1. Skip Benedict
    - Topaz Lake

    Well, I'm pretty certain this will never happen again. Two fish hit the same lure simultaneously. Was playing with the little bass around a rock ledge, tossing ...more a jointed floating minnow, counting to ten and reeling it back. They kept bumping it while it floated, but not committing. Finally, I got a bigger splash and the line went taught. It felt... not big, but bigger than the others. I was happy that I might have a keeper, but nope. Two little guys on the same lure. I've never seen that happen before, and I'm certain that I'll never see it happen again! I'm kinda glad I had a witness!

    Smallmouth Bass with a jointed minnow

  2. Skip Benedict

    I'm noticing my last few catches are coming up with wildly overstated lengths even though (or maybe because) I didn't specify any length. Just a disclaimer. ...more I know that absolutely nobody is stupid enough to believe the 2.5 lb smallmouth bass I posted earlier is 40 inches long! "Skinniest bass ever..."

  3. Skip Benedict
    - West Walker River

    2 lb. 4 oz. Rainbow Trout with a night crawler

    1. Skip Benedict 0
      No idea where the 36 figure came from. It was nowhere near that long.
  4. Skip Benedict
    - Topaz Canal

    Gave up jigging and tossed a night crawler into the current. Not huge but a good size for the smoker.

    1 lb. 8 oz. Rainbow Trout with a night crawler

    1. Skip Benedict 0
      Disclaimer: NOT 24 inches. This app is struggling....
  5. Skip Benedict
    - Topaz Canal

    Jigging with spoons and castmasters. After 9 or 10 carp, I finally snagged this smallmouth in the pectoral fin... barely. Getting it in was a delicate proceedure ...more between not losing the barely hooked fish, and not falling on my ass trying to climb down to net it.

    2 lb. 8 oz. Smallmouth Bass with a spoon

    1. Skip Benedict 0
      Oh yeah, carp are definitely in the canal. I've seen some that are massive in both the lake and the canal. Right now they're crowding around the outlet from ...more the lake. The trout and bass get big in there (we've landed several in the 4 to 5 lb range-- posted on here), but by far, the biggest fish I've caught in the canal was a carp. I have no idea what it weighed because, like a dumbass, I dropped it while trying to get it out of the water. Snapped my line and swam off with my lure in its back. Only the head would fit inside my net, which normally fits those 5 pounders I mentioned, no problem. Snagged him by chance in the dorsal fin so it was quite a fight too! Too bad they're not much good for eating... and that I dropped the damn thing!
    2. Norman Gibbs 0
      Carp in Topaz canal? I wasn't aware of that. I know there are some monster carp in Topaz lake; caught em in summer while bank fishing for trout. Shoulda known ...more they'd be in the canal. Maybe all those 'big trout' I've been seeing for years at the pipe outlet ain't trout!? My brother lived at Topaz till recently, I have to ask him if he's caught carp. You wouldn't think bass would live where the water gets so cold in winter either, but I see other Sierra lakes have bass as well. Don't know how recent bass are, but never heard about them till about 10 years ago. But a LOT of my old Sierra fishing holes have changed big time in the last 50 years...
    3. Skip Benedict 0
      No idea why the app is showing a length of 40.0 for this fish.
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  6. Skip Benedict
    - West Walker River

    Played fishing guide for a visiting cousin last week. We went to my normal fishing spot... nothing. We went out on the boat at Topaz Lake... nothing. After a couple ...more days of this, the effort paid off and he finally nailed this beauty. Just shy of 3 lbs. Caught at dusk on the Walker River amid a fog of blood sucking mosquitoes. He earned that fish!

    2 lb. 14 oz. 16.0 in. Rainbow Trout with a Panther Martin

    1. Skip Benedict 0
      Yeah, I'd rather avoid the crowds and hyper - regulations. I do very little bait fishing, overall, so that's not a big deal. I'm definitely a fish eater ...more though, so the catch and release thing is off putting. If the pressure is high enough to justify that, it's probably a little crowded for my liking. I prefer to see more bears than people at my fishing spots. haha
    2. Norman Gibbs 0
      The East gets lots more pressure. Mostly due to the trophy size trout. The East Walker is much more high profile - everyone writes it up. It's special regulations ...more though. No bait fishing, and mostly catch and release. Just too many people for me. Personally, there's too many rattlesnakes for me too.
    3. Skip Benedict 0
      We went up into Hoye Canyon area. The side of the river with Hoye Canyon road on it is all private land, but the other side is BLM land. It's a bit of a hike, ...more but whatever. I haven't fished the east Walker yet, but have been kicking the idea around. Is it more crowded than the west?
    4. Norman Gibbs 0
      Nice!! Most folks fish the East Walker (big fish), but I like the West Walker. Have not fished it yet this year. Might be heading up there in a week or 2. Were ...more you fishing the canyon section or the slower water up near the Marine base?
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  7. Skip Benedict

    Had a boat gifted to me. A 12' Valco. Began life as a net tender for a larger salmon fishing boat up north. Now it's a freshwater fishing rig. We're ...more in real trouble now....

  8. Skip Benedict
    - West Walker River

    Landing them one after another this morning. A nice change after a recent dry streak.

    3 lb. 17 in. Rainbow Trout with a Rapala countdown minnow

  9. Skip Benedict
    - West Walker River

    I caught a Rainbow trout with a rapala, then caught a Siberian husky with the trout!

    3 lb. 8 oz. 19 in. Rainbow Trout with a Rapala countdown minnow

  10. Skip Benedict

    It's a good thing we like to eat fish...

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