Today was calling for a much needed change up..The plan for today was originally going to be slough hopping on pool 8 looking for monster gills and perch. We wanted to try some sloughs we haven’t hit yet that should be holding fish right now. Unfortunately a scouting of the area last night showed open water in most of the sloughs we needed to cross, and one of our favorite areas where we were able to drive across just 2 short weeks ago is holding up barely 4-5″ of ice with 1″ spots (death traps) 
We decided that today’s bite was a no-go. Instead we opted to take a little road trip to an area we have been talking about for the last week and try our hands at some gills and hopefully some trout action.
The starting area was kind of a random pick in an area that looked good. Our hope was to luck into fish at a place we’ve never been to and it appeared that just that was going to happen. We were into the nice gills immediately but it was short lived. A few 8 to 8-1/2″ fish were iced before the big fish pulled off the area and left us guessing. I hopped out of the shanty and fished the main basin in 12-13 feet of water. I could tell that nobody had been fishing here for at least a few weeks, no foot tracks or even ice shaving mounds. I did manage to find some very old holes and started my search there. It was here that I found a few willing perch on an easy pattern. They were simply cruising the basin looking for food. I would pop a hole and catch 2 or 3, then carry on to drill another hole 20-30 ft away in order to stay on top of them. The only problem was the size. They were running small and in the 8″ range..Just not going to cut it for a day that we were hoping to be filled with big fish. Back to the shack it was where I was met half way by Justin carrying a nice 15-16″ rainbow trout. GAME ON, I’m thinking at this point and we were both very excited. I’m hoping that picture turns out on here but I’m having a file error. Justin did manage to have a couple more picture oportunities later, however. Once I finally made it back to the shack after the excitement, it wasn’t too terribly long before a stubborn suspended mark finally made a (non) fatal mistake. The fish had nudged my ice fly 2 other times and would work up and down in a 5 foot section of water collumn just toying with my mind. Finally on the 3rd time of working her just right, the battle was on. The fish fought hard and was quite a display in the clear water. My first trout was on the ice and she was mirror image of the fish that justin caught. After a quick release we had our lines back in the water. A few more marks were pulled but eventually the bite had died and had us heading for different water. At the new spot we were set up in 9 feet and had trout racing to our flies right away. I hooked up instantly only to come un buttoned. Another instance occured while I was drilling some more holes for hole hopping. They really liked a motionless waxie I guess, this instance almost ended in lost equipment. Unfortunately I did not get the hook in the fish. The same thing happened to Justin and after missing it, he was able to work the same fish back into biting his bait again. Justin was up to 2 and I was still at 1 on the trout count. Unfortunately today, it just wasn’t in the cards for me. My goal for the day was to at least catch 2 trout and I am disappointed that I fell short of that. Justin however succeeded and caught 3. Although his last 2 fish of the day were smaller than the first, the last 2 were far prettier and definitely males 
Just ask Justin about the juices on his bibs 
This day will for sure make it into the memory books and we will be going back hopefully with a little more knowledge and a better bite next time.
February 21, 2009 at 12:48 am
#1300365
