If you belong to OSA, you could be going on a Mackinaw fishing trip

By Don Quilici

The Ormsby Sportsmen's Association (OSA), a local organization of hunters and fishermen, will hold its next regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 15 at the Carson Nugget Convention Center at 7:30 p.m.

10 free fishing trips:

At that meeting, 10 lucky winners will be drawn for an annual OSA, free, sport fishing trip for its members at North Lake Tahoe.

The 10 winners must be paid-up members of that organization and they must be present to win.

Annual dues for the organization are only $5 for an adult (that's correct: Only $5 for the year!) or $2 for youngsters under the age of 16.

So, as you can see, it doesn't cost an arm or a leg to belong to the Ormsby Sportsmen's Asociation.

Go to the March 15 meeting, pay $5 to join (if you don't already belong), have your name put into the bowl and if you are lucky, you could be going Mackinaw (Lake) trout fishing at North Lake Tahoe.

Big Mack II:

That special fishing trip will be with sport fishing guide Mickey Daniels (A longtime, close, personal friend of mine) on his fishing boat, "The Big Mack II."

That boat is one of the largest sport fishing boats at Lake Tahoe.

It is 43 feet long, 16 feet wide, powered by twin diesel engines, can accommodate up to 10 fishermen at one time or a group of up to about 40 sightseers at one time, has a huge enclosed, heated and a very comfortable cabin..

It even has a bathroom with flush toilet on board!

Fishing for Mackinaw:

Daniels fishes for Mackinaw trout, almost exclusively, in the deep water in front of the Carnelian Bay-King's Beach area at North Lake Tahoe.

He trolls deep uses large, silver Herring Dodger flasher blades and either live minnows or large lures. Those combinations will be trolled with either steel line or downriggers.

He normally trolls at depths from 150 fee deep all the way down to about 600 feet.

As a matter of interest, the deepest he has caught a Mackinaw at Tahoe is 700 feet! And, the deepest depth that I've ever caught a Mackinaw trout, while fishing with Mickey, is 550 feet deep.

He has been a sport fishing guide for almost 40 years and is widely recognized and acknowledged to be the Premier sport fishing guide at Lake Tahoe.

To further prove that point, he has caught three of the six largest Mackinaw at Lake Tahoe that weighed more than 30 pounds.

The Lake Tahoe record for a Mackinaw Trout is a trophy caught back in 1974 which weighed 37-pounds, 6-ounces.

trip Information:

The exact date of the trip will be conditional on the weather, but it is usually on a weekend.

All fishing equipment, lures and bait are provided by Mickey.

All fishermen on that trip must possess either a valid Nevada license or California fishing license. If they do not have a license, they can purchase a California one-day license ($10.75), right on the boat.

And remember: California requires you wear your license where it is visible above the waist.

The lake limit is five trout of which not more than two of the five may be Mackinaw. There is no restriction on length.

OSA Information:

All OSA meetings, picnics and functions are always free of charge and always family-oriented.

The club meets on the third Tuesday of the month. Jan-May meetings are indoors. June-Sept are outdoor picnics held at Mills Park.. Oct-Nov meetings are back indoors, and there is no meeting in Dec. because of its annual banquet on the first Saturday evening.

Finally:

Plan to attend, be sure that you are a member of OSA, and who knows, with any luck, you could be one of the 10 lucky anglers on that special Mackinaw fishing trip.

Then, when you go, who knows, you just might catch that new Laqke Tahoe record Mackinaw.

For information:

Call either OSA President Jack Cooke at 882-8556 or Past President Norm Budden at 884-0348.

• Bet Your Favorite Pigeon

Bet your favorite pigeon how you might win some extra spending cash as a member of OSA.

If you grins and says, that OSA offers very nice cash prizes to those anglers entered in its annual "Big Fish Contest," he might already be entered in that fishing contest.