Trout Lake Report: Still to Come?

So where were we?

Oh yeah, I went on another trip. This was a trip to Indiana for a family wedding. It was wonderful.

We got back home and the first thing I wanted to do was see how the Drake hatch was doing at the lake. I made it there once--and then things stacked up and I haven't been back since. I hope I haven't missed the whole dang hatch.

I plan to make up for this week next week. You know, when things get back to normal.

Meanwhile, here's the report of my trip this past week.

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The sky is doing funky things with the clouds and light as you wind your way to the lake.

It's good to see the lake again after an absence of a week. You launch at the channel.

You head down the shore toward the Drake Bank. It's quiet, but you know you'll find some fish along the way plucking damsels. You tie on a damselator.

You come up on some floating logs and begin laying the fly in as close as you can. On one cast the fly bounces off the top of the log into the water. Perfect.

There's a hit on the fly. You raise up and miss. The fish swirls again as you're getting ready for another cast. You lay the fly in on the ripples of that last swirl and the fish smacks it. A beautiful Brown.

Good to be back.

You move on down the shoreline. Under this tree you see a subtle rise.

You drop the fly in and the fish sucks it under. Another beautiful Brown.

The wind has picked up.

You take your time working the shoreline.

At this little reedy bay you see the first Drake, and then another and another. They're beginning to come off steadily. You tie on a Drake dry, and on the first cast into the reeds a fish does a "Drake take," hitting the fly with a loud splash. You know it's a little fish--they get very excited by these big bugs.

You work down the reeds. You're letting the fly drag away from shore as you kick along when a fish takes it. A nice Rainbow almost swallows the fly whole.

You get down to the far end of the Drake Bank, the Mother Lode of Drakes in years past. Not so many today. There are a few in the air, however, and a few fish are rising noisily now and then.

You see some sipping rises up against the shore. You put the fly in there and wait a moment and the next sipping rise sips in your fly. A third beautiful Brown.

You head back toward the truck. The wind has laid down at the right time, making the kick back easier.

You're still fishing along the way, dropping the Drake dry in close to the bank. You start catching the little fish that leap on the fly as soon as it lands.

You're hoping for another big fish, though. This little bay has produced big trout in Drake hatches of the past. Today it holds only youngsters.

The Drakes are definitely here, but they aren't hatching in numbers. Either you missed the peak of the hatch, or it's still to come.

You can only hope it's still to come.