NorcalBassin

By no means an expert on the panhandle fisheries, but May should be prime spawn season. The bigger lakes may temporarily freeze or have certain areas that freeze, but they don't freeze over from shore to shore for the winter. Dworshak should be great but don't sleep on Coeur d'Alene or Hayden if those are a lot closer to where you'll be staying. Some of my favorite fishing days have been on Hayden.

As DB said, excellent saltwater and even steelhead fishing around there. Ruth Lake southeast of there near Mad River is your best "local" bet and a buddy of mine has had some really good trips there. Depending on which part of Humboldt County you'll be in, Clear Lake could also be well worth the drive (about 3 to 3.5 hours from the town of Eureka). Best of luck!

Home lake put every boat in a 30-day quarantine with golden mussels being "discovered" well over an hour away, and after being rather upset my annual pass was worthless the past month it lessened the sting just a tad when they decided to allow non-motorized kayaks to access the lake without any quarantine or inspection. I had a short work day and figured I'd dust off the kayak to see how the lake was doing after no pressure for the past month. Afternoon air temps were in the 60's and water temps were upper 50's... no complaints there. Only had a couple hours to fish so figured I'd start with a ned since it tends to do well here in the winter. It did not disappoint with a solid spot within the first few minutes. Not going to complain about an almost 18" spot in January! Worked my way around the bridge mindlessly casting finesse baits while taking in how odd it was to be on an empty lake. Since finesse wasn't delivering any consistent bites I figured I'd switch it up and throw a swimbait. I almost couldn't believe my hands when I felt that hit! Couldn't have been happier with that plus-sized spot and figured it was the perfect time to call it a day.

Absolutely love winter campfires out back. This one was with my youngest and Riggins playing the role of inattentive security guard. 😆

Smoked thinly sliced tritip sandwich with grilled onions and BBQ sauce. Tots on the side. 🙂

Finally got a little measurable snow up our way. Riggins was trying to eat it as it fell and the St Bernards were like what the heck is the matter with you. 😆

Nostalgic for me. Unlikely to order much from them since so many other sites have a lot more stock, better prices, and sales, but I'll keep it in my truck and enjoy flipping through it from time to time this next year while killing time. Sometimes it's just nice not being on your phone or computer.

Excellent job! Been here for nearly 15 years (holy smokes time flies!!!) and it was a pleasant surprise how quickly things were back up and running smoothly.

Crazy seeing all of that snow in Louisiana and the Gulf of America when we haven't even had a flake yet at my elevation this season. I'm sure that'll change in Feb/March, but I can't say I'll mind the near 70* temps this week.

So sorry you're having to go through this and thank you for taking the time to share the news and your thoughts with us. As has been said already, we're all here to support you with whatever you need. God bless and you'll be in my prayers.

Been quite a while since we've been out on the water! Able to take Pops out for his 80th right before my daughter had to head back to school. Only right he caught the first of the day. Fishing was pretty slow but we still managed a few. The three gen trips are always a good time...

Was planning to finally get back out there last week and those ***'s shut down the ramps to my local lake because golden mussels were found in the Delta more than an hour away. Boat is now in a 30 day launch quarantine even though it's just been collecting dust for months, so I might need to find a new "home" lake.

Dyslexic knock knock jokes... that's pretty dang funny!

Dang it. Just as I suspected, now my home lake is shut down just as I was about to finally get back out there again. Going to be interesting to see how this changes the tournament circuit out here. https://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/3468417/bor-temporarily-suspends-new-melones-lake-boat-launches.html

The East Bay Utility District has shut down the ramp at Camanche. Sounds like it's preventative after golden mussels were apparently found in the Delta. Sure hope other foothill lakes don't follow suit with more closures. https://www.ebmud.com/recreation/sierra-foothills/camanche-reservoir NOTICE - Temporary Closure of Camanche Reservoir Boat Launch Effective immediately, the Camanche Reservoir boat launch will be temporarily closed. The closure is necessary to help prevent the spread of a harmful species of mussel to Camanche Reservoir and other water bodies. The invasive Golden Mussel (Limnoperna fortunei) has now been identified in North America for the first time and has been discovered in the Sacramento - San Joaquin Delta. This harmful, non-native species poses a significant threat to natural ecosystems, water infrastructure, and water quality. Golden Mussels are similar to quagga and zebra mussels; they are invasive and proliferate quickly - but the Golden Mussel can thrive in a greater variety of conditions including waters with lower calcium levels , making them an even more significant concern. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this important precautionary measure.

Had about 30 turkeys on my back hill unknowingly volunteering for Thanksgiving dinner. 😆

Yeah, fortunately outside of a a dozen or so nightmarish, girthy sized 70-100 footers most of them were skinny 30-40 footers that are perfect for campfires. I have another 10 or so needing to be dropped right now but will be waiting until burn season returns so I can just drop and burn 'em.

Very nice! We got hit hard by the bark beetle years ago and I've had to drop around 60 trees on the property. Still bucking those up as time allows and I feel like letting out the Tim Allen grunt anytime I get to fire up the Echo or little Husky.

Living your life and doing things that bring you joy are huge in long term outcomes. Be smart about it (sun exposure, cuts, etc), but if you're feeling well enough to fish and want to, then heck yes go spend some time on the water.

Western bacon cheeseburger with sauteed onions... And a Swiss cheese sauteed mushrooms, onions, and bacon burger...

Security detail. 😆

Been a crazy summer and 2 months since I last fished and 3 months since I last fished with my dad. He has a new hip on the horizon in November but felt well enough to get back in the boat. On cue, Pops caught a "Papa fish" as the girls call it. 😆 The itty bitty LM's were loving the free rig with an OSP. Nice Spot saved the day.

Congrats on another great trip!

Thousands of dollars later, thank you for sending me down the rabbit hole of G Loomis MBR tapers 😆

Congrats on a beautiful day and pond it looks like you had all to yourself!