After a long week of warmish temps and no time to fish I finally got out this weekend to enjoy a few select streams. Yesterday I planned to hike a good distance with hopes that the fishing would improve as I got away from the road.
I immediately landed three little rainbows before deciding to hike for a half hour before again wetting a line. I found easy walking on massive ice shelves and a decent amount of fishable water between runs similar to the one pictured above. Fish seemed pretty sluggish today as water temps were on the drop with air temps slowly melting the snow.
I landed a number of smaller browns and one brookie before realizing that I had a decision to make. I hiked a little further than I've ever fished up this way and decided rather than walking back (around three miles) I'd push forward to the next bridge (three more miles). Around 1:00 the fishing seemed to shut off so I only fished promising looking water. Around a mile of the walk was spent only in the water as it passed through private property, the access to which I did not have permission. I finally made it to the bridge and called my wife who drove the 10 minutes to get me and bring me to the car. I'm a lucky guy!
I spotted at least 6 beavers and more dams than I'd seen since the last time I fished the area. I wonder how long it will take for them to have a detrimental effect on the trout population? After a hot shower, a big meal, and a good night of sleep I got at it this morning on another stream close to home.
This condition of this stream was way different than the spot I fished yesterday. No ice shelves, a slight stain, and slightly warmer stream temps made the fish much more active. They were pretty spread out but most of my catches came from the middle of runs.
This trout was the big boy of the day! He took the pink squirrel of prey drifted deep at the very head of the run. I landed another four fish from the same spot.
Most fish came on the orange scud although five or six fish took the PSOP. With sore legs and an empty belly I decided to call it a day after around two dozen fish to hand. On my way back I peeked over the bank at a spot that I'd walked around on my way upstream. A few dozen little trout darted around but I noticed one big fish just sitting on the bottom. I took a few casts at him before he lumbered away and hid under a nearby logjam. I would've loved to tango with that beast!
It was nice to get out with temps in the mid thirties both days. We have a front coming through at the beginning of the week and forecasts are calling for around a foot of snow! It it pans out I'll be wearing snow shoes on my next excursion...stay tuned!