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Decided to make the trip to Birch Creek about 6 this morning. Thinking to myself, "do I take my pontoon or tube?" I decide on my pontoon. Second consecutive time I've make this mistake.
I arrive at a parking-lot, but where is the water. It's up a small steep trail up a dam face. Holly cow!! Well I wasn't turning back now. I hike with my toon balanced on my head up the hill. The reservoir looked kind of neat, expect for the algae particles everywhere. Launched anyway and never really found a complete algae clearing. Makes for tough fly fishing. Ended up with two tigers about 16 inches near the inlet end. One or two other strikes and that was it. Not what I expected from this place, but I still might try it again, hopefully without an algae bloom and with my tube. You'd think that you could access a launch ramp after seeing the DWR on the lake in a boat on their web-site....wrong folks!![mad]
Later,
Justin
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Sounds like an interesting trip, too bad the catching wasn't better. I have launched a small boat at Birch creek with out going to the inlet area. There is a rocky point on the East side of the lake that you can drive down to and get close to the water I launched a 12 ft aluminum boat there without a problem. Hopefully your next trip there will be better. WH2
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I think you and I are the only ones that know about that little launch. I have tried to explain it to people 100 times and they have no idea what i'm taliking about.
Birch Creek is always hit and miss fishing. You either slay them or get skunked. That place is unpredictable, but holds some trophy sized tigers. I have found the best time to fish it is in the Spring. We were up there the day that the road opened and caught over 30 fish in a very small amount of time. Caught some over 20 inches and a bunch in the 13-16 inch range.
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The old timers also hiking up the trail told me that road to the shoreline has been fenced off. Not sure if this is true or not.
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[#500000]I was one of the OLD timers that you talked to.....The launch ramp on the inlet side is gated and locked....I talked to the DWR guys when they were gill netting, and they have a key from the landowner to let them in.....[/#500000]
[#500000]There is another road that goes up on the northeast side before you get to the damn that goes down within 50 feet of the water but it is pretty steep to the water.....I admired your determination, your stamina, and your brute strength to get your kick boat up that hill.[/#500000]
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Spring was the best time for us also but I've never fished it in the fall so it has wondering how it would be in Oct or Nov. Have you ever fished it in November?
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Thanks for your comments Wavewolf. We need to see about getting that road opened. How was the fishing for you??
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[quote WaveWolf][#500000]There is another road that goes up on the northeast side before you get to the damn that goes down within 50 feet of the water but it is pretty steep to the water[/#500000][/quote]
This is the road that I'm talking about. And in the spring you can drive down to within 10 feet of the water. The access was easy, but you need a 4x4 for sure. The road goes up a nasty little hill to the top and then straight down toward the lake, awesome view!
Here's a pic from the top and some of the tigers we got this spring.
[inline "BC top.JPG"]
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[inline "Birch Creek trout.JPG"]
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By the time the weeds settle down and the place is fishable again, it's pretty darn cold up there.
Bundle up and wear some boots that you don't mind getting really muddy. The dam doesn't seem to fish as well in the fall as in the spring (that's probably just me).
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[#500000]As I understand it, the road at the inlet is closed for the outfitter who leases the hunting rights.....It is one of those CMU units.[/#500000]
[#500000]The bite was a little slow....I caught 4, all tigers....had one 19".......We went up yesterday and I had 3 strikes, missed them all and skunko.... A guy had a suburban pulling a little trailer with a kick boat on the road that goes up over the top on the northeast side......As I said it is about 50 feet from the water, but you have to be an animal to get it up, even 50 feet.[/#500000]
[#500000]F&G told us they planted 60K fingerlings in there this spring and said that the gill net studies looked good.[/#500000]
[#500000]I'm sure getting tired of that hike up over that hill, and all I carry is a back pack and a rod.......WW.[/#500000]
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Have you heard if there are any plans to stock tigers in Woodruff res. That lake needs some help, seems the cutts are always skinny but its a lot easier to get to the water[  ].
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[#500000]I asked them that question and they said no......They want to keep that strictly for native cuts, and they are stocking it for cuts.....I am not sure why.....I'm all for tiger trout wherever they can make it.......WW.[/#500000]
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Thanks for the info LOAH, sounds like it would be worth while to drive around the road to the West if you could get the key but the road to the East would be way to muddy to try later in the fall.
Wave Wolf- Thats too bad about them only stocking cutts in Woodruff. It sure makes me wonder how they would do in that lake.
WH2
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[#500000]I guess you could sweet talk the outfitter to get the key........We went back up today.......Here is a pic of my son with one of the ones that we caught....WW.[/#500000]
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[#500000]I would also like to see them drop a lot of tigers in Causey........WW.[/#500000]
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Thats a nice looking fish, how long was it? Were you guys bait fishing?
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[cool]Thanks for the pics of the tigers. Those are getting me really excited now to drill at Huntington next month!! Wew-hew, Huntington here I come!!!
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[#500000]It was just barely under 20"......No, we were fishing with flies behind a bubble....anything from a hares ear to a pistol pete....The water clarity was horrible.....I think if they could see it, they might chase it, but getting them to see it was a problem.....WW.[/#500000]
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They have been dumping tigers into Causey for some time now.
Another reason that they don't stock any fish into Woodruff is because in dry years that place dries up. I was there about 6-7 years ago on the deer hunt and the whole lake except for about 50 yards of water was gone. There were a bunch of fish struggling in that little puddle, kinda pissed me off that they all died. I think most of the fish went down or up stream though. We drove right through the bottom of the lake to the end and deer hunted. Pretty wierd to see that place all dried up.
The cutt population usually does really well. I have limited out in a matter of an hour just about every time I have been there in the last few years. The stream in the back is a riot to fish too.
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Where is Causey located? I haven't heard about that one, but I do love a nice tiger hunt.[cool]
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