Back from "Lake Town" - Big Mac's On The Fly

It's 2am and I am on the road. I cracked the window and sipped on a Rockstar energy drink, it didn't matter that I had not slept the last couple of days. The excitement caused restless nights, not to mention a wicked cold that could be felt all the way down into my chest. I felt like I had been hit by a large object. I rolled into Stout's place and we quickly loaded the gear into the trailer. The drive to the lake seemed short in the early morning hours. We made good time with knowone on the roads and the conversation took the sting out of my body. We rolled up at the usual spot to find Jason asleep in the back of his truck. We had at least 2 hours before sun up and a power nap was a must. The rest was quick but it felt good. Our boats were on the water before sunlight. The trout could be seen porpusing out of the water like dolphins. The splashes were loud thuds as they hit the water. Drenaline was flowing and in the three years of fishing for "Lakers" I have only hooked into one and never landed it. The window of opportunity is short in the morning hours and it was now or wait till next year to scratch another species off my wish list. Turning, I saw Stout's rod doubled over and in a calm and quiet voice I could hear him say "I think this is a nice one". Stout had been up the day before landed a very nice Mac and the weekend before that landed 4 or 5 more. He was making it look easy, but for anyone who has fished with us on these adventures, they know its tuff and it is not fast and furious by any means! Patience and paying dues comes to mind and with a bit of luck, I have seen some very large Trout landed on 8-weights. The 8-weight was doubled over in half making it look flimsy. Calmly Stout got a net on the fish and I raised up to snap some shots. In the background I could see the faint signs of light as the pink sky started to show above the mountain horizon.



We slugged out the morning hours, it was almost noon and with one Lake Trout caught it was about time to hit the road back home with our window of opportunity dwindling as the morning progressed. I pulled my boat to the shore just as Jason hooked into a very large fish. He played him for minutes and was unable to turn him or bring it up. Before we could get good looks, it was gone. Disapproval and disappointment set in but sometimes that just happens.

Every year I look forward to these trips and my opportunity to land the Trout that still eludes me. Maybe next year.

I hope you enjoy the photos... Nice fish Stout!