A summer of TENNIS

Well, here it is July 27 and it is only my 5th day at Lewiston since my vacation started on June 4. This has been a summer of tennis. I have been giving 3 hour practices every Thursday and Friday, running tournaments every other weekend, and spent a weekend in San Diego attempting to become a USPTA certified tennis pro (results come in the mail in 3 weeks).
I came up after the 4th of July and fished the evenings between 7 and 9 PM. The first night I caught my largest fish ever (other than a steelhead) -- at least 4 pounds and closer to 5. I saw a fish sip a fly and threw out a blackberry mohair leech and bam -- 5 minutes or more with jumps and spinning my line off the reel. It was longer than my net and I spent 5 minutes reviving it to watch it swim away nicely. That night I had a 2-2-1 (two landed, two lost on the way to the boat, and one missed strike). The next night I found a great spot and the blackberry leech netted 10 fish with 2 lost (when numbers get high I forget about the number of missed grabs). The following night I had a 4-8-? night, with the 8 fish "lost" all larger than two pounds. Most of the fish took to the air and spit out the barbless hook.
Yesterday, the 26th, I finally caught a fish on a midge. About 3:00 there was a hatch on and little surface activity. The fish were hammering a size 18/20 tungsten head zebra midge, 12 feet under a bobber, floating with the current. I ended up with a 4-5-12 -- 4 fish landed including 3 over 3 pounds, 5 fish lost on the way to the net, and 12 strikes missed (hate when they hit and run toward the boat -- can't set the hook. Attached are two pictures, one of the view towards the dam and the beauty of the area, and one "fish porn" shot of the 4-pounder landed yesterday (top to bottom was more than 5 inches -- wider than my palm. Oh yeah, last Sunday was the Pine Cove Fish Derby and they released 500 large fish so everybody is catching big ones. Can't beat the beauty and the beasts.

I'm Back

Hello to my one subscriber and anyone else who finds this site. I spent the summer of 2009 fishing Lewiston Lake a couple of evenings a week. I have discovered some of it's secrets and am tying flies like mad to get ready for the upcoming summer. I had a blast in the evenings and released 2 to 15 fish each night (3 hours fishing)

To summarize my new found knowledge: there are large fish in Lewiston Lake -- they feed on midges -- evenings are cool and the fish are active -- instead of matching the hatch when fish are sipping under the surface, stripping a blackberry leech pattern yields great results (one leech = 10,000 midges??).

I have been preparing for the summer and have found some great ideas on the web. Pictures are on their way.

I did fish one day this year already, in mid-March. The midges were hatching but the fish weren't hitting them. In the evening one fish was actively sipping just under the surface. I stripped a sparkle chenille bead head wooly bugger over it's area and it smashed it. It was a beautiful, colorful fish, 16 to 18 inches long, sadly, with many leech marks. I didn't have my net and trying to release it my line broke with the hook still in the mouth of the fish (aarrgghh -- supposedly they hooks fall out in a couple of days).

I look forward to keeping a web journal of my experiences and the fishing on Lewiston Lake -- and starting this summer, in the lakes found in the Trinity Alps. Nothing like a little hiking to get one in shape (and it is cooler in the mountains!!!).

Take Care,
Shane