Birch Creek on Black Friday

[gofish435]

I fished BC Friday from 8:00 until 2:00 from my tube. I fished here on the 20th of October last year and the air temp when I arrived was 17 degrees. When I got here at 7:30 the temp was 42 degrees with a breeze. The wind got worse as the day went on.

I used both a medium sink (#3) line and a fast sink (#8) line and bead head flies in brown/green/pearl, tan/green/pearl, and a white bunny leech in sizes 4-8. I picked up a mix of cutthroats, one tiger, and a couple of rainbows. I hooked several other fish but with the wind blowing as hard as it was I had a hard time setting the hook.

There were four other tubers and about a dozen shore fishermen. More people than I have ever seen there but the it was Black Friday.

The water temp was 37-38 degrees and the visibility in the water of about 3' - 4'.

There is no snow at the reservoir and maybe 4" - 5" of snow over Monte Cristo.

It would have been a great day without the wind but it was still worth the trip.
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[Cowboy_43]

We were the other tubers there. That wind was getting silly when we left. Caught a mixed bag as well.
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[gofish435]

You guys are early risers. You were half way up the reservoir before I got there. Glad you got some fish for all the effort it took.

That was one of those days that you earn every fish you catch.[]
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[icesore]

Curious on where all the cutts are coming from. I have caught a lot of them this year. In years past I caught one or two a year and this year nearly every trip. Stocking report only shows rainbows and tigers.
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[gofish435]

[quote icesore]Curious on where all the cutts are coming from. I have caught a lot of them this year. In years past I caught one or two a year and this year nearly every trip. Stocking report only shows rainbows and tigers.[/quote]

I sent my report to the DWR and they said that the cutthroat population is maintained through natural reproduction in the small inlet stream.

Pretty amazing.
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[fishalot13]

Would like your guys thoughts on making this lake a trophy lake. I have been fishing it for several years and have caught monsters both rainbow and tigers. have talked with the DWR about making it a trophy fishery and they thought it could be a possibility. keep one or two fish over 21 and artificial fly lure only. thoughts?
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[gofish435]

[quote fishalot13]Would like your guys thoughts on making this lake a trophy lake. I have been fishing it for several years and have caught monsters both rainbow and tigers. have talked with the DWR about making it a trophy fishery and they thought it could be a possibility. keep one or two fish over 21 and artificial fly lure only. thoughts?[/quote]

It sounds to me that it already is what you would consider a trophy lake having caught some nice fish over the years.

In my opinion there are a few problems associated with naming any water a trophy water. It would bring additional pressure to the reservoir and at about 63 surface acres when it's full, Birch Creek is not very big.

The additional enforcement required to protect the water would be difficult and costly.

The reservoir is already getting trashed and if we are not careful, since it is a walk-in-access water, that we could lose access to it altogether.[:/]

Because the reservoir is not easy to access and fairly remote it does not see a lot of pressure now. The times that I have fished it during the week there have been very few, if any other anglers there.

Just my .02 worth.[]
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[Delement87]

fishalot13 are those your trophy rainbows?
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[fishalot13]

just a few of the great fish caught at birch creek! I agree with wanting to keep the fishery clean and nice. fisherman that dont clean up after them selves should be band. A bit harsh i know. I enjoy fishing birch and got into a conversation with some heads at the DWR and its nice to hear every ones 2 cents.

I would like to see it as an artificial fly and lure only.
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