December 23

[Phil Lilley]

Got out today. Boated just about to Rebar and started my first drift. The lake was hovering around 705 feet and there was a breeze out of the west which meant blowing down lake.

Started with a sculpin/ginger 1/8th ounce jig and stayed with it. They liked it. Made 2 drifts down to the boat ramp before drifting on down last Lookout. Caught some nice rainbows, nothing over 18 inches. They were hitting pretty light and I missed a lot of strikes.

For Lookout, the jig bite dropped off. I saw rainbows midging along the bluff bank in the seams where the water was breaking around points and big rocks. So I switched to a fly rod and tied on a #18 crackleback. Had one take and a couple of looks. Next I tried a #18 Elk Hair Caddis with same results. No fish to hand. Last I tried a #18 Ugly (green) Zebra under a palsa 6 inches deep and caught a couple of rainbows - finally. These trout look easy to pick off but I've always had trouble fooling them. If I had more time I'd try a thread midge or other small midge patterns.

Not many people out fishing today. The sun peaked out a couple of times. Guess it's going to cool down tomorrow.