Thanks to the low Steelhead returns the last few years on my local river i decided last year i would start fishing the local lakes. I purchased a trolling motor and this year i added it to my 18' 9" flat bottomed sled and i must say it works great.
So where to fish and what to fish for? One of my local lakes is notorious for Bull trout a fish i have not chased for years and then it was on a local river so i thought why not give them a try, it is a pretty big lake and the only info i could get was which arm of the lake to focus on so off i went. I spent the day driving around and flailing away with my single handed 8wt and i could not find a fish if one jumped in my boat and bit me in the a--. Late in the day i met a guide from one of the fly shops in Bend who was out by himself as his clients had called off that morning, so he decided to take the day and fish himself. He did share some local knowledge of were to fish generally and what he used and i stored it away for the next trip.
The next day i woke up and i could hardly move my left arm without pain as i think i had over done the casting (i am left-handed) it has been a long time since i cast an 8wt single handed rod all day (Dam those 2 handed rods for chasing steelhead) so a quick call to my nephrologist as it is the left arm i use for my dialyses and he read me the riot act about how i could mess up the vein if i kept going. His advice learn to cast right handed!!!. Now i can cast with my right hand but its not the same and the distance is at least 2/3rds less if not more and at my age i don't know. So i thought about it and came up with how about a switch rod!!!!. A little back ground when i first picked up a two hander and learned to cast one 50 years ago back in the UK there was only one way you were taught left hand up for fishing from one side of the river and right hand up for fishing the other side of the river so i knew i could cast a two hander with either hand up so why not a switch rod which is just a short two hander. So off to the local fly shops i went and after visiting a couple i ended up with a Redington claymore 11' 6" 8wt switch rod and a couple of different line systems to throw sink tips and big articulated leeches.
off i went when i left the house there was about 2" of snow in the boat and on the road and it was cold 0 degrees not the best start to a days fishing but i only get one day a week and i was going. By the time i got to the boat ramp it had warmed up to 38 degrees and the sun was out but i was the only boat on the lake which was a first for me.
Got to the first fishing spot hit the spot lock on the trolling motor and picked up the switch rod and away i went a lot easer to cast those leeches and fast sinking tips i must say after i got used to the switch rod, After about 10 mins a hit and in came a smaller but pretty one,
Now i was getting the hang of this casting another hit and a bigger fish
and another
and lastly the biggest one 26" and a fatty
After i released the last one i decided to have a spot of lunch, As i sat down and started to eat i could hear a strange noise and after a bit of detective work i realized it was the trolling motor it seemed to be working over time keeping me in the same spot, I looked at the remote control and it was running at 9mph just to keep me in one spot!!!!. I looked up the lake and all i could see was white caps and rain and snow coming sideways towards me now i know why i was the only boat on the lake that day lol. Time to head in, That was one of the roughest rides i have ever had in that boat and i was happy i did not launch from the main boat ramp that day and drove around the lake to the farthest boat ramp to launch as it was a lot shorter ride in. All in all a good day and no real arm problems to speak of the next day.
So where to fish and what to fish for? One of my local lakes is notorious for Bull trout a fish i have not chased for years and then it was on a local river so i thought why not give them a try, it is a pretty big lake and the only info i could get was which arm of the lake to focus on so off i went. I spent the day driving around and flailing away with my single handed 8wt and i could not find a fish if one jumped in my boat and bit me in the a--. Late in the day i met a guide from one of the fly shops in Bend who was out by himself as his clients had called off that morning, so he decided to take the day and fish himself. He did share some local knowledge of were to fish generally and what he used and i stored it away for the next trip.
The next day i woke up and i could hardly move my left arm without pain as i think i had over done the casting (i am left-handed) it has been a long time since i cast an 8wt single handed rod all day (Dam those 2 handed rods for chasing steelhead) so a quick call to my nephrologist as it is the left arm i use for my dialyses and he read me the riot act about how i could mess up the vein if i kept going. His advice learn to cast right handed!!!. Now i can cast with my right hand but its not the same and the distance is at least 2/3rds less if not more and at my age i don't know. So i thought about it and came up with how about a switch rod!!!!. A little back ground when i first picked up a two hander and learned to cast one 50 years ago back in the UK there was only one way you were taught left hand up for fishing from one side of the river and right hand up for fishing the other side of the river so i knew i could cast a two hander with either hand up so why not a switch rod which is just a short two hander. So off to the local fly shops i went and after visiting a couple i ended up with a Redington claymore 11' 6" 8wt switch rod and a couple of different line systems to throw sink tips and big articulated leeches.
off i went when i left the house there was about 2" of snow in the boat and on the road and it was cold 0 degrees not the best start to a days fishing but i only get one day a week and i was going. By the time i got to the boat ramp it had warmed up to 38 degrees and the sun was out but i was the only boat on the lake which was a first for me.
Got to the first fishing spot hit the spot lock on the trolling motor and picked up the switch rod and away i went a lot easer to cast those leeches and fast sinking tips i must say after i got used to the switch rod, After about 10 mins a hit and in came a smaller but pretty one,
Now i was getting the hang of this casting another hit and a bigger fish
and another
and lastly the biggest one 26" and a fatty
After i released the last one i decided to have a spot of lunch, As i sat down and started to eat i could hear a strange noise and after a bit of detective work i realized it was the trolling motor it seemed to be working over time keeping me in the same spot, I looked at the remote control and it was running at 9mph just to keep me in one spot!!!!. I looked up the lake and all i could see was white caps and rain and snow coming sideways towards me now i know why i was the only boat on the lake that day lol. Time to head in, That was one of the roughest rides i have ever had in that boat and i was happy i did not launch from the main boat ramp that day and drove around the lake to the farthest boat ramp to launch as it was a lot shorter ride in. All in all a good day and no real arm problems to speak of the next day.
