Sorry for the delay here (had log-in issues)...
Fished Little Dell Reservoir on Friday afternoon, beautiful day, but unfortunately only the middle (~40%) of the lake is open. Both the upper end and lower end were still completely locked up as of Friday.
Maybe it was "too nice" a day as the bite was really off for me. I managed one (really nice) Cutthroat on Rickard's Seal Bugger but that was it... 1 hit, 1 fish from 1:00-3:00p. Others I spoke to were struggling as well. Felt good to get back out there though... won't be long now.
One noteworthy item... the reservoir has been at/near full pool for almost two years, but they appear to be re-filling the lower (Mountain Dell) reservoir so the water levels are very pretty low at Little Dell which should make for plenty of casting room for shore-bound anglers once things do open up.
(03-09-2020, 06:50 PM)Joe_Dizzy Wrote: [ -> ]Sorry for the delay here (had log-in issues)...
Fished Little Dell Reservoir on Friday afternoon, beautiful day, but unfortunately only the middle (~40%) of the lake is open. Both the upper end and lower end were still completely locked up as of Friday.
Maybe it was "too nice" a day as the bite was really off for me. I managed one (really nice) Cutthroat on Rickard's Seal Bugger but that was it... 1 hit, 1 fish from 1:00-3:00p. Others I spoke to were struggling as well. Felt good to get back out there though... won't be long now.
One noteworthy item... the reservoir has been at/near full pool for almost two years, but they appear to be re-filling the lower (Mountain Dell) reservoir so the water levels are very pretty low at Little Dell which should make for plenty of casting room for shore-bound anglers once things do open up.
Just curious if you tried any nymphing. Water is probably still very cold. Maybe not alot of midge action yet?
(03-11-2020, 03:01 PM)Riffle Wrote: [ -> ]Just curious if you tried any nymphing. Water is probably still very cold. Maybe not alot of midge action yet?
I tried drifting hare's ear, scud, and chironomids under an indicator (usually quite reliable this time of year) but no action. Tried a balanced leech as well... no bumps.
In hindsight maybe a chironomid larva (bloodworm) would have got a look.
(03-11-2020, 06:05 PM)Joe_Dizzy Wrote: [ -> ] (03-11-2020, 03:01 PM)Riffle Wrote: [ -> ]Just curious if you tried any nymphing. Water is probably still very cold. Maybe not alot of midge action yet?
I tried drifting hare's ear, scud, and chironomids under an indicator (usually quite reliable this time of year) but no action. Tried a balanced leech as well... no bumps.
In hindsight maybe a chironomid larva (bloodworm) would have got a look.
I've always struggled at Little Dell, its just such a deep lake with not much shoal area. The one good day I did have was on a hare's ear near the inlet.
(03-11-2020, 07:37 PM)kjox21 Wrote: [ -> ] (03-11-2020, 06:05 PM)Joe_Dizzy Wrote: [ -> ] (03-11-2020, 03:01 PM)Riffle Wrote: [ -> ]Just curious if you tried any nymphing. Water is probably still very cold. Maybe not alot of midge action yet?
I tried drifting hare's ear, scud, and chironomids under an indicator (usually quite reliable this time of year) but no action. Tried a balanced leech as well... no bumps.
In hindsight maybe a chironomid larva (bloodworm) would have got a look.
I've always struggled at Little Dell, its just such a deep lake with not much shoal area. The one good day I did have was on a hare's ear near the inlet.
It is a steep-dropping lake, but the food is shallow and the fish will be there. Trust the process and plan to fish no more than 7-10 feet. Most fish I catch there (once things open up, warm up) are within 1-5 feet of the surface. I've had a lot of fun there Apr-Jun and Sep-Nov. I leave it alone during the heat of summer... fish are stressed enough under those conditions.