Ellis Lake, Horseshoe Lake

Turbid Waters and Bedding Bass

This weekend I caught some fish. Although they didn’t take me into my backing the real task was to figure out what worked and didn’t work.

Horseshoe Lake
I’m still trying to figure out how to effectively fish this turbid pond. No clarity changes the game. After throwing a few small flies and a few big flies it was clear that nothing was interested. I saw fish jumping and cruising but didn’t have much luck hooking them. In the evening I saw what resembled a cruising shark in the shallows. My guess is that it was a big catfish or carp cruising around. I threw a few flies in front of it but no takes. I did manage to catch a small catfish on a fly that I had tied specifically for the lake though. I’m slowly getting the hang of it. Hopefully I will be able to catch fish more consistently when I’m out there.

First Catfish of 2015

Ellis Lake
The bass fishing has been tough and I haven’t quite figured out how to catch them when I target them out here. I did see a few bass sitting on their beds but they spooked as soon as I walked by. There is no use targeting these fish as they are twitterpated for the spawn. It also isn’t very nice to rip spawning fish off their beds as it is exactly the same as pulling trout of their redds. Just don’t do it.
The weather was beautiful but the only fish that were biting were the bluegills. They were eating bread chum and took whatever small fly I threw at them. Easy fun.

Ellis Lake, Horseshoe Lake

Another Personal Best

Lucky Horseshoe Trophy

Horseshoe Lake
When I woke up this morning I did not expect I’d be fishing today let alone catch a new personal best. What an awesome surprise.
My girlfriend needed me to drop her off at the hair saloon at around 11am so I had about an hour to go out and wet my line before I had to go back and pick her up. I thought maybe I’d give Horseshoe Lake a shot. It should be warm enough today and maybe I could entice something to bite. I picked up a few flies that I had tied for the lake and set off.

As the days grow longer and warmer more people are starting to head outdoors. Upper Bidwell was pretty crowded and busy. This migration of people can often lead to owners letting their dogs splash around in the water and spooking the fish. Not good for me. There were a lot of people out today, but they were all very considerate and respectful.

I set up my rod, tied on a fly, and headed out to the bank. My second cast out I get a take. It’s a big fish probably a catfish the way its fighting. After a few seconds it jumps and then I realize, its a not a catfish, its a big ass bass. I fought her like a pro keeping my line tight and letting her run until I finally landed her and gripped her by the jaw. Admiring this fish in my hand reality finally hit me, holy crap this is a big fish. She was probably around 5-6 pounds. I have always heard rumors about there being 10 pounders in the lake but I never believed it was a possibility until now. My shoes and pants were wet from getting into the water to pick her up and let her go but wow was it worth it. A new personal best and achievement completed for the year.
A trophy bass.

Ellis Lake

I went home to Marysville and had the chance to fish Ellis Lake. After catching a trophy the previous day and the following today I wanted to keep trying my luck. Unfortunately it ran out. I did not get a single take but a skunk on a fly rod is always a lesson learned.

There is a full moon coming March 5th. With the unusual warm weather this year the bass will start migrating on to their beds a little earlier than usual. This move should turn on the fishing and give me another shot for a personal best breaker.

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