Trout Lake Report: The Quiet Time

You could get used to being at the lake in the cool of the evening after a hot summer day.

You get there in late afternoon. You do what you do.

But the Damselator still isn't working, and the shorelines are quiet. Too quiet.

It's quiet out in open water, as well.

You keep on doing what you do.

You go all around the south end.

Quiet.

Too quiet.

Time is running out. You go back to a shoreline that usually has pods of small fish working in the twilight.

You tie on a little Grannom Caddis and cast it upon the waters. You wait. A fish takes.

It's a miracle.

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You go back the very next evening. You've added a new twist to the Damselator.

You're confident. But to your dismay there are no fish splashing about after Damsels.

You finally see one. You cast. You get a dorsal and tail rise and raise the rod and come up on...nothing. What's going on?

You look for more, going north this time. You find no more working fish.

The lake is even quieter than it was the night before.

You go back south. You go early to a small fly, this time a Cinnamon Ant. In seasons past it has been a good bet. Now, nothing. Rises are extremely few, extremely far apart.

Time is running out again. You go back to look for the pods of rising fish. They're there. You cast out your fly, chasing rises. You wait. You wait. This time, nothing.

You kick in slowly, trailing the fly behind you, but the only thing that follows you is moonlight.