Summer of Bass Continues

July 31, 2023

On Sunday I tentatively planned to fish a local for some easy trout but when forecast called for 100°F my fishing partner backed out.  No worries as I was fishing with Luc the following day.  Forecasts were much better as much of the morning would be overcast.  So we had high hopes for a good day.  After launching we drifted the east side this time and within the first 1000 yards I put my fly, into the tules.  Since it was only only attached to one reed I figured it should have slid off easily but instead my leader broke.  I was fairly pissed as this was the fly I tied the night prior and was all out.  I switched to another popper slightly smaller but the action simply wasn't the same although it was the same design.  It just wouldn't give me an aggressive pop.  So I switched to another same size and body shape but this one was more to my likening.  The wind picked up early and so Luc decided to move us across the lake to the west side to protect us from it.

This seemed to help and Luc would hook into several fish before I managed to get my first.  It must have been the laziest take I've ever witnessed.  It porpoised it in what seemed like slow motion.  I set the hook and it gave a half-hearted fight up until it realized it wanted to play.  Not a big fish at all but healthy.  Every fish has been so this year.  Even the juveniles are fat and muscular.  Luc would end the day with at least 15 blowups half or so landed.   I had 8-10 blowups with 4 to hand.  The last fish form e had some sort of wort on it's tail.  Never seen that but Luc has a few times.  Jet skiers were out in force today with at least 6 boats making their run with more launching when we were leaving. 

In Your Face

July 24, 2023

Another outing with Luc.  This time a bit longer than expected as skiers and wakeboarders didn't show up this time.  Perhaps still dealing with the after effects of the weekend hangover.  The day prior was cool and overcast all day.  It would have been the perfect time to fish.  Sadly none of that weather stayed when we arrived.  Fished from 5am to 9:20am.  Luc was getting bit early but most fish failed to stay on.  We had an angler launch right after us so we didn't have the water all to ourselves.  This would make things a bit difficult as fishing options will now be limited.  It took some time but I finally had my first bite after Luc's half dozen or so.  I would end with 3 or 4 to hand out of half a dozen or so bites.  No fish were terribly remarkable with the biggest of the day maybe a pound and a half.  Most notable fish was the one I managed to launch into the air with my ten weight that hit me in the face.  I think all the big fish have moved out of the shallows and into the depths and since we only fish topwater  they'll most likely be out of our reach for the rest of the summer.
 

Short Session

 July 12, 2023

It's been a few weeks since I've fished with Luc and since then the heat has arrived.  From now on it's only getting hotter.  June gloom is gone as well so morning cloud cover is almost nonexistent.  That means topwater action will be very limited from now on.  Once that sun peaks over and hits the water our fishing is for the most part finished.  In addition with school out and summer now in full swing skiers and wakeboarders are out in force.  With that in mind quick sessions of only a few hours are now in the cards.  Got a text from Luc if I wanted to join him on Wednesday.  Of course I responded yes.  We fished from 5am-8:30am.  He had fished the day prior and fishing was great up until the sun came out.  Once that happened it was game over.  While launching the boat Luc asked where I wanted to fish.  Refish the area he fished yesterday or go bypass the area and fish further down.  I elected the later for  a couple reasons.  One:  It unfished waters.  Two:  That area was where Justin nabbed three 5lbers.  It took twenty minutes to get there so in retrospect it may have not been the greatest idea as that costs us twenty minutes of precious limited time.  It wouldn't be long before we'd have some strikes and the then some hook ups.  Any fished that did get hooked spit the hook out after the first jump.  I ended up with only one.  A small one.  Missing or losing six.  Luc surprisingly went zero for eight.  Not sure why the poor hook up rate.  Wakeboarders were already out by 6:50am.  Skiers showed up not long afterwards.  Fishing days will Luc will now be very short ones from now on.

Local Mountain Recon

July 5, 2023

All year I've been waiting patiently to fish for some wild trout.  All rivers have been blown out from the fallout of our incredible winter.  With most if not all the snow finally off our local mountains it was time to take a look on how they've been doing.  Water levels still high but manageable but I'd recommend only confident and strong waders go out now.  I'd say in about a month it should be accessible to all abilities.  All water crossings have been roped so at least you have  a guideline to aid you if you need it.  Ed and I didn't really need them.  

I haven't fished with Ed in years.  I don't even recall when the last time was but when he told me he was free this week I told him let's head out.  Having wanted to check out our locals I suggested one with rather easy access.  The plan was to meet at 8:15am at a nearby shopping center and caravan up the mountain.  I wanted to stay out all day and go in as deep as possible but that plan changed when I was told I'd need to be with my father at 3:30.  So I needed to scratch that plan.  We decided to meet an hour earlier so we could get just that much more fishing in.  I thought given it was the day after Independence Day it would have been relatively quiet.  Boy was I wrong.  The road into the mountain was a shitshow.  Holiday campers were still there.  With their mess.  By the time we reached the trailhead parking lot it was 3/4ths full.  While at the parking lot putting on my wading boots, Ed tells me he might start off with nymphs and I just stared at him at shook my head in disgust.  Then he pulls out a tenkara rod and places it in his backpack.  Then I shook my head and put my head down in shame.  Ed's lucky he can easily kick my ass otherwise he wouldn't have heard the end of it.  At least he had the good sense while we were fishing together to only fish dry flies.  When we got split up then he switched up to less "desirable" methods of fishing.  It was a hot one and it was good to finally feel the cold water on my legs.  I love this time of year.  Wet wading casting dries is probably my favorite way to fish.  Water is still fast and glacial looking with a turquoise hue.  Fish are there and I must have had at least 40 rises with maybe 10 of those that came to hand.  None were local trophies unfortunately but the fish that were caught were all fat bellied and healthy.  So they are on their way to becoming future local "lunkers." 

We started our way back around noon fishing on our way out.  When we reached the parking lot a high school kid comes up to Ed and asks for help.  He and his buddies left their key in their car and asked when we come off the mountain if we could call AAA for them.  We offered to take them into town but they thought that this was the best plan so we obliged.  While we were packing up he came back to our car and told us not to bother as they didn't want to wait anymore and decided to break open a window with a stick or rock.  I told him I had a better tool to do that.  I keep a Resqme tool in all my vehicles for emergency situations where I may get stuck in my car such as flipping my truck.  After a tutorial  he started making his way back to his car.  Half way there I shout to him to hold on.  I wanted to see this tool in action.  I've never had a chance to use it so I wanted to see if it really does what it claims.  So after deciding which window to break he put the device on the glass and pressed it, shattering the glass safely.  From there they got into their car to get their keys.