Trout Lake Report: Conspiracy Theory

A quick trip on another cool, windy day. You're back at the channel to see once again whether you can conjure up some trout from these recently barren waters.

You make a half loop around the south lake throwing a muddler at the shoreline willows. Birds get up and move; fish don't.

In the evening you decide to kick back to the channel drop off. You drag the muddler behind you.

A fish grabs it. He apparently didn't get the memo. About nobody eat any of Jim's flies until further notice.

Back at the drop off, the wind settles down a little and pods of fish begin to cruise up and down. You're offering an elk hair caddis, and finally, just before you decide to head in, another fish disobeys the order and pays the consequences. He looks chagrined and accusing at the same time.

You go ahead and kick in. It's a beautiful night, and on the way you relax a bit. You wonder whether you're getting just a little tense about this slow patch. Trout couldn't really band together and conspire to create a no-fly zone just around you.

Could they?

Trout Lake Report: Just a Little Off

The day is a little more like July, and hopper time.

You're drawn back to the north end.

On the last trip you never used a muddler. Today you won't use anything but. The purple didn't work the last time you fished it. Time to give it another chance.

It's breeeezy again.

But fish are active. The purple quickly earns its keep.

You fish around past the inlet and kick across.

You drifted the purple behind you on the way over, so you give it a chance to dry out and switch to a fresh muddler.

You work down the east shoreline.

You still don't find fish where you expect them to be. You find one, though, where you didn't expect it to be.

You won't give up on this stretch. You're confident it will come alive in due time.

You fish around to the inlet again.

There are fish around, and you hook a few, but they shake off. Getting one to the net is a small victory.

Most of the fish are of the smaller variety. You hope the big Browns will get back from their summer vacation pretty soon.

You're enjoying yourself, though, playing with the smaller fish.

You get another fish in the net and realize you've caught more fish today than on the last few trips combined. That's good.

Still, it's like pulling teeth.

At dusk you start to kick slowly back to the take out across open water. You keep the muddler on and wake it lazily behind you. You get another fish.

You take your sweet time as the sky darkens and the moon brightens.

The rod jerks and something makes a long run. You think maybe you've found another marauding Brown. It turns out to be a foul hooked Rainbow.

You're happy to have it, but it makes you think that the overall experience of catching this fish was just like July has been: just a little off.

River Report: October Light

I got back to the river on Friday. It was the same drill as last time. I covered as much water as I could, and tried to cover it with a fine-toothed comb. I moved nothing. But I enjoyed it immensely. What better way to spend a beautiful afternoon and evening than outside on the river in the rich October light.

This week is the last week of the trout season, so I will put the river on hold and spend as much time as I can at Trout Lake. Don't want those browns to feel neglected.

Trout Lake Report: The Last Trip of June