I know I'm still running behind with these reports and my apologies to anyone who has visited the site in the last few days and found it down. There was a glitch in the system that has now been fixed, and we should be good to go. Gian Marcucci, Jose Mercado and friends came up to relax at Bucks Lake and see what the fishing was all about. My goal was to show them as much as possible in one morning to help them with their fishing for the rest of their stay. I picked them up in front of their camp site at Sundew and we proceeded to the Mill Creek channel. This was also to be a downrigger lesson as Gian had one on his boat but no experience with it. We started dropping gear, again the flies and Wiggle Fins had been hot. I ran short set backs with the gear only 10 to 12 feet off of the cable and within 5 feet of the bottom. While the bite was not as good as the day before we did manage to pull some Bows and Brookies and a number of LDR's (Long Distance Releases). After several passes it was off to see another technique. We moved in to the shallows of the Mill Creek Channel and drifted some mini crawlers for some pretty solid action on Browns and Brookies. After getting the two comfortable with some of the ins and outs Gian says to me "I've never caught a Kokanee" Time to change location. I moved us out into open water on the North side of the Bucks Creek channel across the lake from Bucks Lake Marina. I selected what I consider to be one of the best Kokanee combos for Bucks Lake, a small watermelon dodger followed by an Uncle Larry's Spinner in Pink Tiger. It didn't take long for the number 2 rod to bounce and Jose was on it. Kokanee number one hit the net. We boated several others and lost a few until Jose tied into something that was definitely not a Kokanee. After a good battle he landed the first of several small Mackinaw we would boat on the Kokanee gear. We put a few more Kokanee in the boat before Gian decided it was time to return to camp. It seems he was the designated camp cook and the people that remained in camp would be looking for lunch. The end result was a "Bucks Lake Slam" (At least one of everything in the lake) 29 fish boated and a nice bag of limits for a fish fry in camp.

Wow it is hard to believe it has been over a month since I have had time to put up a report. I have continued to take out trips on Bucks Lake finding good success targeting Browns and Bows. You might also hear a rumor that I was seen in Bodega Bay for some great salmon and rock fish (or as I like to call them "Future Tacos") action. Let me put that rumor to bed by saying I was and it was a blast. Thanks to all of you that have emailed me to see if I was still alive. Well now I'm back. I will spare you most of the out dated information from 3 and 4 weeks ago and summarize it by saying the trout at Bucks (Browns, and Bows) have pretty much behaved as normal moving deeper as the water temps have been on the rise. There are still a good numbers of Brookies shallow, to find them you will want to work right in the creek channels in 5 to 8 feet of water. The Mack bite has slowed which is typical for mid-summer but they can still be caught, unlike last Summer when PGE released a bunch of water in a short period of time. It was like flipping off a light switch for the Mack bite. The Kokanee population is still large and scattered all over the lake with a big fish going 12 inches, but in my opinion it is the best eating 12 inches in the lake. Now for the current info, the edges and ledges of the creek channels in the lake (Bucks Creek and Mill Creek) are your best bet for Browns and Bows. I have heard of guys using a variety of gear but what has worked best for me and several others has been spoons in copper/red or frog patterns run 5 feet off the bottom (ie. 35 feet in 40 feet of water), silver dodgers trailing a mini-crawler have also been working. The trout are also still hitting that olive wooly bugger with a Wiggle Fin rigged in front. (That set up has probably put more trout in my boat this year than any other.) I have been trolling relatively short set backs off my Cannon Downrigger cables, some where in the neighborhood of 15 to 25 feet and running about 1.2 to 1.5 MPH. The water temp has been as high as 75 degrees F as the weather has been hot with only a slight breeze on the water in the afternoon. With stable weather the bite should continue.

Our target for three days were the Mackinaw in Bucks Lake. The bite has definitely started to slow a bit, some days it seems relatively easy to go out and bust a few fish in the 6 to 8 pound range and in some cases the fish seem to have lock jaw. The fish had been moving around quite a bit recently so the first task was to find them. I located a good number of fish on the edge of the Mill Creek channel and began dropping gear. As usual the Pro-Troll Stingfish was the lure of choice. I put down an assortment of patterns including "chrome blue scale", "black and white", and "chrome chartreuse bill" and began to make passes at these fish which were about 10 feet off the bottom. It didn't take long and "old blue" had the rod bouncing. Paul grabbed the rod and I netted a 4.5 pounder, not a monster but we were off to a good start. I got the gear reset and continued to work the same area (I had seen some impressive returns on the graph). A few more passes and this time one of the side rods went off. Immediately it was apparent that this was a bigger fish. After a great fight with several runs to the bottom I netted a 15 pounder for Paul. This fish came on the "chrome chartreuse bill". The next day we were out after them again, with one pass in the same area it was very clear that the fish had moved. We went on the search but came up empty so I decided to move back to our original location and what do you know, they were back. (It is sort of a game the fish and I play) I started making passes as I had the day before with the same gear set at 30 and 35 feet. One of the back rods went off and T.J. was up to bat. After a short fight I netted a 7.5 pounder for him, the first Mackinaw anyone in the family had caught. After snapping a few pictures the gear went back in and it wasn't long until we were hooked up again this time it was Peggy's turn. This was definitely a bigger fish and was really giving her a great fight.  Peggy would get some line back and then the rod tip would go to the water and the fish would go straight to the bottom, not just once but multiple times. Peggy was doing a great job, and with the fish roughly 15 feet below the boat it got loose. Disappointing but as they say "that's fishing"  We had one other take down that came up empty and that was it. Bucks has always been a place to try for quality Mackinaw, in fact it is rare to catch anything under 4.5 pounds when we are targeting them, but some times the numbers can get skinny. We certainly have our share of wide open days as well, if you have patients and want a shot at a big Mackinaw for California Bucks Lake might be for you.

First Mack of the Morning	Paul's 15	TJ's First Mack

The Rainbow and Brown bite continued, the nice weather did not. Over the last 2 days we experienced rain (heavy), snow (light), sleet, hail, wind and pretty good fishing. The dark olive fly mentioned in the previous report continued to produce limits of Browns and Bows in the 14 to 16 inch class. I again rigged the fly with a Wiggle Fin for extra action and we spent most of our time in the Bucks Creek inlet. The magic depth was again 7 to 8 feet down in 11 to 20 feet of water. We had a much better bite on the 5th and spent a good portion of the morning catching and releasing fish and then decided to move out to some deeper water in the Bucks Creek channel and drop some Mack gear. Now those of you who are regular readers of my reports will know exactly which lure I put down first. "Old Blue" (chrome blue scale Stingfish from Pro-Troll) In addition I put down a Stingfish in "black and white". I set the gear at 35 feet which has been a pretty solid bet for the Macks recently, and in less than 10 minuets we were hooked up. Any guesses which lure got bit??? Old Blue did it again, and after a short but intense battle I scooped a 10 pounder for Larry. After a quick photo the fish went back in the water and headed straight for the bottom. I re-set the gear and we made several passes in that area before we hooked up again. As fast as he was on, he was gone. With that the decision was made to head for the barn and call it a day. The 6th brought much better weather in the morning and the Brown and Bow bite was on par with the day before but it didn't take long for some nasty looking clouds to cover up the sun and start chucking buckets of sleet at us accompanied by a pretty stiff wind. With the weather the bite really slowed and we had to work a bit harder for the limits.

The Rainbow/Brown bite continued to be solid. Today we worked the edges of the Bucks Creek channel and found good numbers of trout willing to hit, and while we landed a few on the copper and red Dic Nites today the hot ticket was a dark olive fly, rigged with a Wiggle Fin in front to provide some extra action.  I kept the boat in 12 to 20 feet of water most of the morning and found our best action with the gear set at 7 and 8 feet on the Cannon Downriggers. The fish were aggressively hitting our offerings however most of the hook-ups were very shallow and many of the fish spit the hook once in the net. This also resulted in a dozen or so fish lost at or near the boat. We came off the water before noon with 3 limits including a mixture of Browns and Bows from 14 to 16 inches. The water temp was running 65 at the surface and on the rise under sunny skies and a very slight breeze.

Other than a bit of wind from time to time the weather was beautiful at Bucks Lake this holiday weekend. The Mackinaw bite continued solid for us with a good number of hook ups with fish running up to 8 pounds. The "chrome blue scale" Stingfish at 35 feet continued to be the hot ticket. We managed to land fish on the Bucks Creek as well as the Mill Creek side of the lake. The trout bite was a little tougher. We started out one morning working Mill Creek with all the "usual" gear and while we couldn't keep the Kokanee off of the lines no trout were to be seen. Plan B involved a move up the Bucks Creek area of the lake and we landed a Rainbow right off the bat. We continued to work this area along the shore in 15 to 20 feet of water with copper and red spoons set between 9 and 11 feet down on the Cannons. The Kokanee were still somewhat of a nuisance but we continued to boat Rainbows to 16 inches. Did I mention there were a lot of Kokanee, that morning we probably boated 25 to 30 with most running 10 to 12 inches. They are not huge but fun on the extra light rods and provide constant action. The bite here should do nothing but get better.

The Bucks Lake Mack attack continues! We were supposed to fish Lake Davis today but after some discussion we changed plans and got a late start on the lake. The goal was to get a fish big enough to win the annual Greco Roman Fishing Derby. The  day got off to a good start with us boating several 6-8 pounds Macks, and things went from good to great when Lonnie battled a fish for 15 to 20 minuets that when landed and weighed came in at 16 pounds. In total we landed 6 Macks for 8 hookups. All of our time was spent working the edges of Bucks Creek in water that went from 45 to 60 feet running our gear at 30 and 35 feet on the Cannon Downriggers. As usual the top baits, in fact the only baits I have been running are the Pro Troll Stingfish slathered with liberal ammounts of Pro Cure's Trophy Trout Sauce. The "Black and White" pattern landed the most fish but as usual "Old Blue" (Chrome Blue Scale) brought home the biggest. Under sunny skies and light breezes the water surface temp was 60 degrees when we came off the lake. This year's Mack bite is going good and looks like it will continue.

Lonnie's Winning Mack

Bucks Lake Mack Attack is ON!! We hit the water at 6 am and with in 30 minuets the first rod started bouncing. After a good fight a 12 pound Mack was in the net. It wasn't long after releasing that fish and getting the rod back down that another rod went off...... 7 pounds. Another pass another hook up, this time Bob looks at me and says "I think its a good fish" as line is leaving the reel. This fish put up a much bigger fight than the first two. With Todd clearing other rods, Bob on the fish and me on the net we boated what turned out to be the biggest fish of the day, an 18 pounder. We quickly got the leaders checked and started dropping gear once again. This little routine continued for the rest of the day, and we ended up landing 6 Macks for 9 hook ups with the fish ranging from 7 to 18 pounds. We spent the whole time working the edges of the Bucks Creek channel in the main body of the lake with our gear set at 30 and 35 feet on the Cannon Downriggers. All of the fish fell to Pro Troll's Stingfish in "Blue Chrome Scale" and "Black and White" with health doses of Pro-Cure Trophy Trout Sauce. Here are a few pictures with more to follow soon. It's off to Lake Davis tomorrow to complete the Plumas County triple play.

First Mack of the morning.	Number 2	Bob's big fish

 

Another	They even let me pose with one.

Rain and snow anyone?? While I was happy to see the precipitation as far as helping lake levels, it was a little on the wet side. Top, sides, and heater ON and away we went. We spent most of the time toplinning the shallows along the northern shore of the lake. The bite was somewhat sporadic probably due to the big weather change but we did manage a batch of nice Rainbows to 15 inches and one small Mackinaw. The best baits were again the black and silver Rapalas in size 13 run 150-200 feet behind the boat. Look for the bite to really pick up here as the weather stabilizes. I will be back out on Bucks in search of the big Macks later in the week.

With no current reports posted for nearly 3 weeks my name is probably mud but lets try to bring you up to speed. With high winds in the forecast and 4 foot waves breaking over the dock at the Canyon Dam Boat Ramp at Lake Almanor the decision was made to fish Bucks instead. Launching was relatively easy on what's left of the ramp at Lakeshore Resort. We worked the shore line on the North side of the lake around Rainbow Point and back to Mill Creek concentrating our efforts on pronounced rocky outcroppings and stump covered sand bars. Keeping the boat in 8 to 10 feet of water we worked our top lines about 200 feet behind the boat. Our best producers were black and silver Rapalas in size 9 to 13 covered with Trophy Trout Sauce. Each day we landed a combination of Browns, Bows, and Macks with the fish running up to 4 pounds. There was very little snow left at the lake but rumor has it that recent storms (4/22) put down as much as 2 feet of snow. With nothing but warm weather in the forecast this will not last long. I also had the opportunity to meet the new owners of Bucks Lake Lodge, Louie and Rebecca Gutierrez. They are open and eager to get the 07 season under way.

With the warm weather and lack of any kind of a Winter my self and a friend headed for Bucks with the kayaks. Usually in April you will find reports here of us sledding down the snow in my duck boat to fish the lake after the road has been opened. On this day there was snow on the ramp but not enough for the duck boat and still to much to launch from the trailer. The Malibu kayaks are perfect for gaining early season access to alot of lakes. The lake is pretty much clear of ice except for deep in the Mill Creek cove and the Haskins Channel. We departed from the location formerly known as Lakeshore Resort and paddled straight across the lake to begin working the shoreline. We ran a combination of shallow diving baits including Rapalas and Smithwicks and simply top lined as if we were in a regular boat. We paddled around Rainbow point and back into the Mill Creek area pretty much catching fish the whole way. The results were a dozen fish with Rainbows and Brookies running to 15 inches, Browns to 18 inches, and several Mackinaw 4.5 and 9 pounds. We lost plenty of other fish including one that pretty much spooled my buddy Daren. We paddled back in a pretty stiff head wind which turned out to be a cold front pushing in, and by the next day it was snowing shutting off access to the lake again for a while. All in all a pretty good outing on the yaks.

Haskins Channel	Paddling in the ice pack	Looks like a trained bear in the circus	Hooked up on a nice Mack