Day 1 of 3. When the arrow-leaved balsamroot blooms,
it is time to visit “Arid Cataract Lake” with @Cowlitz Bottomfeeder for a few days.
As we descended toward the lake, I could see that the open shallows at the south end, which had been prime trout habitat when I first fished this lake 20+ years ago, were even more chocked by invasive Phragmites reeds and cattails. There were already three or four rigs in the parking area, but that is a light day for this lake in the spring. Not atypically, the day started with gusty winds in the teens, but fortunately the winds dropped through the afternoon. High temps were in the 60’s. I was soon on the water and soaking in the scenery.
I started out watching a bobber that was floating a brace of chironomid flies for the first few hours. There was a solid chironomid emergence but the fishing started slow early in the day. So, I was mostly soaking in the sounds of this amazing lake. Several pairs of Canada geese on the grass-covered peninsula nearby noisily squabbled and honked. The songs of male red-winged blackbirds rang out from the dried, brown reeds at the water’s edge. Small groups of coots dove at the edges of the lake and made their squeeky calls. A few times I heard a series of strange bleating whoops, the song of a pied-billed grebe; for such a small bird, they make a big sound. The distinctive, high-pitched cry of peregrine falcons reverberated from the northeast rim of the basalt cliffs, their traditional nesting spot. From the canyon walls, the descending liquid songs of a canyon wren echoed around the bowl.
Bored stiff, I headed off trolling an orange seal leach and a green seal leach behind my full-sink line. I finned my way over to the island. One fisher was hooking up fish regularly by fishing chironomids on a very long leader in 20+ feet of water. I set up my chironomid rig in shallower water for a while, but I didn’t see any fishes cruising here either. Eventually, I started trolling again to @Cowlitzbottomfisher who had spent most of the late morning / early afternoon along the northern shore. I had what felt like one hit on the way but no additional action as I covered that area a few more times.
@Cowlitz Bottomfeeder told me that he caught two fish already. The first was on a chironomid under a float and the second was on a wooly bugger while trolling. I started out setting up to fish chironomids near him. But the fact that he had caught only two fish in this area didn’t indicate that the fishing was red-hot. He had stomach pumped a fish and it had eaten several olive and striped chironomids.
I thought that I might retry a reliable spot again to see if there were fish there now. I trolled my way back by the peninsula with the full-sinking line and a pair of seal leaches, one orange and one olive.
I thought that I hooked up some algae. As I was bringing in the sinking line by hand to remove the vegetation, an eager fish grabbed the fly only 10-15 feet behind the pontoon boat. It hooked itself and then went crazy. I was fighting it with the line in my hand. Fortunately, it wasn’t a huge fish. I managed to guide it to the side of my pontoon boat. But before I could slip the long-handled net under the fish, it jumped over the pontoon and into the space between them. Chaos followed with a tangle of line and fish until I was able to net the fish. It was about 14” but with a big body and a small head. That fish had been eating well since it has been planted in the lake.
I went back on the troll and hadn’t moved very far when I had another vicious takedown. This fish pulled hard right from the start. Between reeling and finning after the fish, I managed to bring this fish to the net. It was a dark-colored 18-20” fish. Both fish took the olive seal leach.
I anchored up in a spot where I had success in previous trips. The fishing wasn’t red-hot but I hooked and landed four nice rainbows on simple small black chironomid. My “philosophy” on chironomids is to use a small point fly, size 18 or so, that is very non-threatening and that a cruising fish might take as low risk snack.
Two fish actually grabbed the point fly as I was lifting the line to reposition it.
Day 1 went well.
Steve
it is time to visit “Arid Cataract Lake” with @Cowlitz Bottomfeeder for a few days.
As we descended toward the lake, I could see that the open shallows at the south end, which had been prime trout habitat when I first fished this lake 20+ years ago, were even more chocked by invasive Phragmites reeds and cattails. There were already three or four rigs in the parking area, but that is a light day for this lake in the spring. Not atypically, the day started with gusty winds in the teens, but fortunately the winds dropped through the afternoon. High temps were in the 60’s. I was soon on the water and soaking in the scenery.
I started out watching a bobber that was floating a brace of chironomid flies for the first few hours. There was a solid chironomid emergence but the fishing started slow early in the day. So, I was mostly soaking in the sounds of this amazing lake. Several pairs of Canada geese on the grass-covered peninsula nearby noisily squabbled and honked. The songs of male red-winged blackbirds rang out from the dried, brown reeds at the water’s edge. Small groups of coots dove at the edges of the lake and made their squeeky calls. A few times I heard a series of strange bleating whoops, the song of a pied-billed grebe; for such a small bird, they make a big sound. The distinctive, high-pitched cry of peregrine falcons reverberated from the northeast rim of the basalt cliffs, their traditional nesting spot. From the canyon walls, the descending liquid songs of a canyon wren echoed around the bowl.
Bored stiff, I headed off trolling an orange seal leach and a green seal leach behind my full-sink line. I finned my way over to the island. One fisher was hooking up fish regularly by fishing chironomids on a very long leader in 20+ feet of water. I set up my chironomid rig in shallower water for a while, but I didn’t see any fishes cruising here either. Eventually, I started trolling again to @Cowlitzbottomfisher who had spent most of the late morning / early afternoon along the northern shore. I had what felt like one hit on the way but no additional action as I covered that area a few more times.
@Cowlitz Bottomfeeder told me that he caught two fish already. The first was on a chironomid under a float and the second was on a wooly bugger while trolling. I started out setting up to fish chironomids near him. But the fact that he had caught only two fish in this area didn’t indicate that the fishing was red-hot. He had stomach pumped a fish and it had eaten several olive and striped chironomids.
I thought that I might retry a reliable spot again to see if there were fish there now. I trolled my way back by the peninsula with the full-sinking line and a pair of seal leaches, one orange and one olive.
I thought that I hooked up some algae. As I was bringing in the sinking line by hand to remove the vegetation, an eager fish grabbed the fly only 10-15 feet behind the pontoon boat. It hooked itself and then went crazy. I was fighting it with the line in my hand. Fortunately, it wasn’t a huge fish. I managed to guide it to the side of my pontoon boat. But before I could slip the long-handled net under the fish, it jumped over the pontoon and into the space between them. Chaos followed with a tangle of line and fish until I was able to net the fish. It was about 14” but with a big body and a small head. That fish had been eating well since it has been planted in the lake.
I went back on the troll and hadn’t moved very far when I had another vicious takedown. This fish pulled hard right from the start. Between reeling and finning after the fish, I managed to bring this fish to the net. It was a dark-colored 18-20” fish. Both fish took the olive seal leach.
I anchored up in a spot where I had success in previous trips. The fishing wasn’t red-hot but I hooked and landed four nice rainbows on simple small black chironomid. My “philosophy” on chironomids is to use a small point fly, size 18 or so, that is very non-threatening and that a cruising fish might take as low risk snack.
Two fish actually grabbed the point fly as I was lifting the line to reposition it.
Day 1 went well.
Steve
.