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Lake Siskiyou: Smallies & Sunsets.

By Tom Chandler 8/20/2006

Fishing the local lake from a float tube is never a hard sell; you're basically fishing from an inflatable easy chair for agressive smallmouth bass and the odd trout. Sure, it's hard work and all, but there are benefits beyond the fish:

Fishing Lake Siskiyou has benefits beyond the fish...
Dave Edmondson fishing "hard" from the equivalent of an easy chair.


We got on the water just before 7:00, and little was happening. The fishing was easier than the photography - I had to "sprint" a good 100 yards in my float tube to catch the above picture of Dave Edmondson just as the sun went down. My legs still hurt.

At 7:45 Dave started getting bites on his popper, and from there until dark (about 9:00) we enjoyed steady action. Dave stayed on top and I fished a nymph just under the surface.

Tom Chandler fishes Lake Siskiyou
Who is that handsome devil? A movie star? Calvin Klein underwear model? (Photo Dave Edmondson)

My big fish was an 11" smallmouth while Dave was clearly the evening's top rod; he landed a nice 14" rainbow (on his popper) and his last fish of the night was a 14" smallmouth that wouldn't give up. Serves me right for not fishing a dry...

Fishing on Siskiyou isn't enormously complicated, though it can occasionally be very rewarding. It's a goofier enterprise than fishing tiny dries to picky trout on the river, but it's a tough evening to beat, especially when experienced in the company of a good friend.

I used to keep my mouth shut about this kind of fishing, but didn't bother after spilling my guts to visiting fishers; the second I mentioned smallmouth bass, their eyes would cloud over and they'd start looking for an excuse to change the subject.

Fair enough. Someone drives five hours and they want trout in moving water. Still, the next time you're flogging a slow-fishing river with a couple of split shot - and have little to show for your efforts - take a second to reflect on the virtues of bringing a float tube on your next trip.

Dave Edmondson
The killer fly of doom.

The LT Nancy and I started our day with a hike above Castle Lake - a mountain cirque that's postcard beautiful, but sometimes overrun on the weekends. Expect some postcard pictures in a later post. Until then, see you in the float tube, Tom Chandler.

smallmouth bass, float tubes, Lake Siskiyou
AuthorPicture

Tom Chandler

As the author of the decade leading fly fishing blog Trout Underground, Tom believes that fishing is not about measuring the experience but instead of about having fun. As a staunch environmentalist, he brings to the Yobi Community thought leadership on environmental and access issues facing us today.

6 comments
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gt; Maybe I should write an article about stillwater fishing for the Undergrounders new to it… I would certainly show an interest towards such article. :-)
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Crappie? Maybe. I've never caught one there. I have caught a couple nice bluegill, but never on one of our evening trips. Oddly, we're not fishing the banks but on top of underwater structure. On summer weekends, the lake can become a bit of a zoo. It's an easy, relaxing fishing trip, but I tend to head for the alpine lakes for a dose of stress relief (though this year the alpine lakes have no been ... more kind to me).
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I have always wanted to fish that lake. In the Tom Stienstra guides he has it as a top crappie spot. I think Blue Gill on a dry fly is about as fun as it gets. Never tried smallies on a fly rod, but that must be fun. Did you catch any Blue Gill, or not targeting them? - rriver
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Air Force Cadet Raine! We are honored whenever one of America's best and brightest stops by (a description that doesn't apply to most of the crowd around here, including the blogmaster). Good luck at the Blue Zoo! And Opax - I keep my stillwater gear pretty simple. If I'm fishing bamboo, it's usually a 6wt or 7wt (big flies and big fish). Due to some ongoing wrist ploblems, I've been fishing some ... more really nice fiberglass rods lately, and my choice for stillwater is an 8.5' 5/6 wt Steffen Brothers rod. I know a lot of stillwater fishers use 9.5'-10'graphite rods (especially from float tubes). That's fine, but make sure they're sensitive enough to handle a midge on 6x but strong enough to sling a wooly bugger into the wind. (Easy, eh?) I usually only carry a floating line and a clear intermediate sinking line, but will admit that a faster-sinking line would also be handy. Maybe I should write an article about stillwater fishing for the Undergrounders new to it...
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I really like the picture of 'Dave on the Lake!' Nice sunset on Siskiyou huh? How was the fishing though...that's the one thing I really miss out here is those smallies. We do have three reservoirs stodked with big planter trout, but there's no fun in that! (Plus, there's no room for a backcast, and a bank full of crap to inhibit a roll cast!) Well, I just thought I'd leave you all a little comment ... more while I had a moment! Take care, and uh...don't snap your rod?!
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Tom, Nice post and pictures. What kind of rods and lines do you use in your stillwater fishing trips? I'm planning to expand my universe and fish stillwaters.
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