I spent a few days up at the pond to celebrate my 46th birthday, do some scouting, and fish. Tuesday and Wed. the weather was very nice and sunny, and the nights not too cold. We fished the south basin and had T's boat to use as a high speed taxi to jump from shoal to shoal. Water temps ran from 44 degrees in the morning warming to 50 by mid day.
5AM - Wader up, coffee made, rods rigged. One cold boat ride coming up!
Fog greeted us once it got light, there is no two ways about it - The fog sucks. It's cold and it gives one the sense of vertigo, your balance is off, and it is hard to see rising fish. A few fish came in for about a half hour and then they were gone though we did get a few taps and LDR's.
About 10:30am the fog began to break and our friend the sun was so much appreciated! We fished about several areas but the fish never came into the shallows. We marked a ton of fish hangin out on the first ledge 12-20 feet down. The game we like to fish is when the trout come into the skinny water and show themselves, But an angler in a tube or boat can have a good shot at these deeper fish using an indicator or a good sinking line.
There is nothing like having a good trout dog in the crew, the ever observant Lyle looking for sippers.
We had a good simple camp...
The boat was right there ready to go at O Dark thirty...
And the fire was blazing and kickin out heat. When you camp at Eagle Lake bring more wood than you think you need - Once that sun goes away it's cold!
Thursday brought a powerful fast approaching cold front and big wind right out of the chute at O Dark. This was not a camera day. We fished the Circus Grounds and T had one on until it spit the hook. We then fished another shoal by Slough Point, the wind was pushing chub minnows up against rock spines leaving them disorientated and the fish took full advantage of this. In the next hour and a half I hooked 6 landing three on the Jay Fair "Searching" fly (see above) in brown with copper flash and the chub minnow version, with a white tail, pearl body, and a olive wing with a few strands of pearl krystal flash. The wind became stronger and we could have still fished but we were looking at a rodeo of a boat ride back to camp. By the time we were packed up and done shuttling it was raining lightly to a heavy mist with big black angry clouds to the west. This storm is much needed to put the fear of winter into these trout and get them in the shallows for good. I'll be back up in a week and I really can't wait to fish my favorite still water!
Enjoy the radiant heat of pitchwood
