Got to fish a 'local' put & take lake Friday and Saturday.....good action and was happy having a couple day fishing. Sunday AM found out that I was free until 2 PM. A quick calculation told me I could get 2+ hours fishing in...hooked up the boat, loaded the dog and headed for RSL. Got there around 7 AM, met a couple fly guys...one in an aluminum boat and the other a Bucks Bag? Might have been a sale or just letting a buddy use it for the day. Bright day, sun was already high and figured the fish were already somewhat deep. Rigged my 4wt IMX with a Rio Deep 4 line and a #10 black/blue Simi Seal leech pattern and headed straight out. Was getting non stop nibbles and the occasional fish for 1/2 hour when the guy in the aluminum boat comes by and says there are some "really" nice fish in this lake!? The Lowrance was only marking 'smalls' and a very few mediums.
5 minute later it was pinging nothing but mediums and largers...and a lot of them. This unit has sonar and DI and when you overlay the images it's really accurate. I was marking these fish at 30-35 feet, so I slowed down and let all the line out....BAM! Brought a 20" to the net, then another and one that was close to 24. I'm wondering how in the hell could holdovers have survived in the mudhole this lake was during the winter? I stayed on the school and picked up another 20". I was out of time and turned back to the launch. A couple minute later I picked up this group again and one just hammered my fly. Took me into the backing a couple times, I was using 6X tippet and after what seemed like 5 minutes I got him to the net....rather close to it! No way would he fit, so the next time I pinned him next to the boat and pulled the fly out of his lower jaw with forceps. He was easily 3+ lbs and over 26". I called it a day and even this morning was wondering where in the hell did these fish come from? I just checked the plant reports and saw that 40 fish, fish per pound=.38 (almost 3 pound average]. These weren't your Beaver Lake footballs or Trips, they are some great looking and fighting trout.
5 minute later it was pinging nothing but mediums and largers...and a lot of them. This unit has sonar and DI and when you overlay the images it's really accurate. I was marking these fish at 30-35 feet, so I slowed down and let all the line out....BAM! Brought a 20" to the net, then another and one that was close to 24. I'm wondering how in the hell could holdovers have survived in the mudhole this lake was during the winter? I stayed on the school and picked up another 20". I was out of time and turned back to the launch. A couple minute later I picked up this group again and one just hammered my fly. Took me into the backing a couple times, I was using 6X tippet and after what seemed like 5 minutes I got him to the net....rather close to it! No way would he fit, so the next time I pinned him next to the boat and pulled the fly out of his lower jaw with forceps. He was easily 3+ lbs and over 26". I called it a day and even this morning was wondering where in the hell did these fish come from? I just checked the plant reports and saw that 40 fish, fish per pound=.38 (almost 3 pound average]. These weren't your Beaver Lake footballs or Trips, they are some great looking and fighting trout.
