Fishing Forum

Howdy all-

I spend some time up in the Sawtooths each summer fishing, hiking, ATVs, etc, and this past July brought up some diving gear and a camera to explore under the water. I read through a lot of past posts on this forum and appreciate the knowledge here. But this is my first post.

I'm sharing these videos because it's cool to get an underwater perspective, and I would encourage anyone with a wetsuit and a mask and snorkel to get in and dive lakes like redfish and alturas. The visibility is at least 30 feet. Stanley lake wasn't that clear though. Even diving the salmon river is pretty fun. I'm not using any SCUBA equipment, just holding my breath and wearing weights.

Hopefully I'm not giving away anyone's honey holes [] , but I think we all know that inlets are a pretty good place to look for fish.

I also made a homemade spear and stuck it to a few of those suckers []



Here are the video clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_FE5XRVY8c&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3DbevjUV2g&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaXCVpnc6h0&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFekZJRQFJU&hd=1


I can't wait for summer to come again!

-Ryan
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That's pretty neat. What kind of camera are you using? It sure makes you rethink as to how many fish your line passes when you are fishing! Thanks for sharing.
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cool do you ever find lures ?
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Awesome video clips. Thanks for sharing them.
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Very cool [cool]
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First off I loved the videos. They do have me wondering about the "endangered" bull trout. Ya there were some suckers in there but there were a LOT of bull trout in those videos. How many are they missing in there study's? I am sure that in some places bull trout numbers might be down, but are they? These videos raise a lot of questions for me about how "endangered" bull trout really are. Again GREAT videos!!!
Ron
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Great clips, thanks for sharing! Are you able to see much from just surface snorkling or are you mostly free diving?

Cool to see all of the fish that are hanging in there.
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Awsome videos, snorkeling for crawfish at Ririe Reservoir is one of my all time favorite outdoor activities. Just yesterday I was thinking about buying this camera to do some under water filming myself.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?h...CFYQ8wIwBA#
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Very cool. Have you tried Petit Lake? Do you know of the clarity there compared to Alturas? I am surprised Stanley lake was less than Redfish.
I must try this year after thinking of it for years and never seeing anyone actually doing it. What a fool I am for not jumping in and trying this and worrying to much of being thought of as....gosh I got no clue. Why haven't I just gone and done it instead of thinking.
Snorkeling for crawdads. Now that is cool. What a hoot that must be. And spearing a sucker....
Holy cow, what have I been missing out on.
Thanks for sharing some great video and a great experience.
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Welcome to BFT. I'll watch the video when I get to a better computer.

Windriver
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Very, very cool. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks for the comments guys.

[quote ChrisTheFish] What kind of camera are you using? [/quote]

I am using a simple "Flip Ultra HD" video camera with a $35 underwater housing. The whole package was around $185 off amazon.com. All my videos on my youtube page were shot with it.

[quote idahoron] They do have me wondering about the "endangered" bull trout. Ya there were some suckers in there but there were a LOT of bull trout in those videos. How many are they missing in there study's? I am sure that in some places bull trout numbers might be down, but are they? These videos raise a lot of questions for me about how "endangered" bull trout really are. Again GREAT videos!!!
Ron[/quote]

Man, I was wondering the same thing. In every stretch of the Salmon I swam in there were always more bull trout than rainbows. And I was astounded at all of them in Alturas. Who knows if that is the entire lake's population but I doubt it.

[quote hulapopper]cool do you ever find lures ?[/quote]

There is one popular riverside camping spot below buckhorn bridge that had tons of lures snagged on the bottom. At least a dozen. I managed to pick up one rooster tail but its not easy because the river is swift in those spots and I had no pliers.

[quote cpierce] Are you able to see much from just surface snorkling or are you mostly free diving?

[/quote]

Sometimes, with the buoyancy of the wetsuit (not wearing the weightbelt), I just float down the river on the surface and snorkel. It's pretty cool to be carried by the current. The fish don't spook at all either (well, the salmon do). In the lake near the inlet, snorkeling is certainly possible. The deepest I dive is about 30ft on a breath hold. For spearing, diving is essential.

[quote lucabrasi]Very cool. Have you tried Petit Lake? Do you know of the clarity there compared to Alturas? I am surprised Stanley lake was less than Redfish.
I must try this year after thinking of it for years and never seeing anyone actually doing it. What a fool I am for not jumping in and trying this and worrying to much of being thought of as....gosh I got no clue. Why haven't I just gone and done it instead of thinking.
Snorkeling for crawdads. Now that is cool. What a hoot that must be. And spearing a sucker....
Holy cow, what have I been missing out on.
Thanks for sharing some great video and a great experience.[/quote]

I did not get a chance to do Petit. Next summer. Yeah, stanley was totally crap... only could see 5-12 feet. Granted, that was only one day of diving. You gotta get in there man. I get some weird looks of course but it's so rewarding. Diving the inlets and rivers though you can get quite cold. I was wearing a 3/2mm surf wetsuit.
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those are great..thanks for sharing.
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Thanks, Ryan. Absolutely stunning video. Does make you redefine what's down there. I used to snorkel the Yuba River for gold. Was always surprised at what turned up in addition to what we were after...
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Very cool videos. I did my open water certification in redfish. Its pretty cool to dive, snorkel its a totally different world. I have been absent from it for a few years but your videos remind me how much i miss it. You see and find all kinds of things as most people think its gone hidden when its in the water.
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Very Cool! I especially enjoyed the underwater chinook footage.
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Thats cool as hell !! Not bad footage for a less thana $200.00 set up .. Salmon footage was cool but really enjoyed the Bull Trout footage is ALTURAS LAKE in IDAHO or CALI ?? Thanks for posting the vids up !!!
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Idaho [cool] http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s...e&t=h&z=15
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