However, Tulloch can produce some fabulous fishing for big trophy rainbows throughout the year. I had a great trip to Tulloch on Labor Day weekend, when James Pagani and I caught limits of holdover and wild rainbows to 22 inches while trolling Sparklefish and Goldeneye lures from the surface to 40 feet deep. We found the best action in the main body near the dam and marina.

On two successive trips, Pagani and his fishing and business partner, Mike Graf, found even better fishing. Graf and another angler bagged 10 fish ranging from 18 to 26 inches on one trip, while Pagani landed 12 fish, including four 20 inchers, on a fantastic trolling trip on Thanksgiving weekend. The fishing we experienced at Tulloch was much better, for size and quantity, than any of us found at New Melones, Don Pedro, Amador and other Mother Lode lakes this year. However, with the weather fronts and cooling water temperatures of winter, the fishing at Tulloch was finally bound to taper off. It definitely did that during a trip that Pagani, Graf and I made to the lake on December 9.

We tried to launch at the north shore in the morning, but all of the ramp facilities were closed due to low water conditions. Pagani called the south shore marina to see if we could launch there; they said we could launch aluminum boats on the gravel, though the ramp was under construction.

We launched with no difficulty, since both Pagani and Graf have Toyota 4 wheel drive trucks, and got our gear ready to fish. Our strategy was for Graf to work one area, the main body near the dam, in the morning. Meanwhile, Pagani and I would cover a lot more water, fishing the cove near Poker Flat, where he found excellent action on his last trip, and the Stanislaus River arm. We would meet at 1 p.m. to compare notes on our fishing success.

Pagani and I fished over a half hour in one of the coves near Poker Flat until he got the first bite; unfortunately, the fish didn't stick. He briefly hooked and lost another fish about 30 minutes later.

Finally, I hooked and landed a fish while using a silver Goldeneye Lure on 6 colors of leadcore line. Even though the water was cold and we were trolling fast, the fish turned out to be a chunky 2 pound largemouth bass. Finally, as we made another pass, I landed the first trout of the day, a 13 inch rainbow. Pagani followed up with two more trout, both 14 inch holdovers, throughout the morning. We were bummed; "the lake must have shut off with the weather front that's coming in," Pagani commented.

We went to see how Graf was doing near the dam; he wasn't doing much better. "I released several small trout; the fish just aren't biting like they have on our other trips," said Graf. "I'm marking a big school of fish on the graph, but they're not hitting. I'm going to keep working them." Pagani opted to go way up into the Stanislaus River arm, where we had never fished before. However, in 1-1/2 hours of fishing, we never got a bite. We returned to the cove where we had fished in the morning and caught one more trout, a 14 incher.

We went back to the launch ramp and saw a grinning Graf, who stuck with the school of fish near the dam and finally caught a trophy 22 inch, 5-1/2 pound buck rainbow.

"It took me 15 minutes to land," he said. "I released a couple of other small trout, but didn't get any other large ones. I kept fishing the school of fish until one of the big ones decided to bite." Mike's strategy, to keep fishing one spot over and over again, paid off with a trophy wild rainbow and four smaller rainbows.

Pagani and I made a couple of passes trolling Goldeneyes and Sparklefish near the dam before dark, but didn't hook any more fish. Mike's big rainbow was the only quality fish that we saw taken out of the four boats that were out on the lake.

It was a tough day of fishing, but at least we caught a few fish for dinner and the weather was great for this time of year, being relatively warm, with no wind or precipitation. Our total for the three of us was 9 rainbow trout to 5-1/2 pounds and one largemouth bass.

For more information about Goldeneye and Sparklefish Lures, call (877)772-7676.