Harry and the Half Pints

Harry at Regan Lake (getting ready)

No!  It's not Guinness that I'm talking about but, it would have been nice to have more than a few of those after fishing Regan Lake yesterday and not getting a single strike.  It's not a new musical group or their new song either.  Harry is one of the returning summer folks (from Phoenix) and he is an avid angler and one of the best cooks in the camp (as attested by numerous of the returning women in the park).

He also is an advocate of this little sinker device called a "Half Pint" which he says is only available around here at a small store on the approaches to Wolf Creek Pass.  It is a hefty little, weighted device that looks like a mini-buoy made of plastic (cylindrical at the bottom and conical at the top) -- with lead presumably buried in the bottom.  It has an eye at the top for attaching a swivel from the end of your fishing line and then a two foot leader with your small treble hooks with "Power Bait" (red, pink or green or whatever color you prefer).  This shape does not snag on the moss or plants when reeling it back in and allows for "booming" your casts beyond most of the thick vegetation in the water -- and at Regan there were massive islands of the stuff floating around the lake (not good for us lure fishermen).

Regan Lake road.

I had invited Harry to join me last week but, that particular day (Thursday) was a "wash-out" because of the 80% chance of rain.  Yesterday, he and I went up past Creede in my Jeep to wind our way back through the woods on 6 miles of 4-wheeler roads.  Really, the last 4 miles were all that required 4-wheel drive (and not all of that).

It's about an hour's drive to the turn-off to Roads Canyon Reservoir and then a couple more miles to the turn-off for Regan Lake.  Harry knew the way as his son has a place beyond Creede and had been there before with him (he also knew the turn or road to avoid driving through Creede -- maybe Deep Creek Road).  We left around 7:00 a.m. and were the first to arrive at the lake so, we had first pick of the spots near the road.

Regan Lake - First View

While Harry sat in his chair and proceeded to catch 5 or 6 decent Brown's, I worked my way along the shoreline and boulders to his left -- all the way to the first pull-out or parking area (which we passed).  We fished until after 1:00 p.m. and decided to bail-out before the afternoon rains hit.  I tried 4 different Panther Martin lures and even floated a fly at various times but, had no action at all.  The biggest fish caught was about 13 inches but, I did see one in the water (as I stepped on a boulder) that could have been 16 inches -- I threw my lure after him but, nothing.  So much for the hope of catching those 18 or 19 inchers I saw previous anglers cleaning after their earlier trip to Regan Lake.

Roads Canyon Reservoir.

On the way back, we turned onto the road to Roads Canyon Reservoir so that I could at least see the spot that "The Grandview Fishing Team" has made its weekly pilgrimage to on Thursdays -- with their first stop at Cottonwood for the breakfast buffet and then at Freeman's on the way back for burgers and shakes.  Roads Canyon Reservoir looked less appealling to me as the water seemed to be a less than translucent pea green color (like green Gatorade) -- great for bait fishermen and those with the "Half Pints" but, not me.