Giant Washbowl

Headed back to Giant's Wahsbowl today. The day started off pretty bad. My 5:30 alarm didnt go off, and I woke up at 9:30 instead. I then decided to take the ferry across which Google maps said would take 20 minutes off my drive. I then paid $12.50 for it, and it took me an extra 40 minutes before i was on the other side of the lake. I got to the trailhead at noon exactly, and although I wanted to head all the way up to the ridgeline, I decided there wasn't enough time and I would just go to the pond and fish. There were a bunch of fish rising, and it looked like there were midges and some 14 mayflies. I caught the beautiful 10 inch brook trout on my first cast. For the first 15 minutes, I was getting bit as soon as my fly hit the water, but I kept missing the hooksets. There were a few problems that quickly arose during the session. Most of the fish were rising just past where I was able to cast. The bottom of the lake was thick mud, so I couldn't wade out further out. I was also using my 6.5' 3 weight. Not only was it harder to cast it farther, but it also mean my flies kept getting caught on the tall grasses behind me. I bet if I had my 9' 5 wt, I would've been able to clear the grasses and get the extra distance I needed. There was also the problem of the wind. When the wind really picked up, I just couldn't cast. When there was a bit of wind, I would cast, but I also noticed no fish were rising. The combination of these three problems made the day tough. I caught ended off with 3 in 3 hours, which isn't too bad. I then headed down the mountain and across the street to chapel pond. There was a gravel sand bar that was completely dry, which meant casting was not a problem. However, the wind was constant, which meant I saw no fish come up for flies. I tried throwing a streamer but had no luck. Finally, I headed back towards home, but stopped at the headwaters of the bouquet river. I caught another 3 brook trout there, including my smallest one yet. The river, like all of the ones in the area, was very dry, and there were very few deep pools. However, I caught the fish that I did catch were in runs, where I had a boulder blocking my view of the run. The fall season has officially started, and the brook trout are not in the deepest parts of the lakes anymore. This is a good sign, because I have a trip to Maine planned in 2 weeks, where i hope to catch some Salmon, big brook trout, and a really awesome native species that I've been wanting to target for years. Hopefully these next two weeks will have some cooler weather and more rain!