Outdoors with Don Q: Catchin' Mack on Blue Ribbon Charter at Lake Tahoe

This week’s feature is about a long time friend, Gene St. Denis, Captain of Blue Ribbon Charters at South Lake Tahoe, Calif. He offers daily fishing trips for Mackinaw, rainbow and brown trout on his sport fishing boat, “The PT-109,” at Lake Tahoe.

Mackinaw trout in the double digit class (10 pounds or more) in weight are not that uncommon on those charter trips. In fact, in the last two years, each time Elaine and I have fished with “Gino” she has caught a double digit “Mack” in weight.

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Two years ago, her Mack weighed 20-pounds, 9-ounces (37.5 inches long) and it was the biggest fresh water fish that she has ever caught.
Last year, her fish checked in at just over 10 pounds.

For each of those two years, she also took first place in the Mackinaw category in the Ormsby Sportsman’s Association annual fishing contest.
Don’t ask how I did, my best for the two years was a dinky 8.5 pounds.
Sigh, she always outfishes me, no matter where we fish or when we fish, but I keep trying because the law of averages has to catch up, sooner or later.

In addition to being our friend, Captain Gene St. Denis is a seasoned, professional guide. He has been fishing Lake Tahoe since 1981, knows Lake Tahoe intimately and knows how to catch fish with over a 90% success rate.

He is fully insured and licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and is a U.S. Coast Guard Licensed Captain.

He is also a Licensed Master Guide as well as author of several articles on fishing Lake Tahoe and the High Sierra Mountain Lakes.

His fishing charters are for one to four (maximum) persons and are prime time morning trips, as well as afternoon trips.

The daily fishing rates are $110 per adult, $100 per child (12 and under), with launching from the Cave Rock boat launch on the Nevada side.
He operates daily, year-round, weather permitting.

And, unlike some other short-term, in-and-out, Lake Tahoe fishing charters of about 3 hours duration, St. Denis will work hard for hours, all over the lake, to catch you a limit of fish.

The PT-109 is super clean with comfortable seating for all.
It is equipped with a canopy which provides shade during hot weather conditions and full enclosure and heating during the cold season.

Fishing licenses are available on board for your added convenience.
Bait, tackle and beverages are provided, and your catch (if you elect to keep the fish) will be cleaned and bagged at no extra charge.

For those of you who have never been to Lake Tahoe, it is about 28 miles long, about 14 miles wide, 1,600+ feet deep at the deepest (on the north end) and has an eye-popping average depth of 904 feet. That’s a lot of water!

The lake contains a variety of fish including Mackinaw trout, Rainbow trout, Brown trout, Brook trout, Kokanee Salmon, etc.

Here are some of the record fish caught at Tahoe:
The lake record for a Mackinaw trout is 37-pounds, 6-ounces (44 inches in length) caught back in 1974 by Robert Aronsen.

The lake record for a Cutthroat trout is 31-pounds, 8-ounces that was caught way, way back in 1911 by William Pomin.

The lake record for a Brown trout is 15-pounds, 2-ounces caught in 2008 by Don Nanounouchi.

The lake record for a Rainbow trout is 11-pounds, 7-ounces (30.5 inches in length) caught in 1997 by Chuck McMeechan.
The lake record for a Brook trout is 5-pounds (19 inches in length) caught in 1969 by Fran Oppio.

The lake record for a Kokanee Salmon is 4-pounds, 13-ounces (25.7 inches in length) caught way back 1973 by Dick Bournique.

Now you know what you have to beat if you catch a trophy-sized fish.
The Mackinaw are normally caught by trolling with large minnow-shaped lures or live minnows in deep water, while smaller lures also trolled deep are used to catch the much smaller Kokanee Salmon.

If you fish for Mackinaw (a deep-loving fish), you’ll be trolling at depths ranging from 100 feet down to 500 feet. You’ll need downriggers (preferably electric) or lots of steel line to get down to those dark depths.
Typically, the brook, brown and rainbow trout are caught by toplining (trolling near the surface of the water) close to the shoreline with either lures or silver flasher blades and minnows.

Finally:
For information or to book charters, call Gene St. Denis of Blue Ribbons Charters at (530) 544-6552 or go to website HYPERLINK "http://www.blueribbonfishing.com" www.blueribbonfishing.com.

Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can’t tell you about the largest Mackinaw that I have ever caught at Lake Tahoe.

If he grins and says, “Many years ago, Don caught a 15-pound Mack while trolling at a depth of 550 feet at the north end of Lake Tahoe,” he might have been one of the other fishermen on that large party boat.