I got on the water about 10:00AM...rowing my drift boat. wind blowing as usual...fished for a couple hours with no luck so rowed down to the North end trolling a wet fly. I caught a couple small cut throat..8-10". Then about 1:30 there was a hatch and fish were feeding actively on the top. I could not see any insects...no swallows. So I used the wet fly and caught a small trout and pumped his throat. They were eating small black ants...winged!
So I tied on a small foam ant and immediately caught a few nice trout.. 10-12"
Then a big brown sipped the ant ( on an 6X dropper)... I was playing him carefully when an adult eagle came swooping over my shoulder making a pass at the fish! He made about 4-5 passes and was really close I was waving my net to try to ward him off while trying to subdue this really nice brown. When I finally had him tired out and was reaching out with my boat net...the eagle came between me and the net and snatched the brown...the leader parted quickly and he flew off with the largest brown I have caught at Merrill...Probably 22" or so...

So splashy rises are not always caddis... and watch for the eagle!!
Super day... caught about 8-9 trout... mostly cut throat though one was bright silver...not clipped and looked like a kokanee
I don't know what it was. No cut throat and no colors on the sides... bright, bright silver.

Water temp 55 degrees on the surface and down to 10 feet deep/

Only one other car in the parking lot and I never saw another boat or tube.

Mike Carey

5/9/2007 12:17:00 AM

Great story and report, but I would say it was the eagle that caught the brown, not you. Largest brown you ALMOST caught... :-)

littleriver

5/9/2007 11:34:00 AM

Yes.. I also enjoyed the report. Sounds like the eagles are starting to
learn from the California Sea Lions.

and I think I know why the lake was so vacated...


I was headed up there on Monday (5/7) and there is a big "Merrill Lake" Sign at the turnoff
from 503 (I think it's 503.. anyways it's the road you take from Woodland that goes up
by Merwin and Yale and the turnoff to Merrill is just past the Yale Lake Day Park)...

Anways the big sign at the junction says "Merrill Lake Closed"..........

I tuned into the report thinking I was going to find out why the lake is closed...

You are probably a regular and just know the way so didn't even notice the sign...

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