My favorite experience fishing Lake Lenore

[Dipsnort]

I pack a long rod, and I'm not afraid to use it!

This actually happened last Spring, but anyone who has fished Lenore is probably aware of the incessant strong winds around those parts.

So, I'm trolling along with my (single barbless) spoon when all of a sudden, I get an aggressive bite. While playing the fish, I can tell it's going to be photo worthy, so I beach my craft on a small rock island (about 5' X 12' in size) just ahead of me to set up the camera for a picture. Attached to my spoon is a fat 23" Lahonton Cutthroat. Ok, so while taking care of the picture and thereafter carefully releasing this beauty, I'm not noticing that my pontoon boat is about 50' to the West of my little island (I mentioned the wind, right?), and gaining ground away from me by the second. :EEK

So, what do I do? Let's see...it's colder than Hell, no other boats in sight. :HMMM I guess I need to catch my pontoon boat with my spoon! Third cast I manage to hook the frame (whew, didn't pop any pontoons with the hook). It's me and 6' test line against a large pontoon boat, broadside, now about 75' away, and riding the wind like the Santa Maria.

I manage to very slowly reel in the boat, and then I head straight for a larger land mass.

The lesson to be learned here? Your watercraft is your friend. Don't part from it on a windy day at Lake Lenore! :THUMBSUP

[BOBLAWLESS]

Neat post. Thanks for this reminder. I try to always drag my pontoons well ashore but I might forget and then what? I don't carry spoons so I'd be doodled. You show the value of a good spoon. And I admire your abalones for writing a post on a flyfishing forum. I don't judge much. You are probably an ok guy. Spoons don't necessarily make you a bad person. Tight lines to you.
BOBLAWLESS :PROFESSOR

[Dipsnort]

I pack a long rod, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Let me just say this about that. I really enjoy fly fishing, but my ability is not quite what I would like it to be. (Maybe I need to find someone to take me under their wing a little bit, since I'm as yet self taught).

Anyway, I usually have my fly outfit and hardware outfit with me when I head to the water, and I do a lot of contemplating before deciding which to use when I get there. More often than not, I decide on lures, because I know that I will most likely be more successful.

You may be glad to know that on some waters I have decided to bite the bullet and have switched completely to fly gear.

In any event, please know that those who do not fly fish can not all be categorized the same way (keep everything they catch, poor fish releasing skills, litterbugs, etc.) :TSKTSK

[chadk]

Dipsnort - I'm alot like you. I love my ultra light spinning rods... But let me suggest this - start leaving your spinning rods at home - then you are forced to learn how to depend on the bug rod. Beleive me, nothing motivates you to figure things out with a fly rod when that's all you have and you see hungry fish cruising or jumping :LOVEIT

[Paul Huffman]

And if you didn't have a spoon, you could put on a big lead head leech to catch your boat.

[alpinetrout]

Yeah, if you can't throw a lead-head leech 75 feet in the wind, you've got no business flyfishing. :TONGUE

[Old Man]

What do I know---I'm just an old man

You say your still quite not sure of it when it comes to fly fishing. Well maybe I'm not to sure any more my self. I was river fishing yesterday and the fish were slurping flies all around me do you think I could buy a hit,oh no not me. I changed flies until I was blue in the face but that didn't help either. I was thinking of being blue that the fish were scared away so next time it happens I think I will just get schmit faced.

Jim

[gknell9]

This sounds like a BOBLAWLESS story coming.
Tony

[troutski]

Sounds like the time a big gust took my rubber raft for a spin down the Yak after I left it "beached". Not a pleasant experience to see your craft getting away from you especially if you're unable to wade back to shore. I made a mad dash for it & pulled myself in but it was close. Won't do that again!!

[hikepat]

I switched over myself from gear to flies a few years ago. I had many of the same troubles you most likely are having. I was not catching many fish either to make it more frustrating. Then I quit smoking and my catch rate went way up with few days spent on the water without at least a few fish. I feel the smoke on my hands got onto the flies and scared many of the fish away. The same thing happens if I fill up with gas on my way out fishing. So think of the diffrent things that might be scaring off the fish. If the frustrations with taking up a fly rod are due to fewer fish being caught. Be aware that I now catch more fish using flies then I ever did on gear unless its the first week or two after the fish were just planted. I still am no expert on catching all types of fish on fly but I do pretty well most of the time exept when going for steelhead, but I will get that down too someday. My spin gear now gathers dust and my fly rods almost all the use. It will take awhile to learn the basics but we all continue to learn as we keep going out on the water so maybe we all are rookies, when you get down to it.

[callibaetis]

After a couple of similar near misses I always try to drop an anchor when I beach my boat.
By the way how far were you from shore?

[Rob]

I recently spent a day tossing spinners to SRC's and had a blast. It had been a long time since I pulled out the hardware. I forgot how much fun it can be. :THUMBSUP

[Dipsnort]

I pack a long rod, and I'm not afraid to use it!

I would say that I was 100-150 yards from the East shore where my truck was parked, but a heck of a lot farther from the West shore, where the boat was headed. Swimming was out of the question, since it was early Spring and frosty cold!