OK, here goes,

Based on your recomendations and suggestions by everyone at the Fish Sniffer Mack board, I hooked up with Gene St. Denis for a Tahoe charter run. We were supposed to go Tuesday but by the time I got to the ramp, the blizzard conditions kept us off the water. Fortunately there was an opening Thursday.

In my comunications with Gene, I had talked about wanting to try 2 baits. The first being the Big Hammer Swimbaits and the second being the MS Slammer.

Thursday:

Round 1: Top Lining F18 Rapala Vs. 9 inch MS Slammer

With nice conditions we decided to try top lining. Gene went with his favorite F18 Rapala and I went with the 9 inch Slammer in Dark Rainbow. We made a couple of passes and metered some good marks but no love. Finally I see the F18 rod load up and Gene grabs it only to find the F18 snapped off. Not sure if it was a fish or obstruction but either way, no fish.

Fish 1
Fisherman 0

Round 2: Down Rigging Dodger and Minnow Vs. 6 inch Big Hammer

After getting the stripe top lining, we moved on to downrigging to try to put a fish on the boat. Started in a "big fish" spot with the classic dodger and minnow and I let Gene pick the color of the Big Hammer. Based on depth and how dark it is down there, he went with the "Glow" color 6 inch Hammer on a white 3/4 ounce head and a 6/0 hook. I also trap rigged the Hammer with a #1 stinger hook in the tail attached with some 30lb. Spider wire threaded through the tail. The Hammer was also paired with a large dodger. No love in that spot so we made a move to another area and this time removed the dodger from the Big Hammer setup. Again although we worked the bottom hard, no love. Finally the wind picked up and BAM the Hammer rod goes off. Finally!! Ended up being about a 3lb Mack, light colored back and hooked on the stinger. I was stoked to have caught one on the Hammer regardless of size, plus it was my first Mack ever which was awsome. The wind really picked up and the minnow rod twitched but all that came up was a tiny piece of Mack lip. Doh!

Fish 1
Fisherman 1

Round 3: Top Lining F18 Rapala Vs. 9 inch Slammer

The wind finally made it impossible to down rig anymore so we moved back in shallow to top line. This time we put a couple of rubber core sinkers ahead of the slammer to help get it down a bit better. The wind was so strong we were basically trolling sideways with the boat anywhere from 45 to 90 degrees into the wind. Not 20 min into the first pass the Slammer rod goes off. I'm on it fast and this time it feels like a better fish. This time, up comes a nice dark backed Mack about 6 lbs., what a awsome looking fish. I was stoked having scored on both baits and it was time to take it to the ramp, which we did in some pretty ugly "seas".

Fish 1
Fisherman 2 We Win!!

All in all it was a tough day and I really appreciated Gene's hard work in getting us on fish and I would recomend him highly.

Bryan