onchorynchus salar

I have only caught Atlantic salmon once in my life. Fourteen inch
juveniles in Gull Lake, Michigan about 10 years ago. I had been
fishing for smallmouth bass and was surprised to tie into a pod of
these surprisingly strong fish. They faught frantically. Alas, no
jumps. That's all I know of the great leaper ... that and Lee Wulff's
tales of salmon in that eponymously titled book.

Now I've caught plenty of rainbow trout and I can attest that they
jump quite often. When a good sized rainbow belly flops after going
airborne you can feel the heft of the fish and the slap of the water
telegraphed back to your line hand which is desperately trying to
maintain control of the fly line. That's a great feeling. I've also
hooked into big rainbows while trolling for salmon in the Great
Lakes. It's amazing to stand witness to an unlikely sequence of
events which begins with the captain yelling "fish-on" while we drag
silver-plated spoons using downriggers. The rod holder is only 5 feet
away from the bench where I am seated so it takes less than a second
for me to get to the transom and make sure that the barb has sunken
solidly into the jaws of Mr. Onchorynchus. Before I can even blink I
am staring at a 12 lb steelhead that has rocketed from 60 feet below
the surface into low earth orbit. Well it might be a "very low" orbit
but an altitude of 10 feet is nonetheless impressive for a freshwater
fish.

Even a century of hatchery breeding has failed to induce a genetic
amnesia of its prediliction for leaping among the rainbow trout.
Yesterday I took a leisurely drive into the Santa Cruz mountains
arriving quite late for a fisherman, 1 PM, at the boat rental at Loch
Lomond, not Scotland but California. Unlike most impoundments near
the San Francisco bay area this one actually has a natural feel to it
reminiscent of a Sierra Nevadan lake or a midwestern spring pond.
There are no powerboats and the shore is rimmed with plenty of
greenery. I asked to rent a motor boat and was offered a choice of
foot or oar. I guess all the battery powered boats were already
rented out. I rigged up not knowing what to expect as it was my first
time there. I let out about 90 feet of my Airflo Depth Finder
integrated shooting head line with a size 8 marabou streamer wearing
Mickey Finn colors. Nobody was having much luck except me. I rowed
back and forth for about 3 hours continuously and hooked a fish about
once every 30 minutes. Maybe it was my syncopated rowing, the pauses
and stops, the quiet splashing of oars that led the stocked trout to
my fly instead of the broken back Rebels and jointed Rapalas being
pulled behind the steady mechanized hum of the MinnKotas. All I know
is that even a 12 inch, hatchery raised rainbow can jolt the rod
nearly out of a rowboat and pull a 200 grain sinking head up to
surface while it decides to take a gulp of air in its attempt to lose
the hook. That and the fact that the guy working at the dock was
impressed with my "skills" as he called my luck.

Today my arms and back are sore but that is a small price to pay for
the recent imprint upon my mind of a quiet Sunday afternoon filled
with visions of jumping fish. Leap on little rainbows and big ones.
Til next time.

Mu Young Lee
Santa Clara, CA

"mu" wrote in message
ups.com...

I have only caught Atlantic salmon once in my life.

Glad to see you're still around and posting. Nice trip.

I have been reading an older Steve Raymond book "The Year of the Angler".
There is a chapter on a lake he called Hosmer lake (don't know if it's a
real name or fake) that was stocked with Atlantic Salmon. I believe it was
in Washington. Anyone know if it is real and if the Salmon are still in
there?

Curious Wayne

On Mon, 26 Mar 2007 22:38:47 -0400, "Wayne Knight"
wrote:

"mu" wrote in message
oups.com...

I have only caught Atlantic salmon once in my life.

Glad to see you're still around and posting. Nice trip.

I have been reading an older Steve Raymond book "The Year of the Angler".
There is a chapter on a lake he called Hosmer lake (don't know if it's a
real name or fake) that was stocked with Atlantic Salmon. I believe it was
in Washington. Anyone know if it is real and if the Salmon are still in
there?

Curious Wayne

It's real, and the Salmon are still there as far as I know. It's been
a few years since I've been there.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/centralorego...r/hosmer.shtml

JR would probably know more current info.

Don

"Wayne Knight" wrote in message
news

I have been reading an older Steve Raymond book "The Year of the Angler".
There is a chapter on a lake he called Hosmer lake (don't know if it's a
real name or fake) that was stocked with Atlantic Salmon. I believe it was
in Washington. Anyone know if it is real and if the Salmon are still in
there?

Curious Wayne

Hosmer lake is in the Oregon Cascades, and has both Atlantic Salmon and
Brook Trout. Its not a place one would go to seek solitude as its quite
heavily fished.

Bob Weinberger La Grande, OR

"mu" wrote in message
ups.com...
Today my arms and back are sore but that is a small price to pay for
the recent imprint upon my mind of a quiet Sunday afternoon filled
with visions of jumping fish. Leap on little rainbows and big ones.
Til next time.

Mu Young Lee
Santa Clara, CA

Thanks for the ride along Mu,

I'm looking forward to some of the same, our lake opened up last week! The
fingerlings that we have been raising all winter are now catchables and will
be released soon, the carry overs from previous years should be 20 inches or
better. Some of the triploids have reached the 8 - 10 lbs. mark...

I'm off this afternoon to float the Bitterroot for 4 days, should break the
cabin fever!

Thanks,
JT

On Mar 26, 7:55 pm, "Bob Weinberger"
wrote:
"Wayne Knight" wrote in message

news


I have been reading an older Steve Raymond book "The Year of the Angler".
There is a chapter on a lake he called Hosmer lake (don't know if it's a
real name or fake) that was stocked with Atlantic Salmon. I believe it was
in Washington. Anyone know if it is real and if the Salmon are still in
there?

Curious Wayne

Hosmer lake is in the Oregon Cascades, and has both Atlantic Salmon and
Brook Trout. Its not a place one would go to seek solitude as its quite
heavily fished.

Bob Weinberger La Grande, OR

Are there any landlocked salmon left in East Lake? I got into them
one morning and caught a couple of dozen. At the time they were
trying to get rid of them and the limit was generous. We ate a few
but they were just so-so. We should have taken the grill,
We would also catch some kind of big chub or something. I whapped
them on the bottom of the boat and threw them out in the water.
Within 5 or 10 minutes here came an ofsprey to have breakfast.

BJ Conner wrote:
On Mar 26, 7:55 pm, "Bob Weinberger" wrote:

Hosmer lake is in the Oregon Cascades, and has both Atlantic Salmon and
Brook Trout. Its not a place one would go to seek solitude as its quite
heavily fished.

Are there any landlocked salmon left in East Lake? I got into them
one morning and caught a couple of dozen. At the time they were
trying to get rid of them and the limit was generous. We ate a few
but they were just so-so. .....

Yes, though fewer than there were. BTW, eating fish out of East
is not such a good idea due to high mercury levels.

Hosmer reached a something of a tipping point a few years ago.
Always popular with fly fishers and canoers, the population
explosion in Central Oregon has added hordes of kayakers as well.
Between May and September, it's a zoo. Given that there are
only non-native trout/salmon there, and good moving water nearby,
these days I only stop in passing to marvel at how full and crazy
the parking/camping area is before moving on.....

- JR

"mu" wrote

, at the boat rental at Loch
Lomond, not Scotland but California.

I've never heard of it, but I may just look it up and take my pram over,
just to be able to say "I secured two brace, fishing a cast of three wets,
and wind drifting with sea anchors, on the Loch"

g

souinds like a nice day, thanks for the TR

On Mar 27, 4:29 am, "mu" wrote:
I have only caught Atlantic salmon once in my life. Fourteen inch
juveniles in Gull Lake, Michigan about 10 years ago. I had been
fishing for smallmouth bass and was surprised to tie into a pod of
these surprisingly strong fish. They faught frantically. Alas, no
jumps. That's all I know of the great leaper ... that and Lee Wulff's
tales of salmon in that eponymously titled book.

Now I've caught plenty of rainbow trout and I can attest that they
jump quite often. When a good sized rainbow belly flops after going
airborne you can feel the heft of the fish and the slap of the water
telegraphed back to your line hand which is desperately trying to
maintain control of the fly line. That's a great feeling. I've also
hooked into big rainbows while trolling for salmon in the Great
Lakes. It's amazing to stand witness to an unlikely sequence of
events which begins with the captain yelling "fish-on" while we drag
silver-plated spoons using downriggers. The rod holder is only 5 feet
away from the bench where I am seated so it takes less than a second
for me to get to the transom and make sure that the barb has sunken
solidly into the jaws of Mr. Onchorynchus. Before I can even blink I
am staring at a 12 lb steelhead that has rocketed from 60 feet below
the surface into low earth orbit. Well it might be a "very low" orbit
but an altitude of 10 feet is nonetheless impressive for a freshwater
fish.

Even a century of hatchery breeding has failed to induce a genetic
amnesia of its prediliction for leaping among the rainbow trout.
Yesterday I took a leisurely drive into the Santa Cruz mountains
arriving quite late for a fisherman, 1 PM, at the boat rental at Loch
Lomond, not Scotland but California. Unlike most impoundments near
the San Francisco bay area this one actually has a natural feel to it
reminiscent of a Sierra Nevadan lake or a midwestern spring pond.
There are no powerboats and the shore is rimmed with plenty of
greenery. I asked to rent a motor boat and was offered a choice of
foot or oar. I guess all the battery powered boats were already
rented out. I rigged up not knowing what to expect as it was my first
time there. I let out about 90 feet of my Airflo Depth Finder
integrated shooting head line with a size 8 marabou streamer wearing
Mickey Finn colors. Nobody was having much luck except me. I rowed
back and forth for about 3 hours continuously and hooked a fish about
once every 30 minutes. Maybe it was my syncopated rowing, the pauses
and stops, the quiet splashing of oars that led the stocked trout to
my fly instead of the broken back Rebels and jointed Rapalas being
pulled behind the steady mechanized hum of the MinnKotas. All I know
is that even a 12 inch, hatchery raised rainbow can jolt the rod
nearly out of a rowboat and pull a 200 grain sinking head up to
surface while it decides to take a gulp of air in its attempt to lose
the hook. That and the fact that the guy working at the dock was
impressed with my "skills" as he called my luck.

Today my arms and back are sore but that is a small price to pay for
the recent imprint upon my mind of a quiet Sunday afternoon filled
with visions of jumping fish. Leap on little rainbows and big ones.
Til next time.

Mu Young Lee
Santa Clara, CA

Atlantic salmon are Salmo salar

Rainbow trout are Onchorynchus mykiss

TL
MC

wrote:
snip

What are you still doing here ? You've long since worn out
your welcome. You've had ample opportunity to search the
record and you have doubtless pored over every word I've
ever posted here, so you know by now that you posted a
scurrilous lie concerning needles and sledgehammers. A
decent, honest man with any amount of manners and decorum
would have already apologized. Not that anyone would ever
expect it of you.

--
Ken Fortenberry