Caught that Sunset

I didn't catch that first trout yet though and I had a hard time catching my breath on a couple of those climbs back up from the shores of Pass Lake and Beaver Creek Reservoir.  Yesterday started with hardly a cloud in the sky and the temp at sunrise was around 34 degrees with frost on the Jeep and the picnic tables throughout the campground.  It was a little after 10:00 before I had emptied the stuff out of the Jeep, gathered a cooler from under the bus and those two little micro-mini-spincasters.

 

I headed up route 160 toward Wolf Creek Pass and took the turnoff to Beaver Creek Reservoir to see if things had changed there since last year.  The water level looked to be some 2 or 3 feet up from the end of last season and the "mud island" at the east end had disappeared from view.  The sandy/mud bank on the farside which I had last fished with the round rock on the point had also disappeared from sight.  Since it was still too darned chilly to wade the stream to the other side for the best fishing, I decided to fish below the cliffs just west of the picnic area -- partly shielded from the wind.  As I cast numerous times without a single strike, I noticed that two Canadian Geese had taken up residence near the top of the cliffs and were taking turns chasing off some pesky Ravens that were seemingly trying to get the eggs from the nest (I'm guessing there were eggs).  The presence of the geese was duly noted too by the abundance of their poop on the rocks at my feet.

 

I decided to head back and possibly on to Pass Lake but, made one more stop at the dam and climbed down to the nearest corner where I had last caught a Kokanee Salmon.  I had the same result there and after some 15 or 20 minutes without a single hit, I climbed back up to the warmth of the Jeep and headed back down the beautiful canyon -- warmer days are ahead and better fishing too (I hope).

 

At Pass Lake, I pulled off the road and stopped just at the top of the little trail down to the far end of the lake where I had caught lots of trout last year.  As I climbed down, I noticed the snow drifts among the trees and on the drive there I also had noticed more snow than last year on the peaks of the pass.  I noticed when I crossed into Colorado on Friday that all the peaks around the area seemed to have much more snow than last year.

I tied on a different lure before leaving the Jeep and hoped for better results here at the little rocky dam where I saw little Aden catch his first trout ever.  What a thrill it was for him and a good memory too of him using my little, purple hand net to catch some of the little minnows in the shallows -- later he put them in the little pond at the campground.  After fishing for awhile and not getting any hits, I again switched to another Panther Martin -- my favorite with the black body and yellow spots.

 

All in all, it was a little better fishing at Pass Lake and I nearly had a keeper rainbow that looked to be over 12 inches but, he got off almost as quickly as he got on just some 6 feet from my feet.  Earlier, I saw another one chase the lure to almost the same spot and not too long after that, one of those little "stockers" of about 9 inches had given my lure a little hit and I nearly hooked him -- wouldn't have kept him though.  Nice to be out there though and will give it another try today (probably at Big Meadows) if the winds aren't too stiff.  Already cooked a pot of rice yesterday, ready to go with that first trout -- with tomatoes, green peppers and onions, of course.  I think Tiger is ready too.