Dave and Phil's trip reports on their high lake adventures are my favorites on this site, so I figured I would share my trip from last weekend. The kids were out of town, so I decided on a quick overnight backpacking trip to two "new to me" high lakes. I hit the trail at 3:45pm and, after a creek crossing about 1 mile in, started gaining elevation toward a plateau that is full of lakes. This was the last view looking back across the pass before turning into the wilderness.
About 4 miles in I arrived at "Lake #1" and took a quick look at the lake access before moving on to my camping destination.
Another mile down the path through some alpine meadows brought me into view of "Lake #2" where I planned to spend the night. I passed a few guys with spinning rods on their way out and they each said they had caught one small fish.
I got my tent and fishing gear set up and was on the water before 7pm.
I saw some small fish rising near shore, but I didn't target them because I knew there to be bigger fish in the lake based on my research. I spent the evening exploring the areas of the lake that were deep enough to hold big fish, but no hatch, no bites, and it got pretty cold.
I fished the morning from 6am-9am and still very cold and still nothing. I did see a few dead fish that looked to be 15"-17" on the bottom of the lake. I decided to pack up and move back to Lake #1 to try something different.
Once I arrived back at Lake #1, I saw thousands of frogs on the shoreline...hopefully the fish weren't all full on those. I saw a few fish sipping and headed out onto the lake. First cast with a jig head leech under the indicator and I had a fat 10" rainbow before the fly settled. It wasn't fast and furious, but as the sun came out the insect activity picked up and I caught more rainbows on black spratley and mayfly nymphs. The fish I caught were all in the 10-12" range, but they were well fed. The one fish that I pumped for information was feeding on caddis larvae. I fished until after 2pm and then packed up and hit the trail.
One of my main motivations for heading out a little early was the berries that I had seen on the hike in. I filled up a couple of ziplocks on the descent before recrossing the creek and arriving back at the truck around 4:30pm. Overall, it was a great trip to explore new water. Next time I go back I will plan to hit Lake #2 in the afternoon to see if I can find active fish and insects.
About 4 miles in I arrived at "Lake #1" and took a quick look at the lake access before moving on to my camping destination.
Another mile down the path through some alpine meadows brought me into view of "Lake #2" where I planned to spend the night. I passed a few guys with spinning rods on their way out and they each said they had caught one small fish.
I got my tent and fishing gear set up and was on the water before 7pm.
I saw some small fish rising near shore, but I didn't target them because I knew there to be bigger fish in the lake based on my research. I spent the evening exploring the areas of the lake that were deep enough to hold big fish, but no hatch, no bites, and it got pretty cold.
I fished the morning from 6am-9am and still very cold and still nothing. I did see a few dead fish that looked to be 15"-17" on the bottom of the lake. I decided to pack up and move back to Lake #1 to try something different.
Once I arrived back at Lake #1, I saw thousands of frogs on the shoreline...hopefully the fish weren't all full on those. I saw a few fish sipping and headed out onto the lake. First cast with a jig head leech under the indicator and I had a fat 10" rainbow before the fly settled. It wasn't fast and furious, but as the sun came out the insect activity picked up and I caught more rainbows on black spratley and mayfly nymphs. The fish I caught were all in the 10-12" range, but they were well fed. The one fish that I pumped for information was feeding on caddis larvae. I fished until after 2pm and then packed up and hit the trail.
One of my main motivations for heading out a little early was the berries that I had seen on the hike in. I filled up a couple of ziplocks on the descent before recrossing the creek and arriving back at the truck around 4:30pm. Overall, it was a great trip to explore new water. Next time I go back I will plan to hit Lake #2 in the afternoon to see if I can find active fish and insects.
