Hiro and I both had caught a cold a day or so before this trip so we already weren’t at peak condition for this physical challenge but we pressed on..
I slowed 3-4 times for Hiro to catch up but eventually kept pounding pavement and soon found Hiro way back in my dust….

3 miles or more in we started fishing again….slow…..real slow…not much ta report..

I landed 2 browns about 13” on a kastmaster and released (no pics-sorry-on a quest-remember !) and Hiro was without a bite..

Hiro decided to hike back towards the car….I fished on for a bit and after another 30 minutes worked my way back as well.

About 1 mile hiking back, I stopped as I saw some small fish popping….30-40 casts produced this quality brown, and I’m going to eat me some fresh for lunch !!!!

No more activity and no signs of Hiro…he’s miles ahead of me…heading back..

I press on to the next spot….nothing much…a few fish popping here and there..

My kastmaster attack was producing no strikes…

I saw 1 fish cruising the shallows, followed by another, the 2nd fish I could get to strike my gold kastmaster but everytime…”hit and spit” couldn’t hook his lightning quick strikes and I never felt a thing !

I noticed the current was beginning to pick up…as it did, I saw a school of 4 browns…

Then as the current was increasing…..textbook action was occurring, the increasing current was spirring on the bite and activity !

Now the browns were replaced by schools of 12-15 Rainbows coming and going…

I could get them interested in the kastmaster but not enough to strike it : (

I ALMOST LEFT ! cause I couldn’t get them to bite !

I had to stop myself and council myself ! “Gary, you found quality fish and you want to leave ! ? WTF Uhhhh-Uhhhh !....you need to figure out what they want and get them !”

So I stop and put my mind to it…..Presentation…presentation…

The kastmaster was possibly too invasive and aggressive ? maybe !

I tried a fly and bubble…..I think the bubble was spooking them (I believe the fly would have nailed em easily !)

So I really think….
a different….more subtle presentation !
(why didn’t I think of this before !)

MINI JIG !

I opt’ for a smokeish pumkin colored one with a black back…

After about 5 cast

HOOKUP !

Nice drag pulling Rainbow…..
This was my 1st RAINBOW after about 10-11 browns..
Nice and solid and a great battle on 2 lb test !



Soon thereafter….
Bam….I nail another single fish cruising…

This was sorta cool, I was sight fishing them and I found the presentation they wanted !
Another quality BOW !



Another angler came by and started talking to me after he saw me catch one, he was on a skunk so I councilled him as to what they wanted, he said he didn’t have any mini jigs so I gave him one of mine, and I showed him how to fish it right…….he fished about 30 yards downstream

He hooked up after about 8 minutes but lost it : ( sorry buddy – he ended up hooking 1 other one as well but lost that too (damn !)

Then the current diminished to almost still but moving ever so gently…

The schools were no longer visible, the current had really activated them but they were now out of sight !

I thought…..there HAS to be fish still around, maybe they are out of the visibility belt…

So I started targeting the outer reaches….just out of visibility..

After about 7 minutes….


IT HAPPENED !

BAM !

SLAM !

Woooooooo-Hoooooo !

Hookup !

Damn ! when that sucka hit and I let my rod load up 1st them gave ‘em the ‘old “feel the steel” 2 lb hookset..!

She instantly came up rolling and thrashing..

I could INSTANTLY see the mass !

IT WAS ON !

IT WAS ON !

Let me say it again !

IT WAS ON !

Drag peelin’

Reel Screamin’

Heart pounding !

This was a toad and it was gonna’ take every ounce of my skills to best her on 2 lb test and my flimsy 7’ graphite pole !

Zzzzzzzzz ! Zzzzzzzzzzz!

She ran

I shrieked

She peeled out drag towards a big 10’ rock !

I think if you looked at my pant’s…I leaked !

I get her clear

of that rock –no no zone

Just to have her run 30 yards downstream AGAIN

To THAT OTHER HUGE ROCK SHE CALLED HOME !

Somehow she swung around the whole rock without dragging my line across

So I proceeded to continue to pump the fish in

And show her who’s the boss !

After about 15 minutes

I’m getting her to the shore

I thought I had her tired out

But apparently she had some MORE !

Out went the drag peel’

I realized….Damn !...this fish is the REAL DEAL

As I continued to battle on….

I’m standing on some rocks…..about 2’ high !

I’m getting close in range to land

I don’t know how I’m gonna’ get her on deck

Hiro has the net…..I’m gonna have to use my hand !

Another angler had been passing by and stopped to watch the extravaganza

He asked if I needed a net…I said YEAH !

I got the net and the fish into range..

This was a dinky trout net with the wooden handles, ya know, the ones that look like a racquetball racket !

TOO SMALL of a net for this fish, I let the fish bow out of the net but the fish in no way could fit in….she flopped out b4 I could get her on deck…Damn !

I am sweating it at this point…I try again !

It was almost comical as I looked at this huge Rainbow draping out of the net but I managed to get her clear of the water….

Ahhhh yes… YES !

2lb victory is mine !

What a worthy adversary !



So I hiked back to the car so we could go set up camp and have our lunch and we rested up a bit then went back out for another quick 10-12 fish.

We ate 5 for dinner – 2 browns and 3 rainbows and I’ll tell you those Rainbows are so much more tastier than those from the LA region…..sweet !

Those browns…..damn….they blow away the rainbows as well.

I had only caught 2 browns ever b4 and I never ate any, they are unbeleivably delicious, especially at the campground !

Saweeeet !

b4 anyone goes crazy I must note that from this trip overall we probably landed over 35 browns and we ate 6 so we did our job of preservation.

We caught a large number of native Rainbows as well and released 9/10th of them

I really meant to take some pics of the campfire cookouts but we were just just plain wore out.

We do have more pics of the mountains that had snow on them Hiro has them, , he’ll have to chime in with those afterwards !

Day 2:
As tired and sick as we were, we actually slept in till about 9 am and tried the dam area…

Didn’t seem too promising after the 1st 30 minutes and I wasn’t getting a good vibe and my feet were cooked so I wasn’t walking another 4 miles..

BUT the view was outstanding….look at this country:


We hit up the lower Owens below the dam…after some creative attacks, I was soon on 3 browns the 1st about 12” then the next about 15” and the next about 14”
(I shoulda took pics but my camera phone had died at this point !)

More creative stream scouting……
Real creative drifts on a ½ crawler while standing 15’ above the stream on a HUGE rock !

BAM !

Hookup !

Damn….I wasn’t expecting a quality Native Rainbow like this !....

Drag Peela’

I had ta have Hiro go into the water 30’ downstream to land him cause I was stuck way up high on the rock…

Nice : )
The scene of the crime: (from the rock above)
Hiro pillaging my honyhole from above !

THIS is what was in this fish’s gut !
Plastic craw



We found 3 other active stream spots and proceed to take a pick at Browns and Bows for another 2 hours and collectively caught another 15 fish or so.
A nice little riff:

Here’s one of those fish we were rewarded with (hiro’s catch)

And my honey hole:

this spot produced bite after bite if you got a natural drift, you could see the trout’s sillouette if you looked hard in the rip, they kept moving in and out of the eddy !
really hard to hook them though, “hit and spit” if they felt any tension or saw deviation from the drift it was off but if you timed it right and got the drift on the money…..
it would result in….
Hookup !
And another quality brown


I think that spot gave up 3-4 fish before we moved on, probably could have caught 10 if we stayed a little longer as only 1 out of say 10 casts would be the proper drift to get bit

We packed up camp and left for the long ride home.

I was driving, about an hour out…


THEN
we see this stream…..

not much was said between us !

Hiro looked at me….I looked at Him…

“Let’s fish it !”

We arrive at the water to see a man and his wife and boy fishing about 100 yards upstream at this little gate like zone….

we stayed downstream by a bridge…

within 5 minutes…


Hookup !

I was on my 1st Sierra Largemouth, not real huge but that was a trip ! , didn’t bother with a pic.

Another 5 minutes…Hiro’s on….Largemouth !


We proceeded to catch 6 largemouth Bass.

I felt bad for the boy so I went over and gave the dad some crawlers and the right hooks and told him how to fish it hoping to change their luck…unfortunately they didn’t catch anything but when they left after 20 minutes, I walked over to that gate like area

AND

HOOKUP !

Nice solid Brown trout….this ones for table fare !

Another 15 minutes…

Hiro’s on !

A really nice Rainbow !
So that concluded our weekend of trout (and bass) debauchery.

It was a great time out there!
Heres is some scenary !

I want to dedicate this all to Bob, we would have never went out there if not for him and he gave us a little insight and intel as well, allot of which worked and some that did not but that clearly gave us a great foundation to start off with.

Thanks Bob, that big BOW is for YOU !

Next time a BIG BROWN (I hope !)

Wooo-hooo !

P.S.
Hiro got a little crazy and had that gleam in his eye…I told him “Don’t look at me !”
He then turned his attention’s elsware..

Here are a few pics that show where he spent that evening !
Here he is whispering sweet nothing’s



Here I am welcoming Hiro to his “OTHER” family, I left him there all Sunday afternoon so he could spend “quality time” with his herd !

(I wasn’t asking….and I’m sure he wasn’t tellin’ ! – don’t ask don’t tell policy !)

[Ray Lopez]

sounds like a fun trip man. gotta love stream fishing for quailty trout!!!

[GeordyBass]

Nice job Gary! Let's see some baked Browns!!!

[mx4life]

If browns taste so much better then rainbows, Think Spotted bass taste any differnt then Florida strain?

[CL SmooV]

Nice G MAN and HIRO!

I'm headed up to PVR in 2 weeks myself for the first time. Thanks for the encouragement.

Smoov

[fishinone]

Thanks for the post Gary.

Congrats on that big bow.
A great read, as always.

[Trout-Slayer77]

great report Gary !! cool pics, and a fun read. congrats on the big bow ! next time you'll get that big brown.

[Troutman65]

N ice going out there Gary & Co. Nice trout

[cutbait]

Nicely done boys!!

Accomplished trout slayers you are. The camera phone pic you sent did not due that fish justice till I saw it here.

Bueaty!!

Slight red tide? Any on the KPN?

[stphnman20]

Nice job out there! I wanna see these sierra bass your talking about. lol.

also can you clear you PM box? lol..