Da Bank Maggot
10-27-2008, 09:49 PM
First of all, thanks to everyone who replied to my, "Where to go this weekend?" thread.
I started out at East Lake on Saturday, choosing this 'un over Paulina Lake because I know it a little. ( Truth be told, I've never fished Paulina. )
First of all, I was surprised at how warm it was; I was expecting thermal underwear weather, and got T-shirt weather. ( I arrived at about 11:00 AM )
I started out by still fishing with worms over by the cliffs. Casting in towards shore, I was nailing kokes, one right after the other...all dark red and all released. Still, a lot of fun to catch...and very pretty in their spawning colors. I also hooked several small rainbows, also released, and one 14 incher, which I kept. I also caught my first Atlantic Salmon...just a little guy, 9 inches, but I kept him, as I wanted to see how these fish taste.
As the sun was dipping towards the horizon, I pulled up my anchor, and trolled with Rapalas for the Browns. One good hit, and that was all.
After spending the night in Bend, I headed out for Elk Lake the next morning.
To make a long story short, I fished all over Elk, from 8:00 AM till noon, and didn't get so much as a peck. The deadest fishing I've seen in a long time. It was surprising to say the least. ( At this time last year, I'd gotten a limit of nice brookies...fishing from shore! )
Meahile, the wind was picking up, amkign ti increasingly difficult to fish from my 9' inflatable, so I headed back to the Elk Lake Resort boat debating whether or not to try somewhere else. As I passed by the dock, I saw a guy pulling up a nice fish onto the dock. "Yeah, they're all over out there. " he told me, pointing to the water. adding, "But they're tough to get to hit; keep dancing around the bait without taking it." I went out to have a look, and sure enough, there they were, easily visible in Elk's gin-clear water, numerous nice brookies, and even one or two big ones.
So, what could I do? I stowed my inflatable, grabbed my rod, and headed out to another part of the dock.
It took me almost until dark, but I ended up nailing four very nice Brookies, 15 to 17 inches, and lost two more, using the time honored method of fly-lining worms on light leader, and small hooks. All of them were in their fall colors, bright spots, and belllies red as fire engines.
I beleive the words of Douglas Adams best sum up this day: "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I ended up where I intended to be."
I started out at East Lake on Saturday, choosing this 'un over Paulina Lake because I know it a little. ( Truth be told, I've never fished Paulina. )
First of all, I was surprised at how warm it was; I was expecting thermal underwear weather, and got T-shirt weather. ( I arrived at about 11:00 AM )
I started out by still fishing with worms over by the cliffs. Casting in towards shore, I was nailing kokes, one right after the other...all dark red and all released. Still, a lot of fun to catch...and very pretty in their spawning colors. I also hooked several small rainbows, also released, and one 14 incher, which I kept. I also caught my first Atlantic Salmon...just a little guy, 9 inches, but I kept him, as I wanted to see how these fish taste.
As the sun was dipping towards the horizon, I pulled up my anchor, and trolled with Rapalas for the Browns. One good hit, and that was all.
After spending the night in Bend, I headed out for Elk Lake the next morning.
To make a long story short, I fished all over Elk, from 8:00 AM till noon, and didn't get so much as a peck. The deadest fishing I've seen in a long time. It was surprising to say the least. ( At this time last year, I'd gotten a limit of nice brookies...fishing from shore! )
Meahile, the wind was picking up, amkign ti increasingly difficult to fish from my 9' inflatable, so I headed back to the Elk Lake Resort boat debating whether or not to try somewhere else. As I passed by the dock, I saw a guy pulling up a nice fish onto the dock. "Yeah, they're all over out there. " he told me, pointing to the water. adding, "But they're tough to get to hit; keep dancing around the bait without taking it." I went out to have a look, and sure enough, there they were, easily visible in Elk's gin-clear water, numerous nice brookies, and even one or two big ones.
So, what could I do? I stowed my inflatable, grabbed my rod, and headed out to another part of the dock.
It took me almost until dark, but I ended up nailing four very nice Brookies, 15 to 17 inches, and lost two more, using the time honored method of fly-lining worms on light leader, and small hooks. All of them were in their fall colors, bright spots, and belllies red as fire engines.
I beleive the words of Douglas Adams best sum up this day: "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I ended up where I intended to be."