Tahoe is a special place...no doubt about it. Even if the fishing is tough, you will not be left empty handed. The scenery is outrageous and the clear water is refreshing; even if just to look at. With a legitimate shot at trophy rainbows, browns or mackinaw on each and every trip, what isn't to love??

After Rick and I finalized our plans to go fish Pyramid, I knew I had to squeeze in some time on Tahoe on my way home. It would be a shame to drive the 500 miles to Pyramid and not at least put in a half day on Tahoe. I called up Mark "Dr. Juice" (more on that nickname later) Wiza and asked him what his schedule looked like. He had a guide trip that weekend but Monday was clear. This is an excellent time of year to fish Tahoe as it is probably your best shot at the Tahoe Trophy Triple. This is one of the best times for big rainbows, and the Macks are back shallow after their annual spawning rituals. The browns are also on the prowl this time of year...and are in excellent shape physically.

As I dropped down over the top of Spooner Summit, I grinned a little at what lay before me. I love that first view of the lake coming down the mountain. The trip had started out really well with awesome fishing at Pyramid, and I had a strange feeling things were going to continue at Tahoe.

I met up with Mark on Sunday afternoon at his place. I watched as he mixed up a batch of his "secret sauce" for tomorrows fishing. I am not sure who came up with the nickname "Dr. Juice", but it certainly is fitting! We talked a bit, but secretly I was jonesen to get out for an evening bite. Mark had plans with his family, so what was I to do? I had no boat and the spots I wanted to fish were not accessible from shore. I had thrown my float tube in the trunk "just in case" and now I knew that was my only option. Mark thought I was nuts. We checked the weather and some wind was supposed to come up and there would be a building swell.

I had a good feeling about going though, so I said my goodbyes and busted down to the Cave Rock area to put in. There were a fair amount of tourists staring at me as I put in...they probably thought I was crazy. I kicked out towards some structure and began casting an AC Skinny. I had two rods with me, one with 4 pound maxima and one with 6. I hooked a couple of smallish rainbows and decided to switch to a countdown Rapala so I could get more casting distance away from my tube. I switched over to the rod with 4 pound, a decision that almost came back to haunt me in a couple of hours.

I landed a few more rainbow and had one good strike that came unbuttoned. It started to get dark and the swell began to build. The wind started blowing into my back, making it difficult to kick back to my launch point. I continued to cast as I kicked back to the car. Oh well I thought, no big fish but at least I gave it a shot.

Then, it happened. I got hammered and I knew I had a good fish on. At first I was thinking brown...but as the fish began to hug the bottom...I though mack. It was nearly pitch black now, my headlamp the only illumination besides some lights on shore. The fish kept me deep and there were many times where I was stalemated due to the 4 pound test. I pulled as hard as I dared, but every time I got the fish close, he zinged out line until he was back on the bottom.

I finally managed to get the fish were I could see it and was stoked to see a nice mack in my headlamp's glare. I got him in the tube with me and headed back to shore. I knew Mark had a good recipe for smoking macks so I decided to bring the fish back to his house. I called him on the way back and told him about the nasty weather and long kick back to the launch, he exclaimed, "Well did you learn a lesson"? I decided to punk him with the fish so I didn't say anything. I laid the fish on the lawn in front of his door and knocked. When he answered I asked, "Do you have a scale I can borrow"? Mark looked at the fish and freaked for a second.

The fish ended up being 31 inches long and weighed around 11 pounds. Not a giant by many standards, but caught out of float tube, on four pound test, in the pitch dark....yah, that is a trophy in my book. I filleted the sucker and we started to talk about our plans for the next day.

Weez was up by 3:45AM the next morning. I shook the sleep out of my eyes and we headed on out. Conditions were perfect and I had a feeling things were going to happen. I tried to forget about how cold it was. The temp was in the 20s, but the wind chill probably had it down into the teens. We toplined ACs for the first hour and a half for only one fish. A pretty little brown of around 2 pounds came on a 6 inch skinny. The sun hit the water and we decided to mix it up a little and put out some dodger and minnows. I told Mark that I wanted to fish my 6 pound test spinning rig for a little light line action.

We set up our first slow troll and before we had traveled 300 yards I got grabbed. I knew the fish had a little weight and started to work the fish in. It felt "mackish" and it turned out to be a nice seven pound fish. We were stoked on the quick hookup and decided to continue to work the same area. A little while later I got hammered and this fish felt different. It was zipping around and I knew it was a rainbow or brown. I got it to the boat after some line zinging runs and Mark netted a nice 4-5 pound brown. Then it was Mark's turn. He set the hook and we could tell it was another nice fish. After some nice runs, a FAT 5 pound brown came to the net. We managed an 18" rainbow on the way back to the launch to round out the day. We had to end the day early as I had a 7 hour trip back to the central coast of California.

Mark and I were stoked on how the day turned out. We didn't see one other fishing boat on the lake for the entire half day that we were out. That is another one of the benefits of fishing this time of year. As I drove home I couldn't help but think of what a special place Tahoe is. I hope that it holds many more memories for me down the road.

Mark K., Team TTG