In Fishing Heaven - South Fork

The sun is just breaking through some clouds and shining brilliantly on the white bark of the aspens -- the ones here in the campground that I have seen transform from just empty branches to ones with small yellow/green leaves.  Molly and I had minutes earlier seen a red fox trotting down the road toward the camp office but, no mule deer this morning -- only saw 5 last evening at the far west side of the campground and they all layed down near a small clump of bushes beneath a cluster of pines.

Didn't see any frost on the Jeep this morning so, I am anxiously hopeful that the temps will rise to the high 50s or near 60 before mid day and then, I can get back out to the hotspot I hit yesterday.  First though, I went out to that bluff in the river at Masonic Park around 10:30 and sat in the warmth of the Jeep with the sun shining brightly as I put new line on my "Micro-mini reel" (fearful that if I did manage to get that monster fish on, he might break it or take it all as he fought to get away).  Then I tied on the swivel I had removed from the old, thin line and clipped on my favorite Rooster-tail before I stepped into the slight breeze coming from the west (down the valley) -- gulped some water, put on some suntan lotion and walked down that familiar road to that beautiful spot on the river downstream from the bluff (slightly protected from the wind by its towering presence).

When I reached the top of the bluff, I peered down to see if there might be any indication of that trophy fish's presence below me at the water's edge or near any of the somewhat visible submerged boulders.  I thought there might be something sizeable near the boulder closest to the bluff but, wasn't too certain if it was a fish or just part of the boulder so, I carefully approached the edge of the river just downstream from the boulder -- making sure my shadow didn't cast over the edge of the grass covered riverbank.  I cast my lure a couple times to both sides of the boulder and worked it back to me without any hits or signs of movement so, I carefully approached the boulder and noticed what appeared to be chunk of a tree branch or two lodged just behind the boulder -- no fish.

View from the Bluff

I worked that section of the river below the bluff for about a half-hour with no strikes and then, moved on downstream to check all the areas I could get to without having to beat my way through the bushes -- didn't have a majete with me.  I went farther than I had on previous visits and nearly reached what appeared to be the Masonic Park's fenced in storage area for boats, jet-skis and ATVs before I decided to return to the spot by the bluff -- gathered a few more empty cans on the way back.

When I reached this favorite spot of mine again, I decided to switch to a Panther Martin (dark body with brass spinner) and tried for another 15 to 20 minutes with no strikes.  Since the temps seemed to be decidedly higher, I thought it might be warm enough at the Beaver Creek Reservoir to try for that fish that got away the day before and decided to head up that way.  I stopped at the RV to get my camera and headed up the scenic road I travelled the day before -- ready for some pictures this time.



Beaver Creek (below)

 The drive up the dirt road (after the campgrounds) is jaw-dropping gorgeous and worth the occasional stop to get a better view -- except maybe when there are some towering cliffs to the left as you drive up toward the reservoir.  Sometimes those cliffs made me want to drive faster for fear some boulder might come crashing down -- do you think?

 

Beaver Creek Reservoir

 When I reached the dam, I snapped another picture before heading to the mid-point parking area where the picnic tables were located and the point of land below that I hoped to fish from.  When I pulled into the parking lot, two guys in a flat boat were just pushing off from the shoreline below -- leaving their white pickup truck parked in the lot where I parked.  I took another picture of the boat ramp near the far end of the reservoir before making the short, less difficult climb down to the point.


Boat Ramp in the distance.

 When I reached the shoreline, I could see those two guys in the flat boat heading toward the dam as they started to troll with their little electric motor on the back as they readied their lines.  I checked the wind and felt it coming slightly from my right and decided to cast across the point to my left, letting the wind help carry it.  After half a dozen casts, I had a fish on and the little rod bent nearly in half as the trout rolled toward my left at the water's surface -- a real beauty (made me glad I had that new line).  Then, he immediately changed direction and shot straight into the air -- spit the lure and was gone.  The two guys in the boat saw the action and moved slowly on their way to my right.

The point below the picnic area.

After the disappointment of losing that fish, I cast a few more times and again had another fish on and this time I brought in a small 10-inch Rainbow trout -- unhooked him and got him on my stringer.  Shortly after that I had another larger trout on and this one got off without me even seeing him.  I moved along the shoreline toward boat ramp and the steeper boulders, found more strikes and another Rainbow of about 14 inches -- took two hands to control this strong fighter and get him on the stringer with the other one.

This action went on for a couple hours and although I brought home only two trout, it is no true indication of the fun I had.  Five big fish on that got away and a number of smaller ones and more hits than I could have anticipated.  The weather started to look threatening and the two guys in the boat had nearly made a complete circuit of the lake as they passed by me heading to their take-out point -- said they'd only had one strike and they could see I was having lots of action.

I worked my way back along the shore to where I had started as the winds started whipping stiffly and I readied myself to run for cover but, found it hard to leave -- hoping to get that third fish on the stringer.  Had one nice fish on and he shot 2 or 3 feet in the air and spit the lure again -- as he flashed that red stripe and dark topped body at me -- seemingly teasing me from the wind whipped waves.

Tonight's Dinner

Will stop at Rainbow Grocery to get another Panther Martin as a backup for my return to the reservoir -- when the temps get a bit warmer (it's colder up there for sure).