Carp in the Truckee

[Eyecatch Tinytrout]

Hey everyone,

I just caught a carp in the Truckee River, just below Boca. I had no idea there were carp in there! Anyone else ever caught one of these from the Truckee? Sorry, no pictures.

This fish was about 17" long, had an ugly sore on one of it's gill covers, although he was impressive in girth. A very lethargic fish. A trout that size would have taken me and my tiny 6 foot 2 weight for a real ride. Instead it just swam around in the bottom of a slow moving hole for a while and then let me pull him up. (I was fishing the small rod 'cause I busted my 9 footer in the tailgate of the truck a couple of weeks ago).

I have to say, what ugly fish carp are! I know as a creature on this earth they deserve our respect and protection but man! was I dissapointed when I saw it wasn't a trout! Do you think there are any real reprocutions to the trout population if carp are in there?

Cheers,
Tiny

[dtp916]

Hey Tiny,
I think you what you caught was a mountain whitefish. There are quite a few in the Truckee River and its tribs. You'll get a few if you fish the Truckee.Some of these guys get pretty big :D but you're right they don't put up a fight like wild trout do. Here's a picture of my buddy's first fish on a fly, caught in the Truckee River below town. It also happens to be a mountain whitefish. :) http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f393/dtp916/tyler.jpg

Now if you didn't catch a whitefish, maybe it was a sucker (a massive sucker) :shock: The Truckee also has self sustaining populations of Smallmouth Bass, found in the slower sections of the river. Check out Ralph Cutter's website for more info:

www.flyline.com

Either way, nice catch 8) 8) what was it on?

[Eyecatch Tinytrout]

Dude! That's it! I guess my fish identifying skills are pretty carpy, I mean crapy! Thanks for the photo, that really clears it up for me. I took it on a size 18 Hare's Ear. Mine was pretty dark red (spawning time for them?) Also lots of trout biting. What a great time of year to fish. As soon as the sun came up, I could tell it was going to be a good day.

Thanks again!

[dtp916]

Not a problem, man. Glad I could help you out 8) 8) 8)

My buddy nailed that guy on a small birds nest of a deep run. I pulled 2 trout out of that hole before this whitefish ate his bug. Nice size fish for the first one on a fly :D :D :D

I've caught 1 before around the same size and it was a lot redder, like you were talking about...but have no idea on their spawning cycle.

How was the fishing otherwise? What were you catching em on?

James 8)

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

That reminds of a trip to the Truckee River many years ago.

It was early season about 20 years ago and Walt Bennett had advised us to go down to Floriston just above the Nevada border where the water was partly diverted for agriculture making a stretch much lower and warmer in the early season.

There were three of us. Myself, Mel Jeffs and maybe young Geller? We were not doing to well and I was up stream of them (hole hopping). I was nymphing and caught a nice big ~18" Whitefish. I was about 50 yards above them so I held it up briefly and let our a 'war hoop'. Then I quickly released it.

They came splashing up to me out of breath and I said it was a big Rainbow. They got all excited and started really pounding the water. As it warmed up that day we did have good action.

[Eyecatch Tinytrout]

Yup. I'd rather catch a rainbow any day. Not to harp on the subject but if a trout is a noble fish, that thing I caught the other day was Quasimoto.

The fishing was good on the fuzzy nymphs. I got hook-ups on small and big flies, with beads and without, but only on Hare's Ears and Birds Nests. Anything sparkly or hard (zug-bugs, princes, copper johns) didn't intrest the fish at all. I was using Shinozaki's Shake bassed on Cutter's advise. Come to think of it, I haven't been to his website for a while, thanks for reminding me of it, James. It's time I looked in to see what's new.

[Darian]

Hmmmm,.... Why do so many Trout fishers dislike Mountain Whitefish :?: :?: If I recall correctly, they're related. 8) 8) I've caught a few of 'em in my time and don't have any negative feelings towards 'em... :? :?

[dtp916]

You are right Darian, whitefish are related to trout. They are the only native species in the Truckee drainage, since the Lahontan cutthroat were wiped out. I don't have any hard feelings toward them, but like Tiny said, they are pretty ugly :lol: :lol:

I would rather catch trout because they are pretty and fight harder such as this one I caught yesterday on a sz 18 Adams in the Little Truckee. Almost took me into my backing :D :D
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f393/dtp916/DSCN1368.jpg

After several rejections, I tried tying on 2 ft of 7x to create less of a drag. This rainbow sucked it in on the first cast. 8) 8) 8)

[Darian]

That's a very nice fish. I really like that coloration. 8) 8) 8)

While it's true that Whitefish aren't as pretty as Trout, I don't think they're particularly ugly.... 8) Just different. 8) 8) 8)

[Eyecatch Tinytrout]

I didn't know that whitefish were native to the Truckee. I thought it was just Lahontans and a sucker or two.

I guess what I don't like about their looks is their relatively large scales that are kinda' dull, and their (excuse the expression) anus-shaped mouths pointed downward. They remind me of something you might see in Jabba The Hut's hangout on Tatooine.

[bp]

truly a conumdrum . . . always better to have something tugging on the line even if it's a whitefish. this guy is present in all the flyfishing waters i have covered - MT, UT, WY - and i must say i am somewhat of a specialist. have caught uncle whitey in all these rivers with embarassing regularity.

all things being said, they are a "sucker" for a GRHE. Pheasant Tail or Stone - trout, GRHE whitefish. unwritten rule i guess.

bp

[Darian]

Well said bp.... 8) 8) 8)

[dtp916]

bp you are right on the money!!! :D I have never thought about it in that perspective but whitefish are suckers for GRHE. I've never caught one on a PT or a stonefly but definetely on a bird's nest too. 8) 8) 8) Most trout I've encountered love the PT or Flashback PT. GRHE is the whitey secret fly :lol:

[SteelieD]

'Uncle Whitey' - nice! :lol:

They are present here in WA as well. Caught a couple myself last week (yes, on a GRHE in olive). When targeting pretty little trout, truly a disappointment for me, but, like the man said... better than nothing! :wink:

[Eyecatch Tinytrout]

Yeah, even though I said he was ugly, I would have been MUCH more dissapointed if he broke off and I didn't get the satisfaction of unhooking him- even though I already knew he wasn't a trout a few seconds into the fight. Definitely better than nothing!

[Mike Churchill]

In one of his books, John Gierach describes the mountain whitefish as being "one of the less loved fishes." He also mentioned the fact that some of the more prejudiced trout fisherman in Colorado practice "squeeze and release" fishing for whitefish. :shock:

Rather sad... :(

From what I've seen of carp, if you'd hooked one, you wouldn't have been complaining about a lackluster fight. :evil:

[slimfishin's]

Living in Idaho, we sure have our share of whitefish... and good thing too! They are the perfect fish for teaching folks about fly fishing - they are always eager to eat your fly, even when the rainbows might be hard to come by. In some of the local streams, we have some BIG whitefish - well over 20". Some streams even have a specific winter season for them, basically allowing you to catch and release for trout :wink:

Anyway, there's a certain Lake Whitefish found in some deep lakes in northern Idaho that are HUGE. They are commonly over 10 pounds, but rarely caught by anglers. They were found while trap netting for lake trout removal... but that's another story.

SF

[Digger]

In many parts of Europe, the carp is the premier fish to catch. There are huge tournaments and they treat them like we would treat a wild trout.
I remember reading about a carp tournament held in N.Y. a coulple years ago with a $1 million purse.

If you want to go after some large ones, try the E. Walker below the Bridgeport dam. 1st time I ever fished there, one swam by me while wading and scared the heck outta me cause of its size.

[Eyecatch Tinytrout]

...1st time I ever fished there, one swam by me while wading and scared the heck outta me cause of its size.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...

...cue "Jaws" music.

That would definitely freak me out.

[Sturmer White]

When I lived in Bosie ID. I caught lots of them all winter.
I fished right in town,10 minutes from my house.Sometimes I had to quit in an hour,Too damm cold. They love Renagades under a split shot.

[Dustin Revel]

I judge fish by how keen of senses they have and their athletic abilties. I try not judge on appearance. its not like I'm looking to date fish although...
Dusty