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paintsville lake balancing act
Since it filled in 1983, Paintsville Lake has been known for supporting cool-water fish species -- walleye up to 10 pounds, the occasional 20-inch smallmouth bass, and good numbers of 10- to 14-inch rainbow trout. This is in addition to the largemouth bass, spotted bass, crappie, and catfish that naturally reproduce in the 1,139-acre reservoir. Cool water builds up over time in the lake because of a slow flow-through rate. It takes an average of 150 days for water to travel the 18 miles from the headwaters to the dam, where the lake depth is more than 90 feet. But in recent years a number of factors, including higher than normal rainfall and discharge rates, and the cool water demands below the dam, led to the loss of cool-water habitat in the lake.
Brook trout were the first salmonid species in Colorado
The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is an engaging fish. Nearly every trout fisher that I know, young and old alike, has fond memories concerning the beautiful little trout that inhabit most of Colorado's mountain streams. Many anglers remember a brook trout as being first at something or other; their first trout caught from a stream, first trout on a fly rod, first trout on a spinning rod, first trout on something other than a worm, first trout cooked over a campfire beside a moonlit mountain lake, first trout (fill in the blank).
Eastern brook trout are good at being first. Pioneers of a sort, they were the first salmonid species introduced into Colorado, beating the California rainbows by ten years. In late 1872, Denver Alderman, James M. Broadwell, obtained 10,000 fertile brook trout eggs from a fish culturist in Boscobel, Wisconsin and hatched them at his facility located on the South Platte River ten miles north of Denver.
Like shooting fish in a barrell
I just got home from a week-long road trip and I think I may have found some of the best fishing on the planet. That is if you like yanking on halibut until your arms feel like they're full of wet cement and hooking so many coho salmon that it seems a little like bluegill fishing out of a 5-gallon bucket.And the best part of the deal is this angling paradise is relatively close.My base of operations was Juneau, Alaska which is a short three-hour flight from Sacramento, with a stop in Seattle. On assignment for Fish Alaska Magazine, my orders were to explore and report back on the fishing opportunities available in the waters within easy striking distance of Alaska's capital city.On day one, my assistant Khevin and I rented a car and buzzed around the Juneau road system, where we found massive amounts of salmon in all the small streams we visited, catching more than we could count on fly and conventional tackle.
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