Back to Morgan Lake April 11th
by Shawn Proznick
(Kamloops)
I have been itching to get back on the water since Dave O took me there last month. Unfortunately, the honey-do list needed catching up before I could even think of taking a day of solace for myself. After a good stint of working at home and actually working, I asked the boss lady for a day pass and it was granted!!
The morning start turned into an afternoon one( my bed was so nice and warm!). As I stepped out of the house, a smile came to my face. It was nice and warm ,with not a trace of wind. This should be a much more enjoyable day weather wise than the last outing. I got the gear into the truck and off I went.
On my drive up, I pondered Six Mile but had my mind made up when I got to the lake. Too many boats for my liking so I continued up to Morgan. As I got there, I was pleased to see that there were only 4 other boats on the water. By the time I made my way to the west side of the lake and shoved from shore, it was around 1:30.
There were two guys anchored just off the get in point, and during the time it took me to shove off, they were into at least 2 fish each. Great I though, this is going to be a fun afternoon.
I was itching to try out some of the flies that I had tied up over the last few months. I rigged up a full sinking line with 'guaranteed' trailing behind about 10 feet of leader. Unfortunately for me, the wind had picked up a bit so trolling was more like tacking, having to go one click higher with the electric motor to actually maintain direction. As I passed by another angler who was anchored in the last little bay just before the narrow waist of the lake, he got into a nice fish, further increasing my expectations for the day.
After one circuit of the lake and no action, I decided to try my luck casting. I anchored in the same area as the 3rd guy that I had passed, trying out one of the new kissing leeches that I made up 2 weeks ago. The one that I chose was black and purple with a clear bead head tied onto a #12 nymph. I had the shaft wrapped in black thread, ribbed with red wire. By the time i got myself settled into a spot, all of the other anglers had left and the lake was mine.
I tied the kissing leech to about 12 feet of leader with a strike indicator and a floating line. The wind was a bit tricky, mainly coming out of the east but swirling around and moving me a fair bit. ( note to self, get a 2nd anchor ) I cast out towards a group of trees in the water, about 25 feet in front of me, let my line sit for a minute then begin a slow retrieve. My 3rd cast I thought that I had a nibble but was unable to set a hook, probably just the wind swirling and moving my rod I thought. I fired the line out and brought it in again with no results, confirming to myself that it was just the wind. I put the line out again and had just started my retrieve when I felt a strong tug on the line. I thought that maybe I was hooked up in the trees, but there was no resistance when i tried retrieving some more, then, the line was ripped out of my fingers!. I grabbed the rod to set the hook. It could have been the rookie in me setting to hard or the fish was a big one but the rod bent over, the line stretched tight, I was into my first fish on my own fly....nice! Then the line went slack and it was over.
Bringing the line in left me with 2 thoughts. Either a big fish had my kissing leeach or it was snagged on a tree. I am going with the fish as I didn't hook up on any more foliage in the area and I stayed there for about an hour more. Nothing more in the way of action in that hole so I decided to go for another tour around the lake and head in.
I started heading East on the North side, dragging the 'guaranteed' again, about 150 yards into the jaunt, I felt a nibble, this time I held still and waited for a 2nd sign, felt another tug and set the hook without the vigor as earlier. The fish didn't fight much and I brought it in without putting it on the reel, only jumping once as it approached the boat. The trout wasn't big, only about 16 inches, but it let me know that the fly worked! After letting the fish go and getting off the rocks, it was back to trolling.
The wind had died down so it was easier to get closer to the shoreline. I was on my way back towards the west end but this time I was on the South side around where the grassy area gives way to the rock bluff, when I hooked my 2nd fish of the day. It was about the same size as the 1st one that I brought to the boat with the same nice coloring. After saying thank you to the fish, I watched it swim away, to be caught another day.
I continued trolling to the end of the lake to no avail. The end of the day was upon me, light was fading, my belly was telling me that it was time to leave. I managed to pull the boat out without getting both of my feet wet, packed up and on the road home.
All in all, this was a good day. I got some action on my own flies and now I can't wait for the next outing to try out a few other creations. Thanks for showing me this fine lake Dave.
LET'S DO LUNCH AT TOBIANO
After fishing in our local lakes, drop by the clubhouse
restaurant at Tobiano Golf. Great Menu, Great Views
CUSTOM FLY RODS by Paul Patterson
9.5 ft and 10 ft High Quality Graphite
Taking Orders Now for Mother's Day and Father's Day
