Tiger Trout Hunt with Family

Saturday was a really nice day, so my family and I got out of town in hopes of cashing in where I found ice 2 weeks ago.  The good news is that the ice is gone.  The bad news is that the road is closed after the very first parking area on the downstream side of the lake.

There's a ton of heavy equipment up there and it looks like some major road work is being done.  Major, as in maybe tearing down a lot of the lakeside cliffs to make room for wider passage.  It's just a guess, but that's what it looks like to me.

More bad news is that there were nine cars in the parking area when we arrived, around noon.  With all those rides though, I only saw a few people fishing. :??  Weird.

We went to a spot that ended up requiring a bit of a hike to access and it was really good to bend the legs.  My 3 year old girl did a great job of keeping up with us and my boy insisted on leading the way, like usual.

It wasn't until we'd reached a secluded spot on the far side of the lake before I realized that I'd forgotten my camera in the truck.  Luckily, Sonia brought our old one along.

The fish weren't too cooperative, but they rarely are at that lake.  My wife and I both ended up with only a couple of fish each, plus a couple that didn't quite make it to shore.

I scored first with a new lure that I'm trying out, a Live Target swim bait.



A lot of fish followed it, only to turn at the last moment.  That happens a lot out there though.

Sonia was throwing a rainbow Vibrax for awhile, but couldn't get anything to do more than investigate.  Then I tied on a black marabou for her and she nailed a 21" tiger within a few casts.



After that, I missed a really good one, then brought in a nicely colored male of 21" on the fly rod.







Great bronze on that one, especially for this time of year.

So it wasn't super fast action, but it was worth the hike and drive time to get it done.  The kids liked running wild and we enjoyed our catches.

Happy Fishing, Humans.

Fun in the Sun

What a beautiful day it was!  The temps were in the 60's, the sun was shining brightly, and I even caught a couple of fish.

My initial plan was to go and check on a place that I thought might be thawed, so I came prepared with my pontoon strapped to the rack.

If my plan A didn't work out, I had hopes of floating a lake that surely had some open water.  First stop was plan A, with some photo detours along the way.

Talk about a beautiful place!

Plan A was still frozen, but I saw about 6 feet of recently opened shoreline, although still frozen with a thin sheet of ice.  At that point, I was ready to accept plan B, but then I saw a few fish moving around in that band of clear ice.

So I made like the Romans and hurled a rock in to punch a hole.  Luckily, my rock went through, where others hadn't.

Right away, I had curious patrons coming close to take a look at my jig, but they kept snubbing it.  It happened just often enough to keep my interest for a couple of hours before finally connecting with a pretty cutthroat.

Finally, I had relieved my need to catch one through that hole and could move on to wherever the day took me next.  Forget plans!

Next stop was a nice tail water that I've meant to spend more time on.  My 2nd cast was smashed by a 19 inch brown that showed off some aerials.  That made me smile.

Plenty to look at around there.

So after getting happily sidetracked for most of the day, I eventually got around to the plan B lake for a float on my pontoon.  Unfortunately, the wind was blasting away and my experience would be one from shore again.

After many casts, I was able to hook into 1 rainbow, but called it quits after that.  Even though I had only caught three fish on the day, I was still pretty satisfied, having caught three different species and getting out in the gorgeous weather was just what I needed anyway.

Happy Fishing, Humans.

Fishing at Otter Creek Reservoir

My family and I decided to hit the road this week and made the long drive to Otter Creek Reservoir for some open water, hoping to battle some big rainbows with bad attitudes.

The lake is FULL!

Our plan was to hit South Point first and then try the park if that didn't work out. Rolling up to the point area, we saw that the cold temps had left a thin skin of ice over much of the area. Rats.

So we went to the park. Upon arrival, I made sure to say hello to Brett Colvin, of Fly To Water.com, who was getting ready to shove off on his pontoon. He reported somewhat slow fishing, but good quality so far.

The usual breeze was already in effect, so we stayed near the group pavilion where the wind worked to our favor rather than against us.

Time ticked by without any action. Sonia had something on her minnow for a minute, but it wrapped her up in some sticks on the bottom, which she caught instead.

Soon enough, the family was content to just hang out in the truck while I tried a variety of tackle and baits. Finally, I hooked up with a solid fish on my first cast with a rainbow Kastmaster.



He was 19" and ended up being the biggest fish of the day.

The kastmaster continued to serve me better and for awhile I caught several more fish before I lost it. Some were pretty small, but a few were decent. They all fought hard though.







A couple of others came in on a minnow too.

For a change of scenery, we returned to South Point, where much of the ice had melted throughout the day. Though the wind wasn't an issue at all, the fishing was very slow.

A gold Kastmaster eventually got the day's last rainbow, but we kept trying for another half hour or so. The slow fishing gave me some time to get some pics of the shoreline ice though.









We left as the sun dropped behind the horizon. The nearest fuel was in Junction, so we took the long way home and enjoyed the last daylight while driving through the scenic Kingston Canyon.

After getting some much needed fuel, we took an opportunity to dine at Hoover's for the first time. It's a place I've heard so much about, but never had tried personally. It was a much needed treat and we were all really hungry.

Wow! What great burgers! I had the "Firehouse" and I'll have it again.

It was a great day to be out and we all had a great time. I even caught a sunburn.

Happy Fishing, Humans.