Fishing
Report 1-20-06
One
of my buddies, Dan McAllister and some of friends, made
it up to Crescent Lake in early January for a shot at some
browns. With very low water conditions, it is a bit of a
crapshot to launch your boat. The resort is doing a good
job of keeping the ramp open, but I would always call ahead
before planning on a trip up there in the winter. They are
currently charging $5 to launch if weather permits. Part
of the problem is, with the lake hovering at 20,000 acre
feet, it is very shallow and you have to put your rig way
back to float a boat. Smaller boats are less of a problem.
They did fairly well with one brown that measured 29
in. and only weighed 5.5 LB. That length of brown trout
could easily weigh 10 Lb. if it had been eating well. Remember
that these browns are coming off their attempts to spawn
this last fall. Dan commented that it looked like the cross
between a pike and a brown. He said that Andy did catch
two nice looking male hookjaws that went 4, and 4.5 LB.
respectively.
The
lake is capable of producing some really nice browns into
the teens. I was fortunate to catch my second brown over
10 LB. back in 2000 from Crescent. I have word, from a very
reliable source, of an angler who caught two browns last
year over 10 with the biggest going over 14 LB. a few days
apart. I won't be surprised when someone catches a brown
exceeding 20 LB. from Crescent someday. I have, on more
than one occasion, witnessed browns in the teens pushing
up through kokanee schools during the spring. Their back,
dorsal and tails breaking the surface as they lunge around
after the kokes. It is a lake that should be on every trophy
brown trout anglers list.
They
also have a thriving population of mackinaw that reach into
the 30 Lb. range. A couple of years back, a friend of mine
and I accounted for 68 lakers over 15 LB. in a little over
two and a half months. We had 23 over 20 LB. and his biggest
went 30 LB. 8 oz. A guide on the lake caught and released
a fish that was in the mid-30's last year as well. They
also have some of the bigger kokanee in Central Oregon.
Though not as prolific at producing big numbers of kokes
like Odell, the average size fish is bigger.
Tight lines, Rick
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