After encountering that huge crowd of anglers on Opening Day, I sure was happy to find no one else at a small, hike-in seep lake this past week. Of course, it could be due to the very murky water with only one foot of visibility, and the very low water level that deterred the others. Or, it could be the long hike that mysteriously seems to be uphill in both directions, and which I'm positive gets longer every year. I only landed 4 fish, but I considered it a successful outing as I value quality over quantity. The largest fish was a 23 incher that looked like it had never been hooked before and fought like it:
The next largest fish was a 19 incher that also looked like it had never been hooked before and fought even better:
I hooked another fish that jumped and flipped the hook that looked to be the sister of that 19 incher. The other fish I hooked were smaller ones in the 13 to 15 inch range, but they all fought quite well for their size. I think the key to attracting fish in that very murky water was using what I call a Staccato Retrieve, which is using very short, very quick strips, with no pausing. This creates a lot of movement at the fly, which I think the fish can detect with their lateral line, even if they have trouble visually seeing the fly. I was using a GBH Dark Olive Rabbit Fur Leech, but I don't think the specific fly pattern matters that much in this situation. It was also important to retrieve the fly right along the bottom (I was hooking weeds on every other cast, so I knew I was very near the bottom).
While hiking out of another lake the day before, I encountered a situation I'd never faced before. On the hike I ran into a herd of cattle, which is not unexpected in that range country where the cattle run wild. Usually, the cattle herd is made up of cows and their calves, but on this hike the herd also had a big, black bull who was steaming mad at me for unknown reasons. This bull was making all kinds of aggressive noises, pawing at the ground, and running around getting his cows moving over the hill. It was literally steaming, and I could see the steam rising from its entire body, and snot was dripping from his nose. It was like something out of a cartoon, but here he was, right in front of me. I wasn’t sure what to do if the bull charged me while I was carrying my float tube. What would you have done? Fortunately, the bull eventually wandered over the hill to re-join his cows. I didn’t think much about it, till I got to my car and started packing up. The bull had followed me to the car and was still steaming mad and making aggressive noises. At least I felt a little safer being near the car, as I figured I could get into the car. The bull got within about 30 feet of me. I know bulls can get crazy mad, but this one seemed like it was rabid. I set off the car alarm a few times, but that didn’t even faze the bull. I stayed out of sight behind my car and eventually the bull wandered off. First time that’s happened to me, and hopefully the last. While I was gone fishing, some of the cattle also licked the back end of my car, probably for the road salt. That car is definitely in need of a car wash. Anyway, just a warning to keep a sharp eye out for steaming mad bulls that are running around out there.
On another note, the wildflowers are starting to bloom out there in the desert. Here's some Shooting Stars that are in full bloom:
And what I think is some kind of Wallflower:
Rex
The next largest fish was a 19 incher that also looked like it had never been hooked before and fought even better:
I hooked another fish that jumped and flipped the hook that looked to be the sister of that 19 incher. The other fish I hooked were smaller ones in the 13 to 15 inch range, but they all fought quite well for their size. I think the key to attracting fish in that very murky water was using what I call a Staccato Retrieve, which is using very short, very quick strips, with no pausing. This creates a lot of movement at the fly, which I think the fish can detect with their lateral line, even if they have trouble visually seeing the fly. I was using a GBH Dark Olive Rabbit Fur Leech, but I don't think the specific fly pattern matters that much in this situation. It was also important to retrieve the fly right along the bottom (I was hooking weeds on every other cast, so I knew I was very near the bottom).
While hiking out of another lake the day before, I encountered a situation I'd never faced before. On the hike I ran into a herd of cattle, which is not unexpected in that range country where the cattle run wild. Usually, the cattle herd is made up of cows and their calves, but on this hike the herd also had a big, black bull who was steaming mad at me for unknown reasons. This bull was making all kinds of aggressive noises, pawing at the ground, and running around getting his cows moving over the hill. It was literally steaming, and I could see the steam rising from its entire body, and snot was dripping from his nose. It was like something out of a cartoon, but here he was, right in front of me. I wasn’t sure what to do if the bull charged me while I was carrying my float tube. What would you have done? Fortunately, the bull eventually wandered over the hill to re-join his cows. I didn’t think much about it, till I got to my car and started packing up. The bull had followed me to the car and was still steaming mad and making aggressive noises. At least I felt a little safer being near the car, as I figured I could get into the car. The bull got within about 30 feet of me. I know bulls can get crazy mad, but this one seemed like it was rabid. I set off the car alarm a few times, but that didn’t even faze the bull. I stayed out of sight behind my car and eventually the bull wandered off. First time that’s happened to me, and hopefully the last. While I was gone fishing, some of the cattle also licked the back end of my car, probably for the road salt. That car is definitely in need of a car wash. Anyway, just a warning to keep a sharp eye out for steaming mad bulls that are running around out there.
On another note, the wildflowers are starting to bloom out there in the desert. Here's some Shooting Stars that are in full bloom:
And what I think is some kind of Wallflower:
Rex
