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By: Kim Herlihy
After going fishing on the ocean for salmon and out of Martinez Marina for sturgeon, it was time to go where the fish are smaller, give an easier fight, and the weather is warmer (after all I needed to start working on my tan). So Dan Bacher and I set out for Collins Lake where we would meet with guide, Scott Bartosh and deckhand Mike Ramirez. We had heard reports of how well the trout fishing had been doing well within the past few months, so we knew that this was the place to go for an active day of catching fish. As we stepped onto Bartosh's boat, I could tell that today's experience would be much different from my past fishing adventures. The weather was perfect without a cloud in the sky, and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. The trees and brush around the lake were so green and lush, it was a nice change after the cold, wet, and drab winter. |
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We set out trolling 8-15 feet deep at the dam where Bartosh, Ramirez, and Jesse Rossi, Ramirez's nephew, had found success the night before. As time went by without a bite they explained that fishing had slowed quite a bit within the past few days. "Last night we averaged about a bite every 20 minutes," said Bartosh. Ramirez spotted the first bite, and gave me the rod. As I began to reel it in, I could have sworn that I had lost the fish, I felt nothing. I handed the rod back to Ramirez telling him that the fish was gone.
Once I reeled the fish closer to the surface of the water, the rainbow began to fight, thrashing back and forth quickly. I couldn't believe it, there was actually a fish on the hook, and I couldn't feel a thing for the longest time. I rationalized that since my last two trips had involved fish about 20 pounds and up, it was hard for me to adjust to reeling in fish ranging from 3/4 to 3 pounds. After I gave everyone in the boat a good laugh, we attempted fishing at the dam for a little while longer. Soon after, Bartosh decided that it was time to move further east near the bank on the north end of the lake. The bite managed to pick up a little and we were able to catch and release some nice-looking rainbows before we headed to our final destination, the power lines.
We later talked with other anglers on the lake, including Tom Coster, Bay Area recording artist, and found that they were having the same problem. The fish just weren't biting like they had the previous week. We caught and released 7 trout, kept 3 and lost another 6 fish. We used an assortment lures including a Denise Pierce trolling fly, fire tiger Apex, perch imitation Wee-Tad, Uncle Larry's behind a chicken pox dodger, and a chrome blue dodger with an Uncle Larry's Spinner. |
As he went to take the rod he put it back in my hands, exclaiming that the fish was still on and to keep reeling. Convinced that there was nothing on the line I continued to reel, taking pointers here and there from Bartosh on my technique.
Once we settled at the power lines the fishing slowed again, though we were managing to catch a few here and there. Bartosh caught the last fish of the day, a 20 inch, 2-3/4 pound rainbow.
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