Makin' Memorial Weekend Memorial!

This is a combination report for two days of fishing.

I left this lake a secret due to the presence of Bull Trout, a threatened species, in its waters. While really nobody actively fishes for them, and they ended up being a pleasant by-catch for me, I simply want to protect this highly aggressive species from excessive fishing pressure.

Anyways, me and a lot of friends from school went camping on the shores of this lake for two days, and I managed to get into some pretty decent fishing considering I was bank-bound on the shores of a relatively large body of water. This place is not a secret; but unlocking the secret to catching it's beautiful fish can prove challenging... out of the 20 or so fellow fishermen I saw, nobody landed a single fish. I figured it out fairly quickly, and even had a friend along to witness some action.

The wind blew, rain fell, and I got soaked by the sweet North Cascade's relentless fury. In the midst of it, and from around five hours of fishing, I managed to catch six rainbows, which appeared to be of two different stains, and caught and released four Bull Trout.

The Bulldogs were of hefty size, with not one of them being under 18-20 inches. The two biggest were around 23" and 25"+... roughly measured in the water. The 25"er was probably somewhere close to seven pounds or more... having caught steelhead on the same rod, in a river, I know what a good pull feels like... and this guy pulled hard. The 23"er wasn't much different! These fish were built heavy, thick, and strong... and this guy had a mean arch to his back, as if to say "don't mess around with me."

The Rainbows weren't to be scoffed at either! They came in 14-16 inches and really healthy. I kept two for the campfire barbecue... and my fellow campers essentially hoisted me up and carried me around. Not really, but fresh trout like that was really, really good. The two I kept had eggs in them... the larger had full developed sacs, the smaller was just beginning. The other four CnR showed the same signs.

Tackle: 8' Okuma Celilo UL (love that rod), Pflueger President (love that reel), 8lb P-line CX fluorocarbon-coated line (love that line- ultra low vis even in 20'+ vis water) and my secret weapon, the *SMACK* uhhhh, powerbait... You'll never wrassle that info from me. Anyways, it was one of the best weekends of my life, camp was a soaking mess of deplorable behavior, and everyone had a grand ole time. Especially me.

It was a welcome feel having bulldogs on the end of my line again. They are just such cool fish. Big, beautiful fish. The pictures don't do them justice.

Give it to 'em!

Ian

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