Lunchtime Limit, 3-1-2012

I’m so EXCITED!!!!  I just fly-fished Lake Petocka from shore during my lunch hour today.  It was so fun!

I caught (and released) my limit (5) of trout, which I felt was impressive for a number of reasons:
- I had no idea what to expect...ice only recently melted off the lake, and we had 50 mph winds just yesterday!

-I couldn’t see any fish, so I was really just blind casting.

-I didn’t fish the area I had planned to, but instead just fished a  fairly random location that wasn’t ideal (for casting) based on the wind direction.

-When driving time was figured in (and yes, I probably stayed longer than I technically should have), I had only about 35 minutes to fish.

-Most of my time was spent re-tying a line (because the first or second trout demolished my No-Knot Fas-Snap) and taking pictures of each fish.

-My line was getting tangled in rocks at my feet and in sticks, trees and brush behind me.  I was a mess!

-Trout were last stocked in this lake at least 35 days ago ( on January 25th, 2012).  They generally get tougher to find/catch the longer they've been in the lake.

-Judging by the fin clips...some of these fish were from at least 2 stockings ago (October 14, 2011)!

So...as it worked out, Probably every 3rd or 4th cast resulted in a trout on the line.  I even missed one good hit!  If only I'd had more time...  I was retrieving in quick, short jerks (no indicator), and the fish hit and fought very well.

All the fish were caught on a #10 olive-n-black beadhead woolly bugger.

And the fish:

Trout No. 1

Trout No. 2

Trout No. 3

Trout No. 4

Trout No. 5