Beautiful Day at Mitchell Lake

The splendor of autumn was definitely a distraction today. Both Karen and I took in the fall colours as we fly fished at Mitchell Lake. The warm sun and relatively active trout made for a wonderful day. As we got set up this morning, we could see trout near the surface. Karen caught a mid sized tiger trout just three feet below her strike indicator on a Tokaryk Special right away. ...and you guessed it, Karen stuck with a Tokaryk Special all day and brought a lot of trout to hand. Me? Well I wanted to try lots of different tactics. They all worked but not as well as a Tokaryk Special from 3-7 feet below a strike indicator. I caught trout on flashbacks, striping Blue Flash damsels and hanging a Tokaryk Special under a strike indicator. I also got a lot of grabs with backswimmers with a floating line but I kept losing them.  I did see backswimmers darting around under the water. Not a lot but the trout were definitely interested. Oh well.

There is no question the trout are getting aggressive as the water temperature drops. Today, Mitchell Lake was down to 50F in the morning on the surface. Throat samples included daphnia and glass worms. That can make for a frustrating day out on the water. Under these circumstances blobs will get you into trout although Karen and I usually tie on a Tokaryk Special and do well. I do have some chaoborus  (glass worms) flies but we didn't use them today. The water at Mitchell Lake is gin clear. We could see trout cruising in 13 feet of water. Today I hooked several trout as they swam by jigging my fly to get their attention. It is cool to watch them open their mouths and the take your fly!

Have you looked at the upcoming weather forecast. Snow and way cooler temperatures are on the way. Better find your winter jacket.