Trout Lake Report: Closemouthed

It's windy, then calm. The weather is cool, and the hatches are impressive. But the fish are strangely silent.

Saturn, Mars, Antares (top to bottom)

You watch the planets align and decide to keep your mouth closed about the fact that you couldn't coax a single fish to open theirs.

Eat, Sleep, Fish #56

Read it HERE.

National Park Service is 100 years Old Today

Today is the Centennial of the creation of the National Park Service. The Adventure Blog shares some of the history and what the NPS is doing to celebrate 100 years of protecting our National Parks. Click the link for more.

Trout Lake Report: Wind and Waves

Back to the drop off for the evening.

The wind is blowing from the south. You hope it will back off. It steadily increases to a roar.

Your new muddler fits the bill. Lots of marabou.

You rip it through the waves.

Then the wind does back off.

An otter checks you out.

You work the muddler around the weed beds.

Your efforts are rewarded.

Then the wind picks up again, and begins to shift. The waves don't know which direction to roll.

Then it settles into the north and steadily increases to a roar.

The muddler gets another workout through the waves.

The otter comes back with the rest of the family.

Your world becomes roaring wind, rolling waves and waning light.

One more fish comes out of the mix.

You wait for the color to drain out of the notch, then kick in and head for home.

Rogues in Bavaria and Small Stream Fly Fishing in Tirol

The Euro scene.

Hot Weather Tricos

More trico fun on the Bighorn.

Hot Weather Tricos from Bighorn Trout Shop on Vimeo.

Best of Grand Canyon National Park

Another of my favorite places on earth.

Trout Lake Report: One More Day

You want another look at the inlet. It's a fine August afternoon.

The lake is that rich organic soup of high summer.

The level is down some more. Reeds stand tall.

The inlet is shallow and weedy. You find a few fingerlings still hanging out there. They're all over the golden muddler.

You fish down the shoreline working the weed beds and find a few more baby trout, but your eyes are on the deep water in the shadow of the mountain.

You look back at the inlet shoreline. This will be the last time you fish there for awhile.

You move out of sunlight into shadow.

A better fish comes up for the muddler.

You move over the water plying the muddler. There are fish rising here and there. You get some hits and misses. You get some brief hookups.

Then you get a hookup that holds until you bring the fish to the net.

You keep going, working your way toward the far bank.

Here, where you fished for drakes in May and June, you switch to a nymph under an indicator. You go deep, hoping for a lunker.

You get a feisty little trout hoping to grow up to be a lunker.

You have a long kick back, so you tie on the golden muddler and head out, drifting it behind you.

You get some bumps, and another brief hookup, and then all is calm.

One more day at the lake comes to an end.