But I can’t complain about the scenery. I managed to get two separate fishing trips in this weekend, though I got shut out on the weekend. Saturday, I had a good excuse: Brainard Lake, pictured, was still frozen. The summer visitor’s center won’t actually be open until June 9th, but I walked a couple of miles up from the visitor’s lot just to get some pictures.
Today’s excursion to El Dorado Canyon State Park was a little bit more disappointing in terms of the fish; South Boulder creek, which runs right through El Dorado canyon, clearly had fish in it. But with some of the good space along the flatter parts of the creek occupied by picnickers taking advantage of the fine weather, I was forced downstream into some heavily shrubbed shore. That cost me four or five flies at a minimum – I’m now with grasshopper or midge patterns.
The good news? Even a bad day fishing in scenery like this is well spent. People have asked me why I kept striper fishing in Maine for so long given that I had no luck initially, and my response is simple: there aren’t many better ways to spend time than being outside and on the water. It’s nice when you have some luck, but it’s tough to complain either way.
