Early one spring, the head guide at a fishing lodge on Colorado’s West Slope asked a friend and me to help him scout some area lakes. He wanted to see how the fish had held up before his first clients arrived, and he needed a couple of extra rods to cover the water. There was a set of large ponds strung up a narrow valley that didn’t get much sun. They were still half frozen, but the trout were lying along the ice shelf as if it were an undercut bank. The trick was to drop a weighted Woolly Bugger within an inch of the lip, let it sink for a count of five, and begin a slow retrieve. These rainbows were between 18 and 22 inches, they were hungry, and they hadn’t been pestered for six months. It was almost too easy. (click here for the rest of the article)
Unseasonably Fishy
It may still seem like winter, but hungry trout are ready for action.
by John Gierach
Early one spring, the head guide at a fishing lodge on Colorado’s West Slope asked a friend and me to help him scout some area lakes. He wanted to see how the fish had held up before his first clients arrived, and he needed a couple of extra rods to cover the water. There was a set of large ponds strung up a narrow valley that didn’t get much sun. They were still half frozen, but the trout were lying along the ice shelf as if it were an undercut bank. The trick was to drop a weighted Woolly Bugger within an inch of the lip, let it sink for a count of five, and begin a slow retrieve. These rainbows were between 18 and 22 inches, they were hungry, and they hadn’t been pestered for six months. It was almost too easy. (click here for the rest of the article)
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