February 12, 2005. It was a dark cool morning in Sacramento as I loaded up the wife and black lab to head up to Trinity Lake, again. I have been up there to fish with The Maine Guide, John Gray five times since August 2004. It is hard to stay away from a place that produces 3-pound Smallmouth and 4-pound Largemouth with such regularity.

John had called me the night before to tell me (a) the bite was on, (b) he located the fish - again and (c) his weekend had just become unexpectedly open. Ellie, my 18-month old Black Lab was in. I could see it in her eyes. But convincing my lovely wife would be another story. After all, it was Valentine's weekend and we had just been up last month.

Not a problem. I sold my soul to the Valentine's Gods, made some quick negotiations over honey-dos, flowers and a nice dinner, and I had the hall pass for Trinity Lake on Saturday morning.

The drive from Sacramento to Trinity is about 3 - 1/2 to 4 hours. Some unexpected delays did not get John and I fishing until about 11:20 AM. I could tell he was not happy to be going out so late. But, thankfully, this time of year normally does not require you to be out at O-dark-thirty to catch nice bass - especially on Trinity.

John and I motored out of Trinity Center and onto the tailing piles located in about the center of the lake across from the old ballpark. It is not a secret that John catches most of his fish there. He shares that information freely. What is invaluable, however, is his knowledge of the underwater structure in that, and all other parts of the lake. John's upbringing in Maine was as a hunter, trapper, and land surveyor. He has a photographic memory and mind like a GPS. He knows which piles are where and the very best parts of each pile to drag your worms, tubes, or jigs.

We both began with 3.5 inch Root Beer colored tubes. Five of our first ten casts netted fish. One of them was a 4+ pound largemouth. We had 13 fish in the first 45 minutes with the tubes on 1/4 oz. jig heads holding Owner hooks. The rest of our fishing really, really slowed down (tongue-in-cheek). We only had 16 more fish over the next 2 and 3/4 hours. Terrible, right?

After that first 45 minutes the tube bite slowed a bit and I switched to a 1/2 oz. brown and orange jig with a twin-tailed green pumpkin plastic trailer. John moved to his other "go-to-bait", the Pro Gold and Red Flake worm. The action did not slow down. We ended up with 29 keepers in the boat. Our largest 5 were over 20 lbs. It was hi-lighted by John's 4 pound and 12 ounce Smallmouth. Yes, a Smallie! We also landed two 4.5 pound Largemouths, a 4-3 Largie and a 3-14 Smallie. What a day. Not one I'm soon to forget.

Trinity Lake offers a welcome and unique experience in California - peace and serenity. I'm sure that the length of the drive and the particularly windy Buckhorn Pass from Redding to Trinity dissuade some folks. But for those willing to take a drive, it is a beautiful gem nestled in the Trinity Alps.

To contact The Maine Guide, John Gray, call 530-623-4352 or visit his website at www.snowcrest.net/themaineguide.