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I did not go out to the lake on Tuesday over the noon hour.
It was just to darn cold to do that. The wind was blowing
about 35 mph and coming out of the southwest. That mean that
it would come across a lot of water before hitting my body.
That is just a little too much wind chill for me to want to
be out in.
I did head out today, the first of December. The temperature
is about 29 degrees and the wind is blowing about 10 mph. I
have tied up a few flies with larger bead heads on them. They
seem to stay deeper in the water column for me. That is working
better for me now. The fish are not moving as much and will not
come up to get the fly. I have fished the weighted and un-weighted
flies in the same spots and the weighted ones are doing better
for me now.
I got out to the end of the jetty. I was facing north and
the wind was in my face. There are a couple of inches of
snow on the ground and I made the only tracks to be seen
in it. I had one fly rod with me, as I did not want to get
the others in the snow. I had a white boa yarn leech pattern
on. I had tied it so the bead was behind the last wrap of
yarn at the eye of the hook. I wanted to see if this would
keep the yarn fibers up a little better. I did like the way
it looked as I moved it through the water just in front of me.
I cast the fly out and went through my very long drop and
slow retrieve routine. I was getting ready to lift the line
to make another cast when I found a fish had taken the fly.
No resistance, tap, weight or anything, but a fish was on.
It was one of the carbon copy crappie that are in the lake.
The fly was in the corner of the mouth so I was able to twist
the fly a little and release the fish without getting my hands
wet.
I had just cast out again when a car came along the road and
turned into the parking lot. A voice called out to me that I
was wasting my time as the fish did not bite at this time of
year. I thanked him for the advice, but said that I would try
anyway. Again, when I lifted the rod to cast again I had another
crappie on the line. I will admit that I brought this fish out
of the water and turned to show it to the gentleman setting in
his car. There is a little orneriness in my nature. I then bent
down and released this fish without getting my hands wet again.
I got three more fish on the next three casts and then it was
time to quit. My hands were getting cold and the line guides
were almost full of ice. It is the first of December and I am
still getting a few fish. What could be better than that?
There is the temptation to end the season on that note. You
know going 5 for 5 is not a bad way to finish the year. On
second thought, I will have to try again to see if they will
still be there.
As long as the ice is not on the itch is still there to be
out trying. I am not sure how much longer the main lake will
stay open. Most of the ponds are skimmed over with ice now.
We are supposed to stay under the freezing temperature for
the next week at least.
Hope you can get out on the water. ~ Rick
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