5 lakes in 2 days

[Jay]

Been lurking for awhile soaking up the info. I am a bass fisherman who got bored this summer and dusted off my fly rod. I put this originally on my bass forum.


Well I have only bass fished three times since the beginning of July, so I thought id throw a report up of the fishing I have been doing. Left about 9am wednesday with my girlfriend for the Tahoe area for two days on a fly fishin mission. Started out at Red Lake and caught a nice ~13" brook trout, lost another similar sized one at the bank, and missed a couple.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h223/fourbizzle/P9170024.jpg

There was a huge algae bloom and it was very windy so we headed up the hill to Woods Lake. A few rises and small cruising brookies with only one unlanded bite on a midge nymph/indicator rig. Said screw that and headed back down to Wrights Lake where I knew the fishing would be easier and wind wouldnt be so much of a problem in the morning and evenings at least. Arrived at dusk to a gorgeous sunset on the mountains in the Desolation Wilderness and fish rising all over.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h223/fourbizzle/P9170040.jpg
Waded out to a cool casting rock and had a hook jawed brown trout around 15 inches hooked up and landed and I missed three or 4 more on tiny size 22 dries with 2lb tippet.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h223/fourbizzle/P9170041.jpg

Woke up in the morning to very little surface activity which I found odd, worked hard for about an hour and a half with only two missed bites to show for it. Went and woke up my girl and inquired whether she would enjoy a hike. She foolishly said yes. [smiley=evil.gif]. Packed up camp and made a quick drive to the trailhead. Our target was Twin Lakes in the Desolation Wilderness. It is a 6 mile roundtrip hike with 1200 vertical feet of altitude gain. Pretty rugged country. Found this little spring pool with a couple 6 inch fish in it on the way up
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h223/fourbizzle/P9180060.jpg

After an hour and forty five minutes we made it to the lower lake after much whining and near puss outery from my girl. What a breathtaking place!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h223/fourbizzle/P9180061.jpg

So is the upper lake which is mere feet above the first, kind of a weird reverse infinity pool effect while standing at the lower lake with the upper one at below eye level.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h223/fourbizzle/P9180065.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h223/fourbizzle/P9180066.jpg

I found the fishing for little brookies to be pretty easy and exciting on dry flies. You could watch them appear from the bottom in 10+ feet of water to rocket up and smack the fly.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h223/fourbizzle/P9180071.jpg

Many many misses and about 10 or so of these little dudes before we made the trip back out.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h223/fourbizzle/P9180064.jpg

Lot of fun, havent done something like this since i was about 14!

I just want to get into some day hikable goldens now!

[Scott V]

Nice report. looks like a nice place to hike into. Gotta love the ferocity of brookies, they may be small but they make up for it in attitude.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Welcome to the forum Jay.

Pretty good post for the first one.

We love those photos.

Thanks

[Phil Synhorst]

Hey Jay, welcome aboard.

Great post and pics, thanks. I've been up to Twin Lakes once several years ago. It's a beautiful place. I came out smelling like skunk though.

p.s. Scott, hold the laughter at my expense to a minimum please. :lol: :lol:

[Ed Wahl]

Nice Jay, thanks for sharing. I love that area. The view across the lake is a bit misleading. Those boulders are actually the size of houses.

Phil, if I remember that trip correctly you weren't skunked at all. I believe you caught a chipmunk in your landing net. :lol: Ed

[dtp916]

Dude, nice pics! Thanks for sharing! 8)

[SteelieD]

Great trip! Welcome aboard!!

[Jay]

Thanks all! Sure is a welcome change to the monotony of trophy bass fishing! I'm one of those guys out there throwing giant lures all day. That in the summertime is just a little depressing with the bad bite, hot weather and crowds. Being a Colorado native, I grew up in the high country trout fishing. Went to a family reunion in July and fished the Little Snake the whole time. After catching a suprise 14" Greenback Cutt, the fly bug got me again! If there is anybody interested in giant bass on big swimbaits, I would gladly do a trade a trip for some backcountry goldens. Been backpacking all through my teen years but dont have the gear or the Golden knowledge to do it by myself! I fished one lake a few years ago that is a 1.5mile hike with 4wd or 4 miles without that has them, but that is it. All I managed to catch were brookies and LDR'd a couple goldens. Sure would like to get one to the net before we get snowed in and its back to the big baits!

Thanks for the warm welcome!

[Phil Synhorst]

Ed, you are correct. I completely forgot about that little guy getting himself trapped in my net. He's lucky I was in a catch and release mood at the time. :lol: