The night passes very quickly it seems and before I know it the new day is breaking. As I make breakfast I notice there is not a cloud in the sky, a blue bird day ahead. I decide after breakfast to give the lake I fished yesterday another try, lots of time to head to 10 Pound Rainbow Lake.
Also I was told on my last trip here I could traverse between the two lakes, that would be great as I would not have to reload and unload LC#3.
After breakfast I head to see the now famous fish in the daylight and weigh it on my digital scales.
As I row over to their camp that I see the 4 campers are stiring as they have their breakfast on the go. I ask them if they wish me to weigh the trophy rainbow and if I could shoot it on camera and on video. They agree and as the lucky one pulls it from the ice chest it sure looked to me all of 10 pounds.
As the scales are set to 0, the fish hooked on, the numbers flash over 10 and settle in at 10.8 pounds, that equals just under 10 pounds 13 ounces.
I and the anglers agree that it would have hit the scales last night at 11 as it would have lost a little weight since it was landed. 10 Pound Lake is now 11 Pound Lake.
The story is related on video and they are good enough to give me a couple of flies including one I believe they called a Wooly Bugger, brown in colour. I greatfully accept and thank them for their generous gift. I will save it for tonight.
I try chironomid fishing until after lunch and nary a bite. I observe a few other anglers with the same amount of success. After lunch I decide to try to work over to 11 Pound Lake by boat that an angler on my last trip said I could do. He also had told me a short cut to get to the main highway that turned out to be twice as far
but the scenery was nice on this detour and I saw a few deer on the way. It was a bit of a miserable trip otherwise that evening as I got caught in a bit of a rain storm.
This attempt now to reach the lake turned out to be another tall tale as after that seemed to be an hour of using one of my oars as a pole and feeling like being in the Amazon jungle I reached a point that I could go no further. I got out to scout and while doing so I slipped off a log sinking up to my one knee in the mud. What a hell hole and I was surprised there was no croc's or alligators there to make it more interesting.
I briefly thought of pulling the Leaf Craft overland but gave that up as a bad idea after seeing a 100 yards or so of fallen logs etc.
Back I pole in the 25 celius heat, through the lily pads, cattails, mud, sunken logs and everything else this unfriendly environment could throw at me. At one time it did look like beautiful scenery from afar.
Now defeated and very worn out I load the LC and everything in it and drive the short distance to 11 Pound Rainbow Lake and now decide I should have done this in the first place.
I decide to chironomid fish a bit and after missing 3 I land my first of the trip, a small fish of about 13 inches. I retain it as I want to check its stomack contents to see what it had been dining on. After supper and doing so I find nothing that I could reconize and very little anyway. It looked what "The Master" said is true, with the warm water now approaching the fish stop feeding as they had been. As well the fish I had landed was a fat little guy, well nourished to when he would have started feeding with the onset of Fall a couple of months away.
With supper completed and darkness now approaching, time to put the tips I have garnered this morning into practice and but the Wholly Bugger to the test.
I have the lake to myself except for all the bird life that is sharing their home with me once again.
I attach this little bundle of treasure to my sinking line and start to row around the lake, not knowing should I row fast or slow. I forgot to ask the experts this. I see the moon rising high above me, it looks to be a near full one. I film it on video to maybe set the scene as a prelude of hooking a fish. The birds are still chattering their goodnight messages to me, the lake is flat calm except for the sounds of rising fish I hear but can not see. As I near the end of the lake where I am camped a beauty of a fish jumps about 10 feet from me. It is that close I can see it is a nice sized one. I say to myself, "would I ever like to hook it" It must have been 30 seconds later, no more and my wish was granted. A slight tug and then line peels from the small fly reel, a massive series of jumps follow. Its him, I am sure as I feel like shouting out to anyone that would have been there to listen but being a reserved person I just settle back to see if I can land this, maybe to me a once in a life time fish. I know it is bigger than the 5 pounder I landed a few weeks ago while fishing with Nick.
I decide wisely not to try to film it during the fight as I remember I tried it last year with a good sized one on and because of this stupid move I lost it.
The fish continues to take line, I cannot see in the darkness how much line is left, I know I am down to the backing. The fish then slack lines me racing towards me trying to rid itself of that Bugger of a fly ( I hate that name for a fly but hey one should not criticize success) that I hope is firmly hooked in its jaw. The fish begins to tire but not before it clears the water once again near the boat, its silver sides illuminated in the moon's rays that are streaming through the surrounding trees.
With this last jump its enery now exhausted it surrenders to my waiting net that is shaking in my still trembling hands. I film it and then try a photo of it in the bottom of the LC but camera jams, batteries dead, what a time to have this happen. I fumble around the boat and find a couple of spare batteries and am able to get a shot or two. I weight it and I thought it read 6 pounds which of course I was very pleased with. More fish continue to jump but with the time now past 10:30 I am satisfied with my catch and besides my long day especially with that traverse attempt earlier in the day I am exhausted.
I put the fish on ice, too tired to clean it, besides it can wait as the next day is less than 5 hours away.
The Leaf Mobile Hilton is a pleasant place to be as I fall a sleep in record time. Before I know it daylight is here. I shoot another shot of the fish along with the rod and reel. I then cleanthe fish and it has none or little food to be seen. O, I weighted it and it shows 6.4 pounds that eguals 6 pounds 5 ounces, must have read it incorrectly in the darkness last night.
Todays events are anti climantic. Even though the day starts calm a strong wind blows up by noon but not before I lose 3, land one around 15 inches and miss about 5 before the wind gets to strong for my anchors to hold. I lost one on the lucky fly but decide to stash it away so I can buy one that looks similar for my next trip, most likely not to things cool down in the Fall.
As I pack up and prepare to leave I know I will be back, I am now hooked on this lake fishing, even if it took a Wooly Bugger to do it. I detoured through Merritt as I needed a Tim Horton's coffee and as well to toast my success and do some ball stat's that were due the next day. The remnant of fans of the Merritt Music Festival are leaving Merritt as well. I am sure they had a good time, hearing and dancing to some famous stars but I was more than happy to see dancing of another tune as the memory of a dancing rainbow shinning in a full moon will last in my memory for a long time.
Time now to do some bar fishing as reports start to pour in of success. Maple Leaf Bar now awaits, are you ready Dragon Speed, Rodney, Nina, and Fish A., the Leaf Craft is ready to start
rolling, rolling, rolling right along once again.
O, photo's to follow later tonight for those interested.
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Topic: A 10 Pound Plus Rainbow. But What Did I Catch? Merritt Lakes July 16 To 18 (Read 4419 times)