I hit the lake this morning around 9 with a buddy of mine- conditions were far from ideal: little to no wind, very calm/flat surface with no character, bright blue sky and a high sun. We both began the day fishing the deep water straight out from the boat launch, and my partner landed a couple nice fish right away fishing chronies vertically off a type 6 in 20-25 water. I prefer fishing off floating lines, but trolled my way to the south end shallows to fish the weed lines and pockets of open water along the banks between the weeds (which turned out to be the most productive areas for me today). Trolling a leech trailed by a small damsel nymph brought two good hits, but no fish to hand. My partner continued to pick up a few fish here and there in the deep water, but you really had to work for the fish today. My best success came in fishing 3-4 feet of water in the extreme south end where there are pockets of open water that had fish holding in there, cruising for midge pupae and the damsel nymphs which were active and abundant in the areas with lots of vegetation. There were lots of fish working just underneath the surface, which I surmised to be them taking the damsel nymphs which were swimming in the top 6-12 inches of the water column. Fishing various damsel nymph imitations 2-3 ft under an indicator picked up a half dozen decent fish, including a beautifully colored cutt of about 15 inches. I took one throat sample and found some maroon/blood colored midge pupae (12-14), and when I came back to this same south end area later in the afternoon (2-3pm) the fish starting crushing my maroon colored pupae imitation (12-14) fished about 2 ft down under an indicator (took 6 in about an hour). I took my biggest fish of the day (a shade under 21 inches) on this pattern in about 3 ft of water. The fishing is difficult because of the weeds, which the fish know how to use to their advantage once you hook them (it gets to be a little bit like bassmasters fishing near this stuff). These fish seemed more active and aggressive than those holding in the deeper water. The bugs were definitely moving in the shallows, so my guess is the fish were only there for one reason- to feed. Water temps are increasing and this lake might not be a good option to fish, especially after the hot weather hits this weekend. All in all, a good day on the water. Anytime I get to fish with a good friend is always a great thing- no matter how many fish we catch. Tight lines.

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