Puddles in the Rain

Sunday wasn't a classic example of great fishing conditions, but it was my only chance to get out, so I took a little drive and did some exploring in an area I enjoy.

At first, the sky was overcast, but it wasn't raining.  Within 20 minutes of leaving my truck, it was pouring and I was soaked.  It rained pretty hard for awhile, but calmed to a steady shower and stayed that way most of the day.

Already wet, I saw no reason to stop fishing. 

Exploring was the main purpose of my trip, but visiting a couple of familiar spots was also on the menu.  The usual haunts provided a few small brookies and a cutthroat, all of which were pretty colorful.

Needing a break, I went back to the truck for a bite to eat and a change of clothes before setting off for some exploration.  My original plan wasn't looking too great with the weather, so I went from memory and lots of map-gazing to find a couple of small ponds.

The first was a pond I checked on about 4 years ago.  Though it was very shallow and I never caught anything from it, I recalled seeing a ripple on the water and it has eaten at me ever since.  

Upon my return, I realized that it really was too shallow and that any ripples I saw must have been from a muskrat or small beaver.  Nice looking place though.

Next on the agenda was to try and find a really small spot in thick timber.  It actually took a long time to find without my GPS or knowledge of any trails to it.  As is usually the case when I leave my GPS at home, I ended up hiking way too far back and way too high.  

Eventually, I realized where I'd gone wrong and found my way to a rock slide that I knew I could follow down to the lake.

What a sight!  Even better, as I was making my way down to the water, the surface parted for a rising brookie.

As small as it was, it was still pretty deep.  There was no inflow or outflow above ground and the water was very cold.  .

The fishing was actually pretty difficult and I was only able to bring in one mid sized brookie.  It was just good to catch something there at all, let alone taking in the beauty of such a place.

The rain even let up for a short while.  It was still getting late though and I needed to get out of there.  Naturally, I found a good trail from the lake all the way back to my truck which I'll be glad to use next time.

Happy Fishing, Humans.