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(Help) Red Bands In Owyhees!
#1
Sinker Creek and Or Reservoir-

I spent a good part of a day driving down any trail or dirt rd I could get my truck down trying to get to the reservoir from the North side and found nothing but private property or dead ends or trails not made for a truck. I finally made it far enough up Silver City Rd. to find a small creek called Sinker Creek but it seemed so small it wouldn't be fishable so I walked around for a bit and decided to pass it up and head to Silver City because a friend said there was fishable waters there. After a drive up there and looking around for a bit, I wanted to head back down and find a way into the res.

I tried to follow my gps down a road called Sinker Creek Rd, but it is now called Joyce Ranch and is a hunting club of some sort. I have the same last name and was hoping it was long lost fam, but the No trespassing sign was stopping me from heading in too far.

The next turn off south brings you around the South side of the res and canyon and finally you can see the res but the roads are scary steep! I took a chance on one of them but would never do it again as in 4 low and 1st gear, I was creeping along on a hell of an angle. After getting to the water and getting blasted by wind I decided to try where the creek feeds the Res. On my way up that really steep part, I swear I was looking straight up at nothing but sky and that I could feel my front tires leaving the ground in my Tahoe. I couldn't see anything and was going on faith. A short trip later I found another rd that lead to where I wanted to be but this road was even steeper and had so much loose rock I never would have made it down. There was another truck at the top of the road and he/she had obviously walked down so I figured leave em be and try another day.

I followed the road down further and found it had led back into Sinker creek and it looked small but nice and decided to throw a fly. Nothing would bite and I wasn't even sure this place even had fish. I decided to pack up for the night and fish my way back to the truck and being dumb, I stopped watching my footing and stepped directly over a 3.5 foot rattler coiled up. I didn't hear a peep from him, but the friend I was with behind me near stepped on it 2 steps behind me after I pissed it off and it gave off a little rattle and slithered away under a tree!

After that huge scare and rush of adrenalin, I was ready to give up. But then I found a nice deep 3x3 hole shaded by a large bush with a sandy bottom and tried again. I pulled out 2 nice little trout. 1 is a cutbow and the other a rainbow of sorts.

My question to you guys/gals; Did I finally get a true Redband Trout out of the Owyhees? or is this just another Juvenile Rainbow?
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#2
Holy cow! You are braver than I am. Roads like that and snakes too! Wow!

I haven't fished that area, but it looks like the red band pictures from that area to me. That is both a big stream and a big fish for that area.

Congratulations on reaching your goal and surviving!
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#3
Honestly those small fish are mighty hard to differentiate a rainbow from a redband. A red band is just various subspecies of rainbows anyway as both are Oncorhynchus mykiss. I'd call it a red band based on where you caught it. I catch red bands just south of the Idaho border around Jarbidge most summers but most of the locals just call them rainbows anyway.
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#4
sure looks like a redband to me. doesnt look like any of the small rainbows i have seen
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#5
Heres the thing. If you caught both fish out of the same hole and one was a hybrid more than likly the second one was also. Now depending how you rationalize your species you could (because it wasnt expressing the slash mark) say you caught a redband. More likely you just caught a hybrid since once introgression starts in a drainage it takes over pretty fast. But maybe you got in on the ground floor and thats a pure redband.

either way pretty little fish
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#6
[reply]Bronco,
I have been tossing this around in my mnd for the last couple of days on whether to respond to your post about the desert fish. Let me first off applaud your efforts for "blue lining" as it is called, going out and looking for fish in some pretty gnarley places. You can not only learn a lot about our native fish in their natural habitat but also see some beautiful places. I would also like to congratulate you on catching a true redband trout in our area, aka Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri. Not to be Confused with Oncorhynchus mykiss Newberri which would be the variety over in the Blitzen river area (There are various subspeciecies out there and yes, they are different, especially in southern Oregon and parts of california and Nevada). Anyway to answer your question is yes, those are straight up feisty redbands. The orange slash you saw has nothing to do with cutts or any type of hybridization, it is one of the key indicators that most juvenile redbands do have as well parr marks that can remain into adulthood on both counts. To find out more about these fish and any other other trout of the North america consult the works of Dr. Behnke specifically here.http://www.amazon.com/Native-Trout-Western-America-Monograph/dp/0913235784/ref=la_B001IOFE94_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1338110073&sr=1-3

Ok, now with that out of the way, there are a couple of other points I feel I need to make and I am not trying to sound like a DB but need to say them. First and formost, everyone and their brother can view this post out there on the web and considering the difficulties the redbands have just enough problems surviving in the the desert they haunt, they don't really need anymore attention drawn to them. The cards are already very well stacked against them so I would keep that mind before detailing such great directions to where you are going and what you find. Last and probably just as important, you were not on public land where you ended getting to the creek. There is no public access to that creek or reservoir whatsoever. Once you turn off that blm road toward either one of them, you are tresspassing. Just thought I would let you know. I had permission up util 10 years ago butl interlopers who did plenty of damage out there eventually ruined it for those of us that did have permission. If you have any questions, feel freem to pm me. On the bright side, that is a big desert and plenty of place to hunt for fish that are on public land.[/reply]
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#7
I don't think his directions will be leading too any people to go fish for red banded sardines[bobWink]. Ron
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#8
I kinda read this thread with mixed feelings as well... its not so much about the fish or where they are located.. its actually just a story about some really determined trespassing. You know.. like checking all the doors and windows at a bank and finding them all locked, then crawling in thru the basement via the sewer duct and somehow thinking its O.K because there was not an actual sign saying you couldnt.
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#9
Sorry if I had stepped on any toes, but it was definitely not my intention. They way I see it, is that if land is not fenced, marked or posted, and I make a reasonable effort to contact the land owners for permission even thoughI all those other things were not on or near that property, miles apart from the other no trespassing signs, then I did my job and the water is fair game.

I had never had intentions to trespass, or I would have just done it flat out. The reservoir on the map has one main road in, but the land owners who have no contact info near their property have bought the land and posted it up to the dam. After the the dam it just becomes Damn near inaccessible. On both sides of the canyon. The roads where I found no trespassing were all leading up to actual property that they lived on or had livestock. I had never found a sign that said no trespassing or anything to tell me that the waters were closed after said properties.

I put the effort in to do what I thought was the right way of doing it.

Also the creek mentioned has a motorcycle trail running through it about 30 times for crossing it so you can ride along it up and down the canyon. If you wanna worry about the fish, close down that road or drag a few boulders in the way in the narrow sections to let only people and not bikes through.

I really do apologize to those who thought this thread more harmful than a story. Let's say after the next few posts and people can get a word in, we just delete the thread?
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#10
As someone who formally managed a large private holding in the owyhees I disagree. Its a landowners responsibility to maintain fences and signs otherwise its unreasonable to expect the public to know every private boundary in mountains that look like it would all be public ground (not cultivated, not developed).
treat that ground as nice as you would your own bedroom don't litter don't destroy anything and tread lightly, if you leave the place better than you found it then you should not feel bad about going there.

I don't know how to tell the different sub species but that's a good fish for the area.
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#11
I can tell you also that not all posted land is supposed to be posted. Several private land owners have posted BLM land adjacent to theirs hoping to increase their holding via forfeit.

As a reservist and a member of the Access Yes Committee in the magic valley region, I am well aware of trespass problems in our state, but illegal posting is also a problem, a big problem. Not only do land owners post public land, but hunters are also posting public land to keep others from using it.

One livestock owner in my area puts up a fence that is all but impossible to open on a county road. I have contacted BLM many times about this practice and I tell them who I am and that I am cutting down the fence in 2 hours. Be there to see me do it. I have cut down that fence several times I have yet to see a officer or livestock owner.

BLM maps will give you an idea if property is deeded but won't tell you if that land is private or if it is owned by lets say the department of lands or another agency that allows full access. It is best to know before hand if property is public and make an effort to avoid that private piece or find a way around it. There is NOTHING wrong with accessing public land by going around private. In my mind that can be some of the best hunting and fishing to be found. Ron
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#12
I was involved in a dispute in the Bennett hills a landowner posted ground that was owned by blm it took some time and I eventually won the dispute but I wouldn't doubt that the ground is posted again.

A good map with township and range is a must when scouting my secret weapon when checking ownership is a quick call to a local title company if you have the t&r they can give you the current owners name in minutes. People should check just so we keep honest landowners honest.
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#13
Don't forget the section. A person will need the Range township and section when they call. I have done it my self several times. Ron
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#14
People get their toes stepped on everyday Bronco. I am one of those people that gets pissed and then gets over it. I just thought I should let you know that eventhough there may have not been a posting where you finally got into the creek it is indeed private land in there(there is plenty of vandalism out in those parts, for all I know any orange posts orsigns could have been ripped out). I did not believe your intention was to tresspass but just thought you should know. Playing around in the Owyhees(especiallythe front range) takes your homework or you might show back up to your rig with a deputy sheriff sitting next to it. I have, it ain't fun. If you have any questions about how to do that,just pm me.
As for the motorcycle trail/jeep trail you saw, part of that is from atv dicks who drive around gates and come in from above and the other part is the local 4x4 club(jeeps, that kind of thing) has permission to do that trail once a year in June or something.
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#15
The Idaho Dept of Lands has a nice map system that you can use to get the Township, Range and Section for where you are looking to go. The other nice thing about these maps is that all of the state owned lands are shown. Some areas have lots of state land and others not so much, but most at least have some "school sections". Using the overlays you can also see the land that is federally owned.

http://gis1.idl.idaho.gov/DLR/
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