So this is just a follow up as I got back from Stumpy Meadows Sunday evening.
Didn't fish mornings because I slept in, or at least tried because the ground was rock hard and it was pretty cold out at night and my sleeping bag didn't help none. That left just evening to go fishing, and I'll tell you what, the fish were out in force the first 2 of the 3 nights I was there.
First night I went down to the lake around 6:45 and there was a hatch of caddis or midges coming off the lake and trout were rising every where. Strange thing was there was also these large beetles falling into the lake and those that couldn't fly away were taken fast, as long as they weren't too close to shore. So not knowing what caddis or midge I was dealing with I decided to tie on a foam Turks Tarantula, or something similar, because of the beetles I saw getting taken but I probably could have gotten away with tying on a Parachute Adams too as it is my go to general purpose small non terrestrial insect pattern. Turned out to be the right choice because they slammed that fly when ever they took it. Had 5 or 6 strikes and only hooking and landing one decent sized Rainbow of about 12 inches. My cousin has some pictures of it but she hasn't sent them yet. Probably could have done better but I only stayed out there 30-40 minutes before it started getting dark.
Second night was the same thing. Hatch coming off the lake and these huge beetles falling in left and right. Strange thing is these beetles only seemed to take a dip after 6. Went down to the lake around 7 this time though. Used the same fly and had 4 strikes and only landing my first which was around 12-13 inches. Missed the hook set on a few from both nights because some porpoised to take the fly.
Third night went down to the lake around 6:30, sat and waited to see what was going on which wasn't much. A few fish were rising and there a few bugs on the lake but the fly from the previous two nights was bashed all to hell so I tied on this generic ant/beetle/cricket/etc pattern I tied before I left and only had one strike the entire 40 or so minutes I was down there.
Learned a lot from this trip though, and saw a lot of cool bugs which I'm always stoked about but my family finds weird but they always ask me what everything is. For example, the order diptera made itself known, as it does everywhere, like mosquitoes and tiny black flies (both of which made a buffet out of me), bee flies, robber flies, midges, crane flies and house/horse/green bottle flies were everywhere. Saw some yellow jackets or paper wasps down by the lake. Saw tons of different butterflies. Carpenter ants were everywhere. Beetles as big 3/4 of an inch down to about 1/8 of inch were seen at the campsite and down by the lake. And my dreaded enemy, the spider, showed it's ugly head from time to time.
Anyways, sorry for the long winded post (must be the Journalism major in me) but it was a good trip overall and I'm hoping to get back up there soon.
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