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Since we had all of our camping gear loaded in the boat and a weather forecast of summer continuing, I took my family camping again this past weekend. The main request was for an elevation low enough to preclude waking up to a frosty morning.
My first suggestion was a bass fishing trip to Clear Lake. An Internet check revealed that the state park campground had closed on Sept. 15. Further pondering resulted in a choice of Scotts Flat Lake in our own backyard.
An added benefit to local camping is the short drive home to pick up all the stuff you forget.
My original intent was to fish for bass, which can be quite good at Scotts Flat Lake. Ed Everhart had fished there recently and did well fishing top water baits in shallow water from dawn to full light. He continued to catch fish moving progressively deeper as the morning wore on. By 11 a.m. he found the fish settled in at the 15 to 20 foot depth.
We slept in on Saturday and did not get onto the water until 8 a.m. I tried various bass options unsuccessfully, until I tied on a soft plastic '3" Power Minnow' in pearl/blue shad. It is the lure that comes closest to the pond smelt that is the primary baitfish in the lake. It is meant as a drop shot bait but it is also effective with a small jig head on a lightweight spinning rod.
Our first fish came from 15 feet of water between the boat ramp and the dam. But it was a trout not a bass. Midday was spent off the water in camp. When we went back out for the evening we fished trolling flies in the top of the water column and found a school of trout 100 yards off the launch ramp. They were not selective, hitting both white and orange equally.
Sunday morning we launched early and fished up the lake, ending up where Deer Creek flows into the lake. My son was casting spoons toward shore while we trolled with flies. Both methods produced fish. The best action we witnessed by other anglers was in the cove at the inlet. A family fishing soft plastics from a bass boat were consistently catching and releasing trout. Up in the creek channel, a boat of three anglers did well catching trout on silver spoons and garden worms.
The best results in terms of quantity came to the group in the adjoining campsite. Two fathers and their sons trolled three colors of lead core to get dodgers and kokanee bugs tipped with bait down to the 25 foot depth. They did well fishing off the beaches on the south side of the lake. Again it was trout that they brought back to camp. I did not see or hear of a bass being landed during the weekend.
The lake surface temp was 62 degrees everywhere I sampled except for the mouth of Deer Creek where it registered 58 degrees. The cool creek flow explains the concentration of boats in that area. The weather forecast features cooling air temps this week with a possibility of rain by the end of the week. The ideal trout temp is close to 57 degrees and Scotts Flat is getting close.
I expect in the near future to see peak fall trout fishing at Scotts Flat. Currently there are trout scattered through out the lake. The common denominator to those anglers catching fish, was a boat. I did not see any shore based fishers catch a fish. As the water cools the shore anglers will probably do better.
All of the trout I saw were typical planters in the one foot size range. The one exception was a trout with a square tail that hit a power minnow in the creek channel that was two inches longer.
Now that October is upon us, the fishing will be good just about anywhere there is enough water left. Scotts Flat doesn't require much fuel to reach and will be a good bet. The boat ramp on the Highway 20 side has an adequate water level. I heard that the south side ramp may not be useable, although I did not go over to look.
The high altitude lakes are a good bet this month until access is curtailed by snow. Maybe "snow" is just wishful thinking on my part. We are in need of a wet winter. Stampede is lower than it has been in many years. The water level may rise when Independence Lake is drawn down. It is a good opportunity to see and photograph the terrain that we fish over.
Reports from Eagle Lake are good. The catching will improve as the air and water get colder. But for a quality experience, I think the mild weather and good fishing now, is preferable to better catching in subfreezing temps.
October is the peak fishing month of the fall. It only lasts 31 days.
The question is how are you going to use your 31 days?
Denis Peirce writes a weekly fishing column for The Union and is host of "The KNCO Fishing & Outdoor Report," which airs 6-7 p.m. Fridays and 5-6 a.m. Saturdays on 830-AM radio. He may be reached via e-mail at dpeirce@theunion.com.
My first suggestion was a bass fishing trip to Clear Lake. An Internet check revealed that the state park campground had closed on Sept. 15. Further pondering resulted in a choice of Scotts Flat Lake in our own backyard.
An added benefit to local camping is the short drive home to pick up all the stuff you forget.
My original intent was to fish for bass, which can be quite good at Scotts Flat Lake. Ed Everhart had fished there recently and did well fishing top water baits in shallow water from dawn to full light. He continued to catch fish moving progressively deeper as the morning wore on. By 11 a.m. he found the fish settled in at the 15 to 20 foot depth.
We slept in on Saturday and did not get onto the water until 8 a.m. I tried various bass options unsuccessfully, until I tied on a soft plastic '3" Power Minnow' in pearl/blue shad. It is the lure that comes closest to the pond smelt that is the primary baitfish in the lake. It is meant as a drop shot bait but it is also effective with a small jig head on a lightweight spinning rod.
Our first fish came from 15 feet of water between the boat ramp and the dam. But it was a trout not a bass. Midday was spent off the water in camp. When we went back out for the evening we fished trolling flies in the top of the water column and found a school of trout 100 yards off the launch ramp. They were not selective, hitting both white and orange equally.
Sunday morning we launched early and fished up the lake, ending up where Deer Creek flows into the lake. My son was casting spoons toward shore while we trolled with flies. Both methods produced fish. The best action we witnessed by other anglers was in the cove at the inlet. A family fishing soft plastics from a bass boat were consistently catching and releasing trout. Up in the creek channel, a boat of three anglers did well catching trout on silver spoons and garden worms.
The best results in terms of quantity came to the group in the adjoining campsite. Two fathers and their sons trolled three colors of lead core to get dodgers and kokanee bugs tipped with bait down to the 25 foot depth. They did well fishing off the beaches on the south side of the lake. Again it was trout that they brought back to camp. I did not see or hear of a bass being landed during the weekend.
The lake surface temp was 62 degrees everywhere I sampled except for the mouth of Deer Creek where it registered 58 degrees. The cool creek flow explains the concentration of boats in that area. The weather forecast features cooling air temps this week with a possibility of rain by the end of the week. The ideal trout temp is close to 57 degrees and Scotts Flat is getting close.
I expect in the near future to see peak fall trout fishing at Scotts Flat. Currently there are trout scattered through out the lake. The common denominator to those anglers catching fish, was a boat. I did not see any shore based fishers catch a fish. As the water cools the shore anglers will probably do better.
All of the trout I saw were typical planters in the one foot size range. The one exception was a trout with a square tail that hit a power minnow in the creek channel that was two inches longer.
Now that October is upon us, the fishing will be good just about anywhere there is enough water left. Scotts Flat doesn't require much fuel to reach and will be a good bet. The boat ramp on the Highway 20 side has an adequate water level. I heard that the south side ramp may not be useable, although I did not go over to look.
The high altitude lakes are a good bet this month until access is curtailed by snow. Maybe "snow" is just wishful thinking on my part. We are in need of a wet winter. Stampede is lower than it has been in many years. The water level may rise when Independence Lake is drawn down. It is a good opportunity to see and photograph the terrain that we fish over.
Reports from Eagle Lake are good. The catching will improve as the air and water get colder. But for a quality experience, I think the mild weather and good fishing now, is preferable to better catching in subfreezing temps.
October is the peak fishing month of the fall. It only lasts 31 days.
The question is how are you going to use your 31 days?
Denis Peirce writes a weekly fishing column for The Union and is host of "The KNCO Fishing & Outdoor Report," which airs 6-7 p.m. Fridays and 5-6 a.m. Saturdays on 830-AM radio. He may be reached via e-mail at dpeirce@theunion.com.
