THINKIN

Show the water who’s boss with the new F200 In-Line Four. Incredibly light, responsive and fuel efficient, it serves up plenty of muscle to handily propel a variety of boats. On top of that, its 50-amp alternator offers the power to add a range of electronics, and its 26-inch mounting centers and compatibility with either mechanical or digital controls give you the flexibility to easily upgrade your outboard or rigging. Experience legendary Yamaha reliability and the freedom of forward thinking, with the all-new F200 In-Line Four.

Show the water who’s boss with the new F200 In-Line Four. Incredibly light, responsive and fuel efficient, it serves up plenty of muscle to handily propel a variety of boats. On top of that, its 50-amp alternator offers the power to add a range of electronics, and its 26-inch mounting centers and compatibility with either mechanical or digital controls give you the flexibility to easily upgrade your outboard or rigging. Experience legendary Yamaha reliability and the freedom of forward thinking, with the all-new F200 In-Line Four.

having a relatively shallow bottom depth of 35 to 50 feet punctuated with holes abruptly dropping off into 70 to 100 feet of water.

While top lining represents the road to trophies and the glory that goes with them, deep-water trolling is the gateway to the dinner table, since this is the quickest way to put a two-fish limit of eating-sized 3- to 8-pound Mackinaw into the cooler.

When trolling the depths with downriggers, you want to move slowly, keeping the lines as vertical as possible. The most popular offering for deep-water trolling is a native threaded minnow pulled behind a large dodger, but Gulp! Minnows, flies, hoochies and small spoons all work well. No live or dead minnows coming from other waters can be used at Tahoe.

Obviously, a quality sonar unit is an indispensable tool for the deepwater troller. Once you locate an area that holds Macks, don’t be surprised if they don’t respond to your lures immediately. In this situation, slow the boat to a crawl and maneuver in a tight figure eight or circle, keeping the baits in the strike zone for a prolonged period.

At first, you’ll get no strikes. After a time, a fish or two will hit and the bite will gradually grow in intensity as more fish become active. In time you’ll be hooking fish every time the gear gets to the bottom.

You can also vertically jig in this situation with standard 3- to 6-ounce metal jigs. The principle is the same: keep the bait in the strike zone until you start hooking Macks. The commotion caused by the hooked fish excites the rest and the bite gets more and more intense over time.

OK; SO YOU’VE NEVER tried your hand at fishing Lake Tahoe and you’re asking, can a first-time boater or kayaker score at the big lake? Absolutely; however, Tahoe does require specialized approaches and a level of finesse.

A trip with a guide who will show you the ropes is money well spent. They will share with you both the basics and fine points of fishing the lake, as well as brief you on safely navigating the lake’s waters.

Tahoe can be treacherous, with flat-calm conditions giving way to whitecaps very quickly. My motto is learn from the pros and then apply the knowledge to your own approach. This will cut years off the learning curve and you’ll avoid many mistakes and miscalculations.

If you’d like a guided trip with the most prolific big fish guide on the lake, give Tahoe native Mike Nielsen of Tahoe Topliners Sportfishing a call at (530) 721-0593. He’ll put you on big fish and share critical information about successfully fishing for Mackinaw and trout at Lake Tahoe. CS

Editor’s note: Cal Kellogg is a longtime Northern California outdoors writer. Subscribe to his YouTube channel Fish Hunt Shoot Productions at youtube.com/ user/KelloggOutdoors.