Catching Multiple Species at Bucks Lake!
By Paul J. Kneeland
John Brassfield of Foresthill and I took a quick trip to Bucks Lake with his truck and boat in late August. We drove up Hwy 162 over the green bridge at Lake Oroville– the road was curvy but smooth and well paved. As we traveled up in the afternoon and saw huge thunder clouds forming – and we were headed right up to them! The drive was through huge areas of burns from the Dixie Fire from a couple years ago, and the burnt remains of all the trees got to be kind of depressing. We arrived at Bucks Lake about 4:30 in the afternoon and got our campsite at a private camp. It was in view of the lake, but surrounded by mostly RVs and trailers. It was a big open site that was easy to pull the boat in and out of . The big thunder bumpers were to the north and east of us and we didn’t get any rain. We took a tour around the lake and saw where the fire came right down to the Mill Creek bay, but the rest of the shoreline was unscathed with no fire scars in view. We had excellent burgers at the Lakeshore Resort on the deck overlooking the lake. We went back to camp and built a small campfire in the pit, and watched the light show from the lightning in the northeast. As darkness fell, we could see thousands of stars, and saw dozens of satellites floating through the night sky. About midnight I woke up on the cot outside with rain hitting my face. I was under the awning that was on John’s camper shell, so I adjusted closer to the truck, and then the rain stopped and the stars came out again.
Tuesday morning, we were up at 5:30, made coffee and broke camp. We launched at Sandy Point on the Mill Creek cove. As we got on the water, we noticed the lake looked kind of murky. Not muddy, but just kind of cloudy like snowmelt or something. Visibility was about 5 to 6 feet. In dark water like that we usually go with bright chartreuse or fluorescent colors. The water temperature was 69 degrees when we started, and up to 70 in early afternoon. Air temperature at day break was a balmy 59 degrees and warmed up to about 80 in the afternoon.
We started trolling right out of the ramp, and I immediately got a hit on the “Trout Candy” Hot ticket spoon at 49 feet deep. Just as John was getting the net the trout shook his head and got off. I thought maybe it was a German brown because of the color of the tail I saw as he dove away. Later we caught a couple of small mackinaw, and I decided that was the species that got away. We were using our normal summertime procedure – trolling deep off the downriggers at 2.2 mph over the creek channel. I caught several fish on the “Trout Candy” Hot Ticket and also on the bright yellow/red “Hot Chicks” color of a Speedy Shiner. John did well on a yellow winged Tasmanian devil and watermelon Speedy Shiner.
We were marking dozens of fish on the graph at 30 to 50 feet deep out in the deepest part of the lake and in front of the dam. We trolled through them time and again, and did catch a few trout. We finally decided they must be schools of kokanee, so we switched to kokanee gear and went through all the marks again. I was using a Vance’s watermelon dodger with a pink Uncle Larry’s spinner and a Paulina Peak orange/UV dodger with an orange micro hootchie. John used a pink dodger and a pink wiggle hootchie. We slowed down to 1.3 to 1.5 mph and got a little frustrated with all the fish on the graph that WEREN’T biting! Finally, I managed to hook a 11 inch kokanee on the micro hootchie. Then 2 more on the same rig. John didn’t get a kokanee, but he did catch 2 absolutely gorgeous rainbows of 2 and 3 pounds on the pink wiggle hootchie setup! Those rainbows were some of the prettiest I have ever seen, covered with black dots down to their bellies and a bright red stripe on the side.
We finished the day with 16 trout landed, including 4 mackinaw, 1 German brown and 11 rainbows from 12 to 18 inches. Plus, the final 3 kokanee that went home with me and were on the barbeque that evening. Four different species in one day on one lake is very unusual and lots of fun. A very good trip to one of our favorite lakes.
Cutlines:
Photo 1 – John Brassfield shows off a fat 2 1\2 pound rainbow caught on a pink wiggle hootchie at Bucks Lake
Photo by Paul Kneeland, Fish Sniffer staff
Photo 2 – A gorgeously spotted and colored rainbow trout taken trolling at Bucks Lake in late August.
Photo by Paul Kneeland, Fish Sniffer staff
Photo 3 – Paul Kneeland with a bright 2 pound rainbow caught on a “Hot Chick” colored Speedy Shiner at Bucks Lake.
Photo by John Brassfield, Foresthill.
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