Hi, I really enjoy reading the trip reports of others and feel guilty about never providing any of my one. I have always been a little reluctant about posting trip reports since my fishing experience and know how pales in comparison to others on this list. But I made a promise to myself to try and participate more. So here goes...
I recently got a new marsh boat for duck hunting. I had not had an opportunity to put it in the water yet and since I snuck out of the office a little early yesterday and the weather was so nice Daisy(chocolate lab) and I went down to the Snake/Granite Lake to test the boat out and try for some fish. The boat sits real low to the water and is covered in Fast Grass. For those that don't know what it is, Fast Grass is a mat woven out of long blades (8' or longer) of grass. It really hides a boat well. Well I can tell you it sure plays hell with a fly line when the wind is blowing. I got caught up on it in at least two place between every cast. Earlier this year was the first time I ever targeted smallmouth. Having been raised on the banks of the Skagit, I still get an unclean feeling admitting to targeting a warm water species. But I guess admitting it is the first step to recovery. I tied some poppers up and just fished, fishy looking areas. I have probably been out after them 5 times in total since June and I have caught fish each time. Last night I started with the popper and in an hour I had missed 3 fish and compared to my previous attempts the fishing was really slow. I decided to try under the surface with a fly that I found at a fly shop in Lacey. The name of the shop escapes me at the moment. Last spring I was visiting the in laws and saw the fly shop on the way through town. I ended up sneaking out for a quick visit. The fly was tied with a method that I had not seen before. They take tubing and fill it with olive oil and then wrap the tubing on as a body. It really picks up the light. Of course they sold me everything to tie my own before I left. I tied a bunch that don't look nearly as good as the shops does. I had tried them before last night. I had forgotten I even had them, but as I was digging through a fly box they just kind of stood out to me. It ended up being the right choice. Three cast, three fish. The largest being 12" and the smallest around 10". After the last cast and getting bashed up against a rock face from the wake of a tugboat pushing a barge full of grain down river we decided to pack it in. Regards, Don Shearer Pullman, WA "In this world you must be oh, so smart or oh, so pleasant. For years I was smart, now I recommend pleasant." --James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd
