Yes, there's nothing like hearing a four-year-old spontaneously emit a rebel yell ("Yeee-Ha!"), and although my wife complained of a loose filling and my older daughter was unable to continue playing her Gameboy and actually had to look at the stunning scenery, little Arielle demanded "Faster!" and my son, who had been sleeping for most of the ride, wiped some drool on his sleeve and smiled as he recognized his surroundings. Joey is a veteran of many canoe fishing adventures, and he knew that we were close to one of his favorite spots. Blue Lakes is where he learned how to catch fish on the troll when he was barely old enough to hold the rod, and every summer he again enjoys testing his skills against their well earned reputation as the most consistent rainbow trout fishery in the region.

The season is short here, since the road is not clear of snow until June on an average year, and the access gate is again closed after the next substantial snowfall, in late autumn or early winter. Prime time is mid-summer, and at an elevation of 8,200 feet, the water and air remain cool and pleasant on even the hottest days. Heavy plants of rainbow trout mean that fishing action stays hot, and fish can be found near shore and near the surface, available to shore anglers and boaters not equipped with deep water trolling tackle. Not that there isn't plenty of deep water to plumb though; With my portable sonar unit, I've marked depths to 95 feet in Lower Blue and 120 feet in Upper Blue. In addition to the hordes of rainbow trout, I've hooked a few Lahontan cutthroat over the years, and there are occasionally reports of brook trout caught as well.

Trolling is the most consistent method for taking fish, and unimproved dirt launch areas keep this a small-boat venue. Float tubes, kayaks, canoes and smaller aluminum boats on trailers are all appropriate for these lakes, but the guy I once watched trying to launch his Bayliner spent 20 minutes yelling at his wife (she was at the wheel of his truck, trying to follow his expletive-laden backing instructions and frantic hand signals) before leaving, red-faced with defeat. The one threat to small craft is the wind, which can howl in the afternoons. I had to do a bit of wife-harassing myself, to get her out of bed and on the road early enough to reach the lakes by eight a.m. on June 26, and we were rewarded with the sight of Lower Blue flat-calm and reflecting the cloudless sky to show its namesake color. We drove on by, though. I have always found the fastest trolling action at Lower Blue, but most of the fish are freshly stocked 9 to 11 inch rainbows. The fish at Upper Blue are a bit more elusive, but there always seem to be larger holdover trout in the mix. These fish are in the 14 to 16 inch range, fight much harder, and have rich, pink flesh from a natural diet of insects.

When we pulled down the lake bed to the water's edge, we saw that Upper Blue was also calm and that trout were feeding heavily at the surface, making subtle rise-rings in some areas and wild, splashy leaps in others. I unloaded my canoe and fishing gear as Martha slathered the kids with sunscreen and retrieved drinks and snacks from the cooler. At this time I must take a moment to give tribute to the roominess and stability of my seventeen-foot Coleman canoe, because I filled it with fishing gear, paddles, net, deep-cycle battery, two adults and three children, nearing but not exceeding the vessel's 745 pound weight capacity. Pushing off from the shallows by thrusting a paddle to the bottom and poling us forward, I then switched on the electric trolling motor and we were underway, a floating family picnic.

My wife doled out cookies as my son and I let out lines on spinning rigs to troll Sep's Pro dodgers trailing threaded nightcrawlers. We traveled along the steep roadside shoreline, past numerous shore anglers, some of whom we watched reeling in fish. Our action was spotty though, despite the obvious presence of large numbers of trout as evidenced by the continued surface disturbances. We had several light hits and stolen baits, and reeled in only two small, freshly planted rainbows. These were hooked in the mouth and easily released- we were after the holdovers. My lovely spouse has never exhibited much interest in my angling endeavors, but lately, since I've started a part-time guide service and have actually begun making money off my hobby, she's perked up a little and pays some attention to what I do and how I do it.

"So what are you going to try to catch us some of those bigger fish you said were in here? You know I could have brought sandwiches or hamburgers to fry up, but you were so sure you could catch some of those pink-meat trout. Should you use a different lure or something?"

A reasonable question, I thought, so I gave my best 'fishing expert' answer. "Maybe. Sometimes it's the lure, sometimes different groups of fish are at different depths, and sometimes they're just in another area of the lake. There's a bunch of things we can try, but first let's just run these dodgers over by the dam. That's a good spot we haven't tried yet." Immediately off the dam, the lake is extremely shallow, but several hundred yards out, the bottom drops to 30 feet, then extends at that depth for a stretch before dropping again to over 70 feet. Early in the summer, the 30 foot shelf can be productive, and later the fish can be found near the deeper drop. When slow trolled on a long, light line, the dodgers we were using will run over twenty feet down, making them ideal for presenting our nightcrawlers to fish near the bottom in this 30 foot zone.

We headed to that area, and Joey was the first to get approximately 100 yards of eight pound line out, as I moved forward at an increased speed that would accommodate feeding line under tension without letting our sinking lures hit the bottom. As soon as he closed the bail on his Shimano spinning reel and I slowed to a trolling crawl, his rod bent over and he reeled tight to a hard pulling fish. With some coaching from me and finesse on his part he soon had it boatside, where we all got a good look at a gorgeous, scarlet-striped rainbow around 15 inches long, which then made several powerful dives under the canoe. With help from my wife, little Arielle had a great time netting it, and I put this one on my stringer for lunch. Lake rainbows are schooling fish, and those of the same size and year class tend to school together, so when we trolled back and forth through the area several more times, we were rewarded with more of these larger holdover trout. Some came off halfway to the boat, some leaped and threw the hook at the last second, but we ended up netting and keeping a total of four, enough to feed the family, releasing three others that were not deeply hooked.

By then it was near noon and the wind had started in, making boat control difficult and making me nervous about our heavily loaded craft. We pulled to shore, packed up, and drove back past Lower Blue Lake then took the rough access road to Lower Sunset Lake to enjoy the afternoon. This and several other backcountry lakes are within a short drive of Blue Lakes, and though they are not stocked on a regular basis, many of these bodies of water hold some good brook trout and Lahontan cutthroats. The action is hit-or-miss but the reward is an occasional trophy-sized fish. Lower Sunset kicks out some brookies in the three-pound range, so after Joey and Jessica cleaned our rainbow trout from Upper Blue Lake and I heated a pan of olive oil on the propane camp-stove, Martha fried our lunch as I unloaded the canoe again and my son and I made a quick fishing foray. The wind was gusting here as well, making it difficult even on this relatively small lake to keep a trolling line, and we had no hits on our lures, so we returned to shore, following our noses back to the delicious smell wafting from the pan of sizzling trout.

We spread a blanket and enjoyed our trout with a side of fried potatoes, then my wife and I lay back and relaxed as the kids went for a swim in the cold water then caught frogs and chased minnows in the shallows. By late afternoon, storm clouds gathered and we heard distant thunder. As soon as a cloud blocked the sun, swarms of mosquitoes descended upon us, and despite insect repellent, we were quickly driven to pack up and start the descent back to the world of paved roads. On the way out we passed Tamarack Lake, where we saw several float-tubers on the water- one was fighting a fish on his fly rod. My son watched as we drove by, then said- "We should get a little ultralight rod that Arielle can handle so she could catch a fish next time. I think she's old enough now, but the rods we use are a little big."

"I think you're right," I replied, "and that sounds like a good idea to me. What do you think, Arielle?"

"Yeee-Ha!"

If You Go: Blue Lakes Road is a marked turn off Highway 88, at the upper (west) end of Hope Valley in Alpine County. The lakes are within Toiyabe National Forest (775-355-5307); there are spots to pull off for camping along the road, and PG&E maintains campgrounds with bathrooms and paved campsites at both Upper and Lower Blue. Fishing access and boat launching are free; lake draw-downs later in the season make launching trailered boats on the dirt launch areas difficult.

Bring sunscreen and insect repellent. This is also bear country; I've seen a campsite torn apart here by foraging bruins. Help them resist temptation by securing your foodstuffs. There are fire restrictions in place in Toiyabe National Forest- at press time, campfires are prohibited below 8,000 feet. These restrictions can be tightened at any time, though, and it's best to err on the side of caution when smoking, cooking or dancing naked in front of your bonfire.

Shorefishing is best along the roadside at Upper Blue, due to proximity to deep water. The opposite is true at Lower Blue, where a hike to the far shore will bring you to the deeper drop-offs. Standard presentations such as Powerbait and inflated nightcrawlers on slip-sinker rigs will take fish, and when surface rises are apparent, a fly-and-bubble on spinning gear can bring fast action. Float tubers with fly gear also score with dries, and for all-day action, drag a sinking line with a woolly bugger or beadhead nymph. Trollers should move slowly, presenting small Rapalas, Rebel Crawfish, or worms behind flashers or dodgers. Whatever method you use, please pack out your beer cans, cigarette butts, and discarded fishing line. This is a beautiful area, and it's starting to suffer from abuse. Hell, you leave the city to get away from that crap, why bring it here?

Until next time, remember, never stand in a canoe!
Mark Wiza
Email Me!

More Articles & Reports by Mark Wiza