The lake continues to produce some huge Cutthroat Trout. Like we said in our February event at the Nugget, the numbers this year would be down which has been the case almost all season. This is due to the new stocking format of more Pilot Peak strain fish and less Summit Lake strain fish. There is simply less fish in the lake. The trade off has been the best big fish season probably ever.
The cold March and early April we have had has slowed down the spring fishing but has lengthened the season. The water temperatures are just now above 50 degrees and the conditions are great. That being said, this time of year there are a lot of sunnier blue bird glass days which make the fishing mid-day close to impossible. Windy days are producing good numbers of fish and should for another few weeks at least. The spawn is on at the hatchery and there are plenty of fish in the spawning channel. There are a lot of fish cruising in right near shore in a foot of water and plenty of fish out deeper as well. If you are going to strip flies with a shooting head cut back to one fly and strip really slow. There are a lot of fish getting snagged due to the large numbers of fish near shore. Shite Beetles and Tadpoles are working well. For nymphing and midging it is that time of year to downsize your flies and tippet. 3X tippet and size 12-14 flies will catch more fish for sure. Early morning and late evenings are the best time to be on the lake and will probably be that way going forward except for good windy days.
