Austin's Northwest Adventures - Coast guard certified and with over 20 years experience, we fish the northwest from Lake Roosevelt to Buoy 10. If catching Salmon, walleye, Kokanee, or Sturgeon is your goal, we are a full time guide service for Washington's hottest fisheries. Fish in comfort with top of the line equipment, call us today!
First time out on Amber on Amber this year. Arrived at the lake with strong winds and a rain/snow mix so condidtions were far from ideal. I waited 20 minutes hoping it would break before putting in and eventually it did- at least the rain and snow, but not the wind, which continued throughout the late morning/early afternoon making fishing extremely difficult. There were white caps on the lake, which I braved for about on hour fishing the extreme south end where I picked up two rainbows stripping a halfback nymph. Water was (by feel) in the low 40s.... no bugs were coming off on that end so I moved (not wanting to brave the wind)to the bank across from the boat lauch which offers some shelter where I suspended chiros, nymphs, leeches, etc under an indicator in 10-20 feet of water with no success. A guy with a fish finder told me the fish were suspended about halfway down in water anywhere from 15-25 feet, so I adjusted my rig expecting to get some fish now that I was "in the zone" depth wise. Nada... Did not see anybody else catching fish either under the indicator so I decided to get "dirty". I cut off my flies and tied on two egg patterns- peach and pink colored. First cast- had a take down (subtle but a take) which I missed on. A few minutes later after recasting I had another take and a hook up with a fish to hand (16inch bow). Over the next couple hours, I picked up four more fish but had 8-10 more takes in that period of time I missed on... Not fast and furious but decent given the conditions...
You should have tried a Skip Nymph. Yay, Dave! Finally, after 23 days, a report from Amber! Reading your report I was able to visualize the whole thing. As you know, I've also sought refuge from the rain, wind and cold in that same area directly across from the launch. It has salvaged many tough trips for me! Did your blood worm chiros not get any looks? Those things always work for you.
Anyways, thanks for the read. Den is going to be hitting Medical in the next day or two, so I should hear something from him on my former hometown favorite.
You are probably right.... I event tied some up but never went to it. Never tried any stillwater nymphs either... It was good to get out and yes, post a report on this lake which was way overdue. The conditions were rough and the only area offering any relief from the wind was that area across from the launch on the opposite bank. I look forward to getting back when the bugs are moving a bit. Bloodworms drew no takes. I did not rig up for it, but with fish suspended in deep water, I would have like to tried fishing chiros off the full sink vertically. There is always next time......
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Austin's Northwest Adventures - Coast guard certified and with over 20 years experience, we fish the northwest from Lake Roosevelt to Buoy 10. If catching Salmon, walleye, Kokanee, or Sturgeon is your goal, we are a full time guide service for Washington's hottest fisheries. Fish in comfort with top of the line equipment, call us today!