Resolute Lake - Strike Two!

Last summer you may recall that I did an overnight back packing trip into a remote mountain lake. It was a great trip, and I did see the odd small fish rising, but in the end I came out without having even hooked a fish. Part of the problem was accessing the shoreline to find places to cast – the banks were either too steep or there was trees/shrubbery growing right down to the water’s edge. The best I could manage was roll casting from a few locations, and the fish seemed to always be just out of reach. I decided that the lake could be more effectively covered if I had waders; this would allow me to wade out on the shallow shelf that extends around most of the lake, and get closer to the dark blue depths of the drop-off. A return trip was definitely in order.

So this past weekend saw me making my way back into this tiny enigmatic lake. Being short on time I decided that it would be fun to mountain bike to the lake and come back out that same day. And with waders in my pack I was confident that I would finally get a close-up look at some of the fishy inhabitants of the lake.

It was a great ride in. The Glacier Trail is by no means a difficult mountain bike route; mostly double track, the hills are gradual, and the base is relatively smooth. There are a few chilly stream crossings along the way but they are certainly far from being any serious impediment. The only difficult part is the final one kilometer bushwhack from the Glacier Trail down into the lake – if you stray from the faint remnants of a path you’ll hit some serious deadfall. The scenery at the lake (and in the Kootenay Plains) is spectacular – jagged mountain peaks, glaciers, and mats of pine forest surround the lake. The sense of solitude is what drew me back to this spot; that and the adventure of just getting there.

A rest stop at one of the stream crossings

As to the fishing – well, I think the post title says it all. I worked half of the lake perimeter with various nymphs on a sink tip line, both up on the shallow margin and down into the depths of the drop-off. Nothing; didn't even see any fish rising on this trip (granted the wind was constantly blowing making spotting risers and cruisers more difficult). It was one of those experiences that make you wonder if there really are any fish in the lake at all.

One of many rain squalls that rolled off the mountains

Will I ever go back to Resolute Lake? Absolutely – at least one more time. The adventure alone is worth the trip. But If I get skunked a third time, I think it may be time to move on.

Multiple Hatches, Trickle Hatches, and Keeping the Faith

This is the time of year when it all comes together in the trout realm. Water levels are more stable, water temperatures are in the zone, and the bugs are active. Trout are feeding whenever light levels allow; trying to pack on weight to sustain them through the lean winter months, and produce eggs for the fall or spring spawn.

This is also the time of year when you can expect multiple hatches of different bugs on any given day. Things can change in a hurry; what was hatching in the morning may be nowhere in sight that same afternoon. If the fish are selective, that fly that worked so well earlier in the day may get scant attention a few hours later. It is the adaptable and observant angler that makes the most of their time on the water.

This past weekend saw several species of mayflies hatching on foothills trout streams. The North Ram saw Green Drakes (Drunella), Pale Evening Duns (Heptagenia), and Western Light Cahills (Cinygma) hatching at some point throughout the day. Several Chloroperlidae stoneflies could also be seen fluttering about. All of these hatches are normally heavy at this time of year – drawing feeding fish to the surface with predictable regularity. Of course the recent floods have reduced the numbers of bugs present and the hatches seemed to be just trickling off. Few fish were seen rising with any semblance of consistency.

A Green Drake dun (Drunella doddsii) resting on stream side foliage shortly after emerging

But even this did not rule out the “match the hatch” approach to fly selection. You see, during heavy hatches trout will often form a search image of their target organism and key in on that one specific insect/life stage – ignoring all others (this is usually the most efficient way to feed during the maelstrom of heavy hatch conditions). Since the hatches this weekend were sparse, the trout were still forming search images of the insects hatching, and there were still some elements of selective feeding involved, but there was no advantage to keying in on any one specific hatch. All hatches were fair game and equally fed upon.

Under conditions like this the best way to trigger the trout to have a go at your fly is to simply show them something they recognize as food – something they are, or have recently been feeding on. On this weekend it was Green Drake emergers and parachute style Light Cahill duns that garnered the most attention. Nymphing in some of the deeper runs with a Green Drake nymph also proved to be quite deadly at times.

A North Ram River Cutthroat making a quick getaway

I am sure that searching type patterns and other random flies caught their fair share of fish this weekend. But if you prefer playing the odds, over random chuck and chance, match what’s hatching and have faith that your fly will out produce your favorite “go to” pattern.