Fly Guy Dave
06-30-2018, 01:14 PM
Fish and/or wild flowers, take your pick.
I just got back from a high Sierra lake for some ice-out fishing for goldens. The hike in is pretty straightforward for the first six miles and then the hike up the ridge to the lake is a steep, pretty much an off-trail grind. When I first went to this lake five years ago, it was easy to follow, but due to blow downs, erosion and lack of maintenance, I think I was on the actual trail maybe 10% of the time. The nice part about this is the profusion of wildflowers all over the place. I was often distracted and took a bunch of photos on my way up and my way down, three days later.
https://i.imgur.com/IcPKdFQ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/RvzzYVn.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/C5r83c9.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GiEE8MK.jpg
But I know you’re here to see some fish porn, not flowers, so here ya go:
https://i.imgur.com/4b2asVU.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/aaqZgBL.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/WRAfgKd.jpg
Oooh, baby!
Here’s a male golden in spawning colors, but with his spotting pattern, I would guess some rainbow trout in his ancestry.
https://i.imgur.com/ikks1OF.jpg
The lake was maybe 2/3 frozen over when I got there and then probably 1/3 frozen when I left. Three and a half days without seeing another human being. Pretty amazing in a state with almost 40 million people in it.
https://i.imgur.com/BfQ8dgJ.jpg
There was a nice rise in the morning and in the evening and midge patterns and soft hackles worked quite well. During the other times, a streamer I call a “Balducci ‘s Big Ugly” produced. Most fish were 11 to 14 inches and I had one on that looked and felt a lot bigger, but he came unhooked at the last second. After a winter of the trout being piscivorous, they were very happy to have the opportunity to eat something else and the fishing (and catching) was red hot!
When not fishing, there was plenty of exploring, reading, nap taking and reveling in the quiet and lack of any influence from the outside world. Good times!
I just got back from a high Sierra lake for some ice-out fishing for goldens. The hike in is pretty straightforward for the first six miles and then the hike up the ridge to the lake is a steep, pretty much an off-trail grind. When I first went to this lake five years ago, it was easy to follow, but due to blow downs, erosion and lack of maintenance, I think I was on the actual trail maybe 10% of the time. The nice part about this is the profusion of wildflowers all over the place. I was often distracted and took a bunch of photos on my way up and my way down, three days later.
https://i.imgur.com/IcPKdFQ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/RvzzYVn.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/C5r83c9.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GiEE8MK.jpg
But I know you’re here to see some fish porn, not flowers, so here ya go:
https://i.imgur.com/4b2asVU.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/aaqZgBL.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/WRAfgKd.jpg
Oooh, baby!
Here’s a male golden in spawning colors, but with his spotting pattern, I would guess some rainbow trout in his ancestry.
https://i.imgur.com/ikks1OF.jpg
The lake was maybe 2/3 frozen over when I got there and then probably 1/3 frozen when I left. Three and a half days without seeing another human being. Pretty amazing in a state with almost 40 million people in it.
https://i.imgur.com/BfQ8dgJ.jpg
There was a nice rise in the morning and in the evening and midge patterns and soft hackles worked quite well. During the other times, a streamer I call a “Balducci ‘s Big Ugly” produced. Most fish were 11 to 14 inches and I had one on that looked and felt a lot bigger, but he came unhooked at the last second. After a winter of the trout being piscivorous, they were very happy to have the opportunity to eat something else and the fishing (and catching) was red hot!
When not fishing, there was plenty of exploring, reading, nap taking and reveling in the quiet and lack of any influence from the outside world. Good times!