(South Lake Tahoe) “Every fall when the big lake trout finish spawning in deep water they move shallow to feed. We’ve been waiting for this annual migration and my buddy Robert Varik has found a wave of pig mackinaw moving in. He’s been out every day this week with fish over ten pounds every trip,” exclaimed Mark Wiza.
“I was lucky enough to join him recently for a couple sessions in the 12 foot boat he keeps in the Tahoe Keys, and in two trips I’ve caught and released a thirteen pounder as well as netting two fish over ten pounds for Rob. This morning we caught eight lakers total, had double hookups three times, and we each got one over ten pounds,” disclosed Wiza.
“Average fish size has been great as well, with lots of five to eight pounders in the mix! We’ve been using shallow water lead core trolling techniques; Lyman Lures have been the top producers and all of my fish were caught on this great trolling plug,” Wiza added.
The team at Tahoe Sportfishing is finding success while working at the lake’s south end. Limits and near limits have been the rule. The top tempter has been minnows teamed with flashers.
Mickey Daniels of Mickey’s Big Mack Charters has been successfully trolling Carnelian Bay. Mickey starts out trolling quickly in shallow water before slowing down and working progressively deeper. His clients are hooking macks running up to 8 pounds.