The fish which got away

Due to tragically bad planning by somebody, lake trout move into shallow water to spawn at the same time as Montana’s big game rifle season.  Although the rifle season is only one month long, and the lake trout season is 12 months long, yesterday I blew off a day of hunting to go lake trout fishing on Flathead Lake, hoping to find the lake trout in spawning mode.  I didn’t see any more lake trout than usual in 30-60 feet of water, so I don’t think the spawning has really started yet, but I did catch one lake trout by casting a spoon into areas with 5-10 feet of water and a rocky bottom, which is the kind of area where lake trout like to spawn.  The other lake trout I caught while downrigger trolling.

The high point of the day was a fish which got away.  I was downrigger trolling, and the tip of my rod started to bounce around.  I popped my line out of my release, but the lake trout spit out the lure before I could get tension on the line.  As I reeled in my line, I looked down into the clear water to check the action on my lure.  When the lure came into sight, a big lake trout was following it.  It looked powerful and predatory as it gilded effortlessly behind the lure.  I jiggled the lure, hoping to persuade it to strike the lure again.  It circled around for another look, but then sank out of sight.  I can remember the sight vividly, but don’t have any pictures of the fish to post.

Casting along the shore of an island.



The sun setting at the end of a fun day.

And now for something completely different:  Here I am, two days later, hunting in the snow.