7:30 - 3:30
Forecast was a high of 29, with some blowing snow.
I couldn't sleep. I dreamed of footballs. Big rainbow footballs. I hit the road at 5:30, I had to be the 1st person on the parking lot.
I was.
I ate my pop tarts and drank my gas station coffee as the sun came up. I expected other cars, but nobody was as dumb as me. Why would you get up early in the winter to fish? It'll be too cold...the fish won't be biting...
I was on the water at 7:30, my 1st fish at 7:31.
I continued to sight fish on the flats, keeping an eye out for cars, but none showed up. A few more fish to the net...and then a car shows up at the lower lot. I decided to make my way to the toilet bowl and get a few casts in before it became a zoo.
I warmed up in the car, as I changed out my leader from a 6x to a 4x. I tied on a Craven's mysis and an epoxy mysis hoping to see what they would key in on, and switch the lower fly to a baetis or midge. A red truck pulls up next to my car...no more thinking about what the fish are hungry for...time to move!
I jumped out of my car and hoofed it to the toilet bowl. My footprints were the only tracks there. I cast into the whirlpool, and let the current take my rig a little downstream. My indicator pauses and then suddenly dives. Fish on! It's been a long time since I felt a fish pull so hard and it almost ran me into my backing, but I managed to wrestle him to the net! He took a couple runs, but it wasn't a long battle with 4x tied on. I heard a "Nice fish!" over my shoulder, and I see an indicator land right where I was fishing...ugh...
Thankfully, as soon as I snapped the picture and released the fish, the guy literally fishing over me decided to move. Two more cars pulled into the lot, it was 9:00 AM. Most people would rush over to see if anybody was fishing in the bowl, and then they resigned themselves to fishing in the flats. Honestly, the flats was fishing well. But the pigs were sitting in the toilet bowl.
I managed a few more fish, a few browns, a few bows, and a few cutts!
Catching a true cutt was rare for me, since I mostly catch cutbows in most of the rivers I fish.
I continue to fish, pulling out "dink" browns and a few smaller bows.
By now, the wind is howling. It's blowing snow and continually putting my hand in the water to release fish is killing my hands...I decide to take a break and warm up in the car. I count 8 cars in the parking lot, not including mine. Everybody was out on the flats, their back turned into the wind. Every once in a while, you would see someone's rod shoot up and bend with a fish being played on the other end.
I was honestly getting bored with fishing the toilet bowl and was contemplating heading down to the bend pool or trying my luck in the flats again...but with all the fisherman on the flats, the fish had to be getting spooky. Oh well...I guess I will try my hand at more footballs!
I walk back to the bowl, half expecting to see someone there already, but there isn't. Just my tracks in the snow and my spot on a rock that is clear of snow. A few more fish to the net, nothing impressive, and a few long distance releases...a few curse words for the big ones that got away and a few prayers for the hogs to just stay on the line!
This was certainly the biggest of the day. He took a Craven's Mysis and pulled like a freight train. Most of the footballs would lose their steam after a run or two, but this guy continued to fight all the way to the net. It's not a great picture, I had to prop my phone up on a rock, leaning on my fly rod, set the timer and hustle to get in front of the camera. He measured out to 19 in, and felt like 10 lb'er. He didn't have much color, looking more like a steelhead...maybe it's a donaldson that escaped from a privately stocked pond?
Catching fish of this size reminded me of floating the Blue...I can't wait for summer. But I do love winters...I love to ski (we just need more snow!), and the winter does afford me more time in the mountains...I guess I'll just have to plan another trip to the pan to get my fill of big fish. Or maybe I should make it to the Taylor...
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