Reuven,
If someone offered me my choice of two trips- one to Flathead Lake (NW
Montana) for one week's fishing of lake trout (home of 30-50 pounders) ,
or
one day's fishing for Dorado in Loreto, Baja, I'd take the dorado trip.
Same size fish, but two opposite ends of the sport spectrum. Catching a
giant macinaw is like catching a giant catfish or sturgeon. Lots of
weight,
but no real fight.
One releases Mackinaw (or lake trout, and especially the big ones) because
they're just not that good to eat, especially if you have other trout as
options. I do know some people that smoke them (smaller ones), but they
get
the munchies later for a Big Mac.
Dorado, lb for lb, are like the giant bluegills of the ocean- nothing but
fight. Twenty pounders will flat wear your butt out - especially on a fly
rod (fights average one hour on 10 to 12 wt. gear) , and they run easily
to
50 lbs, going to giants at 70+ pounds. And dorado are readily accessible
to
the flyfisherman- just find anything floating and you'll usually find
them.
You'll almost always know exactly what you have, as they spend a lot of
time
up in the air. Plus, you'll hook them up on surface flies or flies just
under the surface, so you'll see the take when you set the hook. Later,
when you cook one up, it becomes Mahi-mahi, and we all know how that rates
as table-fare. We release all but the last one, which becomes dinner that
night back at the houseienda.
As for Yellowstone, that's sad. But I have heard a lot about the problem-
which they say was an illegal planting. They offered bounties on LT's,
but
that didn't work. Catch & Kill is what they wanted. I remember the days
way back (25 years ago) when I would fish a black wooly-bugger at West
Thumb
and catch arm-long cutts all afternoon long. Bygone days, I hear.
DonO
----- Original Message -----
From: "Reuven Segal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2006 2:17 PM
Subject: RE: [VFB] Farewell Yellowstone Cutthroat...
What is this total disgust for lake trout??
R
______________________________________________
Reuven Segal
B. Engineering (Aerospace)- 4th Year
B. Engineering (Manufacturing Systems and Management)
RMIT University
5/11 Rockbrook Road,
East St. Kilda, 3183
Melbourne, Victoria
Australia
[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Mobile: 0422 266798
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Chris Broomell
Sent: Monday, 31 July 2006 4:00 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [VFB] Farewell Yellowstone Cutthroat...
I also find this interesting. I hit the Yellowstone about a month
ago...the
fishing was MUCH more difficult than I had remembered from 4 years ago (of
course, it can always be operator error). Still...it was a great day -
Sarah and I got to take a nice hike away from the rest of the
Tourons...saw
some nice wildlife (and kept our distance)...and was able to catch a
cutthroat...
Chris
________________________________________
On 7/29/06, Tom Davenport <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I just returned from my annual trip to fish the Calibaetis hatch on
Yellowstone Lake. The hatch was amazing, the water literally covered
with bugs... but no one was home to eat the meal. In three days of
hard fishing I saw only one fish rise... the one and only fish I
caught. My fish finder showed nothing until I rowed out to Gull
Point to a spot where the water plunges from 18 to 100 feet, and
suddenly it sounded like Geiger counter as the fish alarm and fish
symbols showed HUNDREDS of lake trout holding between 20 and 100
feet. As far as I know the only thing those lake trout have to eat
is Cutthroat trout, and they have been feeding well. Add to that
Whirling disease in the Yellowstone river and some of the other
tributaries and you have the cause.
After talking with the rangers I heard some startling facts: Some of
the spawning creeks that used to fill with thousands of spawning
cutthroat had NONE return this year... and the Yellowstone river only
had 5% of the normal number of spawners.
It is sad to think that in 11 years Man has undone a fishery that
has lasted at least 4 million years (156 thousand in its latest
incarnation, when the West Thumb Caldera was formed it probably
killed everything in the lake).
The only good news is that the Lake Trout will start dying out when
their primary food source is gone... and probably begin a boom-bust
cycle. The same will be true for all of the wildlife that depend on
the trout spawn.
Eventually another volcanic event in Yellowstone Lake will purge it
of the Lake trout, and I suspect the fish will evolve a resistance to
Whirling disease, but none of this will happen in my lifetime. In
fact there is a good chance that men won't even be around to screw
things up when that happens.
I WILL return next year, and will hope that a school of surviving
Cutthroat just happen to be feeding where I am fishing. I will also
bring a spinning rod and some heavy jigs and see if I can get a
little revenge on the Lake trout...
Tom Davenport
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