Islander
Life of the Party
I have been targeting larger fish since the ice off and have been somewhat successful, but most trips it was quality over quantity. Wanting to switch things up a bit I headed over to a nearby P&T lake that is stocked with Yellowstone Cutthroat hoping to get a little more activity. I was about two miles in on the dirt road when to my surprise there was an excavator digging a trench for a new culvert blocking the road. Luckily I remembered this road looped around to the highway, so I turned around, drove north about 5 miles and started back towards the lake. It took me an extra 20 minutes or so, but I was rewarded with sightings of deer, antelope and even a cow moose. I took the Echo 10’ 3wt figuring it would be enough rod for stockers. Finally hit the water around noon and had the lake all to myself. I was barely kicking away from the launch area when I got the first hookup. The cutties were cooperative and I found an area that had some very small bugs coming off that kept me very busy. I lost count after 20 or so and had a blast until around 4:00 when the wind picked up and I called it a day. All the fish were in the 10”-13” range and a blast on the 3wt. The majority of them came on a pumpkin head and full sink line, although I did bring another rod with a floater and tried some balanced leeches under a bobber just to try out the technique. All in all a fun day on the water.
Great weather until the wind hit.
A family of otters kept me entertained in between hookups.
Beautiful little cutties.
My “release photos” are getting better.
Great weather until the wind hit.
A family of otters kept me entertained in between hookups.
Beautiful little cutties.
My “release photos” are getting better.
