Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
RETURN to Putah Creek Trout -> Putah Creek Fly Fishing Forum -> Putah Creek Fly Fishing -> Crap Fishing and Pike Minnows??
Post Info TOPIC: Crap Fishing and Pike Minnows??
JL


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 276
Date:
Crap Fishing and Pike Minnows??
Permalink  
 

Well, I read Bono's post and thought I'd go out this evening (Sunday) and see what I could dredge up.

Aside from a few fish rising spordically in the lake near the bridge at dusk, I didn't see a trout.

I did, however, see three large Pike Minnows (that's what I believe them to be - Greg or someone else - do you know for sure the species?) in a hole right near the shore on the back side of the island (just past the fast water after the turn).  then I snagged one of the bastards and was bummed b/c at first I thought it was a PIG.  It was at least 3-4 lbs.  I say Pike Minnnow because when I got the snagged one to the surface, it had a dark band down it's side, and that's what the pike minnows on the north fork feather look like.  I know the fish I saw were not trout b/c they had forked tails.  Trout have square tails.  Anyway, my hook pulled out before I could really look at it, but if someone catches one of those things, keep it and take it to a lab so it can be identified.

In any event, if those ARE pike minnows, that does not bode well for the trout population.  I remember DFG poisoning a lake to get rid of these things because they eat a lot of the small trout and bait fish.

I fished from about 5:00 till about 7:45 and tried just about every typical fly.  there was a good yellow sally stone fly hatch from 7 till I left, but nothing was coming up.  Nothing was taking nymphs, nothing was taking swung flies.

I usually kill em where I was, and nothing.  there are usually lots of little fish rising.  I'm with Bono - I'm concerned.

JL

Oh - I forgot to mention, some young kids were hanging out on the island and one of them was asking me how the fishing was.  I told him it was slow and he said that he and some buddies were fishing WORMs last week (don't recall if  he said they caught anything).  I politely informed him of the rules and he was cool with that - but I wish there was some DFG enforcement.  In all my years fishing Putah - I've seen TWO wardens.  One was checking licenses from his car with binoculars. The other was just cruising around.

JL



__________________
Tight Lines JL
live2fish888


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 270
Date:
Permalink  
 

Hey JL
I think what you saw might have been a sucker fish cause that sounds like what i snag in a creek near my house. Did it look like one of these? You can really see the dark lateral line in the picture of my friend.

Attachments
__________________
Fishing isn't a matter of life and death.... It's much more important.
shon42073


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 1808
Date:
Permalink  
 

suckers spawn down there and they get that dark lateral line sometimes when spawning. You should have tried an egg pattern, Just maybe the trout are interested in the sucker eggs biggrin.

__________________
JL


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 276
Date:
Permalink  
 

Cap'n.  Of course I tried a sucker egg.  I figured they were spawning... just never saw any in the creek before.  Course, I'm not sure I've ever fished this time of year on Putah.

And yes, live2fish, the picture on right is about right.  I didn't get a look at its mouth - but it probably was a sucker.

In any event, the trout didn't want the sucker eggs, micro mays, caddis pupa, midges or anything else.

JL

__________________
Tight Lines JL
chemdoc


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 205
Date:
Permalink  
 

There are a lot of suckers in the lower creek and in Solano Lake.  I sometimes paddle my canoe up the lake and into the creek.  You can see a lot of them in the water on the back of the island in the last hundred yards before the creek enters the lake.

Phil

__________________
davefickess


Newbie

Status: Offline
Posts: 3
Date:
Permalink  
 

JL, one correction for you.  Nobody is trying to kill pike minnows as they are not an invasive or damaging fish.  Pike minnows are one of the native fish that will occur in many inland waters throughout the west.  You are mixing them up with northern pike which has been illegeally introduced into Lake Davis.  The DFG has issued a fatwah against the northern pike.  If you check your regs you'll see that the pike must be killed on site, but the pike minnow is under no such death order.

Please don't randomly kill the pike minnow, ugly fish deserve to live too.



-- Edited by davefickess at 12:17, 2008-04-15

__________________
How many times can I hook my thumb with that same flippin' fly?
drifter


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 287
Date:
Permalink  
 

ugly fish that eat another species that i like to catch (forgive me for being selfish) do deserve to live, but only up intill the point i hook one and it mysteriously finds its way lying dead on the rocks. The cyotes that benefit from this practice deserve to live too. 

__________________
all of a man's addictions end and begin when he learns to fly fish
windknots


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 290
Date:
Permalink  
 

The Pike Minnow is indeed an invasive fish in the Eel river drainage that has been causing a big problem for salmon and steelhead.  It was originally introduced as a forage fish but quickly got out of hand.

This time last year I was up on Clear Creek near Redding above Whiskeytown Reservoir, there was an insane number of pike minnow.  They must have been spawning because there is no way a small creek like that could sustain such a huge population of giant fish.



__________________
SK60


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 987
Date:
Permalink  
 

The pikeminnow, sucker, and several other species have co-existed in PC with trout since the dam was built. They are not the main problem in the apparent decline in the wild trout fishery here. The Putah Creek Trout organization members are starting to collect information on the effects of habitat degradation, spawning success, invasive/non-native species, siltation, insect populations, put and take planting program, 5 fish limits, poaching, and overall increased fishing pressure on the health and numbers of fish. The goal is to convert most of the interdam stretch to a Wild Trout designation, but first comes a lot of work over the next three years. Comments from this board, such as the recent spawning survey, will provide useful content to that process. Right now, it is especially important to complete the Angler's Survey accurately for at least another 9 months-the CDFG is collecting and will continue to collect the reports for analysis. Also, use CalTip to report suspicious activity. Such reports will also figure into the Wild Trout analysis.


http://www.putahcreekflyfishing.com/putahcreeksurvey.html


-- Edited by keith bigelow at 17:27, 2008-04-15

__________________

PCT Contact Info: putahcreektrout@gmail.com, SK60@putahcreektrout.org

Address: Putah Creek Trout, 1520 East  Covell Blvd, Suite 5, #331, Davis CA 95616

Visit our website at www.putahcreektrout.org
keith bigelow


Webmaster

Status: Offline
Posts: 222
Date:
Permalink  
 

Stephen,

Thanks for reminding everyone how important it is to fill out an Angler Survey each and every time they go fishing, whether or not they catch anything.

In the past several weeks there haven't been any online surveys received and I know that there have been quite a few people fishing.



__________________
Keith Bigelow, the webmaster,
keith@webdesignbykeith.com
----------------------------------------
Tight lines and Gentle Releases
Leicafish


Veteran Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 33
Date:
Permalink  
 

In addition to the 2 DFG survey boxes by the Hwy 128 bridge (they were recently removed to be fixed), there are also 2 more survey boxes installed at the access 5 parking lot and at the big turnout just below access 5. It is easy to stop by on the way home and fill out a survey or just do online.

__________________
GC
shon42073


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 1808
Date:
Permalink  
 

If I get surveyed while fishing, or choose to fill out a survey at the creek should i still do an online survey ? Seems if i did then the numbers would be inaccurate.

__________________
JL


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 276
Date:
Permalink  
 

Thanks for the tip.


You may have mistaken part of my post 'I usually kill em' for me literally killing fish, which is not what I meant.  I meant to say that where I was fishing, I usually catch a lot of trout.

JL



__________________
Tight Lines JL
Page 1 of 1  sorted by
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.
RETURN to Putah Creek Trout -> Putah Creek Fly Fishing Forum -> Putah Creek Fly Fishing -> Crap Fishing and Pike Minnows??


Create your own FREE Forum
Report Abuse 		Powered by ActiveBoard