POWAY – Lake Poway's trout opener yesterday featured great weather, not so great fishing.
But the slow bite didn't matter much to the nearly 200 anglers who spent the morning peeling off layers of clothes and casting everything in their tackle boxes at the elusive rainbows. All 46 of the lake's rental boats, the old Gregor boats and new G3s, were gone in an hour. A waiting list was started.
This time of year, just about any trout will get anglers stirring, but these fish in Poway are special. They're called “Tailwalkers,” the name given to the latest craze in stocked trout. They come from Chalk Mound Trout Ranch in western Nebraska, and last year they spoiled Poway's anglers as they had done at Dixon Lake and Miramar, two other San Diego County lakes that get the trout.
“I had one guy show up at 6:30 last night at the gate, and he slept in his car to be first on the lake,” said Poway ranger Steve November. “They love these trout, which to me, are the closest hatchery fish can come to looking like wild trout. They have all their fins, full tails, and their color is amazing. And talk about a fight. You hook one of these Nebraska trout, and they jump clear out of the water.”
The man who slept overnight in line must have dreamed of the full stringer of trout he caught last year, when the lake's trout opener was delayed because of the Witch Creek fire that scorched the lake's environs in October 2007. Resulting erosion issues caused more delays in the fishing opener after the Nebraska rainbows already had been planted. That meant the Midwestern acrobats were ready to eat when the lake finally opened for business in mid-December.
“We had 10,000 pounds of rainbow trout in the lake for a few weeks and had a soft opener,” said Dave Richards, recreation specialist for the city of Poway.
Added November, the lake ranger, “Those fish were hungry by the time we opened.”
This year's batch of 4,000 pounds, with 2,000 pounds being trophy-sized rainbows between 7-and 12 pounds, arrived Wednesday and had to endure a five-hour delay on the road because of heavy snowfall in Utah. They arrived a bit road weary and may need to swim some before they settle in for serious dining. The inside word is that tomorrow may be the best day, especially if the weather changes as forecast.
Some anglers did well. Flor Abena of Peñasquitos landed a fine rainbow estimated at 5 pounds.
“I used a crappie jig,” Abena said of a shad-colored tiny jig. “One guy I saw caught two or three on lures. They seem to like lures more than bait.
Ty Phaysy of San Diego had an estimated 2½-to 3-pound rainbow on a stringer. He also used a mini-jig, chartreuse-colored.
“I lost one that was about 7 pounds when it pulled me in the weeds there and broke off,” Phaysy said.
Tyler Hoem of Encinitas used golden spinners to land two trout in the 2-pound class.
Mike Harold of Rancho San Diego said he arrived at 4:30 a.m. to get a good spot on the shoreline. Around 10 a.m. he had his first bite, a whopper that he said simply “came off.”
“That was my only bite, and the hook pulled out,” Harold said, casting and re-casting a Kastmaster. “That was a toad.”
Down the shoreline, Karen Warner of Encinitas was using Power Bait on a bubble bobber and not having much luck. Up above her on the trail that rims the lake, two equestrians got in a morning ride. Hikers zipped by.
“This has become my favorite lake,” Warner said. “The staff here is very nice, and they have a program where you can buy a booklet of fishing permits in advance so you don't have to stand in the long line in the morning.”
Trout season moves into full speed this weekend with Poway's opener yesterday and Dixon and Santee Lakes celebrating trout season today.
Santee Lakes 3 and 4 split a plant of 2,000 pounds of rainbow trout, with some weighing up to 12 pounds and some tagged for prizes. A Kiwanis Club Pancake breakfast at Lake 4 goes this morning.
Up at Dixon Lake, where 4,500 pounds of Chalk Mound Trout Ranch rainbows were planted, the city of Escondido's 30th Annual Trout Derby starts today and goes to Tuesday. Prizes will be awarded in many categories.
Lake Jennings received an additional 1,000 pounds of trout from Mount Lassen this week. And the Department of Fish and Game stocked trout in Chollas, Cuyamaca, Lindo Lake in Lakeside and Murray.
Ed Zieralski: (619) 293-1225; ed.zieralski@uniontrib.com
