It is March in the Pacific NW and water temps are just starting to approach 50 degrees. We have had a few days of unusually nice weather so I decided it was time to take out my new kayak and see if I could catch some fish.
After reviewing all my options I finally decided on trying a trout lake in south central Washington that I know should warm up early.
This was may maiden voyage in my new Hobie Pro Angler 360 kayak so I figured that even if the fish were not biting, it would be a good time to get to know the new kayak.
I got a late start and did not get to my destination until about 1:00pm. I unloaded my new kayak, attached the fish finder, and other gear and was ready to head out. I shoved off from the launch and started the learning process of a peddle kayak. I must say that I love it, even though it is weird not having a paddle in my hands, the fishing capabilities of this kayak are incredible! I will write more about the kayak in a later post.
I started out using a black wolly bugger under an indicator for about an hour. I had a few takes, but nothing really committed and I did not land any fish. I was beginning to think that maybe I was just too early and it was going to be a slow day.
It was time for a change so I looked in my fly box and reviewed my choices. I saw a reddish green balanced leach that I had purchased from the Reno Fly Shop a few months ago and it looked promising so I tied it on. On my very first cast, my indicator not only went under…in shot off and changed directions before I knew what was going on. I set the hook and landed a nice rainbow. I’m not sure if it was the red/green color or the fact that it hung horizontally, but either way I knew that I was on to something.
A few cast later I hooked a really nice fish. It took off and all I could do was hang on as my line screamed off the spool. I fought the fish for about four minutes before it finally came unhooked. It was really nice fish.
For the next two hours I caught fish after fish. it was a great run, and apparently I had the right fly. Days like this are few and far between, and I was very happy to escape all the crazy talk about the coronavirus and just enjoy a day on the water.
The bite finally died off so I peddled my way back to the launch, trolling my fly behind my new Hobie 360. As I was approaching the launch my rod doubled over and I landed one last beautiful rainbow.
It was an incredible day and a great way to realize that the world is still good!
Thanks for reading,
Bill