Met friend Pete at Green Lake for some trout fishing. What we DID know, was that fishing has been HOT! Pete has landed 23 Rainbow in five trips to the lake over the past week and a half... 14" to 17" Rainbows. He has also seen several nice Browns landed, on worms and shrimp... should get better as lake temps continue to drop. What we DIDN'T know, was that they were conducting a rowing regatta on the lake, all day long! Literally dozens and dozens of 2-man, 4-man and 8-man shells were racing up and down the lake all day long.
We fished the northeast shoreline, just north of the boat rental shop... which happened to be the precise staging area for all the aforementioned racing shells. We arrived at 7:30AM, were fishing at 7:45. Air temp was 53 degrees, and water temp was 58 degrees at shoreline. By 8:00 the first shells were beginning to assemble in front of us. Pete caught the first fish at about 8:30... standard fare for bait... chartreuse Power Eggs... a beautiful Rainbow of 14". A strong wind blew all day from the southeast, making casting and fishing a challenge. About 9:00 I landed another Rainbow of 14 1/2". At about 9:30 Pete reeled in another, at 17"... we were feeling pretty good about the day, then, nada! A couple more bites is all we could come up with. Don't know if the falling barometer, the waves and windblown water, or maybe the constant movement of dozens and dozens of boats on the water may have put the fish off the bite, but fishing obviously took a nosedive from what it has been.
What made fishing from our vantage point an even more frustrating experience, was the complete disregard for our right to fish the lake, by the racing shells that continued to move in closer and closer to the shoreline, at times coming mere feet from the end of our rods, which were placed in rod holders on the shore. The inevitable happened about 11:00 when a 4-man shell, only five feet from the shoreline, glided by and snagged four lines and continued at racing speed down the shoreline (mind you, this was only the staging area, not the racing lanes). Our poles and lines were clearly visible and not at all interfering with the shells or their racing. As Pete vocalized his displeasure with the total disregard to our equipment, the shell's coxswain lifted a middle-fingered salute to us and continued on to spool our reels. Later as one of the race marshals neared our shore, Pete requested that an effort be made to keep the shells off the shoreline, to which the reply was, "Do you own the lake?"
Anyway, a very frustrated Pete left the lake at 1:30... The wind continued to build throughout the afternoon. I had one more fish on at about 2:00 (had put on a worm), after a great fight, was able to bring in another Rainbow in the 17" range. At the shore, a big gust of wind blew the fish into a tangle of tree branches. Was able to extricate the fish from the vegetation, but noticed then that the hook was only in the lip... my net was 15' away... I tried to pull the fish in, but the hook popped off. The fish continued to rest just inches from my feet, in the shallow water, for another 30 seconds before swimming back into the lake. What a beautiful fish! The deep blue-green back and brilliant pink sides made the fish a work of art. Within the next hour the wind gusts were reaching upwards of twenty miles an hour. The race marshal ordered all the shells off the water at 3:30 and I left the lake.
All in all, was a very exciting and wonderful day at Green Lake. Despite some bozos who made the day more difficult for us, watching the day-long races was a real treat. Most of the shells were filled with young men and women who are amazing athletes and love their sport. Over and over, these young people would smile and wave as they glided by in their gossamer crafts... Oh the serendipitous joys of fishing! PTL!

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