Crane Prarie(sp?)

[mandinga]

I just watched an old fishing the west episode and it was on CP. It looked like it used to be an awesome rainbow factory, but from what I have heard lately the bass have taken over...what happened to that lake?

In the video the guy says "yeah we have a nice little largemouth population growing, which really excites me because it doesnt effect the trout fishery at all!"

He is also a supposed fly fisherman using nightcrawlers to catch fish in the video...he says that you should wait 10 seconds before setting the hook..."Then you get them for sure, let em take it down real deep!" :shrug:

they reeled in 2 of the biggest rainbows I have ever seen and both the fish took the hook deep...so they cut the leader and released the fish...I have issues with that..anyone else?
:shrug: :hoboy:

[MTL]

It depends. Does thinking the *******s should be executed by shoving an enormous hook down their throat and yanking them up and down for 10 minutes count as "having issues with that?"

[stl_hd]

10 seconds....that's ridiculous. :whazzup:

[mandinga]

I'm not sure what you are saying...but yes I do have a problem with releasing fish after waiting 10 seconds for them to SWALLOW the hook....

[Two Fister]

CM,
That's a favorite way of a couple of the Crane Prairie guides and the resort owner. They like to tell people to put a night crawler or power bait on with a small treble hook, a sliding sinker and a slack line. You don't touch the rod until the line starts moving through the water after the slack is gone. It's a sure fire receipe for gut hooking trout.
The very first time I fished CP I was kicking out in my float tube from Rock Creek. I got out in the trees and saw what looked like a dorsel fin sticking up out of the water. I kicked over and found a 30" trout (measured on my tube) floating belly up with some very fine mono (2-4 pound) sticking out of it's mouth. What I saw sticking up out of the water was the bottom of it's tail. It was already dead, but it's gills were still red and it's eyes were clear. I gave it a decent burial at sea.
Crane Prairie should be catch and release for trout so that they have a fighting chance against all of the illegal introductions: bass, bluegills, dieased black crappies, stickleback minnnows, tui chubs, brown bullheads, and an unverified rumor of Northern Pike.
It used to be one of the best trout fisheries in the Lower 48. Now they have bass tournaments there.
TF

[mandinga]

It makes me sick....gut hooking fish and releasing them...with a treble hook nonetheless. Do these people use their brains??? It's too bad that these types of guides exist on waters like this...catching fish and getting them to the boat is so much more important to them than the health of the fish when they release it.

thanks for the info TF, a 30" trout is a true trophy fish, it's too bad that the local guides employ these methods. You would think if they valued their fishery they would change the way that they catch fish. It's ironic that the person that caught and released that 30" rainbow probably thought that they had done a good deed by releasing the fish...


My stomach turned when I heard the guide say that he was happy about the bass being present...

The episode I saw looked to be late 80's early 90's...

[Abalone]

Crane Prarie is the Crime of the Century.

And I don't mean Century drive........

[mpruet]

I remember in the late 80s my buddy and I would head over on our Summer break from high school and college and fish for a week.

The beauties we used to catch were amazing. We were using small spinning gear with Panther Martins and Rooster Tails, but what a blast.

Too bad the Bass were introduced, I can only imagine what the action would be like with a 3 or 4 wt????