When I stuck my head out the door at 6:30 yesterday morning to check the weather for possible fishing, it felt very cold and it was raining steadily. A perfect reason to head back in for a few more winks.
But by noon the rain had stopped, and the sun, trying to peek through here and there, had warmed the temp a bit. I decided that an afternoon trip to Flowing Lake (see Jan 21 post) might be in the cards.
Finally got there around 3 p.m. only to find the “free” dock loaded with more fishermen than it was designed to hold. So I went back around the lake to the State Park at the north end where I had to pay a small fee to park and fish.
But I was then the only one on the dock.
The top pic, taken with my cell phone cam, shows how beautiful and peaceful it was from that vantage point. I was actually fishing by 3:30 and enjoyed a very quiet 30 minutes with nothing but an occasional dog bark in the distance.
I decided to move the bait a few feet along the bottom (a technique used to sometimes arouse a fish’s interest), and it wasn’t five minutes till the pole tip was twitching furiously.
The fish felt good, so I loosened the drag a bit and let him make several tiring runs. I was then able to ease him out of the water onto the dock to get a closer look at what I had caught. Not spectacular, but it was a very nice 15” rainbow trout (yes, I measured it – 15-1/4” actually – see photo above). He was what we call a “pounder” (weighs about a pound).
I left him in the water on the stringer to swim around until I gutted him just before leaving for home. That kept the fish nice and fresh in case we want to cook him up in a day or so. All in all, it was one of the best “first-time-at-a-lake” experiences I think I’ve ever had.
3 comments:
This makes me want to go fishing! What a beautiful trout!
I think I better wait until I can have the baby hold the pole or cut bait though.
Just drive by a lake and inhale the fish aroma. Your little one will arrive with a desire for fishing! :)
Great fish! Nice work!
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