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MY DOG, Chester, rode on the back of my kick
boat. My brother Jay was in an identical kick
boat, an inflated blue oval with a hole in the
middle, and the two of us used fins and oars
to race across the lake. We started casting
against the cliffs of the far shore and soon
Jay hooked a fat, 13-inch cutthroat. My faithful
dog seemed a bit upset as he watched Jay play
the fish, but he stayed firmly planted on my
kick boat. It was a touching display of his
confidence in me. I didn't get a strike on my
first few casts, but Jay soon hooked another
nice cutthroat. My boy Chester stood up and
paced a bit on the back platform of the kick
boat, but then he sat down and stared at me.
It was a touching display of his devotion to
the one who cared for and loved him. My next
few casts were ignored by the fish, but Jay
quickly hooked a third big cutthroat. I heard
a splash and turned around to see Chester
swimming over to my brother's kick boat. It
was a disgusting display of a "catch-fish-or-cut-bait"
mentality that grips overly competitive fishing
dogs.
With the kick boats that day on Big Creek Lake
we caught trout that ran between 12 and 15 inches.
There were plenty of other people camping on the
lake, even though it was a steep, eleven-mile
climb from the trailhead to the lake, but not
a single one of them had a flotation device to
reach the far shore. A troop of thirty-two Boy
Scouts, a horse packer with six clients, and
twenty-one other backpackers were all fishing
and keeping trout for a camp meal, but the
cutthroats they were catching along the accessible
shoreline only ran between 8 and 11 inches.
On any trip into the high country, even with
pack animals lugging part of the load, every
ounce of equipment has to be justified. An
inflatable kick boat, in its carrying case and
with fins, boots, waders, and life vest, weighs
close to thirty pounds. I've taken that load
many times on goats, alpacas, llamas, and horses,
sacrificing some food or camping gear. In
desperation I've also thrown the kick boat
on top of my regular pack which itself weighs
fifty pounds for a weekend trip and beat myself
to death carrying in a lake-crossing craft. If
I can't take a kick boat, a special, lightweight
backpacker's float tube, weighing about ten pounds
with fins, waders, boots, and life vest, goes with
my gear.
I can't tell someone what they must bring into
the high country. My backpacking friends, all
stillwater experts have different preferences
than I do; and with each of them the equipment
fits his or her grab bag of tactics. My equipment
lets me cover a lake my way.
The actual brand names of tackle are included
for reference. My listings are not meant as
recommendations. The products are my actual
fishing tackle, and these items work for me.
I haven't done extensive comparisons between
various brands, and there are surely products
as good from other manufacturers.
What follows is an extensive list of specialized
stillwater equipment. The beginner at lake fly
fishing probably isn't going to purchase the
full array immediately. The first rod to own
is one that many running water anglers already
have a long (eight feet or longer) 3-, 4-, or
5-weight rod. That rod, with a floating line
and a sink-tip line, is enough to catch trout
feeding on the surface or in the shallows.
Rods
The best rods for hiking the mountains are not
the multi-piece pack rods. This has nothing to
do with the design qualities of the rods it has
everything to do with walking. Of the three rods
in my high-country gear, one is a four-piece
breakdown model and two are two-piece models
in old aluminum rod cases. Those long rod cases
serve as walking sticks, especially on steep
trails where the arm muscles can help the leg
muscles on uphills and downhills. Here's what
I use:
- 9-foot 6-inch, 8-weight two-piece (Scott Eclipse)
This heavy rod is mostly for deep presentations
with sinking lines.
- 8-foot 9-inch, 3-weight two-piece (Sage LL)
This is my basic dry-fly and shallow-water
nymphing rod. The soft tip of the rod
protects the fine tippets used with small
midge imitations. The light line lands softer
than a heavier line and doesn't spook trout
as badly in calm conditions.
- 12-foot, 7-weight four-piece (Winston LT Spey)
This rod has two purposes. It's for dapping
in the wind with a floss blow line an important
technique for me and it's for bank casting.
Most of my lake fishing is from a kick boat,
but there are times when it's too much trouble
to put on waders, boots, and fins and go out
in the kick boat. For those brief periods the
long rod is great for casting from the shore.
When trees are tight to the water's edge, with
no room for a backcast, you can easily roll
cast sixty feet of line.
Reel
- STH #2 IM Cassette
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My one reel for mountain lakes is the kind
with plastic cassettes. These quick-change
cassettes, nine of them, are filled with
different types of fly lines. This reel also
has a smooth drag system, important for
protecting fine leader tippets. ~ GL
To be continued, next time: More Equipment for Stillwater Tactics
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