Two weeks (or so) ago @Engee and I hiked into a Basin lake, we backpaced our float tubes in. The hike doesn't have much elevation change, it's about a mile and a half on the way in, much longer on the way out (that's got to be a getting old thing, right?). Anyway, the lake is surrounded almost entirely by thick tules and has a shallow shoreline gradient with deep fin sucking mud except for a couple places. The best place to launch had grown over since spring when I was there last. I did a little stomping before attempting to launch, the stomping helped. We caught some fish including a couple big fish. @LakeGuy was there as well.
This morning I got the itch to go fish, as I was driving along a narrow 2-lane I saw two peacocks starting to cross the road, slowed down, I was hoping the big male would strut and fan out his tail feathers, he didn't.
After my wife and I hiked up Beezley she decided to do a little yard work. I grabbed my flyrod and headed out. I wanted to stomp some tules.
I wasn't sure what to expect with the lake: paritally frozen, totally iced over or free of ice. It was free of ice except in the tules. I knotted on a size 12 jig tied with "nightmare" red dubbing and a red pine squirrel tail. On my first cast my bobber bobbed and I missed the fish, it was small but it got my attention - sort of, pay attention. A few casts later I missed a second strike. The third take (third time's the charm, eh) I landed a small trout, skunk off.
After several dozen casts, I started having trouble shooting line. What the heck? That pay attention thing? It was cold:
The "bite" slowed down, I let my mind wander and didn't get a good hookset on another bobber down but I did feel and see the fish. It was a big trout. The big one got away whne he jumped. After losing the big trout I did really focus, it paid off:
When I lifted the measure net out of the water, the bucks nose was on number 11 and the fork of his tail was just past the other number 11.
NIghtmare red jigs.
This morning I got the itch to go fish, as I was driving along a narrow 2-lane I saw two peacocks starting to cross the road, slowed down, I was hoping the big male would strut and fan out his tail feathers, he didn't.
After my wife and I hiked up Beezley she decided to do a little yard work. I grabbed my flyrod and headed out. I wanted to stomp some tules.
I wasn't sure what to expect with the lake: paritally frozen, totally iced over or free of ice. It was free of ice except in the tules. I knotted on a size 12 jig tied with "nightmare" red dubbing and a red pine squirrel tail. On my first cast my bobber bobbed and I missed the fish, it was small but it got my attention - sort of, pay attention. A few casts later I missed a second strike. The third take (third time's the charm, eh) I landed a small trout, skunk off.
After several dozen casts, I started having trouble shooting line. What the heck? That pay attention thing? It was cold:
The "bite" slowed down, I let my mind wander and didn't get a good hookset on another bobber down but I did feel and see the fish. It was a big trout. The big one got away whne he jumped. After losing the big trout I did really focus, it paid off:
When I lifted the measure net out of the water, the bucks nose was on number 11 and the fork of his tail was just past the other number 11.
NIghtmare red jigs.
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