Mail Order

I have something of a shameful confession to make.

I miss mail order.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – not only is mail order still around, it’s even easier than it’s ever been, what with the internet and all.  But that’s not what I’m talking about.  What I miss is old-fashioned mail order the way it worked when I was a kid.

I know I’m dating myself a little here, but when I was growing up mail order catalogs came every so often throughout the year, and if we wanted something out of them we had to fill out the order form and send it back to wherever with a check for the total amount.  After three or four weeks, a package containing our goodies would magically arrive on the doorstep.  Unless, of course, the item was out of stock, in which case we’d get a postcard advising us of that unfortunate fact and giving us the option to call a toll-free number and cancel the order.

As a kid, my favorite catalogs were the ones from Cabela’s (and the Sportsman’s Guide, who would give you a free folding knife if you ordered over $50 worth of merchandise).  My friends and I all got the Cabela’s catalogs, and whoever had the latest one would bring it school, where we would pore over it between classes until it was all dog-eared and starting to fall apart.  They would usually send one out in the spring, about the time fishing season started in earnest, and we would look through it and speculate on how many more fish we could catch if only we had this new lure, or maybe that one…or some of those plastic worms in the latest hot color…or even a brand new fishing pole or reel.

There would be another catalog in the late summer or early fall with all the hunting gear, and then in late fall the much-awaited holiday catalog would arrive.  For me, there was something almost magical about this issue, with its assortment of food and gift products that never appeared in the regular catalogs.  I would pick up that holiday issue again and again and page repeatedly through the assortments of wild game meats and sausages, cheeses, and smoked fish and game birds, thinking that some day I would  send exotic and “outdoorsy” gifts like that to people.  Somehow that Cabela’s holiday catalog represented, at least to me and my friends, the magic of the Christmas season and the allure of the outdoors all wrapped up together in one convenient package.

One summer, after mowing neighborhood lawns for a little spending money, I ordered a new tackle box and a bunch of new bass lures from Cabela’s.  Every day, for what seemed like forever (but was probably only a couple of weeks), I waited anxiously for the UPS truck to arrive with my new gear.  I was 13 or 14 years old, and that summer still resides in my memory as a time of bright days, endless golden evenings, and excruciating anticipation as I waited for that package.  That anticipation now seems as much an essential part of my childhood as little league baseball and bicycles and the Statler Brothers on the AM radio.

So yes, I miss mail order.  Maybe not for what it really was, but for what it means to me as I look back on those years.

New NV Fishing License Year Starts March 1

March 1 is rapidly approaching, and for those of us in the great state of Nevada that means only one thing – time to get a new fishing license!  All current licenses will expire on February 28, so don’t forget to get your new one.

If you aren’t lucky enough to live here in Nevada, and need to take a look at your state’s regulations to see what (if anything) has changed for 2009, FishinTrips.net has a page with links to fishing regs for every U.S. state and most Canadian provinces.

Knives, Part 1

Every fisherman needs a good knife.  For that matter, so does every camper and outdoorsman, and probably everyone who sets foot outside the front door of his house for any reason whatsoever.  I carry a pocket knife everywhere I go, and have since I was about 15 years old.  When I’m fishing I carry a fillet knife, too, because I prefer it for cleaning fish.  In this post, and a couple of later ones to be announced, we’re going to take a look at my knife choices.

For fishing, I carry a Rapala Fish ‘n Fillet knife, and have for many years.  This is a very simple tool designed to do one thing well:  clean and fillet fish.  Since most of my fishing is done for trout in mountain streams or lakes, I chose the four-inch-blade version of this knife.  It fits easily in one of the pockets on my fishing vest, and is plenty big for the pan-sized trout that are the norm where I like to go. I’ve also got a six-inch version of the Fish ‘n Fillet in my camping box just in case, and it’s available in 7 1/2- and nine-inch sizes as well.  They all take and hold an absolutely wicked edge, which is a real asset when you’re contemplating cleaning a whole sink full of fish.

Rapala Fish 'n Fillet knife. The old standby.

The Fish ‘n Fillet is made in Finland, and sports a varnished birchwood handle and leather sheath.  I found out the hard way that you should never put the knife back in the sheath when the sheath is wet, because the wet leather will stretch and your knife will then tend to fall out later on.  The blade is sufficiently flexible to allow easy filleting, and in spite of having used mine quite a bit under field conditions I have yet to see any rust.  The only real sign of wear on this knife is a couple patches on the handle where the varnish has worn away.  The price is right, too, at about 11 dollars for knife, sheath, and a sharpening tool at most sporting goods stores.

For those (like me) who just aren’t that good at filleting fish, Rapala has some pointers on their web site.

I’ve tried other fillet knives at one time or another, and the Rapala is the one I have always gone back to.  In my next knife post, I’ll take a look at pocket and utility knives.

A Blast From The Past…

I found some old photos the other day from a fishing trip some friends and I took when we were about 14 years old. Besides being good for a laugh at how young I looked, they brought back some really good memories of being a kid and being able to go fishing pretty much whenever I wanted to. Not only was the San Clemente pier just an hour’s bus ride away, but one guy’s dad had a 14-foot aluminum boat that he would use to take us out on a nearby lake. Fishing for catfish and bass in the summer, and trout in the wintertime when the weather cooled down…those were good times. The best part is that I still fish with these guys.

Anyway, here are a couple of those pictures. They were taken at Lake Mission Viejo in December of 1983. According to the note on the back of one of the photos, we had a pretty good day and caught over 18 pounds of trout between us!

Mike with a trout.

Mike with some friends at the end of the day.

Kinda makes you want to take your kids out fishing, huh?

It’s Time For Lake Mead Striped Bass

Striped bass aren’t just a popular saltwater game fish – they’ve been introduced into several freshwater reservoirs as well, including Lake Mead here in southern Nevada.  Stripers are an anadromous fish, meaning they typically live in saltwater but go into freshwater to spawn.  Their ability to thrive in freshwater makes them ideal for controlling populations of shad in man-made reservoirs and impoundments, which is why they were placed in Lake Mead in the first place.

A couple of late fall stripers.

You can catch stripers here in Lake Mead pretty much year round.  Fishermen have good luck using either cut bait such as anchovies (available at just about any bait shop) or live shad.  Some anglers like to catch their own live shad using cast nets.  If you choose to do this, make sure you comply with all the applicable state regulations regarding methods of take for baitfish, because the park rangers do enforce these regulations.

Trolling for stripers with flashy lures that simulate a bait fish can also be productive.  During the late summer and fall, a phenomenon known as the “boil” occurs.  Striped bass follow the schools of shad near the surface, and when the stripers feed the water froths and appears to be boiling in the area where they’re feeding.  Throw almost any topwater lure with a dark back and a silver or white bottom into one of these boils and you’re pretty much guaranteed a strike.  A typical boil lasts anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or so.  They can occur just about anywhere on the lake, although some fishermen I know like to work the shallower coves where the shad congregate this time of year.

Some of my buddies and I like to fish one pole with live bait, while keeping another pole with a topwater lure handy.  When a boil starts within casting range we’ll throw our lures into it.  Remember that Nevada law only allows you to fish with two poles at a time, and only if you have a second pole stamp on your license.  Also keep in mind that any time you’re fishing from a boat on Lake Mead you must have either a Nevada or Arizona fishing license and a special use stamp from the other state.

The water level in Lake Mead has dropped significantly over the last few years.  Use caution any time you deviate out of the marked navigation channel, since there may be a number of unmarked rocks and other navigation hazards present.

Fishing reports for Lake Mead and other southern Nevada waters are available on the Nevada Department of Wildlife’s website.

Pier Fishing for Bonito in California

Every year sometime around the later part of July, the bonito start running along the California coast. Some of them come close enough inshore that anglers have an opportunity to take these ordinarily pelagic hunters from fishing piers. Although the really big fish don’t usually come into shallow water, California law allows fishermen to keep up to five fish smaller than the legal limit of 24 inches fork length or five pounds.

One good way to fish for these little inshore bonito is with a casting bubble and a white feather lure. I learned this trick from a crusty old fisherman down at the San Clemente pier a good 25 years ago, and it has never failed to produce fish. The trick here is to fill the casting bubble about halfway up with water, and attach it about three feet above your lure. Cast the lure and bubble a good distance from the pier, and retrieve it using a fairly quick jerking motion. When you do this, the bubble will create a lot of splashing and commotion which simulates frightened baitfish jumping out of the water as they try to get away from a predator. The white feather trailing behind the bubble appears to the bonito to be a small wounded or slow fish that can’t quite keep up with the rest of the fleeing school – an easy meal. If a bonito is in the area of the lure, this will draw a strike almost every time.

If you feel a hit on your lure but miss the hook set, stop your retrieve for a couple seconds and wait. Bonito often hunt in pairs, and if the lead fish misses a baitfish the second one will often dart in and pick it up. When you pause your retrieve, the lure will start to sink as if it has been further injured or killed by the intial strike, drawing in the second hunter.

If you want to be really sneaky, watch the surface of the water until you see the telltale splashes that mean the bait are jumping. Cast the bubble into the area where the school is, start your retrieve, and hold on! From up on the pier, you may even be able to watch the bonito making their approach to your lure.

Purists prefer to use a single #1 or 1/0 hook with a white feather tied to it, but in a pinch a similar size white feather jig will also work. Try to use the lightest one you can find, so that it doesn’t sink too fast when you pause your retrieve.

Big or small, bonito cook up nicely with a taste and texture similar to tuna.

Mike’s Not Dead.

I haven’t been in Kansas, either (for you Unforgiven fans). I’ve just had a very, very busy six weeks or so. Most of what I was doing wasn’t much fun, but I did manage to get away to Bishop Creek for a few days with several old friends the first weekend in June.

I’ve been making the trip to Bishop every summer for the last 20 years or so, along with two or three other die-hard buddies. Within the last several years the group has grown larger and larger, and this year we boasted about 20 people. We’ve come to expect some pretty good fishing and decent weather the time of year that we go, and this trip certainly didn’t disappoint. Temperatures were in the 70’s during the day, with nights getting cold enough that we had ice in the coffee pot in the morning – just the way I like it. I broke in a new tent this trip, with pretty good results. That, however, is a story for another post.

The south fork of Bishop Creek, near Four Jeffrey Campground.

And the fishing…ah, the fishing. Not only does the DFG stock Bishop Creek every week during the summer trout season, Adopt-A-Creek and the Alpers Foundation also plant fish there periodically. Brook and brown trout put in an occasional appearance among the ubiquitous hatchery rainbows. Most of the guys I fish with have no problem limiting out every day (and did so this trip), and even those that don’t are rarely skunked. The fish are typically in the 3/4- to 1-pound range, although almost everyone I fish with has caught at least one 3-pound or larger trout out of the creek. We usually use salmon eggs fished on 4-pound test with a number 14 treble hook. Power Bait, worms, and crickets are also good producers.

Another big part of this trip each year is the food. Years ago my friends and I were content to cook things like pork and beans, canned chili, and hot dogs for every meal. Over the course of time our thoughts on the matter have evolved, and now one night’s evening meal always consists of five or six guys serving up a staggering array of victuals in an attempt to outdo each other. We all eat very well indeed. This year the Saturday night menu included ribs, teriyaki chicken breasts, beef tri-tip, London broil, baked beans, green bean casserole, and ears of corn roasted in the fire. As well as two types of pie, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Friday night we got treated to gourmet beer-smoked hot dogs, courtesy of my friend Geoff. He made them once about six or seven years ago, and an instant tradition was born…

So, all in all, an excellent trip, with good fishing, good food, and good friends. Of course it ended way too soon, but don’t they always?

Taking Kids Fishing

Especially in this age of computers and video games, I’m a big believer in getting the kids outside and teaching them to fish.  I was lucky enough as a child to have several friends whose fathers never minded when I tagged along on fishing trips with them (my dad hates fishing…but I love him anyway).  Later on I passed my love of fishing on to my brother Dan, who is much younger than I am, by taking him on his first fishing trip and getting him “hooked.”  More recently I helped my girlfriend’s grandson, Austin, catch his first fish.

Some important things to remember when you take a child, or anyone else, fishing for the first time:

• Go someplace where you’ll catch fish. This may seem pretty fundamental, but it’s vitally important.  If the kid catches fish, he’ll be back to do it again.  If he sits for five hours next to a lake in the hot sun and doesn’t catch anything, he probably won’t.  When I took young Austin fishing last June, we went to a spot that I’ve fished for over 20 years, and within five minutes he had a trout in the net.  He went on to catch his limit both days we fished.  Fun?  You bet!  I’m planning a trip up to Bishop Creek in a couple weeks, and he’s ready to go back for more.

• Keep it simple. Fly fishing, or any other form of fishing where technique is key, probably isn’t a good choice for that first trip.  When I took my brother for the first time, we went down to the harbor at Dana Point, CA, and fished under a bridge there using frozen green peas.  It was easy, and we caught a whole bunch of opaleye perch and had a blast.

• Make the first fish special. When Dan pulled his first fish out of the water, we put it in our bag with great ceremony so he could take it home and show Mom and Dad – all five or six inches of it.  When Austin caught his first trout, I made sure his mother was handy with the camera to get a photo of him and his fish.  I doubt I’ve ever seen another young man look quite as proud.

• Use the right gear. On my trip last June, some friends of mine had brought along a couple of first-timers, but neglected to tell them what sort of equipment to bring.  As a result, they were out there fishing the creek with rods that were better suited to light ocean fishing.  They caught some trout, but they didn’t have a very good time doing it.  By the same token, using gear that’s too light for conditions or unsuited to a young angler’s skill level is usually a prescription for failure.  Make sure they’re properly equipped and everyone will have a better time.

• Don’t get too far outside your new angler’s comfort zone. The first fishing trip is going to be a learning experience.  This means that you need to be available to give guidance and answer questions rather than leaving them alone while you go off and fish.  Also, kids tend to be a little bit squeamish about touching and cleaning fish, handling bait, and so forth.  While you want to eventually get them to be self-sufficient in the field, don’t push it on the first trip.  Forcing a child to do something that he finds distasteful will just make him not want to do it again.  Fishing should be fun.

• Be flexible. Kids have a shorter attention span than most adults.  Be prepared to take breaks, engage in different outdoor activities, and otherwise keep your young angler from getting bored.

• And teach ethics and set an example. Of course I believe in fishing legally, not exceeding possession limits, and so on.  I also believe in respecting the rights of other anglers and property owners, not taking more fish than I plan to eat regardless of the published limit, and not releasing fish that I know will die later due to being gill-hooked or played to exhaustion – among other things.  Teach your children that ethical fishing and outdoorsmanship goes beyond simply obeying the law, and you’ve given them the basis for a set of personal values anyone can be proud of.

So there you have it – Mike’s take on making the first trip successful for your young fisherman.  As I mentioned above, I’m planning a trip to the Eastern Sierras during the first part of June, and I’ll try to keep everyone updated on how that goes.

Easy Campfire Trout Recipe

There’s nothing quite as good as freshly caught trout.  My good friend Greg West is a virtuoso when it comes to cooking them, and many years ago he shared his technique with me.  It’s really simple and really tasty.

Get a fire started, and while it burns down some, clean your fish.  I take the heads off mine, but that’s purely a matter of personal preference.  Season the fish inside and out with garlic salt and pepper, and inside each trout’s body cavity place a pat of butter, a slice of lemon, and a slice of onion.  Roll the fish in a couple layers of aluminum foil and place them in the hot coals at the edge of your fire.

Let the fish cook for 45 minutes or so, turning them once about halfway through.  When the trout are done, take them out of the coals and serve ‘em up.  They should be nice and tender, and if done right you’ll be able to peel the meat easily away from the bones.  If you’re feeling really lazy and don’t want to wash many dishes, you can eat the fish right out of the foil that you cooked them in (watch out and don’t get the hot juices on yourself if you’re doing this).  Enjoy your trout with a cold beer or other beverage of your choice.

Stream Fishing, Part 3: Technique

We know where to find the fish.  We have what we need to catch them.  Now what?

When stream fishing for trout, presentation is the key.  Some fishermen love to tell you how incredibly smart trout are.  They’re not really.  They just know when something doesn’t look right, and if it doesn’t look right the fish aren’t about to touch it.  Keeping that in mind, we want to present our bait or lure in a such a way that it mimics a trout’s natural food source as much as possible.

For fly fishermen, this means “matching the hatch” or otherwise imitating something the trout would normally feed on.  Since trout are predators, patterns that simulate small fish or even mice can be productive in addition to those imitating bugs.  Many fly fishermen believe in casting upstream, since by doing so they can position themselves behind the trout (which are usually facing upstream looking for food) and minimize the risk of spooking the trout as they move or cast.

Bait fishermen are better off positioning themselves upstream from the fish and allowing their bait to drift downstream into the trout’s vicinity.  Don’t try to cast right on top of the fish – aim for a spot a little upstream from them, and then let the current do the rest.  When doing this, keep two things in mind.  First, trout usually live in clear and fairly shallow water.  This means they can easily see movement on the banks within their field of vision.  The fish can’t necessarily distinguish what it is that’s moving, but it doesn’t matter, since any perceived movement or any shadow falling across them will usually cause them to spook.  To prevent this, you’ll want to either stand far enough upstream to be out of the trout’s field of view, or crouch down low enough not to be easily seen.  If you have to move into close proximity to a promising-looking hole in order to cast to it, make sure you stay low and avoid casting shadows on the water if possible.

The second thing to remember is that your bait must drift naturally into the hole where the trout are positioned.  To achieve this, use as little weight on your line as you can get away with – just enough to cause the bait to stay on or near the bottom.  The faster the current, the more weight you’ll need to get the bait down.  Start with no weight at all and adjust from there.  When adding weight, I like to place a size 7 or so split shot about two feet above my hook.  If one isn’t enough, add another, or replace it with a slightly larger split shot.  Too much weight, though, and you’ll anchor your bait on the bottom.

And don’t hurl your bait into the water with a mighty splash, since this is unnatural.  Ideally, you should drop it into the current upstream from your quarry and just let it drift.  If you have to cast, try to get the bait into the water quietly.  In situations where you’re trying to reach a swirl or a hole behind a  rock or log, drop your bait in above the obstruction and let the current carry it around in a natural manner.  Sometimes this means standing in the stream or casting to the far bank so that the current takes the bait the way you want it to.

If you drift your bait through a likely-looking hole and nothing happens, don’t be discouraged.  Retrieve it and try again.  Sometimes the trout just need to be enticed a little bit before they’ll bite.  If you know the trout are there, but they don’t seem interested, try varying the amount of weight on your line to get the bait into their comfort zone.  When fishing small holes, especially in areas confined by overhanging brush or branches, I like to use a technique my friend Geoff calls “lobbing.”  To lob, let your bait drift down through the hole you want to fish, then close the reel bail after it reaches the other side.  Instead of retrieving the bait by reeling it it, pull the line right in front of the reel with your off hand so that the bait is dragged back toward the rod tip, then drop it in again just upstream from the hole and let go of the line.  This keeps you from having to cast repeatedly in an area where you’ll likely get snagged.

In large, calm pools, consider casting lures and retrieving them through the pool to stimulate a bite.  This is especially effective during the trout’s peak feeding hours in the morning and evening.  Use small spinners such as a Mepps Aglia #0, or try small spoons or tube jigs.  A fly fished behind a casting bubble can also be a good producer in large pools or intake ponds.

Hatchery trout will often experience a period of disorientation immediately after they’re stocked in a creek.  During this time, which typically lasts for 24 to 48 hours, the trout may not eat.  If you can see fish, but they’re not biting, they might be recently stocked.  Chances are you’ll have better luck trying to catch them a little bit later.

And there you have it – the basics of successful trout stream fishing, in three easy installments.  Now get out there and catch some fish!