High Country Lakes

The valley heated up into the 80's today presenting me with a perfect day to to escape to the high country. I packed the vehicle with the float tube gear and set out for the cool peaks. I rigged up the three weight with a #12 stimulator and a trailing #16 bwo and had a hoot with the high country trout. The majority were cutthroats and some were definitely recent stockers. The better fish were holding deeper in the open water and I worked to them exclusively once I figured this out. I did manage a single rainbow and a few brook trout mixed in with the cutts and eventually I found a lone splake as well. From the numbers of cutthroats I was either in the thick of them based on my lake location or they have been the stocked majority in the past two years. They were definitely the predominant fish species of the day. After I had enough of the tubing, I took a short hike to another close lake and was able to meet up with Floyd for some tiny brook trout fishing. These fish seem even smaller than past years and getting one or two decent ones mixed in seemed like a real accomplishment. You can't fault them too much though, for what they lack in size they make up for in beautiful coloring. The columbines were in full bloom in the high tundra around the lake and you couldn't ask for a more peaceful end to the evening walking out through a field splashed with the various vibrant colors of summer. On the way back to town a group of four bull moose were eating willows in the coming dusk. In a month or so they won't be so cordial with each other.