September Doldrums on the Big Lake

September 21, 2024: It’s been just over a week since I returned from Alaska, and the itch to cast a fly rod has come back strong. Today was the first calm day on the lake in a week, and by the time I backed the trailer down the Dinosaur Point ramp at 8:00 a.m., it was already lined with others. Vaughn and Dan had been out a few days before, hitting both the forebay and the lake without much luck. With a full moon this week, I wasn’t expecting much either, and true to its temperamental nature, the lake didn’t offer much.

I spent al little time on the Dock watching a young boy catching Gobi’s with a piece of worm and a salmon egg hook. I use to do that. I think I might have to teach my grandkids how to do that before I teach them to cast a fly rod.

The weather was perfect, but the fish weren’t cooperating. The pumps were off all day, and while the lake turned glassy calm—conditions that usually help the fishing—today was an exception. I scoured the lake for a decent school of fish but couldn’t find anything within casting range. Even the usually reliable trash racks were completely barren—no bait, no shad, no stripers. I’ve never seen it so devoid of life.

After thousands of casts, I managed just two dinks: an 18-incher and one solid 23-inch fish. Not much to show for a full day’s effort, but at least there was enough for dinner. The 23-incher was nice and fat, and when I cleaned it, I found it had recently eaten three panfish, each about 4 to 6 inches. The smaller fish, only 18 inches, had a crayfish in its stomach. Even though the day was slow, it’s always good to be out on the water.

Ken Oda fished the Forebay today and found lots of juvenile stripers (14-17 inches eager to play on the check 12 side of the forebay. He also mentioned an encounter with a big ratlesnake that was swimming across the forebay. Ive seen this happen before and it can be a dangerous situation if you are in a float tube and the snake is looking for a place to rest. Who knew fly fishing could be a dangerous sport.